This morning’s Bible readings:
Acts 13:14, 42-52 (p 1107), Galatians 1:1-10 (p 1168).
Sunday lunch at the Star:
Our next Sunday lunch will be on Sunday 26th June at the The Star in Standon. If you would like a seat at the table please let Heather know by Monday 20th June.
Choral evensong 26th June, 6.30 pm:
Please join us for our monthly choral evensong service on 26th June. We’re also planning a Songs of Praise service at St Mary's at the end of the Flower Festival, on 10th July at 6.30pm. Please come along and celebrate with us.
Charlie’s priesting 1st July:
Charlie will be ordained priest on Friday 1st July in a service at St Augustine’s Church, Broxbourne at 6.30 pm. All are welcome and there’s plenty of room, but so we have an idea of how many will be there, please add your name to one of the sign-up sheets at the back of our churches if you plan to attend. If you don’t sign up, and then find you’re unexpectedly free, you can still come!
Standon Flower festival 8th – 10th July:
In 3 weeks’ time St Mary's will be full of floral displays which will represent the words of Jesus. Lots of people from across the benefice and beyond have been working hard on plans and designs, getting props and looking after greenery in their gardens, so please come and view them over the weekend. Refreshments will be available in the Village Hall while the festival is on. Tickets for the Standon Flower Festival Gala Evening at 6pm on Friday 8th July are now available for £10 from Marion either in person or via email at [email protected].
Open Gardens – thanks to all:
We don’t have the absolutely final figure yet, but the Open Gardens event last weekend in Standon and Puckeridge raised around £8,800 for FOSM. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this event and its fantastic financial result.
Concert in St Nicholas 2nd July:
Great Munden Recreational Garden will present a concert by Royal String Ensemble on Saturday 2nd July at 7.00 pm in St Nicholas Church, Great Munden. Tickets at £20 each are available from greatmundengarden.com. Numbers will be limited, so you are recommended to book early.
Rotas of all sorts – still more help needed, please:
This notice has been running for some time now, but we still don’t have enough volunteers in some areas. Please consider prayerfully whether you can help. We need help, please, with the rotas for all sorts of tasks in both St Mary’s and All Saints.
Giving to our churches:
At our recent APCMs you will have seen our financial results for 2021, and you will have heard our treasurers talk of the difficulties we all face in making ends meet in 2022. The statistics suggest that 40% of Anglicans have never been asked to contribute regularly to their church. I hope that doesn’t include any of our members! Information about our financial position has been uploaded recently to our website, but the core message is that without your support we can’t go on as we are indefinitely. Sacombe relies on previous members who have moved away but continue to support the church financially; Little Munden relies on a small number of generous donors who give large amounts as and when they are needed, and Standon is forecasting increasing deficits as we move forward. During Lent, we asked you to consider prayerfully the amount you give to support the work of our churches. Some of us have responded by increasing our giving. Some of us, understandably, aren’t in a position to do that. However, if our church income doesn’t increase, we will need to save costs somehow. If you thought, as you read the Lent information, “I must do something about that,” and didn’t quite get round to it, we ask that you do so now.
Afternoon concert St Mary’s, Ware 26th June, 2.30 pm:
Richard Prince and Huw Jenkins will perform Arthur Somervell’s ‘Maud’ song cycle and Roger Quilter songs. Admission is free and there will be afternoon teas in the interval.
Cantate concert 3rd July, 5.00 pm in St Mary’s:
Tickets for the picnic concert, at £15, £12 (concession), £5 (children) are available from www.cantate.co.uk.
Standon Calling 21st – 24th July:
If you or someone you know is planning to buy tickets, you can obtain a discount and make money for our local schools! Log in using the special link, and you will receive cheaper tickets, plus our school will receive a commission. The links are:
Little Munden School: https://go.kaboodle.co.uk/Little-Munden-Primary-School-SG12-0NR
Roger de Clare School: https://go.kaboodle.co.uk/roger-de-clare-SG111TF
Website:
Our new benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page is:
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7825/benefice. Please visit
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:
Sunday 19th June 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's
10.30am Holy Communion, All Saints
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
Sunday 26th June 10.30am Morning Worship & Baptism, St Mary's
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
6.30pm Choral Evensong, St Mary's
Sunday 3rd July 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning Worship, All Saints
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
Sunday 10th July 10.30am Holy Communion, St Mary's
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
6.30pm Songs of Praise, St Mary's