We live in Seacombe, it's a great place to live but it does come with its challenges. The thing that I like best about living here is the proximity to the river. You get some amazing views across the Mersey to Liverpool from our side of the river and if you are lucky and get up early on a winter's morning, you get to see the most amazing sunrise. It's also fantastic to run along the promenade especially in the morning when there aren't so many people about, even though the wind always seems to be in your face whatever direction you are running in!
We've met some great people, especially in the church. Those faithful people have maintained a worshipping community in spite of many problems and obstacles along the way. They do a fantastic job and you can't beat the charity shop held in the church a couple of times a year for an amazing bargain and a warm welcome.
There's a lot of hope and a lot of potential but there are also a lot of problems. Peter is the vicar of two churches, St. Paul's in Seacombe and St. Luke's in Poulton. St. Paul's parish is one of the most deprived areas of the country. The Church Urban Fund have this index of deprivation where 1 is the most deprived; our parish is 54th out of 12,508. For working age poverty it is even worse off, 24th, and for child poverty 42nd. This means that there are a lot of people facing difficulties and it can be hard to get a real insight into what the needs of the community are and what the real problems are.
However, we know that God loves us and our community and we know that only Jesus can make a real difference in people's lives. We also know that if we work together and help each other, we all benefit. That's why we are passionate about making a difference in our community, reaching out, encouraging people, facilitating friendship, tackling isolation and building community through God's love.