St Peter's Church, Derby - St Peter's Today

St Peter's Today

Although thought was given to closing the church because of small congregations in the late 1960s the church now plays an important and active role in the City of Derby. In the summer of 2011 the second Derby BID (Business Improvement District) had been formed with St Peters Church at its geographical centre. The St Peters Quarter exists to promote and enhance the area as has the nearby Cathedral Quarter, Derby since its formation earlier. In the first part of 2012 the church had been further enhanced to serve the community as it has for a thousand years. The improvements enable the church, as a building and a mission, to offer the St. Peter's Quarter and the city as a whole, a variety of services. Derby City Chaplaincy uses St. Peter's as its central hub. Another project, the innovative "Christmas Lunch on Jesus" project has, for the last 3 years, provided many families in Derby, with a Christmas Hamper delivered to their door. Many volunteers, and other city centre churches such as St Alkmunds, contributed to this initiative. On the 17th of May, 2012, Paul Morris, vicar at St Peter's in the City, was, within the Ascension Day Service at Derby Cathedral made Canon for his work.

During 2010 the church raised £6,000 to rehouse and display the Florence Nightingale stained glass window in a specially prepared and back lit position at the west of the north aisle. The window was originally commissioned in the late 1950s for the chapel at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary (DRI) which has moved operations to Mickleover and is due for redevelopment. On the 9th October 2010 the church was delighted to rededicate the saved window in a service that featured the Hospital Choir, The Rolls Royce Male Voice Choir with original music by Dana and Anne de Waal. The Bishop of Derby, Rt Rev Alastair Redfern, presided and many nurses and staff from the DRI were in attendance including the 70 year old lady who posed for, and is depicted in the top right panel of the window.