St Catherine's, Sacombe

Weekly News - 13th November 2022

This weekend’s Bible readings:

All Saints: Micah 4:1-5 (p 932) and Matthew 5:1-12 (p 968)

St Mary’s: Ephesians 2:13-22 (p 1174)

Remembrance services:

Once again, we will hold services in each of our churches this weekend.

- At 9.30, we will meet in All Saints. After the service and a cup of coffee we walk down to the war memorial in the village to join with the Parish Council and local residents for a short act of remembrance at 11.00.

- At 10.30 in St Mary’s we will welcome representatives of the uniformed organisations for a special service of remembrance.

- At 3.00 we will meet by the memorial in the churchyard at St Catherine’s for a short outdoor service.

- The Centre will meet, as usual, at 4.00 in All Saints.

All are welcome at any of these.

Volunteers sought for school clubs:

Our partners, Red Balloon, would like us to recruit some volunteers from the church family to help out with the clubs at Roger de Clare on Thursdays, at lunchtime and after school. If this is something you would like to be involved in, please speak to John or Caroline. We would ideally like enough to create a rota, so that the same people don’t have to commit every week.

Midweek Music at St Mary’s:

On Wednesday 23rd November in St Mary’s Standon, there will be a short concert of light piano and organ music played by Michael Smith at 12.30. Coffee and light refreshments will be served from 11.30. Do come along for a coffee and chat and to enjoy the music.

FOSM coffee morning 19th November:

The FOSM coffee morning and sale will be on 19th November, between 10 and 12. Stalls will include cards, decorations, cakes, plants, books and crafts. Tea, coffee and mince pies will be served. Cakes will be welcomed for the cake stall. Please come and support this and the Sacombe one the following week!

Sacombe coffee morning 26th November:

Sacombe will hold its annual Christmas Coffee Morning and Sale on Saturday 26th November, 10.30am to 12.30pm. There will be cards, cakes, gifts and bric-a-brac available, as well as the opportunity to chat over tea or coffee. Orders will be taken for fresh table decorations, which will be available shortly before Christmas. If you have any unwanted items lurking in your cupboards, any gifts of bric-a-brac etc. for the stall will be gratefully received by members of St Catherine's.

Walking Advent calendar:

Once again, we are inviting people in Standon and Puckeridge to take part in a Walking Advent Calendar. A leaflet has been delivered to everyone in Standon and Puckeridge and spare copies are available at the back of St Mary’s. If you’d like to dress a window, please speak to Sue, who is coordinating it, or register with Rebecca (contact details in the leaflet).

Floodlights at St Mary’s:

There is much debate currently about lighting the outside of buildings overnight, whether the Blackpool Illuminations or something more modest. The floodlights at St Mary’s are on from dusk (with a light sensor to switch them on) until 2.00 am. This provides additional security, as the High Street is quiet by then and intruders would be more likely to be heard. The lights are low energy, and we have calculated that, based on 6 hours per night, they cost less than £70 per year to run. In the context of our annual electricity bills of over £5,000 that seems a not unreasonable usage of power (or cost) for peace of mind at a time when so many churches are losing lead from their roofs.

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, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary's

Sunday services:

13th November 9.30am Remembrance service followed by an Act of Remembrance at war memorial, All Saints

10.30am Remembrance service, St Mary's

3.00pm Act of remembrance, St Catherine's