Gracious God, we give thanks for the life of your servant Queen Elizabeth, for her faith and her dedication to duty. Bless our nation as we mourn her death and may her example continue to inspire us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Everlasting God, we pray for our new King. Bless his reign and the life of our nation. Help us to work together so that truth and justice, harmony and fairness flourish among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Churches open:
All three of our churches will be open as usual and manned, as much as possible, throughout the weekend. Books of condolence are available to sign and all are welcome to visit.
Special services:
At our communion services in Standon this Sunday, at Sacombe on Tuesday and in Standon at 8.00 on 18th, we will incorporate special liturgy issued by the Church of England for use at this time. Next Sunday, 18th, we will hold a special communion service in Little Munden at 10.30 to remember Queen Elizabeth II, the only monarch most of us have ever known in our lifetimes. Special prayers will be offered at the Centre and on Wednesday morning.
This weekend’s Bible readings:
Romans 12 (p 1139); Matthew 10:37-42 (p 976).
Baptism coming up:
Later this month, at 3.00 on the afternoon of 25th September, we will be holding a service of baptism by full immersion in the river! There will be a short act of worship at the riverside (on the water meadows in Standon) before we all move back to St Mary’s. All are welcome!
Grand piano gift to St Mary's:
We are delighted that St Mary's has received the gift of a second hand baby grand piano. The piano arrived in church on Thursday this week after being moved from Minehead. It’s important as it settles after its journey that it isn’t moved at all for the first couple of weeks. Once that settling in period is over, it will be fitted with special casters so that it can be moved easily for concerts etc; it will also be tuned and some remedial varnishing will be undertaken. Please talk to Michael if you wish to know more. We look forward to hearing the piano at our lunchtime concerts in October.
Memorial Jazz concert 10th September 6.30 for 7.00:
For obvious reasons, this concert has been postponed. We will let you know as soon as we have the new date.
Harvest Appeal:
Our harvest appeal this year will be for our mission partners, the Ellis and McGoldrick families, split 50:50. Our harvest services will take place on 25th September in St Mary’s and 2nd October in All Saints, but donations may be made at any time. Please use the special envelopes in our churches and put your donation in the collection bag or give it to one of our treasurers or church wardens. Online donations should use the reference ‘harvest’, please.
BGWM is looking for new members:
The next meeting of the Benefice Group for World Mission will be at 2pm on Tuesday 4th October at All Saints. The group keeps up to date with news from our mission partners around the world and supports them with prayer. It brings to our attention particular prayer needs, through the ‘Pray for our mission partners and the world’ section of this sheet, and it makes recommendations to PCC about our regular appeals. They would love to see some new faces joining them. For more information, please speak to Peter A.
Sunday lunch at the Star:
The next Sunday lunch at the Star is on 25th September. Please contact Heather by 18th September if you would like to book a place: 07909 065550, [email protected].
October lunchtime concerts:
Our lunchtime concert season is approaching! This year we have:
Saturday 1st October Bella Cora ladies Choir
Saturday 8th October A musical miscellany with Marion and Michael Smith
Saturday 15th October A10 Strings directed by David Boarder.
Concerts begin at 12.30pm (retiring collection). Lunch (suggested donation £5) is available from 12 noon.
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 weeks
Midweek services each week:
Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine’s
Wednesdays, 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’s
Sunday services:
11th September 10.30 am Holy communion, St Mary’s
4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints
18th September 8.00 am Holy communion, St Mary’s
10.30 am Holy communion, All Saints
4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints
25th September 10.30 am All age harvest service, St Mary’s
3.00 pm Baptism in the river Standon, water meadows
6.30 pm Harvest Choral evensong, St Mary’s
2nd October 8.00 am Harvest holy communion, St Mary’s
10.30 am Harvest morning worship, All Saints
4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints
9th October 10.30 am Holy communion, St Mary’s
4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints