Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever. get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’.

John the baptiser appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’

Diocese	✚✚Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury, ✚Alan, Bishop of St Albans, ✚ Jane, Bishop of Hertford, and Charles, Archdeacon of St Albans
Sick & bereaved — long-term	Christina Billington, Alice Jullien, Bill Stead, Margaret Douglas, Judith Hill, Douglas Hill, John Malcolm, Clare Wallington, Denis Beard, Mary Beard, Patricia Cody, Jo Neale, Ghullam Mutaheri, Nola Frost, Betty Beggs, Audrey Higginbotham, Teddy Higginbotham, Alys Pilkington with thanksgiving
Sick & bereaved — immediate	Frozan Mutaheri, Leah Holdroyd, Len Bennett, Sue Beuttler, Barbara Conway, Geoffrey Pope, Yvonne Hart
Weddings (next four weeks)
Wedding banns called this Sunday
Baptisms (next four weeks)
RIP	Felicity Lidderdale, Sandy Brownlie, Jean Cooper (Smith), Sister Rachel of Quidenham, Stephen James, Marion Crawley, John Payne Cook (priest)
Memorial (year's mind)	baby Hannah Ellis, Vic Chatterton, Tony Roberts,

Sunday 10 December at 11:00 am: Ringing carols on handbells

Following high levels of enthusiasm last year, the handbells will return to ring carols!  We will meet in the Court House Long Room after the morning service and everyone is welcome to come and have a go, led by our bellringing captain Mike Below. No need to be able to read music or to be able to sing, everything will be clear on the day.

Saturday 16 December at 6:00 pm: Town Carol Service

As we get ready for Christmas, St Peter's welcomes the whole Berkhamsted community to a big carol service in the church, with readings and traditional congregational carols. All are welcome!

Friday 5 January: Rosary

Please note that there is no Rosary on Friday 5 January.

Advent & Christmas at St Peter’s

Dates and times for services coming up at St Peter's over Advent and Christmas services  are all listed on the parish website and on posters outside the church.

The website also lists Christmas concerts, along with ticket links.

www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/christmas

Sponsor Amelia’s Christmas cards

Amelia Reeves (who sings in our choir) has decided to hand-make some Christmas cards to put into the Cards of Christmas Hope post box, to send to people who will be alone this Christmas.

Amelia is hoping that kind family and friends will sponsor her in making these cards. She is is raising money to go on her school music tour to Oberwesel in Germany next year, where she will be singing in the school choirs. If you'd like to support both Cards of Christmas Hope and Amelia's music trip, you can donate online or speak to her mum, Michele.

gofund.me/8da8c5e2

Shop online to support St Peter’s

We do encourage everyone to shop local of course (see below), but if you are doing Christmas shopping online, remember that you can turn your purchases into funds for St Peter's Church! All you need to do is start your shopping through the EasyFundraising website - log on, search for a retailer and click the big yellow Shop Now button. There are thousands of retailers, including John Lewis, Dunelm, Currys PC World, Lakeland, JD Sports... you can even book flights, train tickets and Just Eat food, and earn money for the church! Since we started this, we have raised over £2000 for St Peter's, so do please take part!

If this is your first time, you need to register on the EasyFundraising website first and select St Peter's Great Berkhamsted as your chosen cause — it only takes 2 minutes.

There are full instructions and a button on the St Peter's website to get you started:

www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/support/shop/

Olivia on Radio 4

Sunday Worship on BBC Radio 4 this week was broadcast live from the chapel of St Catharine’s College in Cambridge. Olivia Davies, our former shared intern with Berkhamsted School, is now Ordinand/Ministry Student at St Catharine's College, and she is heard in the programme assisting with the prayers. This Advent service explores the theme of God’s justice in a broken world, and includes some rather wonderful music by Weelkes and Walford Davies, sung by the college choirs. You can listen on BBC Sounds at:

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001t39j

Diocesan news

Berkhamsted community news & events

Sunday 10 December at 7:00 pm: A Fanfare for Christmas

Saturday 23 December at 7:30 pm: Chiltern Chamber Choir Christmas Concert