Sunday’s 10.30 service:Sadly, the heating oil has been stolen from the tank at All Saints. Fortunately, the tank was not full, but there will be no heating there this weekend. Please wrap up warmly to come to church, and we will make sure the tea and coffee is especially hot for after the service! We are looking at additional security as we refill the tank.This weekend’s Bible readings:Philippians 4:4-9 (p 1181); John 6:25-35 (p 1070)Harvest Appeal:Our harvest appeal this year is for our mission partners, the Ellis and McGoldrick families.Catherine McGoldrick grew up locally. With her husband Stephen she trained at All Nations, and they are now serving with WEC International in Burundi with frequent visits to the Congo. They have two adopted sons, Asher & Jacques.Andrew and Samara Ellis were placed at All Saints and St Catherine’s by the College some years ago. They live and work in Harare, Zimbabwe, leading the River of Life church as well as Youth discipleship and Church leaders development. See https://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/ for more information on the River of Life church.Members of the Benefice provide regular support to both families for their work in the Gospel, and this Appeal is to provide them with essential funds for healthcare, travelling, education and general living costs. Please give generously. Whatever we receive will be divided equally between the two families.Our service this weekend in All Saints will be a celebration of harvest. 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.Thank you!Lisa and Niall would like to thank everyone for the support they received last Sunday as they were baptised in the river! We attracted a reasonable amount of interest from passers-by as well as those who had come especially. A good number of adults and children, along with several dogs, enjoyed a brief service at the riverside, followed by songs and prayers in church, and then tea and cake to round off the afternoon. Please pray for Niall and Lisa, and for William, who will be baptised (in church!) next month.New series at Sacombe:This week, we embarked on a new sermon series on Tuesday mornings, on ‘Christ and the Law’. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at parts of Leviticus through the lens of the good news of Jesus. Everyone is welcome to join us for this communion service – 9.30 every Tuesday morning.Rotas of all sorts:As summer comes to a close and we start planning for the autumn and winter, please consider whether you can spare some time for our churches. All our rotas have space for more volunteers: cleaning, coffee making, baking for and helping with the café, ringing bells; the list is extensive. In particular, Ann would appreciate help with the brasses in Standon. If you’d like to know more, please ask!BGWM is looking for new members:The next meeting of the Benefice Group for World Mission will be at 2pm this Tuesday 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.October lunchtime concerts:Thank you to all who supported yesterday’s lunchtime concert. The remaining concerts are:Saturday 8th October A musical miscellany with Marion and Michael SmithSaturday 15th October A10 Strings directed by David Boarder.Concerts begin at 12.30pm (retiring collection). Lunch (suggested donation £5) is available from 12 noon.Choir singing in Canterbury cathedral:Our choir has been invited to sing Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral on Friday 28th October at 5.30pm. This is a wonderful opportunity. There will be a coach travelling to Canterbury, leaving Puckeridge at 10am and returning by about 8pm. If anyone would like to travel with the choir and enjoy visiting the cathedral and hearing Evensong then please speak to Marion.Safety first:Please can we remind you that if you are working in one of our churches, we must be mindful of safety and safe-guarding matters. If you expect to be there for any length of time, please arrange to be there at the same time as someone else if at all possible. This is not only to protect all of us but also any vulnerable visitors who might come in.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 weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:2nd October 8.00am Harvest holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Harvest morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th October 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints16th October 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints23rd October 10.30am All age service, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Choral evensong, St Mary's30th October 10.30am Morning worship, St Catherine's
Welcome back to John, who returns from holiday this weekend. Charlie will be away for some weeks after this weekend, as she undergoes surgery and takes time to recuperate. Caroline will be taking the harvest service at Furneux Pelham on Sunday morning.Thank you: To all those who did so much for our churches and the communities we serve in the period following the death of the Queen: those who took part in special services in word and music, those who welcomed visitors into our churches to pray and to sign condolence books, our bell ringers, flower arrangers and those who ensured flags were flown as appropriate. It was much appreciated by so many people.This weekend’s Bible readings: 10.30 am: Matthew 6:25-33 (p 971);6.30 pm: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (p 203); Revelation 14:14-18 (p 1243)Baptism coming up: This Sunday, at 3.00 in the afternoon, we will be holding a service of baptism by full immersion in the river! Please meet at St Mary’s between 2.30 and 2.50, and we will walk across the fields to 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; please come and support Niall and Lisa.Harvest Appeal: Our harvest appeal this year is for our mission partners, the Ellis and McGoldrick families.Catherine McGoldrick grew up locally. With her husband Stephen she trained at All Nations, and they are now serving with WEC International in Burundi with frequent visits to the Congo. They have two adopted sons, Asher & Jacques.Andrew and Samara Ellis were placed at All Saints and St Catherine’s by the College some years ago. They live and work in Harare, Zimbabwe, leading the River of Life church as well as Youth discipleship and Church leaders development. See https://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/ for more information on the River of Life church.Members of the Benefice provide regular support to both families for their work in the Gospel, and this Appeal is to provide them with essential funds for healthcare, travelling, education and general living costs. Please give generously. Whatever we receive will be divided equally between the two families.Our harvest services will take place on 25th September (at 10.30 am and 6.30 pm in St Mary’s) and 2nd October (at 8.00 am in St Mary’s and 10.30 am 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.Mothers’ Union meeting: The next meeting of Braughing with Standon MU is on Wednesday at 2.30pm in the Old Boys School Braughing. Marilyn Grover will talk about Child Contact Centres. Everyone is invited to this meeting. Please ring Diane on 01920 821130 if you need or can offer a lift or for more information.New series at Sacombe: This week, we embark on a new sermon series on Tuesday mornings, on ‘Christ and the Law’. We’ll be looking at parts of Leviticus through the lens of the good news of Jesus. Everyone is welcome to join us for this communion service – 9.30 every Tuesday morning.Rotas of all sorts: As summer comes to a close and we start planning for the autumn and winter, please consider whether you can spare some time for our churches. All our rotas have space for more volunteers: cleaning, coffee making, baking for and helping with the café, ringing bells; the list is extensive. If you’d like to know more, please ask!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.October lunchtime concerts: Our lunchtime concert season starts on Saturday! This year we have:Saturday 1st October Bella Cora ladies ChoirSaturday 8th October A musical miscellany with Marion and Michael SmithSaturday 15th October A10 Strings directed by David BoarderConcerts begin at 12.30pm (retiring collection). Lunch (suggested donation £5) is available from 12 noon.Choir singing in Canterbury cathedral: Our choir has been invited to sing Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral on Friday 28th October at 5.30pm. This is a wonderful opportunity. There will be a coach travelling to Canterbury, leaving Puckeridge at 10am and returning by about 8pm. If anyone would like to travel with the choir and enjoy visiting the cathedral and hearing Evensong then please speak to Marion.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 weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:25th September 10.30am All age harvest service, St Mary's3.00pm Baptism in the river, Standon water meadows6.30pm Harvest Choral evensong, St Mary's2nd October 8.00am Harvest holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Harvest morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th October 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints16th October 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints23rd October 10.30am All age service, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints6.30pm Choral evensong, St Mary'sAt 6.30pm on Sunday 25th September in St Mary's there will be a special service of Evensong for Harvest including hymns, music, prayers and readings. Do join us for this lovely time of worship.
Churches open: All three of our churches are open as usual. Books of condolence are available to sign and all are welcome to visit.Special services:At our communion service in St Mary’s at 8.00 this Sunday we will incorporate special prayers issued by the Church of England for use at this time. At All Saints at 10.30, we will hold a special communion service to remember Queen Elizabeth II, the only monarch most of us have ever known in our lifetimes.Also at 6pm at St James' Church Stanstead Bury, there will be a special candlelit service of Evensong on the eve of the Queen's funeral. Michael will be directing the choir which will include some of our own singers. All are welcome at the service. The church address is Roydon Road Stanstead Abbotts SG12 8JZ.Our church bells will ring on Monday along with many others across the country. At Little Munden, they will be rung at around 10.30 am and then again at about 2.30 pm. Sacombe’s will be rung straight after Little Munden’s in the afternoon. Standon’s bells will ring from 10.00 until 10.45.This weekend’s Bible readings: Genesis 9:12-16 (p 10); John 5:1-15 (p 1068).Baptism coming up: Next Sunday, at 3.00 on the afternoon of 25th September, we will be holding a service of baptism by full immersion in the river! Please meet at St Mary’s at around 2.30, and we will walk across the fields to 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; please come and support Niall and Lisa!Harvest Appeal: Our harvest appeal this year will be for our mission partners, the Ellis and McGoldrick families, split 50:50. Catherine McGoldrick grew up locally. With her husband Stephen she trained at All Nations, and they are now serving with WEC International in Burundi with frequent visits to the Congo. They have two adopted sons, Asher & Jacques. Andrew and Samara Ellis were placed at All Saints and St Catherine’s by the College some years ago. They live and work in Harare, Zimbabwe, leading the River of Life church as well as Youth discipleship and Church leaders development. See https://www.riveroflifechurch.co.zw/ for more information on the River of Life church.Members of the Benefice provide regular support to both families for their work in the Gospel, and this Appeal is to provide them with essential funds for healthcare, travelling, education and general living costs. Please give generously.Our harvest services will take place on 20th September (at 9.30 am in St Catherine’s), 25th September (at 10.30 am and 6.30 pm in St Mary’s) and 2nd October (at 8.00 am in St Mary’s and 10.30 am 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 Sunday if you would like to book a place: 07909 065550, heatherjackson24@yahoo.co.uk. 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. Choir singing in Canterbury cathedral: Our choir has been invited to sing Evensong in Canterbury Cathedral on Friday 28th October at 5.30pm. This is a wonderful opportunity. There will be a coach travelling to Canterbury, leaving Puckeridge at 10am and returning by about 8pm. If anyone would like to travel with the choir and enjoy visiting the cathedral and hearing Evensong then please speak to Marion. 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'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning Worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:18th September 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy Communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints25th September 10.30am All age harvest service, St Mary's3.00pm Baptism in the river, Standon water meadows6.30pm Harvest Choral evensong, St Mary's2nd October 8.00am Harvest holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Harvest morning worship, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All Saints9th October 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's4.00pm The Centre, All Saints16th October 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy Communion, All Saints4.00pm The Centre, All SaintsAt 6.30pm on Sunday 25th September in St Mary's there will be a special service of Evensong for Harvest including hymns, music, prayers and readings. Do join us for this lovely time of worship.
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, heatherjackson24@yahoo.co.uk.October lunchtime concerts:Our lunchtime concert season is approaching! This year we have:Saturday 1st October Bella Cora ladies ChoirSaturday 8th October A musical miscellany with Marion and Michael SmithSaturday 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 weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP), St Catherine’sWednesdays, 9.30 am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary’sSunday services:11th September 10.30 am Holy communion, St Mary’s4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints18th September 8.00 am Holy communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Holy communion, All Saints4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints25th September 10.30 am All age harvest service, St Mary’s3.00 pm Baptism in the river Standon, water meadows6.30 pm Harvest Choral evensong, St Mary’s2nd October 8.00 am Harvest holy communion, St Mary’s10.30 am Harvest morning worship, All Saints4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints9th October 10.30 am Holy communion, St Mary’s4.00 pm The Centre, All Saints