This weekend’s Bible readings:Genesis 49:9-12 (p 55) Luke 19:28-44 (p 1054)Holy Week and Easter services:Please join us for as many of our Holy Week and Easter services as you can. We will hold our usual Maundy Thursday communion service at Sacombe on Thursday at 7.30pm; the Little Munden School choir will join us on Good Friday for our service by the cross at All Saints at 10.30am, and we will spend an hour in guided reflection at 2.00 on Friday afternoon in Standon. A list of all our services is included below.Electoral Roll (ER) Renewal:Each of our churches is renewing completely its ER between now and their Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Everyone who wishes to remain on, or join, the roll must complete and sign a new form and applications must be received before the end of this Tuesday, 15th April.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’re willing to save time, paper and copying by receiving the papers by email, please contact the appropriate secretary: Lizzy for Standon, Michael L for The Mundens, Peter H for Sacombe.Assisted Dying bill:The third reading of the Bill on Assisted Dying is coming up after 25th April. Our local MP for North East Hertfordshire voted for the bill at the second reading, but is undecided on how he will vote at the third reading. Please consider writing to him so that he knows your view. If this bill passes, it will have massive implications for our society, and the outcome will reflect how we value older people, the group most affected by Assisted Dying legislation in other parts of the world. You can email your MP directly via Care.org.uk Search for topic ‘Assisted Suicide’. This Christian organisation provides a customisable email template. Writing can take as little as a few minutes.Mayday 5th May:Once again we are preparing for the Mayday celebrations in Standon High Street. If you can volunteer an hour to help in the Village Hall or in church, or if you’re willing to bake a cake, please sign up on the list in St Mary’s.Lent appeal:Once again, our Lent appeal is for the work and witness of our three churches in our benefice. There is a huge amount going on in our benefice, all offered at no cost to those who come to us (though donations are always welcome). Unfortunately, our current level of giving is insufficient to sustain this indefinitely, and all three churches need periodic boosts to our regular income. Please consider prayerfully whether you are able to make a Lent donation to one or more of our churches. If you’d like your gift to be used across the benefice, please mark it ‘benefice’ and our treasurers will make sure that happens.EHCCA Good Friday worship:This year’s East Herts Church Choirs Association (EHCCA) Act of Worship for Good Friday (18th April) will be in St Mary’s, Cheshunt at 7.30pm. They will sing Fauré’s Requiem, interspersed with readings, prayers and hymns, soloists Amelia James and Hugh Legg. All are welcome.Sunday lunch at the Star:Our next Sunday lunch will be on Sunday 27th April at 12.15pm at the Star in Standon. If you would like to join us please let Heather know by Monday 21st April 07909 065550.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:13th April 10.30 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s20th April 10.30 am Easter Communion, St Mary’s27th April 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s4th May 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Morning worship, All Saints11th May 10.30 am Holy Communion, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no service of choral evensong in April.Special services:10th May 6.00 pm Baptisms River Rib6.30 pm Confirmation service, St Mary’sEaster services:17th April 7.30 pm Maundy Thursday service, St Catherine’s18th April 10.30 am Service by the cross, All Saints18th April 2.00 pm Reflective hour, St Mary’s20th April 10.30 am Easter Communion, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no 8.00 service on Easter Day.Dates & meetings coming up:15th April, 12.00 noon Memorial service for Bridget Wentworth-Stanley (all welcome), St Mary’s15th April, 2.00 pm Funeral of Philip Pudsey Dawson, St Mary’s, Braughing23rd April, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s26th April 4.00 pm Benefice Choir singing Evensong at Southwark Cathedral; all are welcome at the service Southwark Cathedral4th May, after the 10.30 service Annual meeting, All Saints5th May, 11 – 5 Mayday activities Standon High Street6th May, after 9.30 service Annual meeting, St Catherine’s11th May, after 10.30 service Annual meeting, St Mary’s16th May, 7.30 pm FOSM AGM, St Mary’s
This weekend’s Bible readings:Philippians 3:4b-14 (p 1180) John 12:1-8 (p 1079)Knit & Natter group Thursday at 2pm:If you like knitting or crocheting, come and join us for a couple of hours in Standon village hall at 2pm usually on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Tea & cakes are available. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 10th April. For more information please contact Diane 01920 821130.Posy making and coffee morning thank you:Thank you to all who helped with or supported the coffee morning and posy making last weekend in All Saints. The amount raised was £554.Lent appeal:Once again, our Lent appeal is for the work and witness of our three churches in our benefice. There is a huge amount going on in our benefice, all offered at no cost to those who come to us (though donations are always welcome). Unfortunately, our current level of giving is insufficient to sustain this indefinitely, and all three churches need periodic boosts to our regular income. Please consider prayerfully whether you are able to make a Lent donation to one or more of our churches. If you’d like your gift to be used across the benefice, please mark it ‘benefice’ and our treasurers will make sure that happens.Electoral Roll (ER) Renewal:Each of our churches is renewing its ER between now and their Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Everyone who wishes to remain on, or join, the roll must complete and sign a new form. Paper copies of the Application forms are now available at the back of each church. Paper copies should be returned either directly to the respective ER Officer or left in any of our churches in an envelope labelled ER Application and either Hugh Legg (All Saints), Carole Hudson (St Catherine’s) or Wendy Smith (St Mary’s). We will make sure they get to the right person. All applications should be returned before the end of Tuesday 15th April 2025.EHCCA Good Friday worship:This year’s East Herts Church Choirs Association (EHCCA) Act of Worship for Good Friday (18th April) will be in St Mary’s, Cheshunt at 7.30pm. They will sing Fauré’s Requiem, interspersed with readings, prayers and hymns, soloists Amelia James and Hugh Legg. All are welcome.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:6th April 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Morning worship, All Saints13th April 10.30 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s20th April 10.30 am Easter Communion, St Mary’s27th April 10.30 am All age worship, St Mary’s4th May 8.00 am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Morning worship, All Saints11th May 10.30 am Holy Communion, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no service of choral evensong in April.Special services:10th May 6.00 pm Baptisms River Rib6.30 pm Confirmation service, St Mary’sEaster services:17th April 7.30 pm Maundy Thursday service, St Catherine’s18th April 10.30 am Service by the cross, All Saints18th April 2.00 pm Reflective hour, St Mary’s20th April 10.30 am Easter Communion, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no 8.00 service on Easter Day.Dates & meetings coming up:12th April, 9.00 am EHCCA Choir rehearsal, St Mary’s15th April, 12.00 noon Memorial service for Bridget Wentworth-Stanley (all welcome), St Mary’s15th April, 2.00 pm Funeral of Philip Pudsey Dawson, St Mary’s, Braughing23rd April, 12.30 pm Midweek Music, St Mary’s26th April 4.00 pm Benefice Choir singing Evensong at Southwark Cathedral; all are welcome at the service Southwark Cathedral4th May, after the 10.30 service Annual meeting, All Saints5th May, 11 – 5 Mayday activities Standon High Street6th May, after 9.30 service Annual meeting, St Catherine’s11th May, after 10.30 service Annual meeting, St Mary’s16th May, 7.30 pm FOSM AGM, St Mary’s
This weekend’s Bible readings: Isaiah 49:13-18 (p 736) and Luke 15:8-10 (p 1049)APCM reports (due now) and PCC elections: The annual church meetings (APCMs) are getting ever closer, and the end of this week is the deadline for getting reports to secretaries. The APCMs are a great opportunity to celebrate all that goes on in our benefice, so if you lead or are involved in a group, please make sure a report makes its way to the secretaries of each church (Lizzy for Standon, Michael L for Little Munden, Peter H for Sacombe) Please don't assume that someone else will do it - the secretaries can only include the things they receive information about! The deadline is Saturday 5th April, to give time to collate and then get the reports out before the meetings. If your report isn’t specifically and only for one of the churches (ie CW, secretary, electoral roll or treasurer) please make sure you send it to all three secretaries. Please also be considering whether you could serve as a PCC member for one of the churches - speak to a current PCC member if you'd like to know more! Even just a year on PCC can help shape the practical and spiritual decisions being made, and is a good way to serve your church.Little Easter Angels: We will be running ‘Little Easter Angels’ on Saturday 5th April, 10am-12pm, in St Mary's. There will be Easter treats, snacks, Easter craft, toys, stories and songs – lots of Easter fun! The session is open to all ages so bring the whole family - all are welcome and no booking is needed. The session is free. Please do spread the word! For more information, contact Cate at: littleangels@ubsms.org.uk.Confirmation preparation: John has prepared a group of young adults for a baptism and confirmation service which will be held in our benefice on Saturday 10th May, at 6.00 pm. If anyone else would like to explore the possibility of baptism or confirmation, please speak to him.Lent appeal: Once again, our Lent appeal is for the work and witness of our three churches in our benefice. There is a huge amount going on in our benefice, all offered at no cost to those who come to us (though donations are always welcome). Unfortunately, our current level of giving is insufficient to sustain this indefinitely, and all three churches need periodic boosts to our regular income. Please consider prayerfully whether you are able to make a Lent donation to one or more of our churches. If you’d like your gift to be used across the benefice, please mark it ‘benefice’ and our treasurers will make sure that happens.Electoral Roll (ER) Renewal: Each of the churches within the benefice is renewing its ER between now and their Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Everyone who wishes to remain on, or join, the roll must complete and sign a new form. Statutory notices are displayed in each of the churches. Copies of the Application forms are now available. If we hold your email address, application forms will be emailed to you. Paper copies are available at the back of each church.Paper copies should be returned either directly to the respective ER Officer or left in any of our churches in an envelope labelled ER Application and either Hugh Legg, All Saints, Carole Hudson, St Catherine’s or Wendy Smith, St Mary’s. We will make sure they get to the right person. All applications should be returned before the end of Tuesday 15th April 2025All Saints, the Mundens – electronic, scanned, copies should be emailed to hugh@leggbiz.co.uk St Mary’s, Standon – application forms are also available on the benefice website ubsms.org.uk st. mary’s, standon about us ER renewal.Electronic copies should be returned to the email address at the bottom of the application form.EHCCA Good Friday worship: This year’s East Herts Church Choirs Association (EHCCA) Act of Worship for Good Friday (18th April) will be held in St Mary’s, Cheshunt at 7.30pm. They will sing Fauré’s Requiem, interspersed with readings, prayers and hymns. The soloists are Amelia James and Hugh Legg. All are welcome.Beds and Herts Historic Churches Bike’n Hike: This takes place every year on the second Saturday of September. The aim is to raise about £100,000 each year. The team is looking for a volunteer to act as Area Organiser for Hertford Deanery. The commitment is not hugely onerous. It is a worthwhile charity that most of our churches have benefitted from in the form of grants in the past, but it relies on people prepared to do the organising! If you would like to know more, please contact Nicol at nicholas@ntufton.co.uk.Services for the next few weeks:Midweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:30th March 10.30am Morning worship, St Catherine’s6th April 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30am Morning worship, All Saints13th April 10.30am Holy Communion, St Mary’s20th April 10.30am Easter Communion, St Mary’s27th April 10.30am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00pm Choral Evensong, St Mary’s4th May 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30am Morning worship, All SaintsPlease note there will be no service of choral evensong in April. Easter services:17th April 7.30pm Maundy Thursday service, St Catherine’s18th April 10.30am Service by the cross, All Saints18th April 2.00pm Reflective hour, St Mary’s20th April 10.30am Easter Communion, St Mary’sPlease note there will be no 8.00 service on Easter Day.
This Sunday we welcome Tadhg and his family and supporters. Tadhg will be baptised in our family service. Please pray for him, his parents and God-parents as they take this important step.This weekend’s Bible reading: Matthew 13:44-46 (p 980)Pop-Up Shop: The fairtrade pop up shop will be open this Sunday. There are still a few real Easter Eggs available priced at £5.50 each and a few small Easter cards. The usual Fairtrade coffee, tea and chocolate will also be there.And bookstall: The bookstall will be open on Sunday too, with lots of Easter books and materials as well as the more general Christian books and guides.Choral Evensong 23rd March, 6.00 pm: This weekend we hold our monthly service of Choral Evensong in St Mary’s. Come and worship as the choir leads this beautiful and ancient service of words and music.Giving in St Mary’s: Each tax year, each church can claim gift aid on up to £8,000 of cash donations, under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme. For the third year running, Standon has reached that maximum with 2 months of cash collections still to go. If you’re giving cash to St Mary’s and you’re a tax-payer, please make sure we know it’s from you, so that we can reclaim the tax under the main GA system, which has no limit.New sermon series at our midweek services: Last week, we finished our series looking at Paul’s 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys, the central chapters of Acts, and this week we start a series on ‘Issues of Life and Death’, considering topics as diverse as assisted dying, war, life after death and, this week, abortion. Please come and join us if you’d like to explore these ethical issues. We cover the same material on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance for questions and discussion as well as worshipping together.Midweek Music 26th March: This coming Wednesday, 26th March, the Midweek Music Concert will be given by Olivia Scott, Mezzo Soprano and Michael Smith, piano. Olivia will be singing some of her favourite songs accompanied by Michael. Refreshments, as usual, will be served from 11.30am and the concert will begin at 12.30. Do come and join us.Coffee Morning 29th March at All Saints: Everyone is welcome to All Saints Coffee Morning on Saturday 10am -12 noon. There will be cakes to eat in and take-away and a chance to make a posy of daffodils and find a gift on the stall for Mothering Sunday. All donations go towards the repair of the church roof.(And please remember that the clocks go forward next weekend!)APCM reports and PCC elections: The annual church meetings (APCMs) are now just a few weeks away. They are a great opportunity to celebrate all that goes on in our benefice, so if you lead or are involved in a group, please make sure a report makes its way to the secretaries of each church (Lizzy for Standon, Michael L for Little Munden, Peter H for Sacombe) Please don't assume that someone else will do it - the secretaries can only include the things they receive information about! The deadline is Saturday 5th May, to give time to collate and then get the reports out before the meetings.Please also be considering whether you could serve as a PCC member for one of the churches - speak to a current PCC member if you'd like to know more! Even just a year on PCC can help shape the practical and spiritual decisions being made, and is a good way to serve your church.Little Easter Angels: We will be running ‘Little Easter Angels’ on Saturday 5th April, 10am-12pm, in St Mary's. There will be Easter treats, snacks, Easter craft, toys, stories and songs – lots of Easter fun! The session is open to all ages so bring the whole family - all are welcome and no booking is needed. The session is free. Please do spread the word! For more information, contact Cate at: littleangels@ubsms.org.uk.Confirmation preparation: John has prepared a group of young adults for a baptism and confirmation service which will be held in our benefice on Saturday 10th May, at 6.00 pm. If anyone else would like to explore the possibility of baptism or confirmation, please speak to him.Lent appeal: Once again, our Lent appeal is for the work and witness of our three churches in our benefice. There is a huge amount going on in our benefice, all offered at no cost to those who come to us (though donations are always welcome). Unfortunately, our current level of giving is insufficient to sustain this indefinitely, and all three churches need periodic boosts to our regular income. Please consider prayerfully whether you are able to make a Lent donation to one or more of our churches. If you’d like your gift to be used across the benefice, please mark it ‘benefice’ and our treasurers will make sure that happens.Electoral Roll (ER) Renewal: Each of the churches within the benefice will be renewing their ER between now and their Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Everyone who wishes to remain on, or join, the roll must complete and sign a new form. Notices for the Preparation of a New Electoral Roll are being displayed in each of the churches. Copies of the Application forms are now available. If we hold your email address, application forms will be emailed to you. Paper copies are available at the back of each church.Paper copies should be returned either directly to the respective ER Officer or left in any of our churches in an envelope labelled ER Application and either Hugh Legg, All Saints, Carole Hudson, St Catherine’s or Wendy Smith, St Mary’s. We will make sure they get to the right person. All applications should be returned before the end of Tuesday 15th April 2025All Saints, the Mundens – electronic, scanned, copies should be emailed to hugh@leggbiz.co.uk St Mary’s, Standon – application forms are also available on the benefice website ubsms.org.uk st. mary’s, standon about us ER renewal.Electronic copies should be returned to the email address at the bottom of the application form.New Seasons support group new venue: Please note that New Seasons has moved from Standon Village Hall to Standon & Puckeridge Community Centre.Beds and Herts Historic Churches Bike’n Hike: This takes place every year on the second Saturday of September. The aim is to raise about £100,000 each year. The team is looking for a volunteer to act as Area Organiser for Hertford Deanery. The commitment is not hugely onerous. It is a worthwhile charity that most of our churches have benefitted from in the form of grants in the past, but it relies on people prepared to do the organising! If you would like to know more, please contact Nicol at nicholas@ntufton.co.uk.Services for the next few weeks:Midweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:23rd March 10.30am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00pm Choral Evensong, St Mary’s30th March 10.30am Morning worship, St Catherine’s6th April 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary’s10.30am Morning worship, All Saints13th April 10.30am Holy Communion, St Mary’s20th April 10.30am Easter Communion, St Mary’s27th April 10.30am All age worship, St Mary’s6.00pm Choral Evensong, St Mary’sEaster services:17th April 7.30pm Maundy Thursday service, St Catherine’s18th April 10.30am Service by the cross, All Saints18th April 2.00pm Reflective hour, St Mary’s20th April 10.30am Easter Communion, St Mary’s
