Please be aware that the 10:00 service this Sunday 27th January will be held in the Parish Room due to roofing works which are due to commence on Monday. We need to have a special covering to protect the church organ and this is the only time that it can be done. No other services will be affected. Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you on Sunday in the Parish Room!
Keep up to date with the latest Parish news in the January 2019 edition of the Parish Newsletter. If you have any advertising or editorial queries please direct these to Editor, Jill Hipson.
At St Mary’s, we are proud to be a very child-friendly church and we are blessed to have children of all ages regularly attending our services. We encourage our young people to play an active role in church life and apart from the second Sunday of the month which is our All Age Service, St Mary's runs a variety of groups on Sunday mornings to further our children’s knowledge of Christianity using stories, drama, games and craft. These sessions are really fun and are run by our excellent and very committed team! Sunday School is held in the Parish Room and starts after the Collect. We then re-join the service for Communion and the final hymn. If you would like your child to give our Sunday Sc
Claire Hodgson will be coming home for a short break from her missionary work in the Dominican Republic during February. She will be giving a talk at St Mary’s Church at the 10:00 am service on Sunday 24th February followed by a fundraising roast dinner in the Parish Rooms. If you would like to come and hear this inspirational speaker and join us for a traditional Sunday roast afterwards, please email evelyn@stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk or put your name on the list at the back of church. We hope to see you there! Evelyn Hodgson [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]
I read a story this week about being part of something but not really belonging. A monk joined a silent monastery. After ten years he was invited to his first audience with the Abbot and was granted two words. He said: "Food cold." Ten years later he was granted his second audience and was allowed two more words: "Room cold." After 30 years the monk was granted his third audience, and announced, "I’m leaving." "Good riddance," the Abbot replied, "you’ve done nothing but complain ever since you’ve been here." The story was in the context about how our European partners might feel about us. Just before Christmas I spent a few days in Salisbury and at the cathedral before a service, a prayer wa
All Saints' Church Berkhamsted are hosting a People Not Borders coffee morning from 10-12 on Saturday 2nd February. Everybody is welcome to drop in at any time and Sue Hampton will be giving an update the work of People Not Borders at 11am.
Every part of the Christingle represents something important. The orange is the world, or God’s creation. The Magi travelled a great distance to reach the Holy Land and they first go to Jerusalem. The context in St Matthew’s account is the outright rejection of Jesus by Herod. Despite the failings of Herod, others also recognised his importance. He was for all people and not just a few. All people implies different cultures, ethnicity and experiences. The Magi also brought with them gifts. An estimated £143 million of unwanted gifts are returned to the shops after Christmas, the busiest day for exchange is the day after Boxing Day. There will be jumpers that don’t fit or you or gifts that yo
One of Stephi’s friends called in over the Christmas period and was wearing a sweatshirt that said: Three wise men. Really? I said that it was a good Epiphany message and in essence the Epiphany refers to the significance of Jesus being acknowledged by the Gentiles. The context in St Matthew’s account is the outright rejection of Jesus by Herod. Despite the failings of Herod, others also recognised his importance. He was for all people and not just a few. All people implies different cultures, ethnicity and experiences. On a slightly different track I was reading an article this week about some of the secrets of aging well. I met someone recently who said that he liked being old: “I don’t re
Join us on Sunday 13th January at 10 am for our Epiphany Christingle Service. Everyone is very welcome to come along to this service which will be supporting the work of the Children’s Society. The service will include the Christingle procession around the church. We hope to see you there!
