A recent review of Guinness’s ‘Open Gate Brewery’ in Covent Garden described it as a place where ‘Guinness disciples can make pilgrimage’. The phrase jumped out at me, as over the past few weeks I’ve been preparing notes for this year’s Lent Course on the theme, ‘To be a pilgrim’. Some people make pilgrimages to religious sites like Rome, Mecca, Varanasi, whilst a rugby fan might make their pilgrimage to Twickenham (or Murrayfield!), a country music fan will head to Nashville, and I’m tempted to make my pilgrim way to that Guinness outpost in London. What does it mean to make a pilgrimage?

The question of what it means to be a pilgrim is one for all of us to consider over the next few weeks, as Lent is often described as a kind of ‘pilgrimage’, and as we celebrate Mass during Lent we’ll be praying about the season taking us on a ‘pilgrimage of prayer and discipline’.

This year’s Lent course will be an opportunity to think about different aspects of pilgrimage. We’ll be thinking about the destination we’re aiming for and what it means to ‘arrive’, but we’ll also be thinking about where our journeys begin and the things which we sometimes need to leave behind. We’ll be thinking about the companions we have along the way, and about the challenges we will invariably face.

As we prepare to make our Lenten pilgrimage, those are questions which we should all be asking ourselves. If you’re planning to give something up (or indeed take something up) during Lent, in what ways do you expect to find that challenging? Who or what will accompany you on your spiritual journey to help you along the way? Are there things that you want to leave behind you, to step away from, over these weeks as we journey towards Good Friday and the Cross? And when you reach the joy of Easter dawn what will it mean for you ‘arrive’ at the place of Resurrection? All good pilgrimages need a bit of preparation, and maybe taking a little time to reflect on those questions will help you prepare for this Lent, a spiritual pilgrimage that is one of the Church’s great gifts to us all.

Wednesday 18 February
Ash Wednesday

Everyone is welcome as we begin our Lent journey, a time of self-reflection and renewal, to reset our relationship with God. during the Mass, everyone is invited to receive an ash mark on your forehead as a symbol of penitence.

Choral anthem: Wash me throughly - SS Wesley

Thursday 26 February - Thursday 26 March
Lent Course 2026 – To be a Pilgrim

For this year's Lent Course, we'll be reflecting on the experience of pilgrimages, the different forms they can take, and how they can help us to grow in faith. Fr Stuart will take as a starting point for each session, some of his experiences from his pilgrimage last year from the birthplace of St Columba in the north of Ireland to the island of Iona. The groups will meet in the Court House on Wednesday mornings at 10am, and Thursday evenings at 8pm, and each session will last around 60-90 minutes. The course starts on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th February. Please do speak to Fr Stuart if you'd like to know more. All are welcome.

Contact:

 Send an email to: Fr Stuart Owen

 01442 879 739

Sunday 1 March
Sundays Together lunch

We run Sundays Together luncheons once a month in the Court House for our friends in the parish of more advanced years, who may be on their own and find it difficult to socialise. For a small cost of £6, guests receive a welcome drink and enjoy a hot meal cooked by our lovely team of chefs. Please note that there is no luncheon on Easter Day (5 April).

Sundays Together 2026 dates
(first Sunday of the month)

• Sunday 1 March
• Sunday 5 April - Easter - no luncheon
• Sunday 3 May
• Sunday 7 June
• Sunday 5 July
• Sunday 2 August
• Sunday 6 September
• Sunday 4 October
• Sunday 1 November
• Sunday 6 December (Christmas lunch)

Contact:

 Send an email to: Carole Dell

 01442 864 706

 www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/groups/sundays-toge

Video streaming

Just a reminder that we have some technical problems with our live video streaming, and we may not be able to broadcast our Sunday morning services from St Peter's. At the moment, we are only able to broadcast our worship as a silent movie! We do appreciate that these services are greatly valued by people who are unable to join us in person, and we are looking into ways of improving our (admittedly Heath-Robinson-eque) setup. This may take some time, but in the meantime, other live video streams are available on Sunday mornings, offering virtual spiritual sustenance:

• 9.30am (third and fourth Sunday of the month): St Albans Cathedral
  www.youtube.com/@stalbanscathedral/streams
• 9:45am: All Saints Berkhamsted
  www.youtube.com/@AllSaintsHP4
• 10:30am: Holy Trinity Potten End
  www.facebook.com/holytrinitypottenend/video
• 11am: All Saints Margaret Street
  www.youtube.com/@ASMS/streams
• 11.30am (first and second Sunday of the month): St Albans Cathedral
  www.youtube.com/@stalbanscathedral/streams

These links are all on the St Peter's website.

Roof repairs

A reminder that the scaffolding inside the North Transept is closed off during roof repairs. This means that during the 9:30am Eucharist, we will all receive communion from the chancel step rather than at the altar rail, as the left-hand arch is blocked off by hoarding. Sunday School and weekday services take place in the St Catherine Chapel. For access to sound system and heating controls, please see the attached document.

Feeling Good Week at Victoria

We have been celebrating Feeling Good Week, where we starting the week exploring the idea of belonging and what it meant to belong. As part of getting the children together we had a whole school Stormbreak session. This was to introduce a new way to support children's mental health and well-being at school, through focused themed movement breaks. This program enables every child to flourish in learning and love.

Nursery got involved with Feeling Good Week thinking about how they would make a new child in Nursery welcome. They had lots of thoughtful ideas, and we were impressed with their caring attitude towards others.

We are ending the week with a dress-down day... with a twist! We are encouraging everyone to 'come as yourself ' and to wear anything that makes you feel good and special. I look forward to seeing the variety of outfits.

Snowdrop Garden Open Days

The Bishop of St Albans' Garden will open to visitors this February, offering a much-loved chance to enjoy God's creation in its early spring beauty.  Thousands of snowdrops and other early bulbs will be in bloom, creating a peaceful, uplifting place to wander and reflect. This year's openings may be the last time the garden is made accessible to the public, making the occasion especially meaningful. Abbey Gate House, Abbey Mill Lane, St Albans AL3 4HD

• Saturday 14 February
• Sunday 15 February
• Saturday 21 February
• Sunday 22 February

Time: 2pm-4pm

Entry: £5 per adult (all proceeds to the Trust)
All proceeds will go directly to the Beds and Herts Historic Churches Trust, which helps fund essential repairs to historic churches across Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

General Synod

This week, General Synod has been meeting in London. It marks a significant moment in Church of England history, as this is the first Synod presided over by Archbishop Sarah Mullaly (along with Archbishop Stephen). You can find out about the topics discussed and voting results and watch videos of the proceedings at the link below.

The General Synod will next meet in York 10-14 July, and again in London 16-18 November.

 www.churchofengland.org/about/governance

Saturday 14 February at 7:30 pm
Lumas Winds at the Civic Centre

Berkhamsted Music presents a Valentine's Day at Berkhamsted Civic Centre: Lumas Winds will play a programme of pieces by Bach, Mozart, Zemlinsky and Taffanel. This young ensemble has featured on BBC Radio 3's Record Review and has been hailed as "an effervescent wind quintet, lively in their performance style and enterprising in their choice of repertoire". Tickets £25 on the door or online:

 www.berkhamstedmusic.co.uk/event/lumas-winds-15-02

Sunday 15 February
February 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.

Thursday 19 February at 7:30 pm
Castle Fields evening talk

Berkhamsted Castle Trust (BCT) has received a generous loan of £500,000 by a local benefactor to purchase 30 acres of land off of New Road, Berkhamsted - known as ?Castle Fields'. Now BCT is running an appeal to repay the loan. Come and find out more about this exciting heritage project for Berkhamsted at a talk in the Clock Room of Berkhamsted Town Hall by BCT trustee James Moir, to promote and raise awareness of the appeal. James will talk about the vision for the fields as part of a "Prince's Park" project to set Berkhamsted Castle in the context of the 13th-century royal deer park. He will also explore future fundraising projects, so please come armed with ideas! Hosted by Berkhamsted Citizens' Association, Berkhamsted Castle Trust & Castle Fields Interest Group. £5 entry (BCA members free)

 berkhamstedcitizens.org.uk/castle-fields-500k-im-i

 Array

Saturday 21 February at 8:00 am
Prayer Breakfast

The next Berkhamsted Churches Prayer Breakfast will be held at Kings Road Church. Please send your prayer requests by Wednesday 18th February to:

Contact:

 Send an email to: Peggy Sear

Saturday 7 March at 7:30 pm
Bridgewater Sinfonia: Bruch Violin Concerto

The next Bridgewater Sinfonia concert will be at Berkhamsted School Deans' Hall on Castle Street, with soloist Emmanuel Bach playing the Bruch Violin Concerto No 1. Also on the programme will be Schubert's Symphony No 9 in C, "The Great". Advance tickets are available from Ashtons Estate Agents (next to Tesco) and online for £20, or £22 on the door, under-18s free.

 www.bridgewater-sinfonia.org.uk/event/bruch-violin

Saturday 21 March at 7:30 pm
CCC Spring Concert

The Chiltern Chamber Choir will be back at St Peter's, presenting 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. Tickets: £20 in advance, £22 on the door, under-18s and full-time students free, available from choir members or Brown & Merry Estate Agents, or online:

 www.eventbookings.com/b/event

Sunday 22 March - Saturday 25 April
Amersham Festival of Music

In March and April there's a month-long music festival over in Amersham (just 5 miles from Berkhamsted), featuring orchestral, jazz and chamber music. Highlights include a screening Wallace & Gromit's The Wrong Trousers with live brass band, band music of the 1920s & 30s, the London Community Gospel Choir, Handel's Samson, Holst's The Planets, Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and much more. Pick up a brochure at the back of church. Book online at:

 Array

Friday 27 March - Sunday 29 March at 7:30 pm
Don Carlo

Aylesbury 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:

 www.dembetheatre.org/whatson/don-carlo-2026

Berkhamsted Artisan Market

Berkhamsted Artisan Market is back in 2026, held on the second Sunday of each month in 2026. The High Street is filled with quirky and creative stalls offering hand-crafted gifts, household items, wellness products, food and drink and more. The first market of 2026 is coming up on Sunday 8 March. Thanks to the tireless organisation by Anne Foster, all the pitch fees from the Market will go towards the Friends of St Peter's (FoSP), the charity dedicated to preserving Berkhamsted's historic sites, St Peter's Church, Rectory Lane Cemetery and the Town Hall. We are so lucky to enjoy such a new creative vibe in our town, so do please support these monthly community events and help the work of the Friends. Follow Berkhamsted Artisan Market on Facebook:

Berkhamsted Artisan Market dates

 www.facebook.com/BerkoArtyMarket

St John’s Upper Norwood

Fr John Pritchard, who served his curacy here at St Peter's about 15 years ago, is now vicar of St John the Evangelist Upper Norwood in South London. It's a beautiful church, but for many years it has been suffering from subsidence which threatens the building. The grade II* listed church was designed by JL Pearson in 1887 and is now on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register.

Fr John has been interviewed by the local news media channel MyLondon to promote the appeal to save the church. In 2017, they successfully completed a £750,000 underpinning project on one side of the building with help from generous funders and the Heritage Lottery Fund, but more work - and funding - is needed.

As with all filming, there are bound to be some bloopers, and the reporter at Upper Norwood was caught on camera accidentally addressing Fr John as "Fr Ted". That would, of course, be an ecumenical matter....
Watch now

 www.sjun.org.uk/restoration

 Array

Bring & sing event a success

Berkhamsted Choral Society enjoyed a fantastic turnout on Saturday when they held a "bring & sing" event in St Peter's. They welcomed newcomers who came in to have a go at singing Fauré's Requiem, which offered a fantastic opportunity to many people who don't normally sing choral works. The all-day event finished with a free informal concert for anyone who wanted to come in and listen. Berkhamsted Choral Society will be back at St Peter's in April for a performance of Brahms' Deutsches Requiem on Saturday 25th. Watch the parish notices for reminders and ticket info!

 Array

Children’s Mental Health Week

This week, the Swan Youth Project in Berkhamsted have been raising awareness of Children's Mental Health Week. Every day, the Swan offers a place where young people can be themselves and where they can talk, be seen, feel listened to and feel safe. They've been focusing on increased concerns around online safety and its negative impact on young people. Last year, their programme helping teenagers to learn about healthy relationships and coercive behaviour was featured by BBC News, and they are continuing this vital work.

 www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles

Spring at Boxmoor Trust

There's an opportunity this month to "meet the cows" - the Boxmoor Trust are inviting visitors to come and see the Belted Galloways (the stripey coos you see in the field near Hemel Hempstead station)! The "Belties" are spending winter in the cattle barns in Howes Retreat on Felden Lane. In March, the Boxmoor Trust are holding Lambing Events, when you can come to meet newborn lambs in the barns at Snook's End, London Road. All these events are extremely popular with families, so be sure to book your tickets well ahead - there is no entry without a ticket! Full details on the Boxmoor Trust website:

 www.boxmoortrust.org.uk/news-events/upcoming-event