| Volume 16 No. 45 | Friday 2 October 2026 |
Church news & notices Saturday 3 October at 7:00 pm
Meet a Concorde pilot! Come to hear all about the wonders of Concorde, one of the great icons of the 20th century. BA Concorde pilot Captain John Tye will present a fascinating tour of the supersonic airliner and take us on a virtual flight from Heathrow to New York in a talk at the Centenary Theatre, Kings Road.
- Welcome drinks from 7pm (included in ticket price)
- Q&A session
- Purchase a signed copy of Captain Tye's best-selling book
- Tickets: £15, £5 for under-18s and students. All ticket holders also receive one year's membership of the Friends.
The David Pearce Memorial Lecture was started last year in memory of our dear departed churchwarden and Berkhamsted schoolmaster. It's run by the Friends of St Peter's in partnership with Berkhamsted School, and this year's event is a fundraiser for the St Peter's Renovation Appeal, supporting our urgent ongoing roof repairs. Don't miss this - and invite your friends and neighbours, and support this vital appeal! Book online, or contact Cathy Imber to secure a ticket:
Contact:Cathy Imber  07909 868 928 | Sunday 4 October
Singing day at St Peter’sSt Peter's Church is inviting children in years 3 - 6 for a day of singing and fun. Over the course of the day, they will have the chance to learn some songs and find out about being a chorister at Berkhamsted's parish church. The day will end with a short concert, in which they'll appear alongside existing members of the choir. No previous experience is required, just a good singing voice and bags of enthusiasm! | Sunday 4 October at 11:00 am
Harvest Promises Auction On Sunday 4th October we will be celebrating Harvest Festival and as part of our thanksgiving, we'll be holding a Promises Auction to raise money for the work of Christian Aid. Last year, we had so many fantastic offers, including cream teas, lunches and dinners, organ lessons, gardening, baking, home-made moussaka, clay pigeon shooting.... with all these bids, St Peter's raised over £1000! They're also a super excuse to enjoy social time together. So let's get your offers in this week and try to beat last year's total! Email Fr Stuart with your offer (and try to be as specific as possible, eg 'two hours light gardening' rather than just 'gardening'). Thank you!
| Wednesday 7 October
BBC Choral Evensong 100th anniversaryThis year, the BBC marks the centenary of its first broadcast of Choral Evensong on 7 October 1926 from Westminster Abbey. From 1931, the weekly broadcasts began to include regional cathedrals, and later Oxbridge college chapels and then public school chapels (state schools weren't included until 2022!). Today, Choral Evensong is the longest-running outside broadcast programme in BBC history. To mark the centenary, the Archive of Recorded Church Music will be streaming a special Choral Evensong compilation on its YouTube channel, with music, prayers and readings from 1926 - 2026. There's also a fascinating history of BBC Evensongs on their website. | Sunday 11 October at 6:00 pm
Choral evensongOur choir will lead worship in our October service of choral evensong in St Peter's. All is to the glory of God and everyone is welcome. Responses: Rose
Psalms: Psalm 106 ( vv 1-12)
Canticles: Aston in F
Anthem: For the fruits of his Creation - ASD
Organ voluntary: Trio Sonata no. 3 in d, 1st mvt - J.S. Bach | Friday 16 October at 12:45 pm
Funeral of Barbara BaggaleyBarbara's funeral will take place in the Milton Chapel at Chilterns Crematorium. | Saturday 17 October
Parish Pilgrimage to AldburyOn 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 | This week’s pew sheetThe Parish Office printer is still not working, and so pew sheets cannot be printed for Sunday mornings. If you do prefer to have the readings, music and parish news on paper, please download the sheet below and print it at home. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible! | St Peter’s + SBJC Last week, it was our pleasure and privilege to welcome South Bucks Jewish Community to celebrate Sukkot, the Jewish Sabbath. In the churchyard this week, once again we are hosting a Sukkah, a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness.
On Sunday, we welcomed Rabbi Neil Janes to St Peter's to share in a conversation with Fr Stuart about friendship between our two communities, and as a congregation we also held discussions with one another. Quite a few ideas came up but there wasn't time to hear everyone. If you would like to pass on your ideas on how we can build our relationship with SJBC and people of other faiths, you can send in your thoughts by filling in this online form: |
Schools news 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.
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The Castle Federation is the governing body responsible for our two Church of England schools in Berkhamsted
 www.castlefederation.org
More about our schools:
 www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/about/schools
 Diocesan news
Monday 16 November at 7:00 pm
Inter-Faith Week celebration at St Albans CathedralAs part of the national Inter Faith Week (8-15 November), St Albans Cathedral is hosting an Inter Faith Week celebration, "Sharing Stories of Hope". The evening will feature Bishop Rob Wickham, Chair of the Church Urban Fund, alongside local practitioners sharing stories of how conversations and relationships can bring people together in divided times. There will be opportunities for discussion, food, music and fellowship. Light refreshments served from 6:15pm, with a free guided tour of the St Albans Shrine. The event is free, but please register your attendance via the Eventbrite link below.
| Abbey by NightSt Albans Cathedral are running their hugely popular Abbey by Night events again this autumn and winter. Be transported back in time to the medieval abbey as you encounter the fantastic stories of the past under candlelight, in the company of monks and pilgrims from the past. Tickets: £23 (includes a glass of wine on arrival). Visitors must be 12yrs+. |  | The Parish of Great Berkhamsted is in the Church of England's Diocese of St Albans |
 www.stalbansdiocese.org
St Albans Cathedral:
www.stalbanscathedral.org
 Church noticeboard
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Berkhamsted community news & events Saturday 3 October
Pop-up Autumn Artisan MarketGifts, artworks, homewares, wellbeing products and more in Berkhamsted Town Hall 10am-3pm. Free entry. | Friday 9 October at 6:00 pm
Comedy Evening & Pop-up Beer BarBerkoBeerFest are holding an autumn comedy evening in the Civic Centre, with four tip-top comedians: Stephen K Amos, Conor Drum, James Alderson and Max Fulham. There'll also be live music, street food suppers and a bar. Tickets £22. | Saturday 10 October at 7:30 pm
Retro RewindÉtoile Events present Retro Rewind, an evening of live music from The Simply 70s Show band at Northchurch Social Centre. Get on down to disco, soul, glam rock and funk, and enjoy a licensed bar and retro food. There will be prizes for the best dressed guests and a charity raffle in aid of Gaddesden Place Riding for the Disabled. Advance tickets £30, or £35 on the door, table bookings welcome. To book contact: Contact:Étoile Events 07769 183 362 | Saturday 10 October at 7:30 pm
Bridgewater SinfoniaThe thriving Berkhamsted music scene continues with the Bridgewater Sinfonia new concert season. It opens on Saturday 10 October at Berkhamsted School's Centenary Theatre with Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. Also on the programme is Mozart's Violin Concerto N° 5, played by Nathaniel Anderson-Frank, leader of the BBC Concert Orchestra; and Beethoven's Eroica Symphony (please note that this replaces the performance of Verdi's Requiem advertised earlier). Looking ahead to Advent Sunday 29 November, Bridgewater Sinfonia will be presenting a pre-seasonal Sunday matinée performance of Tchaikovsky Ballet Suites in Deans' Hall, Berkhamsted School. Advance/online tickets are £22, or £24 on the door, under-18s free. Pick up a season brochure at the back of church or visit: | Sunday 11 October
Berkhamsted Artisan Market OctoberThe next Artisan Market is on the High Street, offering handmade jewellery, gifts, crafts, wooden homewares, ceramics, sculpture and more. Cand have a browse - all stall fees go towards the Friends of St Peter's. | Sunday 11 October at 4:00 pm
Behind the Mirror concertSilence & Humanity: an afternoon of intimate music in Berkhamsted Town Hall, with John Cage's String Quartet in Four Parts and Beethoven's String Quartet no. 14 Op.131. Tickets £25, under-18s free. | Tuesday 13 October - Saturday 17 October
The Pepper Show 2026The Pepper Show returns to the DEMBE Theatre in Tring for five nights (plus a matinée) with rock and pop hits across the decades. This hugely popular annual event raises funds for The Pepper Foundation, a local charity that raises vital funds for children's hospice at home care in Bucks & Herts. Tickets are on sale now: | Sunday 18 October at 4:00 pm
Alexander Ardakov piano recitalVirtuoso 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. | Saturday 31 October at 7:00 pm
The Berkhamsted BallBerkhamsted Castle Trust are holding a fundraising Black Tie Berkhamsted Ball at Nash Hall in Berkhamsted Girls' School, Kings Road. Tickets are £75 each and include a welcome drink, a three-course dinner, and live music and dancing with The X Tones. There will also be a Gala Charity Auction with Antiques Roadshow experts John Bly and Eric Knowles, with the chance to bid on some fabulous items, including a private plane flight, golf sessions and holiday home stays. Bookings for couples or individuals are welcome, or get friends together and book a table of 8! Don't miss this glittering occasion - all proceeds will go to the Castle Fields Appeal, saving a historic battlefield site next to Berkhamsted Castle. Book now: | Sunday 1 November
BerkoFest Book Festival
Back for its seventh year, BerkoFest Book Festival is returning to Berkhamsted Town Hall, with a mix of acclaimed fiction and non-fiction writers, children's authors, comedians and cartoonists in discussions, readings, Q&A sessions and book signings. The event will be 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 are now on sale, and usually sell out very quickly, so book now to avoid disappointment! | Saturday 7 November
Fleetwood Mac by candlelightThe 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. | Friday 20 November
DENS Sleepout 2026Local homepess charity DENS are holding their annual Sleepout event. Take on a challenge with a real purpose - give up your home comforts for one night and experience sleeping outside while raising vital funds for local people facing homelessness and hardship. The organised event takes place in a secure, covered sleeping area in Kings Langley, and participants receive a welcome pack, live music, games, street food vendors and tasty treats. In the morning, there's a free breakfast to round off the experience. Ticket Price: Adults (18+): £10 / Child (8-17): £5. Book your space online: | Way Inn gears up for ChristmasThe Way Inn is so much more than a Post Office, it is a Christian Presence on our High Street. Over the coming weeks we will welcoming our Christmas stock so why not pop in to pick up an Advent Calendar, choose your Christmas cards or select a gift? There will also some Christmas books at bargain prices and local produce. The Way Inn is run by a Christian Charity which is looking for some new trustees. Is this something you or someone you know might be able to do? Please pray about it and speak to The Way Inn to find out more. | Anglia in Bloom award The tireless work of our volunteers who tend Rectory Lane Cemetery has once more been recognised. Last Thursday, our Cemetery won the Best Community Project 2026 Award at the Anglia in Bloom regional awards. The cemetery ranger, Kate Campbell, was there at the awards ceremony in St Ives, Cambridgeshire to receive a certificate and an engraved wooden bowl.
On top of that, the Berkhamsted In Bloom campaign took two awards - a Silver Gilt and the Hertfordshire County Champions award. Let's all celebrate Berkhamsted's haul of awards in the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom Campaign! | Protect yourself from fraud Did you know that over £2.2 million was lost by Hertfordshire victims of fraud during 2026? Hertfordshire Police have issued advice on protecting yourself from fraud - email scams, banking fraud, online shopping and even cash machines can leave people vulnerable to fraud, especially as Christmas approaches. It can seem scary, but the police are here to help. Follow the link below to get some useful tips, and you can also suscbribe to their regular email newsletter.
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Cartoon Church This week's cartoon courtesy of CartoonChurch
Copyright © 2026 Dave Walker
  | Worship with usThis Sunday: 4 October 2026
Harvest (International Chorister Day) |
9:30am Sung Eucharist
You are invited to join us at our main Sunday service
Next Sunday: 11 October 2026
19th Sunday after Trinity| 9:30am: | Sung Eucharist | | 6:00pm | Choral Evensong |
Music this weekHymns: | Anthem: | The heavens are telling - Franz Josef Haydn | | Voluntary: | Praeludium in A - Dietrich Buxtehude |
ReadingsIsaiah 5.1-7Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watch-tower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry! Psalm 19 (vv. 1-6)1 The heavens are telling the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.2 One day pours out its song to another and one night unfolds knowledge to another.Response3 They have neither speech nor language and their voices are not heard,4 Yet their sound has gone out into all lands and their words to the ends of the world.Response5 In them has he set a tabernacle for the sun, that comes forth as a bridegroom out of his chamber and rejoices as a champion to run his course.Response6 It goes forth from the end of the heavens and runs to the very end again, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.Response Gospel: Matthew 21.33-end‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
 In our prayers this weekAnglican Cycle of Prayer:Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil/Anglican Episcopal Church of BrazilIntercessions | Diocese | ✠✠Sarah, Archbishop of Canterbury, ✠ Andrew, Bishop of St Albans, ✠ Jane, Bishop of Hertford, and Charles, Archdeacon of St Albans | In our
continuing prayers | Mary Beard, Christina Billington, Barbara Fisher, Stacy Giles, Yvonne Hart, Judith Hill, Barbara McKenna, Ghullam Mutaheri, Frozan Mutaheri, Ken Organ, Gwen Roberts, Neata Thomson, Clare Wallington, Liz Wright | In our
immediate prayers | Doug Billington, Patricia Cody, Graeme Davis, Mark Few, Peter Kirk, Peter Rolfe, Charlotte Szypryt, Sienna Vallance | Weddings
(next four weeks) | Philip Gameson & Suzy Harker
| Wedding banns
called this Sunday | | Baptisms
(next four weeks) | | | RIP | Barbara Baggaley, Graeme Selkirk, Marion Muller, Gill Moore | | Memorial (year's mind) | Matthew Black |
 RotasWe are ever thankful for our team of dedicated clergy and volunteers who support our collective worship every week. If you are new to St Peter's, we encourage you to get involved in our parish life. Listed below are rotas for this coming Sunday and the week after. You can check future rota dates on the parish website at www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/rotas Sunday 4 October 2026 - Harvest| 8am Eucharist |
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| President | Fr Stuart | | Preacher | Fr Stuart | | Reader | Tracy R. | | 9:30am Eucharist |
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| President | Fr Stuart (Helen) | | Preacher | Fr Stuart | | Sidesperson | Kate H. | | Sidesperson | Helen P. | | MC | Will G. | | Cruficer | Richard C. | | Acolyte | Hayley K. | | Acolyte | Tilly A. | | Thurifer | . | | Reader | Rachel B. | | Intercessions | Richard H. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Paul J. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Hilary E. | | Sunday School | . | | Sound | Julian D. | | Friday Thought | |
Sunday 11 October 2026 - Trinity 19| 8am Eucharist |
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| President | | | Preacher | | | Reader | Liz P. | | 9:30am Eucharist |
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| President | | | Preacher | | | Sidesperson | Cathy I. | | Sidesperson | Barbara J. | | MC | Libby G. | | Cruficer | Will G. | | Acolyte | Hayley K. | | Acolyte | Tilly A. | | Thurifer | . | | Reader | Mark G. | | Intercessions | Joseph C. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Carole D. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Uli G. | | Sunday School | . | | Sound | Christopher G. | | Friday Thought | Margaret |
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