This weekend’s Bible readings: 1 John 1:1-2:2 (p 1225) and John 20:19-31 (p 1089)All Saints@6: This week, All Saints@6 will be on the subject of Resurrection! The following week, 14th April the series will start on the 10 commandments, using J John’s helpful book, ‘Ten’. Lizzy has a couple of copies on the benefice bookstall, and can order more if you would like to buy one.Mothers’ Union: The Mothers’ Union East Cluster Lady Day service will be held on Monday 8th April at 11am at St James the Great church, Thorley CM23 4BE. Refreshments will be served after the service. If you would like to go, please let Diane know.Easter thank you: Many thanks to those who worked so hard to decorate our churches for Easter. The floral arrangements have been very much appreciated by those who have worshipped with us or visited.Choral evensong in Bury: On Saturday 4th May our benefice choir will be singing Evensong at St Edmundsbury Cathedral at 3.30pm. Whilst we are not having a coach this time, it would be lovely if any folk wanted to spend some time in Bury St Edmunds that afternoon and join the service. Do speak to Michael or Marion if you want to know more.Mayday: In this post-Easter period, our thoughts are turning to Mayday. We will not be offering a salad stall this year, but we will be short-handed in the village hall for the tearoom. If you can bake or help on the day, please sign up at the back of St Mary’s or let Diana or Caroline know.Ascension Day: This year, we will not be holding an Ascension Day service on 9th May. Instead, we will celebrate at the Tuesday service in Sacombe on 7th.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk should point to that page.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:7th April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints14th April 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints21st April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints28th April 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's6.00pm Choral evensong, St Mary's5th May 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints
Alleluia! Christ is risen! A very happy Easter to everyone!This weekend’s Bible readings: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (p 1155) and John 20:1-18 (p 1089) Please remember that there is no All Saints@6 meeting this week.All Saints@6: Next week, 7th April, All Saints@6 will be on the subject of Resurrection! The following week, 14th April the series will start on the 10 commandments, using J John’s helpful book, ‘Ten’. Lizzy has a couple of copies on the benefice bookstall, and can order more if you would like to buy one.Contactless donations: The new contactless device for St Mary’s has arrived and been installed.Mothers’ Union: The Mothers’ Union East Cluster Lady Day service will be held on Monday 8th April at 11am at St James the Great church, Thorley CM23 4BE. Refreshments will be served after the service. If you would like to go, please let Diane know.Rebecca away: Rebecca is away for another week. If you have any administrative queries, please direct them to someone else during that time!Libury Hall – change of date: Please note that April’s Libury Hall service will now be on 10th April rather than 3rd. If you would like to come along and support the residents at this service, please speak to John.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk should point to that page.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:31st March 10.30am Easter communion, St Mary's7th April 8.00am Ante communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints14th April 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints21st April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints28th April 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's6.00pm Choral evensong, St Mary's
This weekend’s Bible readings: Matthew 21:1-11 (p 988)Palm Sunday: This Sunday at 6pm in St Mary's there will be a service of music and readings to mark the start of Holy Week. There will be music sung by our benefice choir from Bach's St John Passion and readers will take us through the passion narrative as recorded by John in his gospel. Please do come along as we begin our observance of the holiest of weeks.Holy Week servicesThere has been a mix-up in the service list published in PS magazine in Standon & Puckeridge. Our services this week are as follows:Thursday 28th March, 7.30pm Maundy Thursday communion, St Catherine'sFriday 29th March, 10.30am Service by the cross, All SaintsFriday 29th March, 2.00pm Reflective hour, St Mary'sAll are welcome to any of our services, and particularly at this most significant time of the Church’s calendar.Please remember that there is no All Saints@6 meeting next week, Easter Sunday.Pop up shop & bookstall: The pop up shop is back this Sunday at the 10.30 family service. There are still a few Easter cards available and some general cards. We have stocked up on Fairtrade chocolate and tea and coffee and there is a sale on some of the Christian gifts.The bookstall will be there too, with a range of Christian books and resources. Please speak to Lizzy if there’s something specific you would like her to get for you.Lent Appeal: Before Lent, we focussed on our giving, to God and to our churches, through service and through financial support. Once again our Lent appeal is for our ministry and mission in this community. In this case, giving won’t be aggregated and shared between our three benefice churches, but will be allocated to the church in which it’s given. However, many of our costs are shared, so if you’d like to support the work of the benefice across the board, please let one of our treasurers know and we’ll make sure that happens.Midweek Music at St Mary’s: On Wednesday 27th March at St Mary’s we will be welcoming back Naomi Boot, a student at the Royal College of Music, who will be giving a concert at 12.30 with Michael Smith entitled ‘Songs for Reflection’. Please join us as we journey through Holy Week. Refreshments will be served as usual from 11.30.All Saints@6: After Easter, All Saints@6 will be considering the 10 commandments, using J John’s helpful book, ‘Ten’. Lizzy has a couple of copies on the benefice bookstall, and can order more if you would like to buy one.Congratulations to our bell ringers: Tracey writes about our Standon ringers’ performance in the Bishop's Stortford District Striking Competition on 16th March. ‘Seven teams competed at St Cecila's, Little Hadham for the Hayden Cup and the team representing Standon, which was made up of Ringers who regularly ring in Standon on Sunday mornings and for Evensong, came 2nd! This means we will be one of two teams to go on to represent the District at the Kimpton Cup (the Hertfordshire County Striking Competition) later in the year.’Mothers’ Union: The Mothers’ Union East Cluster Lady Day service will be held on Monday 8th April at 11am at St James the Great church, Thorley CM23 4BE. Refreshments will be served after the service. If you would like to go please let Diane know before 26th March.Rebecca away: Rebecca is away for the next three weeks. If you have any administrative queries, please direct them to someone else during that time!Libury Hall – change of date: Please note that April’s Libury Hall service will now be on 10th April rather than 3rd. If you would like to come along and support the residents at this service, please speak to John.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk should point to that page.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:24th March 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's6.00pm Service of music and readings for the start of Holy Week, St Mary's31st March 10.30am Easter communion, St Mary's7th April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints14th April 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints21st April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints28th April 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's6.00pm Choral evensong, St Mary's
This weekend’s Bible readings: Hebrews 5:5-10 (p1204) and John 12:20-33 (p1080)The Promises of Jesus: Our Lent course this year, at All Saints@6, is on the subject of the “Promises of Jesus”. This week the topic is Jesus’ promise ‘I will be with you always’ from Matthew 28:20. Everyone is very welcome, whether you usually come to All Saints @6 or not!Rebecca away: Rebecca will be away for three weeks from the middle of the coming week. If you have any administrative queries, please direct them to someone else during that time!Lent Appeal: Before Lent, we focussed on our giving, to God and to our churches, through service and through financial support. Once again our Lent appeal is for our ministry and mission in this community. In this case, giving won’t be aggregated and shared between our three benefice churches, but will be allocated to the church in which it’s given. However, many of our costs are shared, so if you’d like to support the work of the benefice across the board, please let one of our treasurers know and we’ll make sure that happens.Pop up shop & bookstall: The pop up shop is back on Sunday 24th March at the 10.30 family service. There are still a few Easter cards available and some general cards. We have stocked up on Fairtrade chocolate and tea and coffee and there is a sale on some of the Christian gifts.The bookstall will be there too, with a range of Christian books and resources. Please speak to Lizzy if there’s something specific you would like her to get for you.Palm Sunday: On Sunday 24th March at 6pm in St Mary's there will be a service of music and readings to mark the start of Holy Week. There will be music sung by our benefice choir from Bach's St John Passion and readers will take us through the passion narrative as recorded by John in his gospel. Please do come along as we begin our observance of the holiest of weeks.FOSM Afternoon tea & talk 23rd March: This will take place the Standon Lordship and Jim Nicolson will speak about ‘My uncle, the Battle of Britain VC’. Tickets, at £25, are available from Diana on 07718 734897.Issues with the contactless donation point in St Mary’s: The new, more permanent contactless station for St Mary’s was delivered this week, but it was damaged. We’re currently waiting for a replacement. Meanwhile, the QR code available in church works for contactless giving. The QR code in this sheet can be used for giving to costs shared across the benefice.The Future of World Day of Prayer in our area: Margaret, who has been organising World Day of Prayer for the past 12 years, is retiring from the committee. We are looking for people to take World Day of Prayer forward in our area beyond 2025. For many, many years our local churches have been involved in (Women’s) World Day of Prayer. Will you help to continue this tradition? It’s not hard work and is very worthwhile. If you feel called to help please speak to Margaret.This year’s service was attended by 46 people from 6 different Churches (Anglican, Roman Catholic and Congregational) and raised £247.45. All who attended were moved by the service.Sunday lunch at the Star: Our next Sunday lunch at the Star will be on Sunday 24th March at 12.15pm. If you would like to join us please contact Heather before Monday 18th March. We would love to see some new faces so if you haven’t joined us before and you are on your own, we have a very happy time together and you would receive a very warm welcome. Phone Heather on 07909 065560 for more information.Website: Our benefice website is on the www.achurchnearyou.com platform. The benefice page can be reached via this link: https://www.achurchnearyou.com/benefice/32-240BF/. The forward from https://ubsms.org.uk should point to that page.Services for the next few weeksMidweek services each week:Tuesdays, 9.30am Holy Communion (BCP) & Bible study, St Catherine'sWednesdays, 9.30am Morning worship & Bible study, St Mary'sSunday services:17th March 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints6.00pm Lent course at All Saints@6, All Saints24th March 10.30am All age worship, St Mary's6.00pm Service of music and readings for the start of Holy Week, St Mary's31st March 10.30am Easter communion, St Mary's7th April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Morning worship, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints14th April 10.30am Holy communion, St Mary's6.00pm All Saints@6, All Saints21st April 8.00am Holy communion, St Mary's10.30am Holy communion, All Saints6.00pm All Saints@6, All SaintsHoly Week servicesThere has been a mix-up in the service list published in PS magazine in Standon & Puckeridge. Our Sunday service list is as above. In addition, we will have services in Holy Week as follows:Thursday 28th March, 7.30pm Maundy Thursday communion, St Catherine'sFriday 29th March, 10.30am Service by the cross, All SaintsFriday 29th March, 2.00pm Reflective hour, St Mary'sAll are welcome to any of our services, and particularly at this most significant time of the Church’s calendar.
