Weekly News - 1st January 2023

A very happy new year to all!

Please note that the road between Dane End and Levens Green is closed due to a burst water main. If you’re travelling to All Saints for the 10.30 service, please use another route.

This weekend’s Bible readings: 

Isaiah 63:7-9 (p 749) and Matthew 2:13-23 (p 966)

Midweek services and activities: 

Our midweek services will resume this week, but the schools don’t go back until Thursday, so the café will restart next week, 11th January. Please see below for more details about our Tuesday and Wednesday topics for the next few months.

Stamps and postcards for TLM: 

Gwen has received a letter from TLM to let us know that they will no longer be collecting used stamps and postcards after this year.

We suggest that in future stamps could be handed in at the Community coffee morning or at Standon post office who collect for charity, or given to Lizzy, who collects them for EDS research.

Di has found a recipient for postcards; Medical Missionary News (MMN) collects them. If someone is willing to act as co-ordinator for this, please speak to Caroline or Di, who have details of where to send them.

Volunteers still sought: 

As well as hospital transport (see below), our in-house teams are still looking for volunteers on many fronts.

- If you can help out with the clubs at Roger de Clare on Thursdays, at lunchtime and after school, please speak to John or Caroline. This request has been running for some time, but we do need people from the church family to be involved, to help create relationships between the benefice and these children.

- If you are willing to bake for the café, please speak to Deborah or Rebecca.

- If you are willing to join our Sunday reading, intercession or coffee making rotas, please speak to the church wardens.

- If there’s another job you can see would be helpful, and are willing to undertake it, please speak to John!

Standon and Puckeridge Hospital Transport Scheme: HELP - MORE DRIVERS NEEDED: 

This is a small band of volunteers who take people registered at the Health Centre on Station Road, Puckeridge, to medical appointments. They offer a ‘there and back’ service to hospitals, clinics and the Health Centre. Generally, the time taken is between 1 and 3 hours depending on the destination.

Drivers are reimbursed at a mileage rate of 45p per mile for their door to door round trip. Please speak to Wendy or contact her on 07922 519174 to either offer your services or find out more. Thank you.

Concert in memory of Len Sparks: 

We have a new date for the concert which had to be postponed from the autumn. It is 4th February. Tickets will be available soon.

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

For the next few weeks, we will be looking in our midweek services at the later chapters of Acts. Often, study of the book of Acts doesn’t get to the latter part, so we will start at chapter 21. Please join us if you’d like to explore these passages with us.

Sunday services:

1st January 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's

10.30am Morning worship, All Saints

8th January 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's

4.00pm The Centre, All Saints

15th January 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's

10.30am Holy communion, All Saints

4.00pm The Centre, All Saints

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

4.00pm The Centre, All Saints

6.30pm Choral evensong, St Mary's

29th January 10.30am Morning worship, St Catherine's