This morning’s Bible readings:
Galatians 1:11-24 (p 1168).
In verses 11 and 12, Paul writes: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”
Choral evensong 26th June, 6.30 pm:
Please join us for our monthly choral evensong service on Sunday. 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!
Charlie will preside at all our services on Sunday 3rd July, and the 10.30 service will be communion rather than our usual 1st Sunday morning worship.
Strawberry tea 29th June, 2.30 pm:
Braughing with Standon Mothers' Union will hold its annual Strawberry Tea on Wednesday in the Church hall, Braughing. This is an open invitation to everyone so please come and join us. Please ring Diane on 01920 821130 or text to 07949 665365 by Monday 27th June if you would like to come, to ensure we have enough strawberries & scones. Donations to cover costs will be greatly appreciated.
There will be a Bring & Buy stall with proceeds from this going to the Mothers’ Union project of providing Start up kits for women who are moving out of one of the refuges in the St Albans Diocese. If you have anything to donate to the Bring & Buy stall that will be very welcome.
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].
Rotas of all sorts – still more help needed, please:
This notice will be rested from the notices from next week, but that doesn’t mean we have enough volunteers. 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. We 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.
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 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:
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 Holy Communion, 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
Sunday 17th July 8.00am Holy Communion, St Mary's
10.30am Holy Communion, St Mary's
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints