Why have only one excuse for a party when you can have two? St Peter’s Church in Henleaze did exactly that when it entertained 200 members of its community (and beyond) to celebrate both its centenary and the retirement, after almost 25 years, of its vicar, the Rev Canon Mark Pilgrim.
At a party held in the church, those who have known Mark in many capacities over many years and more recently, came together to share stories, enjoy live music from Beatles tribute duo the FAB Twins, and dance the night away fuelled by a delicious buffet.
Acting as his own Master of Ceremonies, Mark spoke fondly about his time at St Peter’s, recalling stories and thanking many for their support and sterling work for him and the church.
The former Head of Henleaze Junior School, Adam Barber, recalled the school’s close involvement with the church and his enduring friendship with Mark, thanking him for his support of so many families in our local area.
Amid all that he has been involved with over the last quarter-century, typified by endless energy and dedication, one of Mark’s great passions has been the support of the older members of the community – establishing and managing the Later Life Hub in close collaboration with Age UK Bristol, Home Instead (NW Bristol), BDAA and Harold Stephens Financial Planning.
Andrew Wood, CEO of Home Instead and Kay Libby, CEO of Age UK Bristol, both spoke on the night of Mark’s commitment and infectious enthusiasm which has seen the development of the FAB Café, specialist support sessions, Seniors Film Club and fundraising tea parties. A sea of hands was raised in answer to ‘who here has attended one of these events?’ It is a legacy which will clearly long continue.
However, this legacy has also touched many in the congregation, past and present, in other, personal ways, as summed up in a moving speech by Sarah Thomas, one of St Peter’s three Lay Ministers. Stories and memories of Mark’s ministry were also shared in a newsletter, with reflections of Crib Services, lockdown poetry readings over Zoom and singalongs in Sidmouth! Yet the overarching theme was one of inspiration, encouragement, optimism, guidance and a genuine interest in people as individuals. One summed it up succinctly: “I believe he has changed me. It is as simple as that.”
The final part of the weekend saw the Centenary Celebration Communion and Vicar’s Last Sunday on October 4. More than 170 people, aged from 0 to 97, saw the new altar (see full story below) dedicated by the Rt Rev Neil Warwick, acting Bishop of Bristol.
Following this, 140 people of all ages sat down in St Peter’s Hall for the Vicar’s Farewell Lunch – a splendid meal of home-cooked cottage pie and Colin the Caterpillar Cake, with speeches and the presentation to Mark and his wife Gabrielle of a generous cheque and a wonderful bunch of flowers.
As Mark departs for pastures new, the church will be seeking its next minister to lead it into its next 100 years. Hopefully, much of Mark’s good work will still be around then too.
MARK PILGRIM tells the story of the centenary altar
St Peter’s changed fairly dramatically in 2013 when, thanks to two legacies, we were able to install a platform and nave altar between the choir and congregation – so bringing the leading of services and events much closer to people in their seats.
At that time, I thought it would be really good to have a nave altar you could see through in order to see the high altar, golden backdrop and richly coloured East Window behind. The resources to do this weren’t available and St Peter’s made do by using a large wooden table from the back of the church as its regular altar.
As the 100th anniversary of the church drew near we explored ways to build or make something of lasting value to celebrate the centenary. Among ideas researched were a large-scale outdoor Easter Garden/Christmas Crib scene and life-size Crib willow sculptures.
These ideas, however, turned out to be just too impractical. Then, in February this year, Pauline, a member of the congregation, wondered if a new item of furniture for the interior of the church might be a possibility – and soon shared a photo of a splendid wooden nave altar belonging to a church near Swindon through which you could see a high altar and East Window behind.
The carpenter responsible was soon contacted and agreed to design and make a similar bespoke altar for St Peter’s. This he did, and delivered to St Peter’s from his workshop in Somerset on September 29, 2026 – 100 years to the day that St Peter’s Foundation Stone was laid on September 29, 1926!
