This weekend’s Bible readings:
1 John 5:1-6 (p 1228) and John 15:9-17 (p 1083)
Annual meetings:
We are now in the season of our annual church meetings (APCMs). The meetings will be held after the services are on:
The Mundens: 5th May
Sacombe: 7th May
Standon: 12th May
Help needed for cleaning St Mary’s:
We need, please, more volunteers to help clean St Mary’s. Several members of various of the current cleaning teams are waiting for tests and treatment and will need to stand down temporarily or permanently in the near future. At the moment we have 6 teams, so each person only needs to commit to helping every 6 weeks. If you can help, please speak to Rita.
Mayday, Monday 6th May:
We will be manning St Mary’s and serving teas in Standon Village Hall on Monday, and we would love to see you. The more ‘church family’ we have on hand to welcome visitors, the better. Standon Sing, our local community choir will be singing in St Mary's from about 2.30pm until 3. Do come along and listen.
Ascension Day:
This year, we will not be holding an Ascension Day service on 9th May. Instead, we will celebrate at the Tuesday service in Sacombe on 7th.
Knit & Natter group:
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 will be available. Our next meeting will be on Thursday 9th May. For more information please contact Diane on 01950 821130 or Marion on 01920 745683.
Dane End Open Gardens 23rd June:
Please can you spare an hour or make some cookies? On June 23rd, 12noon - 5pm, the Dane End Parish Council is holding an Open Gardens on behalf of All Saints church, to raise funds to “repair the roof “. We will be providing tours inside and outside of the church, with refreshments served by volunteers from the church.
Please let Deborah know if you could help on a rota in the church to serve refreshments on that day. Also if anyone would be able to make some ‘manhole cover cookies’ to serve, please ask Deborah for a recipe, or reply to the email when you receive this sheet, and Caroline will send it to you.
And Standon Open Gardens 8th June:
The FOSM Open Gardens event will take place, as usual, on the second Saturday in June, from 11.00 am until 5.00 pm. We will be looking for helpers for that one too, and people to bake for the various tea and cake stops around the route. Please contact one of the committee if you can offer your services.
Sunday lunch at the Star:
Heather’s next Sunday lunch will be on 26th May at 12.15pm at The Star in Standon. If you would like to book a place please contact Heather on 07909065550 by Monday 20th May.
Cybercrime and fraud prevention talk by Hertfordshire Police 11th July:
Fraudsters and cyber criminals aren’t fussy. They’ll pick on anyone. Nobody is immune from fraud and cybercrime. The criminals behind it target people online and in their homes, often emotionally manipulating their victims before they steal money or personal data. By staying vigilant and always taking a moment to stop, think and check whenever we’re approached by text, email, phone, or online, we can help to protect ourselves and each other from fraud and our accounts from being hacked. Come along to We will be hosting a cybercrime and fraud prevention talk by Hertfordshire Police in St Mary’s on Thursday 11th July between 11am-12.30pm. Teas, coffees and cakes will be available from 10.30am. All are welcome.
For more information, please contact Caroline J (not ‘our’ Caroline!) on 01920 821442.
Website:
Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk should point to that page.
Services for the next few weeks
Midweek services each week:
Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine's
Wednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary's
Sunday services:
5th May 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning worship, All Saints
12th May 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's
19th May 8.00am Ante communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning worship, All Saints
26th May 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's
6.00pm Choral evensong, St Mary's
2nd June 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning worship, All Saints