| Volume 16 No. 16 | Friday 13 March 2026 |
The Friday Thought | Richard Hackworth
Licensed Lay Reader and All Saints Representative |
This fourth Sunday of Lent is Mothering Sunday, also known as Laetare Sunday (“Laetare”, meaning “rejoice”, from the traditional Latin mass for this day.) Since medieval times on this Sunday Christians would visit their “mother churches” where they were baptised and made “children of the church”. It’s also sometimes known as “Refreshment Sunday,” a day of relaxation from the austerity of Lenten observance, and “Rose Sunday” when clergy may wear rose-coloured vestments rather than Lenten violet. But the key word is Mothering. (Mothering Sunday is quite distinct from “Mother’s Day,” that in its current form is an early twentieth century American invention, although its roots are older.) Mothering Sunday is about more than visits to our mother churches. It’s about everyone concerned with the great enterprise to raise our children, including many outside a child’s immediate family – teachers, foster and adoptive parents, carers, neighbours. It concerns everyone who loves, cares for and nurtures children, who share the joys and the tears, the dreams and disappointments, the delights and sometimes the groans this entails. It’s about shaping the next generation, and that is about creating our futures. This Sunday we pray for them all. We often think of Lent in terms of a journey with Jesus to Jerusalem. On Mothering Sunday, we might also think of Mary’s difficult life journey, from joy at Bethlehem to desolation at Golgotha. Her journey doesn’t end there; it continues through the mystery of Easter Day to the ultimate joy of Pentecost. But we know that tragically not all mothering journeys end in joy. This Sunday we pray for children who are lost, however that comes about, and all who mourn them. One might think mothering is the most valuable task for any society. But it sometimes seems that mothering is most difficult where the need for a better future is most desperate. The Times recently reported on a refugee camp in Sudan* and the story of a twelve-year-old girl attacked and raped by a soldier who threatened to kill her family if she told anyone. She is now a thirteen-year-old child who cries herself to sleep every night, who has her own eight-month-old daughter to care for. A third of the population of Sudan has been displaced and eight million face famine. The report concludes “This is what the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis looks like in a world that doesn’t much seem to care.” There can be few places where mothering is more important, or more acutely difficult. This Sunday we pray for Sudan and everywhere families and children are at such risk. Lastly, but never at least, we pray to give thanks for the blessings of our own families and children, and the life-long journeys we share with them. Yours ever,
Richard *”“It feels like humanity has died in Sudan“
The Times, Saturday 7th February |
Church news & notices Saturday 14 March at 9:00 am
Floristry volunteersThe gentlemen and children of the parish are invited to come to St Peter's and help to make floral posies. These will then be distributed to mothers in the congregation on Mothering Sunday. | Sunday 15 March at 9:30 am
Mothering SundayMid-way through Lent we mark Refreshment Sunday and Mothering Sunday. This is a special time for us to celebrate mothers and give thanks for all that they bring to our lives. All our welcome to our family Eucharist - there will be a Sunday School during the service. Mass setting: Missa Aesterna Christi Munera - Palestrina; Missa de Angelis - arr. Christopher Moore
Choir anthem: The Lord bless you and keep you - Rutter
Organ voluntary: Sortie in E? - Lefébure-Wély Loving God,
Thank you for mums and children
and for all the joy of family life.
Be with those who are grieving because they have no mother;
Be close to those who are struggling because they have no children;
Be near to those who are sad because they are far apart from those they love.
Let your love be present in every home,
And help your church to have eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of all who come.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
| Wednesday 18 March at 12:00 pm
Christian Aid Lent Lunch There's another opportunity for you to enjoy a Lent lunch in the Courthouse from 12noon -1.30 pm. As usual there will be a choice of soups, followed by fruit crumble. All donations are for Christian Aid.
| Wednesday 25 March
Installation of the 106th Archbishop of CanterburyThe Installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, will take place at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, the Feast of the Annunciation. Historically known as an enthronement, the Installation marks the symbolic start of the Archbishop of Canterbury's public ministry in the Church of England and across the Anglican Communion. Archbishop Sarah will be installed on the Cathedra (the bishop's throne) as the Diocesan Bishop of the See of Canterbury, the oldest diocese in the English church. Following this, she will be installed on the St Augustine Cathedra as Primate of All England, which also symbolises her ministry in the Anglican Communion. Rooted in centuries of tradition, the service will look forward with hope in Jesus Christ and celebrate the diversity of the Church of England, the nation, and the Anglican Communion today. We hope to circulate a video link where you will be able to watch the ceremony online. At St Peter's Berkhamsted, we will pray for Archbishop Sarah. | Saturday 4 April at 10:00 am
Spruce up for EasterPlease can you spare just an hour or two to help prepare your Church for Easter? Although the severely depleted Cleaning Teams do a wonderful job throughout the year, they could do with some help, especially during the ongoing building works. Everyone is welcome - there are jobs suitable for all. It would be helpful if you bought your own favourite duster etc. It is not all work - there is a wonderful buzz in Church and it is an opportunity to socialise too. Fr Stuart will be serving teas and coffees and homemade biscuits! | Lent Course 2026 – To be a PilgrimThis year's Lent Course is continuing in the Court House on Wednesday mornings at 10am, and Thursday evenings at 8pm until 25/26 March. Fr Stuart will be exploring the theme of pilgrimages, the different forms they can take, and how they can help us to grow in faith, and each session will last around 60-90 minutes. Please do speak to Fr Stuart if you'd like join the groups - all are welcome. | Revision of the Church Electoral RollNotice is hereby given that the Church Electoral Roll will be revised by the Parochial Church Council (PCC), beginning on Sunday the 22nd day of March 2026, and ending on Saturday the 4th day of April 2026. After the revision, a copy of the Roll will be published by the PCC on paper in St Peter's Church for at least 14 days and a copy of the Roll will be available for inspection on a reasonable request being made to the PCC. This is a revision, so please fill in an electoral roll form at the back of church: - if you have recently moved to the parish or have started worshipping at St Peter's;
- if you have changed address
If your circumstances have not changed, there is no need to fill in a form. Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) is set for Sunday 19th April (2 weeks after Easter). | Petertide Fair 2026 – help wanted! The Petertide Fair is back! The big day will be Sunday 28 June, when we welcome the whole Berkhamsted community to St Peter's and raise funds for our Renovation Appeal. Can you help?
We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who can organise a stall, entertainment or refreshments on the day. If you're willing to help, please let us know buy filling in the online form at the link below. There will also be a paper version available in church. Nearer the time, we will also be looking for donations of bottles (for the tombola), cakes, chocolates, sweets, bric-a-brac (no clothes), books (especially fiction) and toys so please start saving items for the Fair! | 8am readers wantedOur team of readers for the 8am Said Eucharist on Sunday mornings has lost a couple of people, and it would be helpful to have a few more names to add to the rota. If you are willing to read the lesson at our early Sunday service every couple of months, please contact: | Holy WeekEveryone is welcome at our services for Holy Week, as we focus on Christ's journey to the Cross and look forward to the joy of Easter. Here are the services for your diaries: - Palm Sunday 29 March 9:30am: Mass for Palm Sunday
- Wednesday 1 April 8pm: Tenebrae
- Maundy Thursday 2 April 8pm: Mass of the Lord's Supper
- Good Friday 3 April:
2pm Good Friday Liturgy
6pm Sacred Concert: Stainer's Crucifixion - Easter Sunday 5 April:
6am Easter Vigil & First Mass of Easter
9:30am Sung Eucharist for Easter
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Schools news World Book Day at Victoria School We had a wonderful week of reading activities where the children explored and shared books they enjoyed reading. As it is the National Year of Reading, we looked at what the children wanted to be added to their class collections and I found out a lot of new titles that I had not heard of. We also had our governors come and read to the children. Nursery had the pleasure of Father Stuart who they loved listening to. For World Book Day the children made boards of their favourite book, and we all came together to share their wonderful and imaginative creations. Every year I am impressed with what they put together for their board and the effort that is made. Mrs Lisa Freeman
Head of School, Victoria CE Infant and Nursery School |
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
 Church noticeboard
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Berkhamsted community news & events Saturday 14 March
Tring Choral Society concertTring Choral Society will be singing Vivaldi's ?Gloria' and Haydn's ?Harmony Mass' at St Peter & St Paul Church, Tring. Tickets available from choir members and online: | Sunday 15 March
March Farmers’ MarketThe 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. | Saturday 21 March at 7:30 pm
CCC Spring ConcertDon't miss the Chiltern Chamber Choir's spring concert at St Peter's. Come and enjoy some radiant sacred music by British composers, including motets by Byrd, Britten, William Harris, John Ireland, James MacMillan and William Walton. This will be a relatively short concert, with a glass of wine on offer afterwards. There are still tickets available - book now for just £20, or pay £22 on the door. Tickets are available from choir members or Brown & Merry Estate Agents, or online. Under-18s and full-time students free. | Sunday 22 March at 4:00 pm
Behind the Mirror concertGardener to the Sun King - an afternoon of music and words in Berkhamsted Town Hall celebrating the court of Louis XIV of France, a world of secrecy and quiet sensuality. Liam Byrne (viola da gamba) Clare O'Connell (cello) and Nada Sharp (storyteller), with music by François Couperin and Marin Marais entwined with the voices of Linda Catlin smith and Hildur Guðnadottir - music that breathes, whispers and glows. | Friday 27 March - Sunday 29 March at 7:30 pm
Don CarloAylesbury Opera presents a fully staged production with orchestra of Verdi's great opera, Don Carlo at the Dembe Theatre in Tring. Performances are on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, sung in Italian with English surtitles. Tickets are on sale now: | Saturday 28 March at 7:30 pm
Northchurch Spring JazzEtoile Events presents Northchurch Spring Jazz, an evening of entertainment at Northchurch Social Centre on Bell Lane with the Steph Pirrie Quartet and the Choir on the Green. Refreshments and pizza on sale, charity raffle in aid of Gaddesden Place Riding for the Disabled. Early bird tickets £20 or £25 on the door. To book contact: | Saturday 28 March at 7:30 pm
Castle Choir concert: A Time for HopeJoin The Castle Choir to celebrate the arrival of Spring with an uplifting programme of enchanting music in Berkhamsted town Hall, featuring soloist Jeanette Ager. Led by Music Director, Bertha Kum, the choir will perform a varied programme of musical theatre, folk and contemporary choral music including Somewhere (Bernstein), Rest (Vaughan Williams), Seal Lullaby (Eric Whitacre) and Time (Jennifer Lucy Cook). £12 adults, children free. | Friday 3 April
Family Easter Discovery TrailThe Friends of St Peter's are running a family-friendly Easter Discovery Trail in Rectory Lane Cemetery on Good Friday 10am-1pm. Come and hunt for Easter eggs in this beautiful historic green space! Book "Early Chick" tickets online for just £3.50 per child, or £6.50 on the day. | Sunday 10 May
The Berkhamsted Walk 2026Registration is now open for the Berkhamsted Walk. This is Berkhamsted's annual fundraiser for the Children's Society, helping disadvantaged young people and vulnerable children which has been going since 1968! You can choose from three different walks: 6, 12 or 18 miles (the routes vary each year), and there are checkpoints and refreshments along the way. To take part, you need to register on their website, and you can make a personal donation (online or by bank card on the day), or collect sponsorship (download the sponsor form from the website). | Friday 15 May - Saturday 23 May
Chiltern Arts Festival 2026Booking is now open for this year's Chiltern Arts Festival - eight days of concerts, walks and events that are inspired by nature, at beautiful locations across the Chiltern Hills. Music will include orchestral, jazz, Renaissance and contemporary choral music at venues including Great Missenden, College Lake, Ashridge, Aldbury, Henley-on-Thames, Marlow, Thame and Princes Risborough. On Saturday 16 May, the Blaze Ensemble will be here at St Peter's Berkhamsted, playing Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and favourites by Mendelssohn, Delius and Mozart. Full listings and ticket sales are all on the Chiltern Arts website: | Friday 15 May at 7:30 pm
Medieval Music ConcertMarco Cannavo and Steve Tyler present Musica Medievalis, an instrumental journey into the music of medieval Europe at the historic St Mary's Church in Northchurch. Featuring hurdy-gurdy and its early predecessors, alongside harp, lute, citole, portative organ, bladder pipe, and tambourine, the concert explores rhythms and melodies from both sacred and secular traditions, interpreted with imaginative freedom while remaining rooted in historical sources. Tickets £15.00 and concessions £12.00: | The Bayeux Tapestry at the British MuseumThe Bayeux Tapestry will be on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027. As any local history enthusiast will tell you, the history of Berkhamsted Castle begins with the Norman Conquest, as it was here that the Saxon nobility surrendered to William the Conqueror. Having the Bayeux Tapestry just an hour's journey by train and Tube from Berkhamsted is an exciting opportunity for us all! Tickets will be highly sought-after. The British Museum are keeping quiet about when tickets will go on sale, but you can find out how to be the first to know on the Berkhamsted Castle website: | Adopt a graveCalling all gardeners! How about taking on a miniature garden in a unique and beautiful community setting? Come down to Rectory Lane Cemetery (behind the Rex cinema) on Saturday 21 March or Wednesday 25 March 2pm-4pm to and meet the team and find out about adopting a grave. 
| Save Castle Fields update Berkhamsted Castle Trust's campaign to save a piece of land next to the Castle from development is gaining momentum. BCT are aiming to raise £500,000 to save Castle Fields. At the recent Rotary Berko Half Marathon and Fun Run, a team of runners garnered thousands in sponsorship. With some recent additional generous donations, the campaign has now passed the £10,000 mark, which is a superb achievement.
You can find out all about the Save Castle Fields Appeal on the Berkhamsted Castle website: |
  | Worship with usThis Sunday: 15 March 2026
Mothering Sunday |
9:30am Sung Eucharist
You are invited to join us at our main Sunday service
Next Sunday: 22 March 2026
Passion SundayMusic this weekHymns: | Anthem: | The Lord bless you and keep you - Rutter | | Voluntary: | Sortie in E♭ - Lefébure-Wély |
ReadingsExodus 2.1–10Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ Psalm 1271 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.2 Unless the Lord keeps the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.3 It is in vain that you hasten to rise up early and go so late to rest, eating the bread of toil, for he gives his beloved sleep.4 Children are a heritage from the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his gift.5 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.6 Happy are those who have their quiver full of them: they shall not be put to shame when they dispute with their enemies in the gate. Gospel: John 19.25–27Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
 In our prayers this weekAnglican Cycle of Prayer:The Anglican Church of KenyaIntercessions | Diocese | ✚✚Sarah, Archbishop of Canterbury, ✚Richard, Acting Bishop of St Albans, ✚ Jane, Bishop of Hertford, and Charles, Archdeacon of St Albans | In our
continuing prayers | Denis Beard, Mary Beard, Christina Billington, Patricia Cody, Barbara Conway, Nola Frost, Yvonne Hart, Judith Hill, John Malcolm, Ghullam Mutaheri, Frozan Mutaheri, Clare Wallington | In our
immediate prayers | Graeme Davis, Mark Few, Barbara Fisher, Owen Ford, Stacy Giles, Peter Kirk, Hilary McVitty, Gwen Roberts, Fr Chris Rogers, Peter Rolfe, David Steadmann, Charlotte Szypryt, Neata Thomson, Sienna Vallance | Weddings
(next four weeks) | | Wedding banns
called this Sunday | | Baptisms
(next four weeks) | Delilah Carr
| | RIP | | | Memorial (year's mind) | Corrado Grassini, Robert Vamos, Gerd Link, John Cook, Keane Ridley |
 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 15 March 2026 - Mothering Sunday| 8am Eucharist |
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| President | Fr David | | Preacher | Fr David | | Reader | Sarah H. | | 9:30am Eucharist |
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| President | Margaret (Fr Stuart) ((Fr David)) | | Preacher | Fr David | | Sidesperson | Samantha O. | | Sidesperson | Barbara J. | | MC | Peter M. | | Acolyte | Hayley K. | | Acolyte | Emma G. | | Thurifer | Libby G. | | Cruficer | . | | Reader | Barbara C. | | Intercessions | Richard H. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Kate H. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Pru M. | | Sunday School | . | | Sound | Jeremy G. | | Friday Thought | Richard |
Sunday 22 March 2026 - Lent 5| 8am Eucharist |
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| President | Fr Stuart | | Preacher | Fr Stuart | | Reader | Mike H. | | 9:30am Eucharist |
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| President | Fr Stuart (Helen Rowland) ((Margaret)) | | Preacher | Margaret | | Sidesperson | Cathy I. | | Sidesperson | Carole D. | | MC | Mark G. | | Acolyte | Hayley K. | | Acolyte | Emma G. | | Thurifer | Chris C. | | Cruficer | . | | Reader | Adrian D. | | Intercessions | James O. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Carole D. | | Eucharistic Minister (Chalice) | Uli G. | | Sunday School | . | | Sound | Julian D. | | Friday Thought | Margaret |
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01442 879 739
Contact Fr Stuart Owen
