Saturday 15 March at 8:00 am
Prayer Breakfast

There will be a Prayer Breakfast at Sunnyside Church, where members of all Berkhamsted churches gather to pray for the community and share a breakfast.

Wednesday 19 March - Wednesday 9 April at 10:00 am
Lent Meetings: Favourite Hymns

We all sing hymns, but do we know much about them? Do you have a favourite hymn (or a hymn you hope won't come up next Sunday)? Do you know who wrote them, who composed the music and when. Have you thought about what they say about our faith? If not, and you'd like to learn more, why not come to four 1 hour meetings during Lent with Richard and Dorothy?

Tell one of us you're interested!

• Tell us your favourite hymn(s), and we'll add some of our own.
• We'll research them and find out their stories and messages, and find some interesting settings to listen to.
• Three to four hymns each week.

Meeting 10am-11am on the following dates:

• Wednesday 19 March - Court House
• Thursday 27 March - Lady Chapel, in St Peter's Church (note change of date and venue)
• Wednesday 2 April - Court House
• Wednesday 9 April - Court House

Contact:

 Send an email to: Richard Hackworth

 07740 511 677

Thursday 20 March at 12:00 pm
Lent Lunches

We have two opportunities to enjoy a Lent lunch in the Courthouse, on Thursday 20th March and Thursday 3rd April from 12noon, to raise money for Christian Aid. As usual there will be a bowl of homemade soup followed by a fruit crumble. No need to book just come!

Contact:

 Send an email to: Dorothy Key

Saturday 29 March
Mothering Sunday – flower men wanted!

As has now become tradition at St Peter's, the Rector would like to gather a team of boys and men from our congregation to make floral posies for distribution on Mothering Sunday at the 9:30am service. Whether you have aspirations as a florist or are just a dab hand with scissors and string, please come along to St Peter's from 9am on the Saturday morning to lend a hand. Your help will be most gratefully received.

Sunday 6 April at 11:00 am
APCM

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) and Meeting of Parishioners will be held in  St Peter's Church. At this meeting we will:

• Discuss the Annual Report and church matters over the past year
• Elect 2 lay representatives to the Parochial Church Council (PCC)
• Elect a new churchwarden

Full details are in the notices attached here and on display on the church noticeboard.

Notice of Annual Parochial Church Meeting

Contact:

 Send an email to: Carolynne Charman

Clergy contacts

Until Fr Stuart returns from his Sabbatical (Sunday 30 March), here are the clergy contacts, in the event of bereavement or a pastoral emergency:

Contact:

 Send an email to: Fr John Russell

 01442 214 898

Preparation of a new Church Electoral Roll

The Church Electoral Roll is a list of all the members of St Peter's Church. Normally, we update the roll once a year to add newcomers and remove people who have left the parish or passed away. Every few years, we are required to compile a brand new Electoral Roll, and so this year we have to start a new roll. Everyone who wishes to be included must fill out an application form, whether you have been worshipping at St Peter's for 50 years or you have just moved to the area.

• Application forms for enrolment are available in St Peter's Church
• If you're unable to get to St Peter's to fill in a form, download the application form below, fill it in and email to the Church Electoral Roll Officer, Oliver Fradgley

If you want to attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) on 5 April, your application form for enrolment must be returned by Sunday 23 March 2025. See the notice attached here and on the church noticeboards for full details and terms of enrolment.

Preparation of New Electoral Roll notice

Electoral Roll Enrolment Form

Contact:

 Send an email to: Oliver Fradgley

 07749 602 987

Sunday School Lent appeal: Pens For Kids UK

During Lent, the Sunday School are supporting the work of local charity Pens For Kids UK by collecting:

• Writing pens (biros, berol etc not fountain/mechanical)
• Felt tip pens - Pencils - Colouring pencils

Please bring your donations to church on the Sundays of Lent. Lent is a time to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. This is a way we can help children around the world who don't have the pens and pencils that we take for granted every day. You can find out more about the work of this charity here:

 www.pensforkids.co.uk

aChurchNearYou.com

Did you know that St Peter's Great Berkhamsted is on aChurchNearYou.com? This is the Church of England's online directory of parishes, and helps people to find their nearest Anglican or LEP place of worship using an interactive map. It also enables churches to highlight their services and events. follow the link below to see what's coming up at St Peter's over Lent and Holy Week:

 www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7548

Mistaken identity

The weekly wrangle with Facebook over copyright in our worship videostream has yielded some interesting results - this week, Facebook's automated copyright police has decided that it was not, in fact, our own church choir singing the anthem last week, but The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers, and that the organ voluntary was (somewhat miraculously) played by the late Peter Hurford. This will no doubt come as very welcome news to our esteemed church musicians. (See also this week's Cartoon Church below.)

Court House improvements

Lots of work goes on behind the scenes to raise money and make improvements to our buildings. This week, we are very grateful to Berkhamsted Town Council for a grant of £500 towards installing new radiators in the Court House. Councillors recognised that the Court House is of public benefit and were very happy to offer funding for improving the facilities. The design of modern radiators is now much more efficient and they give out lots more warmth. This will enable us to provide more effective heating for our customers in the winter months. Thanks are due to Susan Holmes and Carolynne Charman for organising this grant!

Dates for your diaries

Looking ahead to April, here are the dates for Holy Week and Easter:

Court House bookings

Just a friendly reminder about using the Court House for church events:

• If you are planning an event in the Court House, please be sure to book your dates before creating publicity - this is a public venue, and you may get "gazumped" by a kiddies' birthday party/karate club/knitting circle if you have not secured a booking
• You can book a church event for free using the online booking system
• If you don't feel like using the booking system, just email your dates & times to the Parish Office, and specify which rooms (so the heating can be set accordingly) - but please check the calendar for availability first, to save a lot of email to-ing and fro-ing

Contact:

 Send an email to: Parish Office

 www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk/courthouse

Victoria School news

As we approach Easter, the focus for our collective worship this week was the feeding of the 5000. We discussed the power of trust as the children were puzzled with how Jesus would be able to split the loaves and fish between so many people. They then linked the message to how they trust others to believe in them and how they were going to start believing in others to encourage them.

It has been a busy week with two visits from Ashlyns students. The sports leaders worked with Year 1 on a range of sporting skills and the second visit was with Year 2 where the two schools looked at history together, sharing their knowledge and understanding of being a historian. For next week's activities, we are having a Beep Beep Day (road safety) for the early years and celebrating the International Day of Happiness with our Kindness Ambassadors.

Mrs Lisa Freeman
Head of School, Victoria CE Infant and Nursery School

Wednesday 23 April - Friday 25 April
Cathedral rock concerts by candlelight

The popular concerts return to St Albans Cathedral, with music by some of the most popular British rock artists performed by an ensemble of West End singers surrounded by candlelight. Three dates in April:

• Wednesday 23 April at 7.30pm: Fleetwood Mac
• Thursday 24 April at 7.30pm: Queen
• Friday 25 & Saturday 26 April 2025 at 7.30pm: Coldplay

Booking details for each event are available on the cathedral website:

 www.stalbanscathedral.org/Pages/Events

Saturday 15 March at 10:00 am
Come and sing Mozart’s Requiem

Have you ever wanted to have a go at singing Mozart's Requiem? Now's your chance! Tomorrow, Berkhamsted Choral Society are running a singing workshop in St Peter's Church. Assemble 9:30am for a day of music making, and you get to put on a free performance in the afternoon for friends and family. This is also a superb opportunity for young people who are studying music to participate in one of the great concert works - come and have the experience of rehearsing and performing!

Tea, coffee and cake will all be on sale (cash only), but do bring your own lunch. It's £20 per person to take part, under-18s free - book online:

 tktp.as/EEJXFS

Saturday 15 March at 7:30 pm
Fitzroy Quartet at Berkhamsted Civic Centre

The award-winning Fitzroy Quartet have played at prestigious music festivals and venue across Europe, and now come to Berkhamsted to perform a programme of quartets by Haydn, Maconchy and Beethoven. Bridgewater Sinfonia fans will remember the Fitzroy's violinist, Dan-Iulian Dru?ac, who dazzled the audience in St Peter's last summer with his performance of Beethoven's Violin concerto. Tickets £20, under-18s free. 

 www.berkhamstedmusic.co.uk/event/fitzroy-quartet-15-3

Wednesday 19 March - Sunday 23 March
Celebrate Spring by adopting a grave!

Fancy getting out in the Spring sunshine and making a real difference in your local community? Join the Rectory Lane Cemetery volunteers caring for St Peter's historic burial ground and take on a neglected grave. You can experience the joy of planting it up with pollinator-friendly shrubs and flowers and tending it throughout the year.  Come along 2pm -4pm on Wednesday 19th March or Sunday 23rd March to take part - gardening tools are available or you can bring your own.

Need garden compost?

You can also pick up a bag of compost for your garden, ready bagged up by our Duke of Edinburgh students. It's been lovingly composted by our volunteer gardeners from cemetery garden waste, and is peat-free and full of lovely worms! 

Contact:

 Send an email to: Kate Campbell, Community Engagement Officer

 www.rectorylanecemetery.org.uk/sustain/volunteer

Thursday 20 March at 2:00 pm
Dying Matters – A conversation for us all

The Hospice of St Francis, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care and the Rothschild Surgery Group are running a free public event at Berkhamsted Civic Centre for people to learn more about health and care options. It's a valuable opportunity to discuss your own and your family's future wishes, and for anyone who is caring for someone who is becoming frail - an important "conversation for us all".  It will offer a space to talk and ask questions about local care services with a variety of healthcare professionals, with information stalls and a break with refreshments.

Contact:

 Send an email to: Hospice of St Francis

 01442 869550

 www.stfrancis.org.uk/dyingmatters

Sunday 23 March at 2:00 pm
Beyond Difference Faith & Community event

Beyond Difference, the inter-faith organisation in the Chilterns and South Bucks, invites you to an event at Chesham Town Hall, Faith & Community: the highs and the lows. Speakers will include our friend Rabbi Neil Janes of SBJC; Rev. Edward Millais, Vicar of Emmanuel Church Chesham; and Councillor Arif Hussain of Buckinghamshire County Council. Attendance is free but donations are appreciated.

 beyonddifference.org

Saturday 29 March - Sunday 30 March
Herts Visual Arts Artists & Makers Fair

Herts Visual Arts are holding their first Artists & Makers Fair, when artists from across Hertfordshire will display work over two days in Berkhamsted Civic Centre. Come and browse the wide array of art on display. Free entry.

They are also holding an evening Artists' Reception on the Saturday 6pm to 8pm, when you can meet the artists, sponsors and other art lovers with a glass of bubbles. The bar will be open for the duration of the event. If you'd like to attend the reception, please reserve your free tickets prior to the event.

 www.hvaf.org.uk/our-events/artists-makers-fair

Sunday 15 June
Beyond Difference Young Speakers Competition

Are you aged 14-23? Are you keen to try out public speaking? The inter-faith group Beyond Difference are holding a Young Speakers Competition in Chesham Town Hall on Sunday 15th June. This is an opportunity to give an address for 8-10 minutes on a subject of your choice, which will be responded to by faith leaders. This can be a wonderful experience in building confidence and is also good experience for your UCAS application! To apply, fill in the online form at the link below, and state the subject you would like to talk about (don't worry, you can change your mind!). you'll also need to submit a 500-1000 word summary by email to info@beyonddifference.org. The deadline for summary submissions is Saturday 15 March 2025. Please remember that you will need to have parental permission if you're under 18.

Contact:

 beyonddifference.org/speaker-competition-sign-up

Dacorum walking and cycling consultation

Are you interested in improvements to walking and cycling routes in Berkhamsted? Dacorum Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council are working together to develop a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) to improve routes in the borough and make everyday journeys more healthy, safe and sustainable. You can find out more about what they are proposing and take part in a survey at the website below. Paper copies are also available at Berkhamsted Library and the Civic Centre. Deadline for completing the survey: Sunday 23 March 2025.

 orlo.uk/zBxBO

Dacorum Food Bank

DENS is a wonderful local charity helping people in Dacorum who are facing homelessness, poverty and social exclusion. Please keep them in mind when you're out shopping and pick up some extra food and household items to drop into the food bank crates at Berkhamsted Tesco and Waitrose. DENS have a High Needs List - why not print it off and take it to the shops to use it as a shopping list?

 www.dens.org.uk/support-us/high-needs-list