Lent, Holy Week and Easter
Join us as we prepare to celebrate Easter...
Find out what this season is all about on the Church of England website
Holy Week
Sunday 29 March - Palm Sunday
*If you won't be able to attend a Palm Sunday service or you are joining the service on Zoom, please do collect a Palm Cross from the entrance area in St Andrew's Church*
8.00am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Andrew's Church
10.30am Holy Communion at St Andrew's Church
The congregation is invited to begin the service outside the church, weather permitting. For those who are able to join this, please collect a palm cross, service book and hymn book and head outside, where we will process into church through the West Doors, led by the clergy and the choir, as the service begins.
10.30am A Special Online Service for Palm Sunday ON ZOOM
Led by a Lay Leader of Worship, we will use readings, music and images as we follow the Passion story from Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday.
7.00pm Compline ON ZOOM
Rev. Alan Stewart
Monday 30 March
8.00pm Compline for Holy Week ON ZOOM
A short, spoken service marks a quiet end to the day in Holy Week, as we give to our loving God the day that has passed and the night that is to come.
Tuesday 31 March
8.00pm Taizé Service for Holy Week at St Andrew's Church
A candlelit service for Holy Week in the style of Taizé.
Wednesday 1 April
10.30am Holy Communion at St Andrew's Church
8.00pm A Meditation for Holy Week at St Andrew's Church and ON ZOOM
A guided meditation on the anointing of Jesus.
Maundy Thursday
8.00pm Eucharist at St Andrew's Church
Holy Communion, with washing of feet, followed by Tenebrae & watch ’til 10pm. Tenebrae is a candlelit medieval service of the shadows.
Good Friday
10.00-11.30am: Good Friday Walk of Witness
Last year's Good Friday Walk of Witness was a great success. About 130 gathered at three of our churches, took to the streets and carried three large crosses through Hertford. The three teams converged on Salisbury Square in the centre of town and from there processed to Hartham Common for a short time of worship, prayer and Bible readings.
Join us this year and lets make the event bigger and better, impacting Hertford with the good news of Easter.
The three groups will gather at three different locations between 10.00am - 10.15am:
· Hertford Methodist Church, Ware Road
· All Saints Church, Queens Road
· United Reformed Church Car Park, Cowbridge
Join us and play your part in sharing God’s great love with Hertford this Easter. Simply turn up between 10.00am – 10.15am on Friday 3 April at one of the locations.
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Up to 2.00pm at St Andrew's
Good Friday Exhibition: Pictures, prayers, poems and other visual aids help you consider the Good Friday story with a walk at your own pace past seven Stations of the Cross in church anytime up to 2.00pm. The Stations will be set up in church on Monday 30th so are available throughout the week.
2.00-3.00pm at St Andrew's: The Last Hour
Led by Rev. Bill Church and our Choir, there are hymns, Choir pieces and passages from the Bible to mark the final hours of Jesus on the cross.
2.00-3.00pm at St Mary's: The Last Hour
We spend the final hour at the foot of the cross.
Easter Day
5.30am
Dawn Service at St Mary's Hertingfordbury
On Easter morning, as the dawn rises, we gather at St Mary’s where we light the first fire of Easter and share in the Dawn Eucharist. Do remember to wrap up warm and bring a torch and a noise-maker. Breakfast is offered in The Brace Room at St Mary's following the service.
8.00am
Holy Communion (BCP) at St Andrew's Church
Easter Morning Holy Communion Service at St Andrew’s using a traditional liturgy.
10.30am
All-Age Holy Communion at St Andrew's Church
All-Age worship, with Choir and Organ, and an Easter Egg Hunt for the young ones. Please remember to bring a fresh flower to decorate the cross and a noise-maker (a rattle or a small bell, for instance).
[No 10.30am Zoom Service on Easter Sunday]
[No Compline on Easter Sunday]
Easter Monday
Easter Monday Pilgrimage Walk from Hertford
Every year for many years there has been a tradition of pilgrimage to St Albans Cathedral from all over the diocese on Easter Monday. This year, a group of us from Hertford churches are planning to walk from All Saints' Church to St Albans Cathedral on Easter Monday, 6 April 2026. It will be a very early start (circa 7am) to give us time to walk fourteen miles to St Albans in time for the procession and service there in the afternoon. If you prefer a shorter walk or a later start you are welcome to join us en route. If you are interested in joining us, please contact Julia Gough (
julia.gough@cantab.net) or John Duncan (
john.duncan2387@hotmail.co.uk, 07545 844293) for more information.
6 April, from 2.30pm
St Albans Cathedral, Sumpter Yard, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 1BY
Join a thousand other pilgrims from across St Albans Diocese to celebrate the risen Christ at St Albans Cathedral.
You’re Invited!
On Easter Monday, 6 April, join a thousand other pilgrims at St Albans Cathedral for a joyful pilgrimage and service that brings people together from across the Diocese. It’s a day for everyone— grandparents, parents, young people, kids, and even dogs (muddy boots welcome).
The Service
Arrive at the Cathedral to gather on the beautiful Abbey Orchard before heading inside from 2.30pm for an informal service at 3.00pm.
This year, the Easter Monday band will be joined by Russell Blackman, we’ve got Leah Bucko speaking and the service will conclude with a short communion led by Bishop Jane, Bishop of Hertford.
Perfume - performed by Julia Thomas
"I wanted to tell him I loved him before it was too late. The seasons of his life passed quickly, so quickly. Spring, summer autumn and, now, winter...
..."I'd always wanted to read the Torah, to sing and shout God's praises, but I was suffocated by my gender. With him, I could breathe. He let me sit at his feet and listen to his teaching. He allowed me to be myself."
First Light: A Passion Play for Hertford in 2015