This weekend’s Bible readings: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (p 616) and Matthew 21:1-11 (p 988)First Sunday of the month: We are delighted that, as part of the new arrangements described in the last couple of weeks, from this weekend Jenny Boot will be taking over organising the music for the first Sunday of the month. Jenny has wide experience in leading worship in other churches. The style will include both traditional and contemporary, often accompanied by her husband Joe but also other musicians in the benefice. We hope that everyone can come and support this; no-one is intended to be excluded.Holy Week in our benefice: We will hold our Maundy Thursday service in Sacombe at 7.30 on Thursday evening, our service by the cross in Little Munden at 10.30 (please note the time) on Friday morning and our reflective hour in Standon between 2.00 and 3.00 on Friday afternoon. Join us to reflect on the events of that week that culminated in the rising of Jesus on Easter Day, which we will celebrate next Sunday at 10.30 in Standon.Good Friday joint service 7.30 pm: On Good Friday at St Michael's Church Bishops Stortford the East Herts Church Choirs Association will have a service of music and readings. Some members of our benefice choir will be taking part and Michael will be playing the organ. The service starts at 7.30pm and all are most welcome.Break for Easter: Several of our groups will take a break over the holiday. Little Angels will meet next on 21st April, and our benefice choir will rehearse next on 20th. The café will also rest while the schools are out.Some news about Charlie: After much thought and deliberation, Charlie has come to the difficult decision that she will need to finish her curacy elsewhere after her family moves to St Albans in July, and diocesan authorities have agreed with this. The journey to UBSMS from their new home would be around 50 minutes each way and, much as she would dearly love to see her curacy through to its conclusion here, she has realised it would not be sustainable. Her last Sunday will be 9th July.A visit from Pilgrim Cross, (formerly Student Cross): This is a walking pilgrimage that walks to Walsingham during Holy Week. The London leg of the pilgrimage will be walking from Epping to Walsingham and has planned to stop overnight on 1st April in Standon. They carry with them a wooden cross and it is resting in St Mary’s overnight tonight (Saturday). Please pray for the pilgrims as they go on from here.Games morning at the Boot: The next regular Games Morning at the Boot in Dane End will be on Tuesday. All are welcome, to have a coffee and / or play board games with friends old or new.Walk for the Stroke Association: If you were in church last week you will have heard Colin talk about the impact that his stroke has had on his life. He has undertaken to walk 200 miles to raise funds for the Stroke Association, as part of the #MarchforStroke initiative. There are fliers available in all our churches; if you would like to know more or to sponsor Colin, please pick one up, or speak to him.APCMs and Electoral Roll Revisions: The season for the Annual Parochial Church Meetings (APCMs) is almost upon us. Before the meetings there will be a formal revision of the Electoral Roll in each church within the Benefice; look out for notices outlining the timetable for this in each church. The Electoral Roll is completely renewed from scratch every 6 years, next due in 2025. This year the review is a tidying up of the roll. If you are already on one of our Electoral Rolls you don’t need to do anything unless you wish to be removed or you have moved and not updated your details, in which case please contact your Electoral RollOfficer directly or through the Churchwardens. APCM time is a good time to join the Electoral Roll of any of the churches within the Benefice. Each Roll is published/displayed within the relevant church for the two weeks immediately before their APCM; no new names can be added during this time. Being on the Roll allows you to attend the APCM, have your say and play a part in how the church is run. It is also a declaration of support for your church. So many good things stem from the life of the local church and we want to serve the wider community in the best way that we can. Paper copies of the enrolment form are available at the back of the churches. Completed forms should be handed to one of the Welcomers or Churchwardens who will make sure it is passed on to the appropriate Electoral Roll Officer.APCM reports: It’s not too early to be sending reports to the secretaries! Many of the reports are shared across the benefice, and collating them takes time. Please let our secretaries have them in good time.Lent Appeal: Once again, we are appealing this Lent for our mission and ministry locally. As we travel through Lent, we remember all that God has done and given to secure our salvation; please pray about what and how he is asking you to give in gratitude.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached through: www.ubsms.org.uk. Please visit it to see the range of information there.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:2nd April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th April 10.30am Easter holy communion, St Mary's16th April 8.00am Ante communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints23rd April 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Coronation choral evensong, St Mary's30th April 10.30am Holy communion, St Catherine's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints7th May 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
This weekend’s Bible reading: John 11:1-45 (p 1077)Some news about Charlie: After much thought and deliberation, Charlie has come to the difficult decision that she will need to finish her curacy elsewhere after her family moves to St Albans in July, and diocesan authorities have agreed with this. The journey to UBSMS from their new home would be around 50 minutes each way and, much as she would dearly love to see her curacy through to its conclusion here, she has realised it would not be sustainable. Her last Sunday will be 9th July.First Sunday of the month: We are delighted that, as part of the new arrangements described last week, Jenny Boot will be taking over organising the music for the first Sunday of the month. Jenny has wide experience in leading worship in other churches. The style will include both traditional and contemporary, often accompanied by her husband Joe but also other musicians in the benefice. We hope that everyone can come and support this; no-one is intended to be excluded.Lent course on Wednesday evenings 7.30 pm at All Saints: We have been running a course on Wednesday evenings throughout Lent: Christians Foundations for Today, focussing on our Christian foundations and how they work out in our lives day by day. This week’s session will be the last.Stainer’s Crucifixion 26th March: On Sunday at 6.30pm in St Mary's our benefice choir with other chorister friends will be singing Stainer's The Crucifixion. This is a moving meditation on the Passion with hymns for all to sing as well as music for the choir and soloists. It is a special way to continue your Lent journey as we move towards Holy Week and Easter. Please come along and bring someone who would enjoy sharing this time of worship with us. It will last for about an hour. There is no charge. A retiring collection will be taken for the musical outreach of our benefice.Pop-Up shop 26th March: The pop up shop will be in St Mary's after the 10.30 service this Sunday. The fair trade items now come from One World Shop since Traidcraft went into administration. There will be various food items for sale and The Real Easter Egg will be available for £5. The pop up shop also has Christian gifts, second hand Christian books and there will be some Easter cards there too. You can also order items from Marion at any time and the website will be displayed. All profits go to the Buntingford Foodbank.Little Angels on 31st March: On 31st our toddler group will hold its Easter party, starting at 10:30am with an Easter Egg hunt in the churchyard, and then inside for hot cross buns and hot chocolate. Any small one is welcome, with his or her grown-up.Braughing with Standon Mothers' Union: Everyone is invited to a Lent lunch which starts at 1pm on Wednesday 29 March in the Church Hall, Braughing. There will be no charge but donations to cover expenses will be welcome. Please contact Diane Moss on 01920 821130 by Sunday 26 March if you would like to come, to ensure we have enough soup.Congratulations to Jo M: After a very long route of 7 years study, retakes of GCSEs in Maths and Science, HNC in Childhood Studies, Jo has graduated with a BA Honours (First Class) in Business and Management as part of a Degree Apprenticeship. She just has the final Apprenticeship element to finish in April and she will have completed a Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship with Chartered Manager status. Our congratulations to Jo, and thanks to God for his strength supporting her through this challenging journey.Ringing honours for Standon: On 18th March, the Bishop’s Stortford District held their Annual Striking Competition at Great Hormead, followed by a business meeting where a special announcement was made. Philip Pudsey-Dawson learnt to ring at St Mary’s Standon in 1998 and was taught by Trevor Chapman. Philip was a regular participant in the Tuesday night practices and was always there for Sunday Service ringing.He rang on 1st January 2000 to celebrate the Millennium and on the morning of the opening day of the London Olympics in 2012 and was always a member of our Tower Quiz team. Philip made a beautiful plinth for our District Call Change ringing trophy to support a brass bell donated by one of the ringers from another tower in memory of her husband.As Philip, sadly, is no longer able to ring, the District made a decision that they would like to nominate him to become a Life Member of the Hertford County Association of Change Ringers in recognition for the services he had made to ringing both at St Mary’s and in the District. Philip and Angela came along to our meeting to hear the announcement and it was lovely for Philip to catch up with his old ringing friends.As a footnote, the team that represented Standon in the Striking Competition (who are the ringers who come and ring on a Sunday) came a very respectable 3rd!A visit from Pilgrim Cross, (formerly Student Cross): This is a walking pilgrimage that walks to Walsingham during Holy Week. The London leg of the pilgrimage will be walking from Epping to Walsingham and hopes to stop overnight on 1st April in Standon. They carry with them a wooden cross and they will leave it in St Mary’s overnight into Palm Sunday. They have asked if anyone would like to meet them for prayer during the Saturday evening; if you’re interested, please speak to John.APCMs and Electoral Roll Revisions: The season for the Annual Parochial Church Meetings (APCMs) is almost upon us. Before the meetings there will be a formal revision of the Electoral Roll in each church within the Benefice; look out for notices outlining the timetable for this in each church.The Electoral Roll is completely renewed from scratch every 6 years, next due in 2025. This year the review is really just a tidying up of the roll. If you are already on one of our Electoral Rolls you don’t need to do anything unless you wish to be removed or you have moved and not updated your contact details, in which case you should contact your Electoral Roll Officer directly or through the Churchwardens.With the upcoming APCMs now is a good time to join the Electoral Roll of any of the churches within the Benefice. Each Roll is published/displayed within the relevant church for the two weeks immediately before their APCM; no new names can be added during this time. Being on the Electoral Roll allows you to attend the APCM, have your say and play a part in how the church is run. It is also an important declaration of support for your church, an assertion that you are a member of the church and/or committed to the church's presence in the local community. So many good things stem from the life of the local church and we want to serve the wider community in the best way that we can.Paper copies of the enrolment form are available at the back of the churches. Completed forms should be handed to one of the Welcomers or Churchwardens who will make sure it is passed on to the appropriate Electoral Roll Officer.Lent Appeal: Once again, we are appealing this Lent for our mission and ministry locally. As we travel through Lent, we remember all that God has done and given to secure our salvation; please pray about what and how he is asking you to give in gratitude.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached through: www.ubsms.org.uk. Please visit it to see the range of information there.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:26th March 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Stainer's Crucifixion, St Mary's2nd April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th April 10.30am Easter holy communion, St Mary's16th April 8.00am Ante communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints23rd April 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Coronation choral evensong, St Mary's
This weekend’s Bible readings: 1 Samuel 1:20-28 (p 271) and John 19:25-27 (p 1088)Some news from John about our Director of Music: Michael has been working as a church Director of Music for many years and now feels in need of a break and some space, both for his wellbeing and to ensure that he can continue to fulfil his calling with the same passion and enthusiasm. Michael has requested to reduce his contract by being released from the responsibility of providing music on the first Sunday of each month. This has been agreed by all three PCCs. Michael will remain as our Director of Music and will continue to take choir rehearsals and organise the musical outreach in all our other services and special events across the benefice. It is right and proper that Michael will also be taking a short break from his duties from the end of May until early July, for recharging, resting and listening to God. Please do keep him in your prayers at this time.First Sunday of the month: We are delighted to announce that Jenny Boot will be taking over organising the music for the first Sunday of the month. Jenny is already a member of the choir but also has very wide experience in leading worship in other churches. Some of us have already experienced her leading at the Lent Course and the Centre. The style will be both traditional and contemporary, especially if there is biblical “weight” to the songs. She will often be accompanied by her husband Joe but also other musicians will be incorporated as time goes on. On these Sundays there will be no robed choir but we hope very much that the choir can add to the singing from within the congregation. We hope that everyone can come and support this; no-one is intended to be excluded.Lent course on Wednesday evenings 7.30 pm at All Saints: We are running a course on Wednesday evenings throughout Lent: Christians Foundations for Today.The Lent course this year is focussing on our Christian foundations and how they work out in our lives day by day. This week’s session is The Truthful Spirit: “The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth” John 16:13Stainer’s Crucifixion 26th March: Next Sunday at 6.30pm in St Mary's our benefice choir with other chorister friends will be singing Stainer's The Crucifixion. This is a moving meditation on the Passion with hymns for all to sing as well as music for the choir and soloists. It is a special way to continue your Lent journey as we move towards Holy Week and Easter. Please come along and bring someone who would enjoy sharing this time of worship with us. It will last for about an hour. There is no charge. A retiring collection will be taken for the musical outreach of our benefice.Midweek Music 22nd March: On Wednesday the Midweek Music concert at 12.30 will be given by Philippa Hanson on the violin with Michael Smith on the piano. Refreshments will be available from 11.30 - just right for a brunch or early lunch. Do come along if you can.Pop-Up shop 26th March: The pop up shop will be in St Mary's after the 10.30 service on Sunday 26th March. The fair trade items now come from One World Shop since Traidcraft went into administration. There will be various food items for sale and The Real Easter Egg will be available for £5. The pop up shop also has Christian gifts for sale, second hand Christian books at 50p and £1 and there will be some Easter cards there too. You can also order items from Marion at any time and the website will be displayed on the day. All profits go to the Buntingford Foodbank.Sunday lunch at The Star: Heather’s next Sunday lunch at the The Star will be on Sunday 26th March. If you would like to book a place please let Heather know by Sunday 19th March. Mobile 07909 065550.Little Angels on 31st March: On 31st our toddler group will hold its Easter party, starting at 10:30am with an Easter Egg hunt in the churchyard, and then inside for hot cross buns and hot chocolate. Any small one is welcome, with his or her grown-up.A visit from Pilgrim Cross, (formerly Student Cross): This is a walking pilgrimage that walks to Walsingham during Holy Week. The London leg of the pilgrimage will be walking from Epping to Walsingham and hopes to stop overnight on 1st April in Standon. They carry with them a wooden cross and they will leave it in St Mary’s overnight into Palm Sunday. They have asked if anyone would like to meet them for prayer during the Saturday evening; if you’re interested, please speak to John.Save the date: On Saturday June 17th we are planning a “Benefice Ladies Morning“, a time of reflection and refreshment, at All Saints church. Further details will follow but if you’d like to know more, please speak to Gaby or Deborah.Stories of faith: There is a new part of our website, “My Story” where different people tell their story of coming to faith. So far, we have Rita, with Denise and Margaret coming shortly. Anyone else who would like to contribute is very welcome. Please speak to John if you’d like to add your story.Lent Appeal: Once again, we are appealing this Lent for our mission and ministry locally. As we travel through Lent, we remember all that God has done and given to secure our salvation; please pray about what and how he is asking you to give in gratitude.Plea for carrier bags: Karen is appealing for carrier bags for the food bank. They need to be in reasonable condition, and they can be left in the food bank boxes in church or given to Lizzy.Volunteers still sought: Our in-house teams are still looking for volunteers on many fronts. If you can help with this or any of the other tasks listed in recent weeks, please speak to John or the appropriate person.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page is:www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7825/benefice. Please visit it to see the range of information there.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:19th March 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints26th March 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Stainer's Crucifixion, St Mary's2nd April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th April 10.30am Easter holy communion, St Mary's16th April 8.00am Ante communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
This weekend’s Bible reading: John 4:5-42 (p 1066)Lent course on Wednesday evenings 7.30 pm at All Saints: We are running a course on Wednesday evenings throughout Lent: Christians Foundations for Today.The Lent course this year will focus on our Christian foundations and how they work out in our lives day by day. For each of these foundations there is a foundational verse. The course will comprise of a short talk followed by discussion and feedback to a panel to answer questions. Each week will be at Little Munden except the Maundy Thursday service. Do come along!The remaining sessions are:15 March The Truthful Spirit“The Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth” John 16:1322 March The Nature of Humanity“Male and female he created them” Genesis 1:2729 March Our Identity in God's Kingdom“Be born again” John 3:36 April Maundy Thursday (Sacombe)Levantine cookery demonstration & supper 18th March: Basma will be demonstrating recipes from the Levant in Standon Village Hall on 18th March. After the demonstration, we will share a meal, and a licenced bar will be available. Tickets at £20 (including supper and a glass of wine) are available from Diana 07718 734897. All profits will go to FOSM.Stainer’s Crucifixion 26th March: On Sunday 26th March at 6.30pm in St Mary's our benefice choir with other chorister friends will be singing Stainer's The Crucifixion. This is a moving meditation on the Passion with hymns for all to sing as well as music for the choir and soloists. It is a special way to continue your Lent journey as we move towards Holy Week and Easter. Please come along and bring someone who would enjoy sharing this time of worship with us. It will last for about an hour. There is no charge. A retiring collection will be taken for the musical outreach of our benefice.Sunday lunch at The Star: Heather’s next Sunday lunch at the The Star will be on Sunday 26th March. If you would like to book a place please let Heather know by Sunday 19th March. Mobile 07909 065550.Stories of faith: There is a new part of our website, “My Story” where different people tell their story of coming to faith. So far, we have Rita, with Denise and Margaret coming shortly. Anyone else who would like to contribute is very welcome. Please speak to John if you’d like to add your story.Lent Appeal: Once again, we are appealing this Lent for our mission and ministry locally. As we consider God’s goodness to us, we must also consider our response. Whether it’s time, expertise, money or anything else, it is our Christian joy to consider regularly and prayerfully what God calls us to offer to him. Our annual accounts are being prepared, and our PCCs are focussed on the funding gap between our income and expenses for this coming year, but there are many ways to respond to God’s provision for us. As we travel through Lent, we remember all that he has done and given to secure our salvation; please pray about what and how he is asking you to give in gratitude.Plea for carrier bags: Karen is appealing for carrier bags for the food bank. They need to be in reasonable condition, and they can be left in the food bank boxes in church or given to Lizzy.Volunteers still sought: Our in-house teams are still looking for volunteers on many fronts. If you can help with this or any of the other tasks listed in recent weeks, please speak to John or the appropriate person.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page is: www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7825/benefice. Please visit it to see the range of information there. Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:12th March 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints19th March 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints26th March 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Stainer's Crucifixion, St Mary's2nd April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th April 10.30am Easter holy communion, St Mary's
