No one belongs here more than you
Welcome to St Mary's with St John's
No one belongs here more than you.
Welcome and thank you for visiting our website.
Following the example of Jesus, and seeking to model the inclusive love of God, we welcome all people, whatever your status, wealth, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age, health or mobility.
Update from Rev Alan: Re-opening our churches for public worship July 2020 update
I’m delighted to say that having conducted risk assessments and after consultation with both PCCs, we will begin our phased return to worship within our church buildings from Sunday 19 July. The Diocese are very keen for us to continue with our Zoom services and it’s anticipated that for many this will be their preferred mode of worship for the time being.
The new pattern of services throughout July and August will be as follows:
Sundays 8.00am Communion Service at St Andrew’s using a traditional liturgy and perhaps with some musical accompaniment.
Sundays 9.15am Communion Service at St Mary’s with the shortened liturgy we currently use on Zoom, with musical accompaniment. NBPLEASE CONTACT Robin Bishop (email: tel: 01992 551946)if you wish to attend, as numbers are limited.
Sundays 10.30am Zoom Communion Service as usual
Sundays 7.00pm Zoom Compline
Wednesdays 10.30am Zoom Communion Service
We are hoping that the 10.30am service at St Andrew’s will reconvene some time in September. At that time, the 8.00am will revert to being a BCP service.
What to expect
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Numbers will be limited in both churches and members of both congregations are welcome to join us for worship at either church building.
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If you are planning to come to the St Mary’s service, we would appreciate you contacting Robin Bishop beforehand so that we can know how many people to expect. (robinhbishop@gmail.com 01992 551946)
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Upon entry, everyone will be asked to hand sanitise. Every other pew will be roped off and you will be directed to a socially distanced place to sit. • We are advised that the contact details of each individual or a member of a family group attending be recorded to help with Track and Trace.
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Where possible our buildings will be ventilated. • Small children must sit with their family group throughout the service. At St Andrew’s the Children’s Corner will not be in use. • The service will be no more than 40 minutes.
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Currently we are advised that we have no congregational singing. We do plan to have instrumental music and/or a soloist/cantor. • At the 8.00am we will use service books which can be collected at the door and should be left in the pew when folk leave. • At the 9.15am, we will follow the liturgy on the screen.
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•There will be no physical sharing of the Peace.
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Communion: The priest will hand sanitise before the prayer of consecration and before administration. The priest will consume the wine on behalf of us all, and bread will be offered from one station at the front of church. The wafer will be dropped into the hand of the communicant without speaking. A blessing will be offered over the whole congregation, and for any individual who wishes to come forward in the sign of the cross. A one-way system will operate during communion.
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Toilets will be available. • We encourage people not to hang around after the service but to make their way from the building as soon as it is safe to do so.
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There will be a collection plate at the back. There is also the Giving by Text option and, in time, we will be able to offer Contactless for donations. Everyone is welcome, but we ask that you do not come to the church if you are in a high-risk group (clinically extremely vulnerable) or you are self-isolating due to symptoms in your household, or you are feeling unwell or have symptoms of Covid-19 (such as a fever, cough, lack of taste/smell, upset stomach, headache). As you can imagine, there’s lots of consider, and we’ll learn as we go along. Please do pray for all those involved in preparing our buildings for a safe return. I look forward to again seeing some of you in person!
Every blessing, Alan
10 July 2020
News and Events
Re-opening Update!
Holy Communion Sunday service at 9.15 am has now re-started. Contact Robin Bishop if you would like to attend
as numbers are limited.
July/August edition of the Parish Magazine available now. Click here or here to read.
Videos of this week's Zoom services now available on the website here
St Mary's is now open for individual prayer from
10.00 am to 6 pm Monday to Sunday
Be part of St Mary's while at home
Although services are still partly suspended, you can always be part of St Mary's at home. Go here for full details
Support us
We know that some people like to make a donation each week via the collection plate, but while we are not meeting face to face, we realise that that’s not possible. We know that some people like to make a donation each week via the collection plate, but while we are not meeting face to face, we realise that that’s not possible. For details of how to give by text, click here.
Keep in touch
To be added to our mailing list and to receive Thought for the Day and invitations to services, contact Robin Bishop (contact details here).
To join our WhatsApp group, contact David Gorton (contact details here
East Herts Citizens Advice service
This has moved from predominantly face to face advice in their 5 centres to staff and volunteers home working through phone, email and Webchat.
They desperately want people to know that they are still available to help and advise! More details here
New free Dial-a-Prayer service launched by the Archbishop of Canterbury
More details of the Daily Hope line here The number to call is 0800 804 8044. There is a message from the Archbishop and the chance to listen to hymns, reflections, prayers and services. Please pass the number on to anyone you know who does not have internet access
For our younger members
Storytime
Although school is out, you can still do storytime with Rev Alan. Go here for this week's story.
More stories from Rev Alan and Rev Wendy on the St Mary's WhatsApp group. Contact David Gorton (dgorton1@btinternet.com) to sign up. You can also find Rev Alan telling stories on the Hertingfordbury and the the Greens Facebook group.
Sele Messy Church
Storytelling and more from Tracey on Sele Messy Church's page on Facebook here. Tracey is livestreaming stories on Wednesdays at 4 pm and Junior Church at 10 am on Sundays
APCM
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place via Zoom on Tuesday 20 October.
Revision of Electoral Roll
The Electoral Roll is being revised. If you would like to be on the Electoral Roll but are not currently, please complete a form (available here) and scan it and send to:
Special services during lockdown
To take part, email Robin Bishop (robinhbishop@gmail.com) to be added to the list of invitees.
If you would like to join in our live streamed services, email Robin Bishop on (robinhbishop@gmail.com) so that he can add your email address to the list of invitees.
We are using the Zoom platform for this, and it is quite straightforward. More information here. There will be instructions in the email invitation.
Meditation and Mindfulness
On Zoom on Wednesdays at 8.00 pm.
Led by Rev Alan. Email Robin Bishop (robinhbishop@gmail.com) to be added to list of invitees.
Video of guided session now available here
Breathe
Every first Saturday of the month, people from both our churches gather together for Breathe. Breathe is a chance to pray together about ourselves and our lives, our churches and our world. It is hoped that you will be able to use these prayers in the same way, by putting aside a time to pray, possibly on Saturday morning and perhaps with someone else. Find out more here
ST MARY'S SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES
Many services and activities at St Mary's and St Andrew's are still suspended because of the Coronavirus outbreak, until further notice.
Following advice from the Diocese, the church is now open for private prayer.
You can find helpful resources here and on the St Andrew's website ,
Regular services during lockdown
Holy Communion services every Sunday and Wednesday at
10.30 am on Zoom
To take part, email Robin Bishop (robinhbishop@gmail.com) to be added to the list of invitees.
You may also like to watch the Church of England live streamed services here (or watch the video later).
Compline 7.00pm Sundays on Zoom
In peace we will lie down and sleep; for you alone, Lord, make us dwell in safety.
This short, spoken service takes its name from the Latin word for ‘completion’ and is intended to mark a quiet end to the day.
The words are available as both a PowerPoint here and Word document here and so, if you prefer, you can say the service at home.
Daily prayers
‘It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness’
During these days of uncertainty and isolation, we’d encourage you all to light a candle each evening around 7pm and, if possible, to place it in a window as a sign of solidarity and hope in the darkness. For those who pray, we’d also like to suggest that you say these daily prayers (click here for the prayers) at the same time, as a way of staying connected to one another through Christ.
