All Saints, Little Munden

Weekly News - 22nd October 2023

Welcome to Hugo and Oscar:

This morning we welcome Hugo and Oscar, who will be baptised during the service. Please pray for the boys, their parents and God-parents as they take this important step.

This weekend’s Bible readings:

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 (p 1186)

Basma’s cookery evening postponed:

The demonstration of Levantine cookery, planned for 21st October has been postponed. We hope to be able to reschedule for early in 2024.

Pop up shop:

The next pop up shop will be at the 10.30am family service at St Mary's this weekend. There are lots of fairly traded and ethically sourced products, including this month the popular Advent calendars and also Christmas cards. As usual, all profits go to our local Buntingford Food Support charity. If there is something you would like Marion to order for you please let her know.

Choral Evensong, Sunday 22nd October, 6pm:

The last chance this year to experience a beautiful service that can give respite during our busy lives. The choir will sing 'If ye love me', written by Tallis in 1565. The anthem is 'Ubi Caritas', (where charity and love are, God is there), written by Gjeilo in 1999. There will be hymns for all to join in with. The service lasts about an hour.

Instead of Choral Evensong next month, our benefice choir will lead our Advent service of music and readings on 3rd December. Please see the note at the end of the service list.

Midweek Music at St Mary's, 25th October:

This month's concert, entitled Nostalgia, will be on Wednesday, 25th October at 12.30 and will be given by a vocal group called the Courtyard Quartet. Refreshments are served from 11.30 so bring some friends and have a get together over a coffee. Free entry, donations welcome. Do come and join us if you can.

Mothers’ Union 25th October:

The next meeting of Braughing with Standon Mothers' Union will be on Wednesday at 2.30pm in the Old Boys School Braughing. There will be a talk ‘From Jordan with Love’ by Basma Chitham. Everyone is invited to this meeting. Please ring Ann on 01920 821674 for more information.

Service of memories 4th November:

Our annual service of memories will be held in St Mary’s on 4th November at 3.00 pm. This is the service where we invite any who have been bereaved to gather to worship, to remember, to reflect, to light a candle if they so wish. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served after the service.

Lunchtime concerts series – thank you:

Thank you to all who were involved in or supported our recent lunchtime concerts in St Mary’s. The three Saturdays raised £1,650.

Operation Christmas Child:

Lizzy is now wrapping and filling shoe boxes with stationery, toiletries and toys to be sent with Samaritan’s Purse to parts of the world where the children who will receive them have no prospect of receiving any other Christmas gift. If you’d like to contribute, you can do so by wrapping and filling a shoebox yourself (Lizzy will give you a list of what’s allowed) or by donating boxes, wrapping paper or any of the things that will go into one. If you’d rather donate money so that Lizzy can use it to buy things she is missing for boxes, or to pay for the travel costs, cash can be given to her or Caroline, or you can transfer it to the Standon PCC bank account (details at the end of this notice sheet) with the reference "OCC". Last year we sent around 150 boxes. This year’s boxes will go about mid-November (and Lizzy will start on next year’s!)

Lighting issue in St Mary’s:

We are still waiting to hear back from the manufacturer about the fault with our lighting switch panel, but until we can get it sorted, the visitors’ lights switch (in the porch, just outside the big doors) has been altered so that it puts on all the lights. Please use that one if you need lights on.

Website - changes:

Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform.

Some people have been having difficulty reaching the benefice page. It can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk has been updated to point to that new page.

Services for the next few weeks

Midweek services each week:

Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine's

Wednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary's

Sunday services:

22nd October 10.30am Family worship, St Mary's

6.00pm Choral evensong, St Mary's

29th October 10.30am Bible Sunday Morning worship, St Catherine's