The hunt is on in the Partnership to recruit teenagers to form a Youth Gospel Choir in a new drive to encourage youngsters into our churches.

The initiative is being led by the Rev Peterson Feital, the recently appointed house for duty minister.

The Rev Peterson Feital with family members.

He said: “We are currently looking for young people from Year 10 to Sixth Form. However, if your child falls outside this age range, please do come and speak to me because we may have additional spaces available on a discretionary case-by-case basis.

“Our leadership is very excited about what this could offer our young people, but we will be taking things slowly with small, thoughtful steps. Our first step is to gather a group of young people from across the partnership to take part in a Christmas taster session.

“Christmas is a wonderful time when many new people visit our church for carols and Christmas services. We would love to showcase the incredible talents of our young people and share our vision for this choir to our community.

“We will be welcoming Elaine Simpson as our Choir Director.  Here is the link to one of Elaine iconic performances at the Royal Albert Hall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ubuMr5kjcQ&list=RD-ubuMr5kjcQ&start_radio=1

Further details can be found in the latest SEP newsletter to download here.

Carols will join the normal fare of coffee and cake when 5Ways Café opens its doors again on Tuesday December 9 between 11am and 1pm.

The Flitwick Singers will be attending with a range of Carols and Christmas songs from 11.45am-12.15pm.

The Wood Turners return with their stall of wooden wares – that special Christmas gift might be there just for you.

To keep visitors entertained throughout when the Flitwick Singers are not performing Piano Pete will be playing.

On Sunday December 14 at 5pm St Mary Magdalene Church, Willen will welcome Quorum Choir for its Carols by Candlelight event with readings and traditional carols.

Mince pies and mulled wine will be available before the service.

Christmas is just a few weeks away and service times for our six churches have now been published.

There will not be services in all churches at the same time – Bradwell and Cross and Stable will hold Christmas Midnight services starting at 11.30pm while Christ Church is holding its Christmas Eve Midnight in Bethlehem service at the earlier time of 9pm.

There are carol services in three churches – Bradwell, St Andrew’s and St James – at 6pm on December 21 but if that is not your choice head to St Mary Magdalene for their Children’s Crib Service at 5pm on the same day.

However if you wish to attend one of the carol services and a crib service then St Andrew’s (4pm), Bradwell and St James’ have crib services on Christmas Eve.

Similarly there are a range of times for Christmas morning worship. As a reminder download the poster for all services here.

The Bishop of Buckingham, the Right Revd Dave Bull, is to visit the Stantonbury Ecumenical Partnership to answer questions about our current ministry situation.

The meeting which is open to all members of our churches will take place at St Andrew’s Church, Great Linford on Tuesday January 6 at 7pm.

The Bishop, pictured, wants to show his support for the Partnership so put the date in your diaries now so you don’t miss out on hearing how the Diocese can help the SEP at this time.

Elsewhere the Diocese of Oxford is seeking an experienced consultant/project manager to lead the establishment of a new peer-led Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) Network which aims to strengthen safeguarding structures in parishes. 

The project manager will lead the co-design, pilot and roll-out phases; manage evaluation; and ensure a smooth handover to the diocesan safeguarding team. 

Estimated 55 days of work between January to December 2026. Location is hybrid, with travel within the Diocese of Oxford. 

To find out more about this and other news from across the SEP please download the November newsletter here.