This week’s Friday Thought is a short video message from our new Bishop, Andrew Rumsey. In the throes of packing for his house move from Wiltshire to Hertfordshire, Andrew reflects on Bunyan’s inspiration behind Pilgrim’s Progress, and what it means for us today.

Video:

Fr Chris Rogers

With sorrow, we must announce that Fr Chris Rogers passed from this life in the early hours of Wednesday morning 29th July at Watford General Hospital. Our prayers are with his partner, John, and with his family and friends.

Fr Stuart writes:

This is too soon perhaps for a eulogy and I'm not really in a position to write his obituary, but having just this morning heard of Fr Chris's death I wanted to offer a simple, personal and heartfelt thanksgiving.

Some people drift into our lives gradually, almost imperceptibly, and others arrive with considerably more flourish; for me, Fr Chris definitely fell into the latter category. My first memory of Chris was after my appointment to St Peter's, when our paths happened to cross in church. Chris threw himself dramatically onto one knee in genuflection and proclaimed, "Your holiness!" You don't forget something like that. Throughout my time at St Peter's, Chris was generous in his kindness and support: he was an insightful, pastoral and prayerful priest with a wonderfully irreverent sense of humour.

The past few months have been difficult ones for Chris and the affection in which he was held by our church family was very much in evidence in the network of volunteers who stepped forward to transport him to and from Mount Vernon Hospital when he was receiving radiotherapy. He was a very special part of our church community and will be much missed.

When I heard of Chris's death I sent my two boys a message to let them know, and I reminded them that he always asked after them whenever I saw him, and he always told me to make sure I was spending time with them and looking after them. As I've been writing this one of them has messaged back to say, "He always asked us to look after you too." Looking after each other well seems like a very fitting way to remember Fr Chris and his time at St Peter's.

Funeral details will be announced very soon.

We give thanks for the ministry of your servant Chris.
Rest eternal grant unto him, O Lord,
and let light perpetual shine upon him.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Amen

Sunday 9 August at 1:00 pm
Parish BBQ!

If you'd like to come to the annual Parish Barbecue on Sunday 9th August, the deadline for signing up is today (Friday 31 July)! Please email Rachel Below if you would like to come, and say what you are bringing, and any dietary requirements we need to be aware of. 

On the day, please bring a salad or pudding to share and we will provide the sausages and ketchup for a modest £3.50 a head, payable on the day (under-18s free). Glasses will be provided but bring your own drinks. We will be outside if the weather is dry, and in the Court House if wet.

Contact:

Rachel Below   

 Email Rachel Below

Thursday 17 September at 6:30 pm
A Service of Thanksgiving for Volunteers

From Fr Stuart: Week in and week out, I'm conscious of how dependent I am on the contribution of volunteers to keep St Peter's church going. It's not just St Peter's, across our community and across the country our lives are hugely enriched by the work of volunteers. A 2025 report by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport estimated the financial benefit of volunteering in the UK to be around £25 billion.

At St Peter's we would like to say thank you to all those who make this town a better place to live in through volunteering their time. On Thursday 17th September at 6.30pm we will be holding a short 'Service of Thanksgiving for our Community's Volunteers', and this will be followed by a drinks reception. I hope that many of our St Peter's volunteers will be able to come along to be part of that celebration. To help us with refreshments we'd invite you to complete this Google form to let us know if you'll be joining.

Choir holiday

During August, our church choir take a well-earned break. Although the choir stalls will be empty on Sunday mornings, you may spot members of the choir dotted around the congregation, flashmob-style!  Instead of a responsorial psalm, we sing a gradual hymn before the Gospel reading. Everyone is encouraged to make an extra effort to sing up! The choir will be back in September.

In the meantime, if you are feeling deprived of choral music, the St Peter's Church Choir CD is available to purchase for just £5 at the back of church or online (+ postage & packing).

 www.stpetersberkhamstedfriends.org.uk

The day the Bishop of Lincoln visited

If you walk up Rectory Lane behind the Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted, you'll find our old Victorian cemetery. Rectory Lane Cemetery was opened when St Peter's churchyard was full up, using land donated by the Charlotte Egerton, the Dowager Countess of Bridgewater. Charlotte was the widow of the 7th Earl of Bridgewater and clearly moved in high social circles. The tall foundation stone in the cemetery records the donations from the landed gentry of Victorian Hertfordshire - quite the high-society crowdfunder! The cemetery was ceremonially opened on 11 October 1842 by John Kaye, Lord Bishop of Lincoln. We may imagine that the Lord Bishop may have made part of his 140-mile journey to Berkhamsted on the newly opened railway line. But why travel so far?

Today, the Parish of Great Berkhamsted lies within the Diocese of St Albans, but this is a relatively modern invention. From the time of the Norman Conquest, we were part of the Diocese of Lincoln, a vast territory that stretched from the banks of the Humber to the Thames. It remained so for over 800 years, until 1877, when the St Albans Diocese was created, turning the ancient St Albans Abbey into a Cathedral.

This is why we were visited one cold October day by a Bishop of Lincoln. It is also possibly why we have an image of St Hugo of Lincoln (with his pet swan) in one of our 1880s stained-glass windows.

Learn more about the Bridgewater Foundation Stone on the Rectory Lane Cemetery website:

 www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk

Parish Office WhatsApp

As demand is increasing to use the messaging service WhatsApp, the Parish Office now has a WhatsApp account. If you have the app, simply add the Parish Office number 07506 072 884 to your contacts. This has mainly been set up to avoid church messages from coming into Robin's personal WhatsApp! The office can still be reached on the normal email address. Please note that using WhatsApp does not guarantee a priority response - the office is still busy, but it may offer a convenient way of communication for some people.

And if you have no idea what WhatsApp is, you can safely ignore all of this!

Friends of St Peter’s – Treasurer

The Friends of St Peter's charity (FoSP), which raises funds for work on the church building and the cemetery, is in need of a new Treasurer. Ideally, we would like to recruit someone from outside the church community itself. Please do put your thinking caps on, and if you know of anyone in the town or local area who might be suitable do please point them in my direction. You can download a Role Description from the FoSP website:

Contact:

Fr Stuart Owen    01442 879 739

 Email Fr Stuart Owen

 www.stpetersberkhamstedfriends.org.uk

Saturday 19 September at 2:00 pm
Installation of the Bishop of St Albans

The Rt Rev Dr Andrew Rumsey will be installed as the 11th Bishop of St Albans at a special service in St Albans Cathedral. This joyful and historic service marks the beginning of Bishop Andrew's ministry across the Diocese of St Albans, and will bring together representatives from churches, schools, civic organisations and communities from across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Luton and Barnet. Tickets are being allocated first to invited guests, clergy and parishes across the Diocese, and a limited number of tickets are available to book online on the Cathedral website. Further tickets will be released at a later stage, so do check again later. The service will be live-streamed, and a link will be sent out in September so that you can watch online.

 www.stalbanscathedral.org

Monday 3 August
Meet your MP

Victoria Collins, our local MP for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, is running a "Summer Tour" during Parliament's summer recess. She'll be, visiting towns and villages across the constituency to meet residents, charities, businesses, and community groups. The Berkhamsted event is on 3 August (venue to be announced). If you'd like to raise a local or national issue, share an idea or simply want to say hello, book your spot on Eventbrite, and you'll get a confirmation email nearer the time:

 www.victoriacollins.uk

Tuesday 4 August - Thursday 6 August
Inflatable Theme Park

Looking for fun activities for the kids during the school holidays? For three days next week there will be an Inflatable Theme Park in Berkhamsted in the grounds of Ashlyns School.  The event offer a wide range of activities for all ages - bouncy castles and play zones, inflatable obstacle courses and mega slides - all guaranteed to wear the kids out! Food and drink stalls on site. Tickets £14.50, parking £1. for full details and online booking visit:

 www.bouncecamp.co.uk

Friday 7 August
The Simon & Garfunkel Story

This acclaimed West End show comes to Berkhamsted School's Centenary Theatre, telling the story of the origins and meteoric rise of the pop-folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. The show combines projected original film footage blended with a live band performing all the hits including Mrs Robinson, Cecilia, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Homeward Bound and many more. Tickets £31 + booking fee from:

 eventsatberkhamsted.ticketsolve.com

Sunday 9 August
Berkhamsted Artisan Market August

The 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.

 www.berkhamstedartisanmarket.co.uk

Friday 14 August - Sunday 16 August
Latimer Music Festival

The Latimer Music Festival is a weekend of concerts and recitals in St Mary Magdalene Church, Latimer in Buckinghamshire, just a 20-minute drive south from Berkhamsted. Highlights include a multi-pianist recital, a Celebration of English Composers (including On Wenlock Edge), Elgar's Piano Quintet, chamber music by Mozart, Schumann, Lyadov and Britten, and more. Book online via the Latimer website:

 www.latimermusic.org.uk

Wednesday 9 September
Neighbourhood Plan Consultation

Berkhamsted Town Council is holding another consultation on its Neighbourhood Plan. This Plan aims to shape improvements to Berkhamsted from now to 2041, looking at issues such as education, leisure facilities, green spaces, transport and congestion, housing and heritage. The Plan is on display in the Civic Centre Foyer 20 July to 15 September, and is available on the Town Council website. BTC will be holding another drop-in event at the Civic Centre on Wednesday 9 September 10 am-12 noon. Once you've read the Plan, you can send your feedback via the online consultation.

 www.berkhamsted-tc.gov.uk

 www.berkhamsted-tc.gov.uk

DENS food bank

Our local homeless charity DENS is appealing for donations to support their food bank, which is running very low. If you're out shopping at Waitrose, Tesco or Sainsbury's in Berkhamsted, Tring Hemel or Apsley, please pick up some extra items and donate them at the in-store collection points.

And do please continue to support the Berko Food Hub food table inside St Peter's. With the lovely weather, it's very easy to forget that many families in our local area are struggling to make ends meet, so please remember those less fortunate. 

Another blooming display

Berkhamsted in Bloom have put up a lovely display inside St Peter's celebrating all the gardens and green spaces around the town that were shown to the Royal Horticultural Society judges last week. There are photos of Lime Tree Walk, the Leisure Centre garden, Kings Road Wildflower Meadow, Sing Gate School, Rectory Lane Cemetery, Sunnyside Activity Centre, Greene Field, St Peter's garden and Station Road gardens. Pop into the cool church for a look and you'll be surprised at the wonderful work that's been going on in Berko!

 www.facebook.com

Pitstone Green Museum open days

Pitstone Green Museum is a fascinating blend of attractions from the past, based in the buildings of an old Victorian farm near Ivinghoe Beacon. It's only open on certain days, when you can come and explore military and vintage vehicles, traction engines, model railways and live demonstrations. Open days are 10:30am - 4:30pm:

• Sunday 9 August
• Bank holiday Monday 31 August
• Sunday 13 September
• Sunday 11 October

 pitstonemuseum.co.uk

Vyne Music and Dance Festival

Throughout July and August, the Vyne Theatre on Northbridge Road, Berkhamsted is holding a Summer Music and Dance Festival, bringing you ballet, contemporary dance, tango and much more with performances, courses, masterclasses, music concerts and an exhibition of ballet costumes. Book events at:

 www.ticketsource.com

Summer in the Cemetery

The grass is brown in Rectory Lane Cemetery, but the community has been making the most of this lovely green space. People have been finding respite from the heat and enjoying the cool shade of the mature trees, having picnics and relaxing with friends. The grave gardens are still flourishing, and events have been attracting families to discover our historic ground. During Great Big Green Week in June, the Great Big Nature Hunt welcomed families to discover the wildlife living among the graves and learn about bees, butterflies and newts. Our cemetery team have been involving local children in the project too:

• Children from Swing Gate School have been visiting to discover the varied insect life
• 2nd Berkhamsted Brownies have planted up a once-ngelcted grave with flowers
• boys from Berkhamsted School visited as part of their annual service day, clearing and planting up graves (observed by a curious fox!)
• 1st Gossoms End Scouts have been helping with watering and gardening

The Cemetery is also participating in Berkhamsted in Bloom, and the visiting RHS judges were left in no doubt of everyone's passion for our green spaces and the strong community spirit within the town. 

Our once-forgotten historic cemetery has become such a wonderful community asset, where we celebrate historic memorials and rich wildlife - let us give thanks for all our volunteers who make this happen. They always welcome new volunteers, so do get in touch if you'd like to get involved - they'd love to hear from you! Read more in the June/July newsletter:

Contact:

Kate Campbell, Rectory Lane Cemetery Ranger   

 Email Kate Campbell, Rectory Lane Cemetery Ranger

 us17.campaign-archive.com

 www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk