Good morning everyoneWell, here we are on the cusp of Holy Week.Our service tomorrow (Palm Sunday) will follow the pattern of the service you have used in the past. The plan is to process around the church all holding our Palm crosses as we sing our hymn. I will also be using the dramatized reading of the gospel so come prepared to be of good voice for crowd, priests, passers-by, soldiers.I will also need someone to play Pilate and Jesus. So please let me know if you would like to do this.As we go into Holy Week there are a few things I want to highlight:-We are holding the Easter Vigil on Saturday (30th) at St Mary’s, Gilston at 7.00 pm.We are asking you to come with something to sit on, something to keep you warm and a torch.The plan is to sit together, around the firepit, read some of the set readings interspersed with poems and prayers, which we will all take part in.We will then all go into church to light our candles from the Easter Candle and sing a final hymn together. Rosemary is going to provide Prosecco if you would like some as we spend time together remembering. Hope you can make it as I feel this will be a very special time for us.We will be having a lot of contact with the school this week as I am in with Nursery, Reception and the RE council on Monday, I will be leading collective worship in the school on Tuesday, and also the school will be in church on Wednesday for their Easter Service. Please pray for the children, the parents and the teachers as they go into Easter, and for the hope that many children will come to our Messy Church sessions at St James on Good Friday or St Botolph’s on Easter Saturday.This year also we will have the opportunity and privilege to talk about Easter with our toddler group, each child will receive an age appropriate Easter story book and stickers and of course a little bit of chocolate, so please pray for our wonderful team on Thursday morning.As you may have picked up on the news the Princess of Wales has been diagnosed and is being treated for cancer. Please pray for her, her family and also King Charles as they face this difficult time together over the next few months. The Church of England has issued a prayer specifically for the Princess of Wales:-Gracious GodWe pray for the continued recoveryOf the Princess of Wales,For her husband, and for her family.Grant to them,And to all who are affected by sickness,Faith, hope and the knowledge of your love,Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.My hope and prayer for us all this Easter is that we will grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus, enjoy being together and sharing the Easter story with so many.Let us hold onto hope this Easter, regardless of what is happening in our world. Let us remember our Romans 15:13 scripture:-‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’.See you very soonAlison
Dear AllEaster is approaching so quickly, with lots of planning happening as we speak. I hope you will be able to make the Messy Church briefing by Janet on Sunday after the service – 10.45 am at St James. Thank you to all of you who have volunteered for this amazing ministry. As you know we are trying this at St Botolph’s, Eastwick for the first time on Easter Saturday and I am hopeful that the children who live there will come. Peter is planning to cook hot dogs – he is a bit of a whizz at this😊This Sunday we have Glyn Barker coming to preach to us and I am really looking forward to hearing him. Glyn as well as a reader for Holy Trinity, Hertford Heath is also the Finance Director for St Albans Diocese. He was a great colleague when I worked there and I am looking forward to welcoming him on Sunday and hearing what God has put on his heart for us.I have been visiting funeral families over the past week or so and was able to deliver some of the primula’s we had for Mother’s Day. They have been so appreciated.These small acts of kindness that we can do for our neighbours are just one of the ways we can be an encouragement and a comfort, so thank you for all those who visit others.Hopefully, I will see you on Sunday. If you need a conversation or a cuppa just drop me a line or ring me.Every blessingAlison
Dear AllI am writing this and the sun is streaming into my office window – so much so that I have had to close the curtains so I can see my computer screen!! I am so looking forward to Spring finally arriving.It is so good to see so many of you at our weekly Bible study on Wednesday evenings as we journey through the big story of the Bible together or at the online prayer meeting on Tuesday mornings. It is really encouraging to see us growing in knowledge, wisdom and prayer. At our prayer meeting we are giving the needs of the world and our own villages to God on a regular basis. There is room for everyone to join us online for prayer(should work, life, allow) – see the link on the Welcome Sheet, it would be good to see you there.As you may know Cath has been teaching us how to sign the Lord’s Prayer in Makaton sign language. Here is the link so that you can learn it at home - https://youtu.be/fSs4w9M-i9sAs you may also know Cath is going off on sabbatical at the end of March and so we will need someone to take her place in signing the Lord’s Prayer in our Sunday services. If you are able to learn this and to offer your skills that would be most helpful.Our Family Service last week was a huge success and we need to give special thanks to Kate for her catering for the breakfasts, etc. We had 36 adults and 7 children, with 4 people asking for baptism. This is all so encouraging and please do continue to pray for this service that it continues to develop and grow to welcome more new families into our fellowship.We also had the Community Dog Walk last Sunday at which we welcomed 11 adults, 2 children and 9 dogs for the walk and coffee and cake afterwards, great thanks to Joy and Alison and the café/cake team for providing all that we needed for this event to be such a success. We were able to connect with people we did not know in our community and people really wanted to know when the next one was and so we have put another one into the calendar for Sunday 28th April 2024, if you would like to be there.Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday when we celebrate Mothering Sunday.Every blessingAlison
Yesterday I saw snowdrops and a few cowslips as we move from winter into spring. The birds were singing and the sun was warm on my face and I felt my heart lift at the thought of longer days and not having to walk Bean in the dark in a dayglo jacket so I can find her when she is off the lead!!We are journeying towards Easter, to all those joyful times of longer days, warmer evenings, not perhaps as much rain and mud, being able to get out in the garden, the allotment or play in the park, long dog walks, time off school, time off work, spending special time with our families and friends, all on our horizon. We have so much to be thankful for. We have already had our Pancake Party and our Ash Wednesday service to mark the beginning of Lent, and……Our next dog walk leaving from St James Church, High Wych will be Sunday 3rd March at 2.30 pmHowever, as we journey towards Easter with all our services to look forward to we are experiencing Lent, that journey that is of personal self-reflection as we journey with Jesus as he walks towards the Cross, asking ourselves - where do we fall short? what can we do that is better? Who can we help?, etcThis year I am asking you all to think carefully about taking on the Lent Challenge as our way of giving thanks for all that we have and for serving others who are struggling at this time. There are many ways we can do this, here are 3 different ways we can do this (see below):-2024 The Lent ChallengeDuring the 40 days of Lent we may give things up – to fast – from sugary or fatty foods, while others choose a well-loved treat, social media, alcohol, or TV the idea being that we remember Jesus’ time in the wilderness when he went without and we are called to give more attention to God, in prayer and reading the Bible.We are also called during Lent to remember those worse off than ourselves and there are so many ways we can do this. We can give our money to charity, maybe sending help to children in Gaza who are struggling without food and basic necessities:-Children in Gaza crisis appeal - UNICEF UK – (follow this link to financially give).Or you may consider using the Count your Blessings project that helps you work through Lent thoughtfully, giving to the poorer countries around the world who are dealing with the onslaughts of climate change and poverty:-count-your-blessings-2024-v1.1.pdf (christianaid.org.uk) – (follow link to download the 40 days challenge – printed out at back of church (St Mary’s) for you to look at)Or you may want to look closer to home and take up the Lent Challenge for our own area. We are committing to give generously to the Pop-Up shop during Lent, focussing on a particular area of food/household products each week as follows:-Week 1 - we focus on bringing soft drinks for that week.Week 2 – cans of food.Week 3 – dried goodsWeek 4 - Cereals or household products.Week 5 – chocolate (small Easter eggs)Week 6 – Special Easter food This will call us to sacrifice some of our wealth but it will benefit others who are struggling. The church (St James, High Wych) or (St Mary’s, Gilston) is open every day from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm for you to bring food and place in the box provided, and we will make sure this food gets to the Pop-Up Shop. Or if this is difficult for you, you can give the Pop Up Shop money directly at:-Barclays Bank – Account Number 60797029 – Sort Code 20 36 98Account Name: Sawbridgeworth Congregational ChurchMy hope for each one of us over this Easter period is that we will say this prayer:-Father, help me to live each day to the full,Being true to You, in every way.Jesus, help me to give myself away to others,Being kind to everyone I meet.Sprit, help me to love the lost, Proclaiming Christ in all I say and do. Amen.I leave you with our Bible verse for the year to encourage us to find the joy in each day that we are given.Your PriestAlisonRomans 15:13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
