By In the Christian calendar, 29th June commemorates two significant apostles of Jesus – Saints Peter and Paul – both of whom were also two very human men who made mistakes.
St Peter was a fisherman who responded when Jesus called him to be one of his disciples. Peter’s original name was Simon, but Jesus changed it to Peter, which means ‘the rock’, as a mark of Peter’s faithfulness. However, Peter is also remembered for the time when, during Jesus’ arrest and trial, he denied three times that he knew Jesus. Christians see hope for us all in the fact that, despite this weakness, Peter is best known for his leadership role in spreading Christianity throughout the world. Roman Catholic Christians consider him to be the first bishop and Pope.
Saint Paul was also a man of contradictions – from a Jewish family, he became a Roman official, and actively persecuted Christians before converting to Christianity, and becoming a dedicated apostle whose work and writings are hugely significant.
The period around this Saints’ Day is known as Petertide. In the Church of England, this is the major one of two traditional periods for ordinations. Locally, the Revd Claire Mitchell will be ordained priest in Lincoln Cathedral on the 29th. The next day Claire will celebrate St Peter when she presides at her first Eucharist. The service will be at St Bartholomew’s Church, Keelby at 10.30am. Congregations from all 8 churches in the group where Claire is curate will attend, including those from St Peter and St Paul, Stallingborough.
The Stallingborough Church is one of five locally dedicated to St Peter. The others are in Cleethorpes, Holton Le Clay, East Halton, and Humberston. The latter have sent a special invitation to Grimsby Independent readers to their service at 11am on Sunday.
You’re also invited to a special service at 10.30am at St Peter, East Halton. This church hasn’t had regular services for a few years, and this is the first of a new series to take place on the fifth Sunday of each month.
In case you’re wondering, the fish in the photo above is a tilapia. This was one of three main types of fish found in the Sea of Galilee in Biblical times, and it’s sometimes known by the name “St Peter’s fish”.
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