Royston Parish Church (Herts)

Royston Parish Church News - Sunday 24th August 2025

2025-08-17 notice sheet.docx Download

You can download the paper copy of our news sheet from the link at the side of this page.

The diocese’s Living God’s Love Prayer:

Living God, draw us deeper into your love;
Jesus our Lord, send us to care and serve;
Holy Spirit, make us heralds of good news.
Stir us, strengthen us, teach and inspire us
To live your love with generosity and joy,
Imagination and courage;
for the sake of your world and
in the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Parish Office email is admin@roystonparishchurch.org.uk. If you would like regular copies of the Notice Sheet emailed to you please email this account.

Steven and Emma are away and back to work on 3rd September

Diary

Saturday 23rd August

10:00 - 11:30Church Café (Tea / Coffee / Hot Chocolate only £2 - Free Biscuits)

Sunday 24th August

09:00 - 09:45Communion Service in traditional language (BCP) that is quiet and reflective
10:30 - 11:40Communion Service with music, children's activities/toy area, followed by refreshments

Tuesday 26th August

09:00 - 09:30Morning Prayer (incorporating prayer requests that have been left in church)

Wednesday 27th August

11:00 - 11:25Communion Service that is quiet and reflective, followed by refreshments

13:00 - 15:30Knit and Natter (where all are welcome to meet and chat)

Thursday 28th August

10:00 - 12:00Holiday Club (ticket needed)

19:00 - 21:00Bell Ringers Practice

Saturday 30th August

10:00 - 11:30Church Café (Tea / Coffee / Hot Chocolate only £2 - Free Biscuits)

Sunday 31st August

09:00 - 09:45 Communion Service that is quiet and reflective
10:30 - 11:15 Family Service (following on from our Holiday Clubs)

On Sunday August 31st there will be a blessing of school bags at the 10.30 service in anticipation for the start of the new school year the following week. All are invited to bring along a bookbag or backpack to be blessed within the service.

Dates for the Diary/Upcoming Events

26th September - Organ recital

4th October - Harvest Supper

8th November - Remembrance themed lunch time concert. Ruth Savage

Intercessions

We pray for all Christians worldwide:

For all Christians in Liberia and Sierra Leone

For all who are worship at Bassingbourn United Reformed Church; Revd Sue Fender

For the work of our mission partner: the Vietnamese church

We pray for the community of Royston:

For our local health centres

For all those who volunteer with our local Uniformed Organisations: Cubs, Scouts, etc

We pray for our world and ECO projects:

We pray for farmers and gardeners harvesting their crops

We pray for the sick and suffering:

Lee Cockerill
Chris Christou
Val Brown
Peter Coates
Carey & Pat Pritchard
Paul and Pat Tidey
Angi and Ken Rushall
Emma and Phil Heath
David Gower
Mike Brown
Peter Foster
Paula Walker

We pray for those who have died in the faith of Christ:

John Holmes - Family and friends

We pray for those whose anniversaries fall at this time

Steven Law Cliff Atkins Simon Bray

NOTICES

CHURCH TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Please be aware that we are now operating using a new telephone system. Here are the numbers that are now affected:

General Church Number 01763 243145
Steven (Vicar) 01763 580242
Jaime (Curate) 01763 580241
Joanne (Administrator) 01763 580218

Please note that, if you use the general church number, you will then be presented with options to get in touch with Steven, Jaime or Joanne. All other numbers associated with the church will no longer be operational, but personal numbers such as other people who minister in the church (such as John, Reg or Emma) remain unchanged.

ST JOHN the BAPTIST CHURCH ROYSTON, HOLIDAY CLUB 'SEASIDE ADVENTURES TRUSTING IN GOD'. This is for children 0 to 11 years with their parent/carer with sessions on August 5th, 14th and 28th from 10am to 12 am. It is £2.50 per child. Booking link on the website under Youth and Children or call 01763 448063

THE BISHOP OF ST ALBANS GARDEN will be open over the last two weekends in August (23 and 24 August and 30 and 31 August) between 2pm and 4pm for people to come and look at the beautiful gardens and the summer display. Those who saw the snowdrops earlier in the year will have seen the potential that the garden had for the summer and will be delighted at the change a different season brings. The garden will be open regardless of the weather. The two acres of garden is an oasis in central St Albans and visitors frequently comment on the fact that they did not know the garden was here or how extensive it is. Entrance is £5 per person (children free) and dogs on leads are welcome. All money raised is donated to the Beds and Herts Historic Churches Trust, Abbey Gate House, Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans AL3 4HD.

CHURCHES TOGETHER – LIGHT PARTY – CAN YOU HELP? - We would love someone to join the Light Party core team to take on the administrative tasks. You would need to attend 2 or 3 organising meetings in the run-up to the event and if possible be available on 31st October to help set up and welcome people. Other tasks include emailing volunteers, contacting schools, churches, and local press with publicity (using existing contact lists) plus updating the risk assessment and safeguarding information. If you think you may be able to help, please contact Helen on [email protected]

CHILDREN'S CHURCH IS TAKING A BREAK DURING THE SCHOOL SUMMER HOLIDAYS However, 10.30am each Sunday, on the red tables in the side aisle near the creche, there will be activity sheets, materials etc which parents/ carers are welcome to use with their children.

31st August will be an all-age celebration at the close of our Summer Holiday Club.

7 September - Children's Church restarts - all school-age children most welcome.

BEDS & HERTS HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST - SPONSORED BIKE ‘N HIKE - SATURDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2025 Last year we in Royston raised over £ 1,700 which was divided equally between BHHCT and our own parish funds. We hope to do just as well or better this year and the numbers asking for Sponsor Forms is encouraging. Select your own route for cycling or hiking between the churches – there are over 600 churches to choose from so make it as long or as short as you wish. Most churches will be open on the day. The Sponsorship Packs are now available and if you would like a pack, please contact Mike Maze (245606 or [email protected]). There is always the easier option which is to sponsor one of the participants using their Sponsor form or if online giving suits you best, please visit:- Michael's fundraising page or Rodney's fundraising page

CARBON LITERACY PROJECT We have probably all seen the horrific pictures of the wildfires ravaging parts of the city of Athens this summer, reducing some suburbs to smouldering rubble. Scientists tell us that such events will become more commonplace, as the increased temperatures caused by global warming are causing more extreme weather (such as strong winds) and increased drying of the vegetation (meaning that fires spread more quickly).

But what can we do to play our part in reducing these problems? This course offers learning about climate change, carbon footprints and how we can all do our bit to reduce our emissions of the greenhouse gases that lead to global warming.

The course is accredited by the Carbon Literacy Project who, to date, have certified over 134,000 participants in 45 countries and from various organisations (businesses, councils, hospitals, etc). Our course has been specially designed with church congregations in mind. At the end of the course, it is hoped that all participants will make two pledges for relevant actions they will take to help make the world a better place.

There will be a total of six sessions on consecutive Monday evenings at Royston Parish Church from 7:30-9:30pm on the following dates:

- Monday Sept 22nd – Week 0: Preliminaries: Introductory documentary, Carbon Footprint calculation

- Monday Sept 29th – Week 1: About Carbon Literacy and the Course, Relevance to Christians, the Science of Climate Change

- Monday Oct 6th – Week 2: Carbon Footprints, Climate Justice, Action: Food, Co-benefits

- Monday Oct 13th – Week 3: How is Climate Change affecting us? Climate anxiety and grief, Travel, Introduction to pledges

- Monday Oct 20th – Week 4: Talking about climate change; Actions on Buildings and Stuff, Pledge ideas

- Monday Oct 27th – Week 5: Declaring a Climate Emergency and Net Zero targets, Action on Money, Hope for the Future; Preparing Pledges

The course will cost £15 to cover refreshments, all course materials and the cost of applying to receive a certificate. To book your place, go to https://bit.ly/4kY7noa or scan this QR code.

N.B. If you cannot make all of the dates, the course materials can be made available for weeks that you miss.

STAFF TEAM

Vicar: Revd Steven Sivyer (rest day MONDAY) - On holiday until 3rd September

Telephone no. 01763 580242

Email: [email protected]

Curate: Jaime Roberts (rest day FRIDAY)

Telephone: 01763 580241

Email: [email protected]

Assistant Priest: The Reverend John Fidler

Telephone no. 01763 241886

Email: [email protected]

Reader: Emma Sivyer - On holiday until 3rd September