Here are some notices that you may find of interest. Please check this page regularly for updates and let us know if you have some news to share...
Autumn Exhibition: 9-17 October
We are planning to put on an exhibition called ‘Our Lockdown in 30 Objects’, with items (from the everyday to artistic expressions) accompanied by stories from their contributors illustrating their experience of the pandemic. We hope that the event will give us an opportunity to come together as a wider community to gain a deeper insight into how we have each experienced this time. We plan to set aside areas of the church for people to show their gratitude and to express their sadness.
There are plans to create a churchyard display at the same time as the exhibition with the theme being ‘gratitude’, which will also be reflected in our Harvest Festival on Sunday 10 October. St Mary’s will have a photo exhibition of animals and pets. There are more details here:
Autumn exhibitions
The funeral of Brenda Squires will take place at St Andrew's Church at 12noon on Wednesday 23 June.
Can you help with building insect hotels?
I’d love to have a chat with anyone that could make us the framework for an ‘insect hotel’. Basically the shape of a house in wood that we can get the children to fill with cones and sticks. Maybe two. A3 size. Thank you. Tracy Plumpton (
standrewstracy@gmail.com)
All-Age Services return!
Our monthly All-Age service will return from Sunday 11 July - join us for a shorter, child-friendly, interactive communion service with songs, prayers and some new surprises. Dates for 2021: 11 July, 8 August, 12 Sept, 10 Oct (Harvest), 7 Nov, 12 Dec & Christmas Day.
Plans for our Sunday morning worship on Zoom:
While Covid-related restrictions on our in-person services ease, we continue with Zoom worship on Sunday mornings - through into September, and beyond as long as there is a reasonable level of participation. With Wendy’s approaching move to a new parish, clergy resources are more limited, so we are no longer able to offer a weekly communion service on Zoom. From 20 June, there will be a Service of the Word, with praise, prayer and teaching, usually led by a Lay Reader or Lay Leader of Worship.
We plan to explore ways to make more use of music and visual imagery, and different, creative forms of teaching in the Zoom format, as we see Zoom worship as a long-term platform for outreach and growth in our community, and not just as a temporary fall-back for the duration of the Covid crisis. We look forward to welcoming you to continued worship and fellowship online.
In-person services - what are the rules?
For a summary of the latest rules for in-person services (including funerals, baptisms and 10.30am Sunday Holy Communion) please see our
dedicated page for more details.
Rainbow colours for St. Andrew’s, please!
Thank you for supporting St. Andrew’s through our previous churchyard displays such as the Missing You trees and Living Nativity. We are excited about our plans for the summer display but
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We are looking for large pieces of plain fabric (i.e. sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases) in any of the colours of the rainbow or rainbow coloured. If you have any that you no longer need and would be happy to donate, please leave them in the church where they will be collected at the end of the day. Alternatively, if you're stuck, please email Lou (
loucobb73@gmail.com) or the church office (
standrew.hertford@btinternet.com) so we can arrange safe collection from you.
With a big THANK YOU for any help you can offer. We will be collecting through June and July!
Au Revoir, Wendy
Our Curate, Wendy Sellers, is leaving us to be the Vicar of Sandridge, near St Albans.
Wendy says: “I’m very sad to be leaving both my church families, but excited about what lies ahead. I hope people will stay in touch.” Please continue to pray for Wendy and Dale as they prepare to move house, and for Wendy’s new parish as they prepare to welcome her.
A message from Wendy about her licensing:
My dear friends, as you know I am due to be licensed Vicar of Sandridge. The date is 7.30pm on Monday 19 July. My new church building is not a large one and is currently risk assessed to hold 30. We have planned the service based on this number and by the time we had listed everyone who has to be there plus a few family members we were beyond that number. So sadly that means I can’t invite any of you to be there in person. Alan has an official role and will represent the parishes and the Deanery, as well as supporting me as my friend and mentor. We are hoping to live stream, but this presents a challenge with no WiFi. Once we found a way (there must be a way), we will send out more details.
Volunteers, please! Summer spruce-up for the Church and Churchyard on Saturday 10 July
We plan to have work parties on 10 July, from 10.00am to 1.00pm, to do a general clear-up and clean of certain parts of the church building and to spruce up the churchyard. We welcome as many hands to the pump as possible to ensure we get the work finished quickly. Come for just part of the time if that is all you can manage. Subject to whatever Covid restrictions apply at the time (hopefully none!), refreshments, including a light lunch, will be available. So please put the date in your diary and join the party! For more information, contact Churchwarden Jane Cohen on 07818 532154.
High Street Recovery - Have Your Say
Last year, Hertfordshire County Council made changes to high streets and town centres to create extra space for social distancing. We have been invited to give our views on how the changes made in our town centre could continue to support long-term high street recovery. For more information and to comment, visit:
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/highstreetrecovery. Comments are invited until 20 June.
Your feedback will help to shape how the schemes are progressed. For any alternative formats, please contact: Email: HighStreetRecovery@hertfordshire.gov.uk / Telephone: 0300 123 4047
Fascinating talks on offer with St Albans Cathedral
There are many online talks being offered this summer, including:
Celebrating the summer solstice with a talk on how the seasons shaped the lives – and the scientific knowledge – of the monks of St Albans Abbey. The speaker is Seb Falk, a historian at the University of Cambridge, and a BBC New Generation Thinker. His book The Light Ages: A Medieval Journey of Discovery was a 2020 Book of the Year in The Times, The Telegraph and BBC History Magazine.
What does it mean when God is presented as male? What does it mean when – from our internal assumptions to our shared cultural imaginings – God is presented as white? In this talk, Chine McDonald draws on her recently-published book, God Is Not a White Man, to discuss these issues. Part memoir, part social and theological commentary, this book is a must-read for anyone troubled by a culture that insists everyone is equal in God’s sight, yet fails to confront white supremacy; a lament about the state of race and faith, and a clarion call for us all to do better.
This presentation will explore the artistic composition and underlying theological implications of their depictions of Christ, focusing especially on Hildegard’s “The Trinity in the Unity” and Chagall’s “White Crucifixion”. The speaker is Larissa Rosendale, University of Aberdeen.
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Update from Citizens Advice East Herts
"As an advice service our focus is on making sure people are able to access the support they need in a way that works for them and we've found many people like being able to access us remotely. As lockdown restrictions lift we won't be going back to a 'drop-in' service from our offices, which only worked for a minority. Instead, we'll operate our service across multiple channels, helping people by phone, email, webchat, video and online. We'll continue to offer home visits and in-person appointments in community locations to those who need them. This
short video explains more. For more info on our services and how to access them please
visit the website."
Missed a sermon? Fancy listening again?
Recordings of our sermons during worship on Zoom are available in our
Media Library and you can read earlier sermons on our
Sermons page.
Daily Hope phone line
Daily Hope offers music, prayers and reflections as well as full worship services from the Church of England at the end of a telephone line. The line – which is
available 24 hours a day on 0800 804 8044 – has been set up particularly with those unable to join online church services during the period of restrictions in mind.
Daily Hope information here.
St Andrew’s Facebook page:
You can find event and service details, thought for the day, sermons, photos and updates on the
St Andrew’s Facebook page.
Safeguarding at St Andrew’s:
Catherine Sleath is our Safeguarding Officer. If you have any questions or concerns relating to safeguarding for people of any age at St Andrew’s, please get in touch with Catherine (01992 537867).