Dear all, It feels like the holidays have begun this week, with this warm weather and hearing children playing in the park.As many of you know I will be away this Sunday and because of the holidays we have cancelled August’s Family service.This does mean that the service that we normally have at 8.00 am at St James will be the only service offered this Sunday the 4th and it will be a service of the word (not BCP and not a communion service).Judith will be taking this with Janet and Rosemary doing readings and Intercessions.I hope you will find this service interesting and uplifting, and I do look forward to seeing you all again on the 11th at either St James at 9.30 am or St Mary’s, Gilston at 11.15 am.We will also be having a baptism for Reginald and Mabel at St James at 2.30 pm. To slightly paraphrase Ephesians reading (attached):-‘May you lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness. Enjoy your week. Every blessingAlison
Dear AllWell, the school holidays have started, all Year 6 have been presented with a Bible, the Headteacher has had her leaving party and Jimmy’s are having a Teddy Bears’ Picnic tomorrow in the playground at High Wych and then we will have finished until September.August is a time to rest a little and to plan for the Autumn term. If you would like to meet up for a coffee just let me know as without the school and toddlers I will have more time to meet with you. I hope you have plans to be away and have some time with your families, to rest and to enjoy the warmer weather. I know some of you will be deeply involved in the preparations for the Scarecrow Festival but hopefully that comes under the heading of fun.This Sunday we have the privilege of Sarah Bagnall preaching for us again at both St James, High Wych at 9.30 am and 11.15 am at St Botolph’s, Eastwick. I will still be leading a dog walk from St Botolph’s at 11.15 am and this is the last one before we start our new Family Service at the end of August.We have a baptism at St James at 3.00 pm, please pray for the family of Charlie Sugar as they take this step of baptism for their son, may this be a joyful occasion and lead to another family joining us for the Family Service.We have now introduced the opportunity for you to give using the card machine at St James, which may be easier for you in this increasingly cash free society that we live in. It is set up with pre coded amounts but can also be used to give any amount you would like to. If you are unsure how it works please talk to Sam, our Treasurer.If you would like to review your giving please also talk to Sam, if you would like to begin giving on a regular basis, please talk to Sam.I am so happy that God is helping us to grow as a community and if you are able to please join our online prayer meeting on a Tuesday morning at 9.30 am where we pray for ourselves, our villages and our world.Every blessingAlison
Dear AllSchool’s Out for Summer!So, this week has seen Year 6 in the school have a great leaving week – with fun activities, school production, leavers bbqAnd today (Thursday) the whole school had a fun day to celebrate Mrs Mandy West’s headship as she retires this week.I have the privilege of handing out bibles to them all at the School leavers Assembly tomorrow (Friday) and also announcing that St James will be hosting a café session on Mondays after school for them at the Coffee Lounge, High Wych to touch base with them and see how they are getting on at secondary school. If you would like to know more or contribute to this ministry as we connect with the Youth in our village, please do not hesitate to contact me about this.Please pray for all our school children as we connect with them on a weekly basis:-We hold in our heartsYoung people in our communitiesMade in your image, known to youAnd loved by you.We hold in our heartsYoung people in our churches,Made in your image, known to you andLoved by you.We hold in our heartsYoung people facing challenge or crisis,Made in your image, known to you andLoved by you.Whether our resources are plentiful orScarce, we commit to serving them moreDeeply.May our church become to them a safeSpace, to experience your life, yourPurpose and your love.May they encounter you in us.May we encounter you in them,And may it transform us both. Amen.We also had our last Jimmy’s session in High Wych Memorial Hall today, with the plan to have a Teddy Bear’s Picnic in our new park next Thursday from 10.00 to 12 noon, for all our Toddler families.The week after that we will be having a toy sort and clean on Thursday 1st August from 9.30 am at the High Wych Memorial Hall , if you would like to help – then all will be put away until Thursday 5th September 2024 when another new term begins. Looking forward to seeing you this week at the 9.30 am service at St James or at our community Dog Walk at Terlings Park Development at 2.30 pm.Every blessingAlison
Dear AllI am back after basking in 36 degrees in sunny Spain to a much more temperate climate that I enjoy and a Labour government.As we have all been praying about this, I hope that this is the outcome that God was wanting for us as a country and that ‘his will is done’ at this time. Let us continue to pray for the changes that will happen for us at a local level and for all those assuming authority as new MP’s etc. May God be with them.This is the prayer from Justin Welby (Archbishop of Canterbury) on this topic today:-Let us give thanks today for our democracy,And for the peaceful and orderly transition of power it gives us.Let us pray for our new government entering office;For it’s members to have humility,Wisdom and integrity as they begin their new roles. AmenI have also had the anniversary of my ordination whilst I was away. I have been ordained now for 10 years and am very happy to be serving as your Priest in our wonderful Benefice.Our services tomorrow are a BCP Communion at 8.00 am and the Family service with breakfast at 9.30 am both at St James Church, High Wych.Looking forward to connecting with you at either of those tomorrow.Every blessingAlison
Thrive: Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture in Sri LankaSri Lanka is suffering from the worst economic crisis in its history. Families are struggling with soaring prices and shortages of food and fuel and life is even harder for families affected by leprosy.This year’s Harvest Appeal supports The Leprosy Mission in their work in Sri Lanka, in particular working with Kaveri Kala Manram (KKM), which was founded by Reverend Joshua.A vital part of KKM’s work is making sure that families affected by leprosy have enough nutritious food to eat and the opportunity to sell surplus fruit and vegetables that they have grown to provide a good income. Rev. Joshua also brings people affected by leprosy together for community meals, where they can learn more about food and nutrition.See here for Bishop Alan's introductory video - https://youtu.be/PnK5sNFvn98 Visti https://www.stalbansdiocese.org/parishsupport/growing-community/bishop-of-st-albans-harvest-appeal-2024/ for further information.Making DonationsThis year all donations are being made direct to the Leprosy Mission. There are several ways to donate including via BACS and card payments online.For a bank transfer:You can make a bank to bank transfer (BACs) to The Leprosy Mission using the following details: Sort code: 20-67-45, Account No: 00197742, Account Name: The Leprosy Mission Great BritainFor card payments online:,You can make a payment via a bank debit or credit card on behalf of your church here - https://actions.leprosymission.org.uk/page/152238/donate/1Please view the ‘How to Send Bishop’s Harvest Appeal Donations’ file below for more information and other ways to pay including via cheque and over the phone.Thank you for your partnership with this year’s Harvest Appeal.
Dear AllAttached are this week’s Welcome sheet and readings as always and the flyer to act as a reminder for Wednesday Welcome on 3rd July. This week we saw the Commissioning of our Church Wardens in a service at St Mary’s in Ware. I am thankful for all our churchwardens who have agreed to stand again this year – Sam Clarke, Janet Bellingham and Mike Shaw. Please pray for them as they work so hard to make sure all those things that need to happen to make our churches safe and welcoming places happen.Last Saturday saw our first Scarecrow Festival Workshop where so many wonderful things were made and our community came together, enjoying each others’ company, strengthening old friendships and making new friends, all working to make High Wych village ready for the Scarecrow Festival again this year. Thank you again for all the hard work by the team in getting everything ready for this event. So much hard work goes into getting things ready behind the scenes, we have an amazing team of hard working individuals, we had lots of lovely refreshments too, thanks to our refreshment team. There are lots of ways to get involved in the Scarecrow Festival and Janet Bellingham, Sam Clarke and Kate Clarke as well as myself can give you help and advice on this. There are knitting patterns and wool at the back of St James church for anyone who would like to knit bugs and minibeasts for our exhibition that will be ‘live’ in church over the Scarecrow Festival weekend.This Sunday at our 9.30 am service at St James, High Wych we have the Revd Derek Hinge visiting us so please make him feel welcome.Please keep praying for our general election, our candidates and all our country’s issues; Our NHS; Social Care; Housing; Education; Overseas Aid, Defence; Business and Trade; Work; Our Prisons; the Justice System and pray for Integrity and Good Government for all our politicians.Today we are being asked to pray for Defence. We are being asked to read Isaiah 2:1-4, especially v4…‘Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,Neither shall they learn war any more’.The prayer that goes with this reading is as follows:-We commend to your gracious keeping, O GodAll who serve in the armed forces.Keep alive in them and in us your vision of peace.Hear us Good Lord. AmenEvery blessingAlison