This weekend’s Bible reading:Ezekiel 37:1-14 (p 868)The Crucifixion – this Sunday 6pm at St Mary's:As our Lenten journey continues, do come along to St Mary's this weekend and listen to The Crucifixion by John Stainer. The benefice choir and friends will sing this moving meditation on the passion. Soloists Nathan Collins (Tenor) and Harrison Morton Deaville (Bass) will be joined by Huw Jenkins at the organ. Michael Smith will conduct. This devotional performance will last about an hour. Please feel encouraged to invite others to join us.Building work at All Saints:Approximately 50% of the contracted masonry work has been completed. The roofers will now carry out limited exploratory work on the roofs, under the guidance of a representative of the Bat Conservation Trust. The tombs between the Chapel and the Chancel have been boxed in, and plastic sheeting has been erected in the Chapel, to seal it off from the rest of the building. The impact on the use of the church is minimal, with the loss of one choir pew, and a slightly shortened communion rail. Please take care and be patient with the restrictions.Midweek Music Wednesday 25th March:The next Midweek Music Concert is this coming Wednesday. Refreshments will be served from 11.30am and the concert will start at 12.30. This month's is entitled 'A Concert of Song' and will be given by David Ranford, accompanied by Michael Smith. Do come and support them if you can. Entry is free and any donations are shared between all three churches of our Benefice.APCMs (Annual Parochial Church Meetings) and the Electoral Roll (ER):The APCMs for our benefice churches will be held after Easter. If you are not already on the ER, now is a good time to join. Forms are available from Hugh (All Saints), Carole (St Catherine’s), Wendy (St Mary’s) or at the back of each church.APCM papers:If you are responsible for writing the APCM report for your group, please send it with some urgency to Lizzy (for benefice wide reports) or to the appropriate secretary.If you’re willing to save time, paper and copying by receiving the papers by email, please contact the appropriate secretary: Lizzy for Standon, Rebecca for The Mundens, Peter H for Sacombe.Can you help the local scouts?For more than 15 years, Julie Williams housed the local scout group’s equipment store. They now have to find a new home for it. If you know of anyone who has a secure site with vehicular access for two 20ft shipping containers, or a small unit or 2x 20ft shipping containers available at a community friendly rent, please pass their details to Wendy or Angie. Thank you.New Bishop of St Albans:The Diocese of St Albans has announced the appointment of The Right Reverend Dr Andrew Paul Rumsey as the next Bishop of St Albans. The nomination was announced by 10 Downing Street on Thursday morning. Bishop Andrew is currently the Suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury in the Diocese of Salisbury. Please pray for him as he begins his service of this Diocese.Services for the next few weeks:Midweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine’sWednesdays, 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no midweek services on 7th or 8th April.Sunday services:22nd March 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00 pm Stainer’s Crucifixion, St Mary’s29th March 10.30 am Palm Sunday morning worship, St Catherine’s5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’s12th April 10.30 am Morning worship, St Mary’s19th April 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Holy Communion, All Saints26th April 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00 pm Choral evensong, St Mary’sHoly Week Services:Tuesday 31st March 9.30 am Holy Communion, St Catherine’sWednesday 1st April 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sThursday 2nd April, 7.30 pm Maundy Thursday communion, St Catherine’sFriday 3rd April 10.30 am Service at the Cross, All SaintsFriday 3rd April 2.00 pm Reflective Hour, St Mary’sSunday 5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’sBishop Jane will join us for all of our Holy Week services.There will be no 8.00 service on Easter Sunday, and our 10.30 service will be in St Mary’s.Dates & meetings coming up:25th March, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s26th March, 9.00 am Roger de Clare Easter service, St Mary’s26th March, 3.00 pm Funeral of Anthony Brown, All Saints27th March, 1.15 pm Little Munden School Easter service, All Saints1st April, 2.15 pm Libury Hall service, Libury Hall12th April, 11.30 am Standon APCM, St Mary’s14th April, 10.30 am Sacombe APCM, St Catherine’s19th April, 11.30 am The Mundens APCM, All Saints
This weekend’s Bible readings:Exodus 2:1-10 (p 58) John 19:25-27 (p 1088)Mothering Sunday:The fourth Sunday is Lent is designated as Mothering Sunday, a time when we remember our own mothers as well as our mother church (in our case, St Albans Abbey). All are welcome at our services; daffodils will be distributed at our 10.30 communion service in All Saints.The Crucifixion - Sunday 22nd March 6pm at St Mary's:As our Lenten journey continues, do come along to St Mary's on Passion Sunday and listen to The Crucifixion by John Stainer. The benefice choir and friends will sing this moving meditation on the passion. Soloists Hugh Legg (Tenor) and Harrison Morton Deaville (Bass) will be joined by Huw Jenkins at the organ. Michael Smith will conduct. This devotional performance will last about an hour. Please feel encouraged to invite others to join us.Vacancy update:Please continue to pray for the vacancy process and for our parish representatives as they prepare for the interview day on Tuesday 17th March.APCMs (Annual Parochial Church Meetings) and the Electoral Roll (ER):The APCMs for our benefice churches will be held in the weeks after Easter. Each church must review and display their ER prior to their APCM. Look out for the official notices. If you are not already on the ER, now is a good time to join.Application forms are available from Hugh (All Saints), Carole (St Catherine’s), Wendy (St Mary’s) or at the back of each church.APCM papers:Our secretaries and treasurers are collating reports for our annual meetings in all three churches (although we are a united benefice, each PCC is a separate legal entity and must hold its own meeting). If you are responsible for writing the report for your group, please send it to Lizzy (for benefice wide reports) or to the appropriate secretary (for the very few reports specific to only one church).If you’re willing to save time, paper and copying by receiving the papers by email, please contact the appropriate secretary: Lizzy for Standon, Rebecca for The Mundens, Peter H for Sacombe.Can you help the local scouts?For more than 15 years, Julie Williams very generously housed the local scout group’s equipment store at Knights Hill Farm. They now have to find a new home for it. If you know of anyone who has a secure site with vehicular access for a couple of 20ft shipping containers to be moved from Julie’s, or a small unit or 2x 20ft shipping containers available at a community friendly rent, please pass their contact details to either Wendy or Angie. Thank you.Lent Appeal:In Lent we focus on stewardship of our time and money, and for our Lent appeal we ask our members, if they are able, give a little extra to our churches. We invite you to look carefully at your giving of time and money to support our work in this benefice. Donations can be made in the same way as our regular giving.Services for the next few weeks:Midweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine’sWednesdays, 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sSunday services:15th March 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Holy Communion, All Saints22nd March 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00 pm Stainer’s Crucifixion, St Mary’s29th March 10.30 am Palm Sunday morning worship, St Catherine’s5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’s12th April 10.30 am Morning worship, St Mary’s19th April 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Holy Communion, All SaintsHoly Week Services:Tuesday 31st March 9.30 am Holy Communion, St Catherine’sWednesday 1st April 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sThursday 2nd April, 7.30 pm Maundy Thursday communion, St Catherine’sFriday 3rd April 10.30 am Service at the Cross, All SaintsFriday 3rd April 2.00 pm Reflective Hour, St Mary’sSunday 5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’sBishop Jane will join us for all of our Holy Week services.Please note there will be no midweek services on 7th or 8th April.Dates & meetings coming up:25th March, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s26th March, 9.00 am Roger de Clare Easter service, St Mary’s27th March, 1.15 pm Little Munden School Easter service, All Saints1st April, 2.15 pm Libury Hall service, Libury Hall12th April, 11.30 am Standon APCM, St Mary’s14th April, 10.30 am Sacombe APCM, St Catherine’s19th April, 11.30 am The Mundens APCM, All Saints22nd April, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s30th April, 3.00 pm Celebration service for Ronnie’s life, All Saints
This weekend’s Bible readings:Romans 5:1-11 (p 1132) Matthew 4:18-24 (p 968)Vacancy update:Please continue to pray for the vacancy process and for our parish representatives as they prepare for the interview day on Tuesday 17th March.The Real Easter Egg:Marion has a few Real Easter Eggs available for purchase for £5 each. This year there is a new booklet included with the Easter story. Please see Marion if you’re interested.Building work at All Saints:The scaffolding is up now. There is restricted access to some areas of the churchyard, and there will be parking issues, due to the works vans. Please take care and observe the signs!St Mary’s tower:The work on the tower is finished! The project has taken 50 weeks, longer than anticipated, but the site is being cleared and a team will be going in on Friday 27th March, to check the bells and clean the belfry, the ringing room and stairs. We are hopeful that the bells will ring for Easter!Knit & Natter group:If you like knitting or crocheting, come and join us in the Sargant room (at the back of Standon village hall) any time between 1pm and 3.30pm, usually on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Tea & cakes will be available. Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 12th March. For more information please contact Marion on 01920 745683.APCMs (Annual Parochial Church Meetings) and the Electoral Roll (ER):The APCMs for our benefice churches are scheduled for the weeks after Easter. Each church must review and display their ER prior to their APCM; the process starts approximately 5 weeks before the meeting. Look out for the official notices.If you are not already on the ER, now is a good time to join. Application forms are available from Hugh (All Saints), Carole (St Catherine’s), Wendy (St Mary’s) or at the back of each church.The dates of the APCMs are 12th April (Standon), 14th April (Sacombe), 19th April (The Mundens).APCM papers:Our secretaries and treasurers are collating reports for our annual meetings in all three churches (although we are a united benefice, each PCC is a separate legal entity and must hold its own meeting). If you are responsible for writing the report for your group, please send it to Lizzy (for benefice wide reports) or to the appropriate secretary (for the very few reports specific to only one church).If you’re willing to save time, paper and copying by receiving the papers by email, please contact the appropriate secretary: Lizzy for Standon, Rebecca for The Mundens, Peter H for Sacombe.Lent Appeal:For the last few years, in Lent we have focussed on stewardship of our time and money, and for our Lent appeal we have asked our members, if they are able, to add an extra amount of giving to our churches. With visiting clergy covering many of our services, this focus in our preaching is more difficult, but we are still inviting you to look carefully at your giving of time and money to support our work in this benefice and among these villages. Donations can be made in the same way as our regular giving.Services for the next few weeks:Midweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine’sWednesdays, 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sSunday services:8th March 10.30 am Holy Communion & baptism, St Mary’s15th March 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Holy Communion, All Saints22nd March 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00 pm Stainer’s Crucifixion, St Mary’s29th March 10.30 am Palm Sunday morning worship, St Catherine’s5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’s12th April 10.30 am Morning worship, St Mary’sHoly Week Services:Tuesday 31st March 9.30 am Holy Communion, St Catherine’sWednesday 1st April 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sThursday 2nd April, 7.30 pm Maundy Thursday communion, St Catherine’sFriday 3rd April 10.30 am Service at the Cross, All SaintsFriday 3rd April 2.00 pm Reflective Hour, St Mary’sSunday 5th April 10.30 am Easter Day communion service, St Mary’sBishop Jane will join us for all of our Holy Week servicesPlease note there will be no midweek services on 7th or 8th April.Dates & meetings coming up:11th March, 4.00 pm Funeral of Evelyn Haylock, Woollensbrook Crematorium25th March, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s26th March, 9.00 am Roger de Clare Easter service, St Mary’s27th March, 1.15 pm Little Munden School Easter service, All Saints1st April, 2.15 pm Libury Hall service, Libury Hall
