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
In common with all churches, official guidance has meant that our activities have been impacted by the measures designed to slow the spread of Covid-19. The church has been closed for services during periods from late March 2020, and our halls have been closed for hiring and for church activities.
Services on Sundays have taken the form of online worship, with most of the usual congregation being able to “attend” via the Zoom video conferencing platform. We have been pleased to find that some of our house-bound members were able to join us this way.
As from May 2021, we are starting to return to “normal”. Please see the “Services in May” section below and entries in our website calendar.
Our special collection for the DEC Coronavirus Appeal raised £1,281. “Wow! What a fantastic amount to have raised!” – DEC Supporter Services Officer. Thank you to those who were able to support this appeal, either via All Saints or directly.
Please support Christian Aid Week – either via their envelope (if one is delivered to you) or by donating here
Morning Worship online at 10.30am
This is the Zoom link for the service
Thursday was Ascension Day, the day when we remember Jesus’ return to the Father 40 days after his resurrection. Luke tells us that after his ascension the disciples spent their time in prayer. At the end of his Gospel he writes that the disciples were continually in the temple blessing God and at the beginning of Acts he tells us that they ‘were constantly devoting themselves to prayer’. Using this as an example, over the last few years, churches have come together in a global wave of prayer between Ascension Day and Pentecost as we also wait and pray.
The prayer that is prayed across the world is ’Thy Kingdom Come’. They are words that we say each week as we pray the Lord’s Prayer together. What do they mean to you as you pray them? For some of us they may at times feel like just words to be said, but it’s good to remind ourselves of some of the meaning behind those words. William Barclay describes them as “the central petition of the Lord’s Prayer, for it is quite certain that the Kingdom of God was the central message and proclamation of Jesus.”
The first word that came into my mind when I was thinking about this was the word ‘hope’. In his hymn Bryn Rees describes the Kingdom of God as justice and joy, mercy and grace, challenge and choice, the gift and the goal. Each word says to me, this is something I would like to be a part of, this is what I want this world to be like. Associated with that then came the word ‘vision’ – when I think about the Kingdom of God, I think about the possibilities that God offers to us, that things can be different and how things can be different. I believe that through God this world can be better. That isn’t necessarily easy, change is often hard, but its a reminder that it is possible. I was listening to a podcast recently and slightly misquoting what was said, I wrote down “The Holy Spirit disrupts, because this is not as good as it can be”. When you pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, what do you hope for? and what do you think might happen?
Across the world at the moment, people are praying ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. You can join in, simply by praying those words and having a conversation with God about what they might mean to you at the moment. There are also plenty of resources to be found on the ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ website including some daily reflections and ideas and videos to help children and families pray together (including a series of films about Cheeky Pandas!). Churches Together in Hertfordshire are hosting an ecumenical service of prayer on Zoom on 19th May at 7.30pm (see their website or let me know if you’d like the link). More locally, you will have seen in last week’s notices that St Peter’s are hosting 24 hours of prayer starting on Saturday 22nd at 9am and remaining open through the night. Christians from across the town are also doing prayer walks, praying for the streets of our town. I’ve included a sheet that Rev Joe Roberts prepared which you may find helpful if you are wondering whether to have a go at this. If you do have a go and want to let me know which streets you have prayed for, I will pass that on. Hopefully a large majority of our town will be prayed for over the next week.
Whatever you do, can I encourage you to try and take even just a few minutes this week to pray those words, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. As our world continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, as bombs fly in Israel and other parts of the world, as climate change continues to show its effects, as we continue to discover the ongoing effects of the restrictions on so many people, may we know the hope and the power of those words ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and commit to being part of God at work at work in our world.
Blessings,
Rachael
We are very pleased to announce a partial return to services in church from May.
Do note that the services held in All Saints will not be on Zoom.
There will be services of Holy Communion in All Saints at 9.00am on Sundays 9 & 23 May, and at 2.30pm on Ascension Day (Thursday 13 May).
The 9.30am Tuesday morning Eucharist services will be held every week.
COVID-19: In the current pandemic situation, we must ask everyone who wishes to attend worship at All Saints to book their space in advance – please read the detailed entry in our website calendar for more information.
This is the link to book for the Holy Communion service at 9.00am on Sunday 23 May
Please arrive in good time and observe social distancing. You are asked to sanitise your hands on arrival. Face coverings are required, unless you are exempt.
There will be Morning Worship services at 10.30am each Sunday on Zoom only.
This is how the Outward Giving from our General Fund for this financial year has been allocated:
All Saints’ gives 10% of its income from the congregation, plus 100% of the collections at Christmas and at Harvest, and the proceeds from special appeals in support of local, national and international causes.
Details of the Outward Giving from special collections will be added to this list at our year-end.
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Click on the links below for PDFs with more information about us:
