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All Saints is a family church which draws on a variety of traditions in its worship. At All Saints we recognise that we are all on a journey together, seeking to be in a closer relationship with Jesus Christ in all that we do.
Why not join us on that journey, and discover the amazing love that God has for each one of us.
We look forward to welcoming you to All Saints.
Rev. Rachael Hawkins, Minister
Homepage – sections added (scroll down to see them):
We have now started to return to “normal” with all our services in church.
All services currently planned until the end of November are showing in our events calendar.
Social distancing – We will encourage people to maintain social distance while in the church building. If you come with a friend or two, you may choose to sit together, and that’s fine, but generally we recommend keeping a 1 – 2 metre distance from other people. The chairs will be spaced in small groups and when we share the peace we shall do so with a smile and a wave or similar, rather than shaking hands. Many of us, we know have got used to having a conversation at a greater distance than before.
Ventilation – Initially doors and windows will be open, but we will review this as time goes by. All Saints’ Church is a big, airy building and we all know that it can get cold in the winter, so we will want to balance cold and air movement so that we are comfortable and safe.
Masks – Our recommendation is that, unless exempt, everyone wears a mask on arrival, when walking around the church and when singing. We then intend that the seating in the front area of the church is kept for those who want to keep their masks on all the time, while those who would like to take their masks off sit in the upper area and can take their masks off once they are seated.
Singing – We are now allowed to sing, and we know singing has been missed by many people. Initially we will sing quietly behind masks, but will keep that under review.
Track & Trace – It’s recommended that we continue to keep a list of those who attend services for Track & Trace. It is easiest for us to do that if people ‘book-in’ for each service beforehand, either by emailing Liz, our administrative assistant, giving her a ring (07403 203425) or by using an Eventbrite link via this website. We will be able to add to the list though, so even if you haven’t booked in and would like to come, please do!
Holy Communion – We are able to share communion, but extra care will be taken to avoid infection. For the moment, at an Anglican Eucharist only the bread will be received by the congregation and this will be dropped into people’s hands. Both bread and wine will be shared in Methodist communions, but this will be done in a different way from usual, which will be explained at the time.
Collections – All Saints relies on donations to support its work, but as part of our Covid-19 precautions we are not receiving offertory collections at our services at present. Donations can be given by bank standing order, by online banking, by cheque, or by text giving via mobile phone. Further details are on the “Support us” page of this website and also on our notice boards.
Please use the Track & Trace link as above if you plan to attend this service – by Friday if possible!
Our service today is:
10am Morning Worship with Thanksgiving for the gift of a child – led by Revd Rachael Hawkins
(in church and on Zoom)
the readings are:
Job 38: 1-7, 34-41
Mark 10: 35-45
the hymns are:
StF 55 – Immortal, invisible
StF 100 – All things bright and beautiful
StF 611 – Brother, sister, let me serve you
StF 409 – Let us build a house
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Rachael’s weekly letter:
This week I was able to go on a day looking at the Methodist report on Justice, Dignity and Solidarity. The key speaker was this year’s President of the Methodist Conference, Revd Sonia Hicks, whose theme for the year is ‘God’s table: an invitation for all’. It was a day that challenged all of us to think about the prejudices that are sadly still part of church life. Racism was a clear theme, but prejudice related to hearing loss, sight loss, gender, sexuality, social class and upbringing and others were also mentioned. It was hard to hear stories of how people have experienced prejudice in churches and the detrimental effect that has so often had.
The hymn ‘Let us build a house’ has as its chorus ‘All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this house’. Its a hymn that we sing regularly, but the day challenged us as to whether that is really true. Is everybody really welcome in our churches? Is there anything we do, deliberately or accidentally to exclude? Do we celebrate our diversity? What does it mean to be inclusive? How can we be the change that we want to see? We were reminded that even little things can make a difference – the times of meetings, the size and colour of text, a good audio system, describing a visual aid. We also spoke of the importance of knowing each other. It is only by knowing each other, not just at a surface level, that we will understand how others feel discriminated against, but as that knowledge helps us to love each other more deeply, so we will be motivated to make a difference, to help our brother, our sister to be included.
This week’s Gospel passage sees James and John requesting to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus in his glory. When the other disciples are angry with them about this, Jesus tells them, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be a slave of all”. They are words that we need to be careful of. They have been used manipulatively to keep people eg. slaves ‘in their place’ and we need to ensure that all people are given respect and value as children of God. They are also words however that speak to each of us of the counter-cultural message of Jesus, that we should not be seeking power, but seeking to serve. As we care for each other, as we build community, as we share together, how can we serve each other, and enable each one to feel valued and loved and know themselves to be children of God?
Blessings
Rachael
Many thanks to those who were able to support this appeal. A total of £1,835, including gift aid, was raised and will be shared equally between the 3 external causes:
We again supported the usual three Harvest Appeals, and as we were unable to collect gifts for DENS, we are giving them instead a share in the money received, which will be divided equally three ways between – All We Can Harvest Appeal for “The Next Steps” to provide agricultural training in Zimbabwe, The Bishop of St Albans Harvest Appeal to bring clean, safe water to communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and DENS.
Further details are here:
Bishop of St Albans Harvest Appeal
Our Facebook Group is “public”and is open for all to view.
The posts from members are mainly to give information about upcoming services and events, and usually include photos or other pictures.
Click on the Follow us on Facebook logo in the “grey” section above to see the All Saints’ Church Berkhamsted Facebook Group.
You do not have be a Facebook user/member to do so, or provide any personal information!
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Click on the links below for PDFs with more information about us:
