Notices
CHURCH SERVICES
First Sunday of the month: 8am Book of Common Prayer Service, 10am Cafe Church service and 6.30pm Choral Evensong.
2nd, 3rd, 4th (and 5th) Sunday of the month: 9.30am Parish Eucharist.
4th Sunday of the month at 2.30pm Wild Worship in the churchyard.
We would love to see you at any of our services, whether you have joined us before or not. Please encourage your friends to join us too.
Pop over to our Church Services page HERE to see details of our forthcoming special services.
REV SARA'S ORDINATION SATURDAY 28TH JUNE AT 2PM
Our Curate Sara Head will be ordained at St Albans Cathedral on Saturday 28th June at 2pm. All are welcome to attend and give their support. Sara will then preside at Parish Eucharist here at St Mary's at 9.30am service on Sunday 29th June.
This will be followed by a barbeque brunch celebration. We need numbers for catering purposes, so please sign up in the link corridor if you plan to attend.
CHORAL EVENSONG SUNDAY 6th JULY AT 6.30PM
On 6th July St Mary’s Church will be hosting a Bishop’s Team Ministry Choral Evensong bringing together the choirs from across the team. So please put the date in your diary to come and experience a wonderful evening of choral worship.
TEDDY BEARS' PICNIC SUNDAY 13TH JULY 2-5PM
Come to watch the brave teddy bears parachute from the church tower, enjoy a picnic, and play outdoor games. The event runs from 2-5pm, with timed tickets for the teddy parachute drop. Book your tickets for the time of your choice, but come along earlier or stay later to have your picnic and play games. There will be drinks, refreshments and ice cream available to purchase.
Search for a teddy in the churchyard, purchase a parachute for £1, and then watch your teddy float down from the church tower and take it home as a souvenir of your day.
The parachute drop sessions run at the following times and MUST be pre-booked for each child taking part:
2 - 2.30pm
2.30 - 3pm
3 - 3.30pm
3.30 - 4pm
GARDEN OF REMEMBRANCE
In December 2021, the Garden of Remembrance was completely rebuilt, as the sleepers around the edge had rotted. During the course of that work, some personal items which had been put there were removed. Please open the attached document HERE for more information about the work that was done, why certain items were removed, and which items are and are not permitted in a historic Church of England graveyard.
LOWERED GRAVESTONES
Following a Health and Safety inspection in September 2021, a number of gravestones in the new churchyard were lowered, because they were found to be unsafe. Please to do not attempt to lift or re-seat a gravestone yourself. It must be done professionally for the safety of all visitors to the graveyard. Responsibility for the maintenance of gravestone rests with the family of the deceased. We have, so far unsuccessfully, tried to contact the next of kin for the affected gravestones. If you are related to one of the following, or have contact details for somebody who is, please contact us HERE so that we can advise further.
1) Nina Gates/Alfred Gates/Dennis Blackman
2) Jack Pritchard
3) William (Bill) Game/David Game/Sheila Game
4) Allie Bullen/Ethel Bullen (Cross only)
5) Dorothy Woollard
6) Charles Musicka/Winifred Musicka
GIVING
The pandemic, with its associated temporary closure of the church and then restricted numbers at services, severely affected our ability to raise funds. Necessary expenditure to maintain the church still continued. If you are able to donate, your contribution would be very much appreciated. There are a number of different and easy ways to donate. Please click HERE for details.