This year Bishop Michael was warmly welcomed by staff and volunteers at St Peter’s Community Centre, in Westfield, Yeovil, to film his Christmas message. The centre is run by St Peter’s Church in partnership with the local community and is used every day to provide friendship and welcome to everyone who comes through the door.
A wide range of activities support the local community, from the Warm Hub, which operates four days a week, and offers a welcoming space with free drinks and lunches prepared by a cook, to a library, free Wi-Fi, community coffee mornings, and a school uniform rail. A dedicated youth worker runs activities and clubs for young people creating safe and engaging opportunities to connect. Westfield Fresh offers surplus food donated by supermarkets, the Community Pantry helps households access fresh food at a reduced cost to members for a small monthly fee. Around 30 different groups and activities run in the Centre, and through it the church is able to support and bless hundreds of people in the local community.
At St James’ Church, a regular toddler group offers a friendly, supportive environment for young children, their parents and carers. There is support also for the elderly and bereaved and those struggling with mental health issues, as well as work across the parish with over 2,500 students in local primary and secondary schools.
Revd David Keen, Vicar, St James Church Yeovil and St Peter’s Church and Community, said, “For years St Peter’s wrestled with how a small church could serve one of the most needy neighbourhoods in Somerset. God had a plan, He sent us the people and the skills we needed, plus the money to build St Peter’s Community Centre (in 2019) and to run so many activities.
“We’ve lost count of the number of people that this place has given hope, love and support to. We want to ‘Love God and Love Westfield’, and though at times its almost overwhelming, it’s a joy and a privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus here.”
Bishop Michael was also welcomed by the staff and pupils of Kingfisher Primary School. He was joined by Pioneer Associate Vicar, Sarah Sanderson, who regularly attends the school. Head Teacher Daniel Glentworth gave Bishop Michael a tour after which he took part in a question-and-answer session with pupils.
Bishop Michael and Sarah then walked Agusta Park, a new housing estate in Lufton on the Western edge of Yeovil. Church members have been praying for many years for people to come to faith, and in recent months there has been a growing sense that God is answering those prayers, with new conversations, relationships and signs of spiritual openness emerging within the community.
David said, “There is such a sense of God preparing the ground through many years of diligent prayer. A youth group with 100 on the books was basically handed over to the church within a few months of Sarah starting, some other mums approached us to start a toddler group, and we just had a batch of confirmations at the small Lufton church which serves the estate. It’s been more a case of keeping up with what God is doing, rather than starting anything!”
Filming for the Christmas message took place alongside the usual activities. This not only provided the backdrop to Bishop Michael’s Christmas message, it also reflects a community shaped by care and shows how this has created space, support, and connection where it is needed most. Members of St Peter’s were also happy to share with us their stories of how the centre has shaped the lives of their community, and their own lives too, including visitor, turned volunteer and employee Victoria Louise Pontin who said of her involvement with the centre, “It’s literally changed my life. I am more open now. I used to keep myself to myself, but I will now randomly chat to people which I never used to do before.”
You can hear more from Louise and others in the video below.