The Gospel message from St Luke this Sunday tells us of the Mission of the Seventy-Two. The Twelve Disciples had previously been sent, and now Jesus is sending out a larger group for the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the part where Jesus mentions being sent “like lambs into the midst of wolves” would definitely have got my attention!

The theologian Justo L Gonzalez explains that the messengers are sharing in Jesus’s “lambhood” –  “just as they must share in his cross and will share in his resurrection”. It is a theology of the cross which requires humility, and is reliant upon grace.

If we read on further in the chapter, we hear of the seventy-two returning with joy and Jesus telling the humble missioners that they are blessed because they have seen and heard things that even the prophets and kings have not.

As disciples, like those messengers, we are all being sent. One way or another. By the God who loves us and knows us by name. We are all on a journey. The road may twist and turn. We may have to pass through narrow gates. We may be navigating all sorts of things: work, caring, parenthood, education, illness, grief, joy. And there may be some days we feel like those lambs. But, if we turn to our reading in Isaiah we hear of the Lord who strengthens us in our weakness and feebleness.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), the humble French Carmelite nun clearly understood this feeling of littleness and surrendering:

“I know when I am a little one, I almost draw God’s love toward me. God has to love me and help me because I can’t do anything by myself. So, I bring to God not my perfection, but my imperfection.”

In proclaiming the Kingdom of God, St Thérèse’s Little Way is a ministry we can all attempt to emulate: – she placed a high value on small acts of kindness amongst the mundane, amongst the daily routine. A kind word, or a smile – these actions can be profound. I have been blessed to witness this this week, and it is a beautiful thing to see where one small, almost insignificant, act of kindness can create a ripple effect far beyond what may have been imagined.

Saturday 17 October
Parish Pilgrimage to Aldbury

On Saturday 17th October there will be a pilgrimage to St John the Baptist's, Aldbury. We will begin with Midday Prayer at St Peter's and then walk to Aldbury via the Ashridge Estate. After a picnic lunch we will say Afternoon Prayer and then walk back to Berkhamsted via the canal and finish with Evening Prayer. Please speak to Fr Stuart if you're interested and would like to know more.

Contact:

Fr Stuart    01442 879 739

 Email Fr Stuart

Sunday 1 November
All Souls

Every year on the Sunday nearest 1 November, we mark All Souls' Day. This is a special time in the church calendar when we remember the dead - "those whom we love but see no longer". The choir will sing Gabriel Fauré's beautiful setting of the Requiem Mass.

During the service there's an opportunity to light a candle in memory of someone you have lost, and we read out the names of the departed. If you plan to come to this service and you'd like to include the name of a loved one, there will be list at the back of church. 

If you are mourning a loved one - whether someone who has died recently or many years ago - this service offers a time for quiet remembering and thanksgiving.

 www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk

Saturday 14 November at 10:00 am
Casserole evening

We've enjoyed some fabulous lasagne evenings, but now for a change we are holding a fundraising casserole evening in the Court House. Join us for another evening of heert-warming good food and good company. £15 per head, bring a bottle, all proceeds go to the St Peter's Renovation Appeal (roof fund). Please let Carolynne know if you're coming, for numbers.

If you can provide a casserole, please contact Carolynne and let her know what you plan to cook - beef, chicken, pork, vegetarian, traditional English, something French, Irish stew.... what's your speciality? 

Contact:

Carolynne Charman    07503 156 751

 Email Carolynne Charman

Sunday 7 February
Confirmations 2027

Bishop Jane will be with us to confirm those who have been prepared on Sunday 7th February next year at our 9.30am Parish Eucharist. If you would like to be prepared for confirmation, please complete this form and return it to Fr Stuart. If you are not sure whether or not you would like to be confirmed at this time but would like to know more, please contact Fr Stuart for a conversation.

confirmation application form

Contact:

Fr Stuart Owen    01442 879 739

 Email Fr Stuart Owen

This week’s pew sheet

The Parish Office still does not have a printer, and so pew sheets cannot be printed for Sunday mornings. If you like to have the readings, music and parish news on paper, please download the sheet below and print it at home. Thank you to everyone who has been helping out by printing these each week, and to the Way Inn who have been printing posters.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

pew sheet trinity 20

Concorde talk raises £4000

We were privileged to welcome Captain John Tye to the Centenary Theatre on 3 October, where an audience of nearly 300 enjoyed an enthralling talk about his life and career as a Concorde pilot. Captain Tye also told moving stories about his early life - he was an orphan, and was adopted by a couple who didn't travel, and certainly didn't fly. (When Tye did eventually become a pilot, he persuaded his adoptive parents to get on an airplane for the first time - but they brought their own sandwiches in a Sainsbury's plastic bag because they didn't think there would be good food on Concorde!) The audience were also treated to a virtual trip across to New York from the pilot's point of view.

With ticket sales and a sale of some Concorde memorabilia, the Friends of St Peter's made over £4000 for the St Peter's Renovation Appeal. This will help us to get a bit further in our plans to fix the leaking church roof! Huge thanks are due to Cathy and Ian Imber for organising this event, and to the staff of Berkhamsted School who ensured the evening ran like clockwork.

The sound has gone out

We have had a few technical problems with the sound system in church recently, including noise caused by a cracked wire in the mic lead and a lack of sound on the hearing aid loop system. Our sound team are trying to get this fixed. The loop unit has been taken away for testing, so unfortunately this means that there will be no loop available this coming Sunday. Apologies for the inconvenience - we hope to bring back normal service as soon as possible.

Open mornings for prospective families

Looking for a Reception or Nursery place for your child to start September 2027 in the local area? Victoria School are holding open mornings for prospective families to have a tour of the school:

• Friday 23 October at 9.15am
• Friday 6 November at 9.15am
• Thursday 3 December at 9.15am
• Thursday 7 January at 9.15am
• Friday 19 March 1.45pm-2.30pm - Nursery Stay and Play
  Come along with your child to have a taster of Victoria Nursery.

Victoria also currently have spaces in Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to start immediately. Follow the link below here for details on 'in year' admissions and how to apply directly through the school.

Download the Castle Federation Schools Prospectus

 www.victoria.herts.sch.uk

Schools Admissions Consultation 28/29

The Thomas Coram Church of England school and Victoria Church of England Infant School and Nursery are consulting on their admission arrangements for the academic year 2028-29.
The consultation runs until Sunday 22 November, allowing six weeks for all relevant parties to view and comment on the proposals. Proposed changes are mainly about providing more clarity for parents and rephrasing of the faith criteria to better reflect DBE guidance.

For further details on the proposed admission arrangements, please visit:

 www.castlefederation.org

Sunday 18 October
October Farmers’ Market

The next Farmers' Market is on Berkhamsted High Street, offering a range of local produce, tempting street food, beers and wines, delicatessen and fine cheeses, plus hand-crafted gifts, herbalist therapies and much more. Farmers' Markets are held on the 3rd Sunday of every month.

Sunday 18 October at 4:00 pm
Alexander Ardakov piano recital

Virtuoso pianist Alexander Ardakov returns to St Peter's with a recital of works by Brahms, Debussy and Schumann in the intimate setting of the Lady Chapel. Come to experience sublime music offered one of Britain's leading pianists. £15 on the door, under-18s free.

Thursday 22 October at 7:30 pm
1,000 Years of Berkhamsted History

Berkhamsted Citizens invite you to their next speaker event, with a talk by local historian Peter Morgan, who will take us on a stroll through our local history. The Clock Room, Berkhamsted Town Hall, BCA members free, £5 non-members, or join the BCA for just £10/year

 berkhamstedcitizens.org.uk

Saturday 31 October at 7:00 pm
The Berkhamsted Ball

The last few tickets are left for Berkhamsted Castle Trust's fundraising ball - snap them up while you can! This glittering black-tie event will feature a three-course dinner, live music and dancing with The X Tones, and a Gala Charity Auction hosted by Antiques Roadshow experts John Bly and Eric Knowles. Auction lots will include holiday home stays, a painting of your house by Mary Casserley, a private plane flight, a fly fishing experience day, and a personalised visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum with John Bly. All proceeds will go towards the Castle Fields Appeal, saving the historic battlefield site next to Berkhamsted Castle. 

Tickets are £75 each and include a welcome drink. Book online - individuals or couples welcome, or get friends together and book a table of 8!
Nash Hall, Berkhamsted Girls' School, Kings Road

 buytickets.at

Sunday 1 November
BerkoFest Book Festival

Tickets are still available for BerkoFest Book Festival in Berkhamsted Town Hall. Discussions, readings, Q&A sessions and book signings, hosted by Robin Ince and Nigel Barden, with appearances by Alexei Sayle, Lucia Osbourne-Crowley, Athena Kugblenu, Ellen Jones, Caroline Litman and Ben Jennings.

 tickets.matterpay.com

Saturday 7 November
Fleetwood Mac by candlelight

The Rumours are true...! Something to look forward to in November - experience the hits of Fleetwood Mac as you've never heard them before, played by a string trio! We welcome Lumos back to St Peter's for an enchanting evening of classical rock by candlelight. We wouldn't tell you Sweet Little Lies - it really will be a super evening, so don't Go Your Own Way - book now! Say You Will! Tickets £20-£45, two sittings at 5pm and 7pm.

Autumn in the Cemetery

Over the summer, the long grass in the upper section of Rectory Lane Cemetery provided a perfect habitat for vital insects and butterflies. Now that the summer is over, the focus for volunteers is on cutting and raking off that grass so that it doesn't become just a heavy wet thatch over the autumn and winter. They're using a combination of modern electric strimmers and traditional methods with sickles and a scythe. After this year's heatwave, the grass has finally grown green again, and the volunteers are back to their regular mowing schedule, and tending the Interment of Ashes and Remembrance Garden flowerbeds.

Last month, cemetery visitors enjoyed a fascinating tour as part of the national Heritage Open Days, learning about the working lives of people in our parish over the past 180 years. The tour explored traditional trades like straw plaiting, paper makers, quicklime makers, and sheep dip manufacturing.

Read more in this month's Cemetery newsletter:

 www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk

Food Banks Harvest Appeal

As the winter months begin, local charities find that demand for help rises. As energy bills soar, many people are forced to turn to food banks just to feed themselves and their families. There are many ways you can help people who are struggling:

• Inside St Peter's, Berkhamsted Food Hub have a pantry table, which allows people to come in and pick up food. Demand is now outstripping supply, and Food Hub have requested more donations. You can leave cans/jars/packets of non-perishable food on the table. Toiletries such as shampoo and shower gel are also especially welcome.
• At the supermarket, local charity DENS collect Food Bank supplies in donation points near the checkouts. If you're in Waitrose or Tesco this weekend, please pick up a few extra things  to help DENS and leave them at the collection point. You can view the DENS Harvest Appeal shopping list of most needed items below.

Your donation could make a life-changing impact for local families and individuals who are struggling to get by.

dens havest appeal

960th anniversary of the Norman Conquest

On Wednesday it was the 960th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, an event that changed England forever. On 14 October 1066, King Harold was slain at the Battle of Hastings, and William of Normandy began his march around the south of England. After crossing the Thames at Wallingford, William arrived at Berkhamsted where, it is said, the Saxon nobles surrendered to William.

Today, people flock in their thousands to see the Bayeux Tapestry on display at the British Museum. This historical wonder tells the story of the Norman Conquest in great detail, but strangely, the story comes to an abrupt end. The Tapestry's final panel shows the English army fleeing from the defeat at Hastings, and there's nothing more. But we know the story doesn't end there. Historians think that at least two panels of the tapestry are missing, maybe even 10 or 20 feet in total.

Nobody really knows how the tapestry ended, but several attempts have been made to "complete" the Bayeux Tapestry, and recreate the missing scenes. In 1997, the artist Jan Messent pieced together the historical clues and created a reconstruction of these "lost" panels. In 2013, a group of embroiderers on the Island of Alderney in the Channel Islands turned Messent's artwork into a 3-metre embroidered continuation of the Bayeux Tapestry. The Alderney Bayeux Tapestry Finale shows the Saxon surrender at Berchehasteda (Berkhamsted), Duke William holding a celebratory feast, William's coronation at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066, and the Normans building the Tower of London. You can learn more about the Norman Conquest and this fascinating tapestry project on the Berkhamsted Castle website.

Many of us will remember Alderney Tapestry going on display in Berkhamsted Civic Centre in 2016 for the 950th anniversary of the Norman Conquest. It's now on display at the library on Alderney. Closer to home, if you want to see the original Bayeux Tapestry, more tickets are being released next Wednesday (21 October). And don't forget that Berkhamsted Castle is open every day to visitors, free entry!

 www.berkhamstedcastle.org.uk

 www.britishmuseum.org