The Church of St Peter Great Berkhamsted

We have been 'learning to listen' by making sure we make time for our friends to support them when things are difficult. During collective worship the children felt it was important to make sure your friends were ok when they looked sad or were quiet. Everyone was really good at also making sure that it wasn't just friends you looked out for, but anyone at school that you notice may need a friend.

Year 1 had an exciting start to the week with their Victorian WoW Day, where they got to experience life as a child in Victorian times, including all the housework they would have been expected to do. They enjoyed looking at all the different artifacts from that period in history and they got to make some things such as peg dolls in the afternoon.

Next week we are taking part in Walk to School Week encouraging everyone to walk some or all of the way to school while completing fun activities in their Walk to School activity booklet.

Mrs Lisa Freeman
Head of School, Victoria CE Infant and Nursery School

With the continuing war in Ukraine, the infrastructure there is under immense pressure. Huge areas of the country are regularly without electricity, and families struggle to light their homes at night. We are joining together with other churches in Berkhamsted (and across the UK) to collect candles for Ukraine, including household candles and church candles. They will be melted down, recycled and sent for use in Ukraine to help get them through the months ahead with the damaged power plants. If you have any candles, new or partly used, you can donate them by putting them in the Herts for Refugees box in the SW corner of the church, or give them to Susan Holmes. You can read more about the scheme here:

I want to start off by saying how proud I am of our incredible Year 6 children. With SATs week this week, we were all a bit apprehensive at the start of the week anticipating how the papers were going to go, but the children were incredible. They all worked incredibly hard and demonstrated how great they are! Well done to all of TC's Year 6 pupils! I know our breakfasts and party were the highlight of the week for Year 6.

We also had children's author Cressida Cowell come into school on Thursday to discuss her up-and-coming book, and all of the children loved the workshop she did  - so a big thank you to her for visiting TC and engaging the children so well.

Miss L Hill
Head of School, The Thomas Coram CE School

The Friends of St Peter's cemetery project newsletter is out, with exciting news about Great Big Green Week, updates from the beekeeper on the cemetery hives, photos of the Northern Lights, and news about restorations of more graves by volunteers from local companies. Sadly, as the weather warms up, there has been a spate of antisocial behaviour and vandalism. Find out how the volunteers are tackling graffiti  and working with the police to keep the area safe.

Local artist Debbie Shrimpton, noted for her beautiful illustrations of Berkhamsted landmarks, is exhibiting this week at the Way Inn, Berkhamsted's Christian bookshop on the High Street (inside the Post Office). Do go in and have a browse, and pick up a distinctive artistic gift or something new to hang on your wall at home!

Don't forget that the Way Inn also has a superb range of Christian books, Bibles, greetings cards, stationery, and locally sourced gifts.

Star Wars, Harry Potter, E.T,  Jurassic Park, Jaws, Pirates of the Caribbean and more  - hear some of the greatest film music scores performed in a special illuminated concert at St Albans Cathedral. The London Film Music Orchestra's European tour comes to the cathedral on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 August. Tickets are selling fast - available online from £34.74.

On the social media website Facebook, an automated bot scans posted videos for music. If it identifies copyrighted music, it automatically mutes the video and dispatches a warning to the poster. Last Sunday morning’s live-streamed video from St Peter's attracted the attentions of the bot when it discovered our church choir singing the anthem, From the Rising of the Sun by Sir Frederick Ouseley (d.1889).

Although Ouseley's work is comfortably out of copyright, the bot mistook our humble parish church choir for a recording of John Scott conducting St Paul's Cathedral Choir, muted the video, and sent us a stern warning. Deeply flattering, but rather inconvenient!

Last weekend, our skies were bathed in glory by the Northern Lights, a spectacular phenomenon caused by charged particles from solar flares hitting the Earth's atmosphere. In Britain, the Northern Lights are usually only visible in the north of Scotland (they've even got a song about it) but an unusual geomagnetic storm meant the aurora was visible as far south as Cornwall. The internet is awash with breathtaking photos - here is a small selection of local shots of the great Aurora Borealis of 2024. Special thanks to local photographers who gave permission for us to use these.

Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Pitstone Windmill - Martin Rance Photography

St Peter & St Paul, Little Gaddesden - Ashridge Media

St Nicholas's Church in East Dereham, Norfolk (burial place of poet William Cowper)

Behind the Mirror return to Berkhamsted's Old Town Hall for a concert featuring violinist Daniel Pioro and harpsichordist David Gordon, playing Bach’s Partita no 2 in D minor, interspersed with improvisations and sonic meditations. 

Classical guitarist Craig Ogden "A worthy successor to Julian Bream" presents music from Domenico Scarlatti via Joaquin Rodrigo to Django Rheinhardt at Little Gaddesden Church, Church Road, Little Gaddesden, HP4 1NZ.

Tickets: £25 on the door, or £20 if booked in advance by contacting:

This Sunday is Pentecost, "the birthday of the Church".

We would love to welcome back any children who were baptised at St Peter's, with their families, as we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit in the world. Join us for Sunday School during the 9:30am service, and there will be cake and garden games after the service!

The next Walsingham Cell Mass will be held on Saturday 1 June 1st and not on 25 May, as previously advertised. All are welcome to this service in the Lady Chapel. 

In a few weeks' time Berkhamsted will be taking part in the Great Big Green Week, a UK-wide eco-fest running 8-16 June.  In Berkhamsted, there are eco-events lined up to inspire us all to be more aware of today's environmental issues and to be more eco-friendly in our daily lives, including:

• An eco-themed Bake-Off baking competition - get baking and win a hamper!
• Great Big Eco Fair at the Civic Centre
• Great Big Green Community Fair at the Quaker Meeting House
• IT Amnesty - get rid of your old mobile phones and laptops to be recycled - start clearing out your drawers now!
• Great Big Nature Hunt in the Cemetery
• Plus panel discussions, guided walks and more!

More details coming soon in your Parish News email!

Berkhamsted’s own orchestra, the Bridgewater Sinfonia, returns to St Peter's for their summer concert. Top of the bill is Beethoven's magnificent Violin Concerto, and they will welcome the award-winning rising star violinist, Dan-Iulian Druțac. Also on the programme will Brahms' Symphony No 1, critically acclaimed at its premiere in 1877 as "Beethoven's Tenth". Online tickets are now on sale for £18, or £20 on the night - and, as ever, under-18s get in free.

Book your tickets for this outdoor performance at Berkhamsted Castle, bring a picnic and Shakespeare's comedy, Much Ado About Nothing - set in the swinging 1960s, with original music. Performances at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets £27.80, concessions & family tickets available.

Chiltern Chamber Choir will be holding their summer concert in St Peter's Church, under the jubilant title Gaudete Omnes - "let everyone rejoice". The programme will be a selection of joyful sacred anthems, including works by Monteverdi, Brahms, Gabrieli, Parry, Fauré and many more, conducted by Calum Zuckert (the CCC choral director and a minor canon at St Albans Cathedral). We are most grateful to the CCC for the generous offer to donate all proceeds from this concert to the St Peter’s Roof Fund, so do please come along and support this wonderful event. There will also be a glass of wine on offer (included in the ticket price).

Tickets: £15 advance/online, £17 on the door, under 18s and full-time students free. Book your ticket now!