Welcome!
Please welcome William and his family and supporters. William’s parents, Lisa and Niall, were baptised in the river a few weeks ago; William will be baptised in a more conventional way this weekend - at the font!
Please also welcome members of the Roger de Clare Worship Club. This morning, they will be leading us in a song they’ve been singing in school. The club meets in school on Thursday lunchtimes under the leadership of the Red Balloon team. They would love some local church people to help out – please speak to John if you think that might be you.
This weekend’s Bible reading:
Isaiah 2:1-5 (p 686)
Traidcraft pop-up shop:
The pop-up shop will be back in church this Sunday, 27th November. There will be Traidcraft items for sale (fair trade) and Christian gifts. Payment can be made by cash or bank transfer or even an IOU! You can also order Traidcraft items through Marion. See the website: https://www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/
Advent service this weekend:
This Sunday at 6.30pm please join us for a special Advent service at St Mary's. Music and readings will help us to mark the beginning of this special season as we prepare to welcome the Christ child at Christmas.
Advent appeal:
We have supported the foodbank for a number of years, and never has the demand for their services been greater than it is now. Karen and her team support families in our villages as well as in Buntingford and other surrounding villages. Last year, our advent appeal raised enough for us to organise online grocery deliveries well into this year, and that has made a significant difference to the support Karen is able to offer. In the last 12 months, we have funded over £5,000 of those deliveries, as well as the groceries we have collected in the boxes in our churches.
Key facts:
Each box of goods they deliver to a family costs £30-£50; They support approximately 70 families each month - this is increasing month on month; 137 families are currently on the list to receive a Christmas hamper from the Foodbank - this is going up daily
You can support our appeal by leaving contributions in the boxes in our churches, by collecting an item each day during advent, to be delivered after Christmas (Reverse Advent Calendar), by contributing financially online, by giving a financial contribution to any of our treasurers or by putting financial contributions in the appeal envelopes and into the collection bag.
There are fliers at the back of all our churches. Please ask Caroline if you would like more information.
Libury Hall December Service:
Our Christmas Service at Libury Hall will take place at 2.30 pm on Friday 9th December. A small group of members of our Benefice congregations regularly support our monthly informal services, but the residents are always pleased to be joined by new faces from our churches. Why not join us for this celebration of Christmas, or even for our regular meetings at Libury Hall on the first Wednesday of each month? For further information please speak to Cliff or Diane G.
Christmas crackers:
This is a concert of Christmas music to be held on Thursday 15th December at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church, introducing Standon Sing Community Choir together with The Benefice Church Choir and Rib Singers Chamber Choir, directed by David Ranford and Michael Smith. The concert will be free, with a retiring collection for the High Sheriff’s Fund at the Hertfordshire Community Foundation.
Walking Advent calendar:
If you are still wondering which carol you want to illustrate for your Walking Advent Window, please just choose from the list in the November/December Newsletter (there are copies at the back of St Mary's). Contact Rebecca at [email protected]. Feel free to use a previous window, you won't win the prize but so many were so good!
Christingle preparation Friday 23rd December:
We need helpers, please, at 2pm in St. Mary’s church. Please see John if you can help with this. We need lots of helpers to prepare for both services!
Volunteers still sought for school clubs:
We are still looking for volunteers to help out with the clubs at Roger de Clare on Thursdays, at lunchtime and after school. Please speak to John or Caroline.
Midweek Music at St Mary’s:
Thank you to all who supported the concert last Wednesday. There are plans to hold another one in January – watch this space!
Sacombe coffee morning 26th November:
Thank you, too, to all who supported the Sacombe coffee morning on Saturday. We will let you know when we have a final figure for the amount raised.
FOSM coffee morning:
We can now report that the FOSM coffee morning and sale raised just over £1,300. Thank you again to all who supported it in any way.
Robin’s funeral:
Robin’s funeral will take place on 8th December, and his family is keen to invite everyone to the Crown & Falcon after the service. It’s impossible to estimate numbers, so they would appreciate a rough idea if we’re able to supply it. If you think you might accept the invitation, please let Caroline know. This is not a commitment either way; just an informal straw poll to help with catering.
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:
27th November 10.30am All age service, St Mary's
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
6.30pm Advent service, St Mary's
4th December 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning worship, All Saints
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
11th December 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's
4.00pm The Centre, All Saints
Christmas services
17th December (Saturday) 6.00pm Carol service, All Saints
18th December 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's
10.30am Holy communion, All Saints
22nd December (Thursday) 7.00pm Nine lessons & carols, St Mary's
24th December (Saturday) 3.00pm Christingle, All Saints
5.00pm Christingle, St Mary's
7.30pm Carols by candlelight, St Catherine's
11.30pm Midnight communion, St Mary's
25th December 10.30am Christmas worship & communion, All Saints
10.30am Christmas worship, St Mary's
1st January 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's
10.30am Morning worship, All Saints