Friday 8 May is a special Bank Holiday this year, with the day moved from the first Monday in May to give the opportunity to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two – Victory in Europe (VE) Day in 1945.
AS it is a Bank Holiday, St Peter’s Online won’t be holding all of our usual activities – so there will be no See and Know or Youth Games Night on Friday.
We will be holding a special extra service of Morning Prayer though – this is a last minute addition, as an outage in the WiFi service to the parish meant we could not broadcast daily prayers online on Thursday! Join Viv at 9am tomorrow for Morning Prayer Live over on our Facebook page and download the liturgy here to help you join in!
There will also be a special Online service to mark VE day from the online version of Bradford Cathedral here on their YouTube channel at 3pm on Friday 8 May.
There are also more activities, including some for children and families,to mark the anniversary over on the Cathedral’s webiste here.
And, as it’s forecast to be a nice day, you might want to take part in the Big Picnic for Hope on Friday as well. The celebrations and street parties that would have marked the VE Day anniversary cannot now take place. So instead, individual households are being encouraged to hold a picnic (indoor or outdoor!) and share photos on social media, using the hastags #bigpicnicforhope and #feed5000.
The intention is to both honour the heroes of 75 years ago and to celebrate the heroes of our new ‘homefront’ – those currently risking their lives in the NHS, social care, delivery personnel, workers across food stores or public transport, and the current collective effort of the nation – to stay home and play our part.
The project is also aiming to raise £5000 for the Trussell Trust, who support a nationwide network of food banks and provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty. With a rise in the number of people who are using foodbanks nationally, and the future uncertain as to how many people will have to adjust to more difficult living conditions around the country, the Big Picnic for Hope aims to ask those who can to donate towards ensuring another individual or family have food in their house today.
You can donate at this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bigpicnicforhope
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