Welcome
Please click on the link below to watch an aerial video of the church and listen to our bells.
Drone photography courtesy of https://www.upaerial.co.uk
Welcome, and thank you for visiting our website.
Our church is situated in the picturesque village of Lemsford, close to Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City and opposite Brocket Hall.
We warmly welcome all visitors to our church and we would love you to come to one of our services or events. We hope that you find what you are looking for in these pages, but if you have any questions and would like to speak to someone about the church, please do contact one of the team members listed in the Who's Who and Contacts page.
We look forward to seeing you.
- Thursday 25th April
- 9am - School Collective Worship*
- 10am - NO Morning Prayer - Rev. Kathryn away
- Sunday 28th April
- 8am - BCP Holy Communion
- 11am - Parish Holy Communion
- Monday 29th April
- 7pm-8:30pm - Week 2 of the Christian Explorer START course
- 7pm-8:30pm - Week 2 of the Christian Explorer START course
- Thursday 2nd May
- 9am - School Collective Worship*
- 10am - Morning Prayer
- Sunday 5th May
- 8am - BCP Holy Communion
- 11am - ‘All Together’ Service*
- Monday 6th May
- Noon-4pm - The Lemsford Fete!
- Noon-4pm - The Lemsford Fete!
- Thursday 9th May
- 9am - School Collective Worship*
- 10am - Morning Prayer
- 7pm - At St Michael's Church - Taizé service
CHRISTIAN EXPLORER START COURSE (starting 22nd April) AND CONFIRMATION (8th June, 5pm)
Rev Kathryn will be joining Fr Darren for a six-week Christian Explorer
course, starting on 22nd April at St Etheldreda’s church. This course
is a great opportunity to explore the basics of the Christian faith
either for the first time, or as a refresher.
At the end of the course there will be an opportunity to be confirmed on
8th June; however, this course is for absolutely anyone. Confirmation
is a joyful service in which adults and teenagers confirm for themselves
that they wish to accept the Christian faith into which they were
baptised as a baby or small child. If you’re not already baptised, then
you can be baptised and confirmed in the same service.
Please email Kathryn to let her know if you’re interested in attending the course and/or in being confirmed (revkathrynalford@gmail.com)
LEMSFORD FETE - MONDAY 7th MAY - 12.00 - 4.00pm - HOW YOU CAN HELP
The fete is fast approaching (Monday 6th May) and we are beginning to get very busy with the preparations.
If you could contribute in any of the following ways please get in touch with any member of the PCC or Rev Kathryn soon:
Providing Donations
- Bottles of wine for the wine or no wine stall
- Chocolates for the chocolate tombola
- Bake a cake for us to sell at the fete
- Raffle tickets for the Grand Draw are available at the back of the church; please buy and sell as many as possible.
- If you haven't already put yourself forward to help on the day, and would like to help, please get in touch
- Many hands make light work and it's also great fun!
ASSENSION DAY TAIZE SERVICE - 9th MAY 7PM AT ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH
This informal candlelit Taizé service will be quiet and reflective, and
include Bible readings, prayers, reflections and times of silence, as
well as music.
The service lasts about 40 minutes and the chants are simple, easy to learn, and very beautiful.
Why not come along in the middle of the busy week to unscramble yourself, and find the time to relax, reflect and rest in God.
The service will be followed by refreshments and time for a chat.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON ENABLING THE SMOOTH RUNNING OF OUR CHURCH
PCC and churchwarden elections
At our Annual Parochial Council Meeting (APCM) on 13th May we will be holding elections for Church Wardens and Parochial Church Council (PCC) members. It’s been wonderful this year to have a mixture of long-serving members and newer people on the PCC, so please do think about whether you’d like to join the group responsible for the strategic oversight of the church. Meetings are held approximately 6 times a year, between 7:15 and 9:15pm, and are a great opportunity to get involved with the life of the church.Nigel does an absolutely amazing job as covering the work of two church wardens at the moment, but it would be wonderful if someone could step forward this year and share the responsibilities with him. The role of churchwarden is both rewarding and vital to the running and flourishing of the church, so please do prayerfully consider whether is something that God’s calling you to do.
For more information on both the PCC and the role of churchwarden you might light to take a look at the PCC handbook, which is a cracking read! Click on the image on the left to download the pdf of the handbook.
CONNECT@4 - 19th MAY @ 4pm!
Our next Connect@4 is coming up soon.
This informal, interactive service is perfect for all ages.
If the weather is kind, we'll be celebrating the amazing events of
Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus' disciples) with the
aid of a self-guided trail through the churchyard, and a birthday cake!
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY - 27th May - CHURCH OPEN DAY 10 am - 2.30 pm
SERVICE OT THANKSGIVING AT 10.30 am
Or pop in any time during the day to find out more about our beautiful church and pick up a copy of the Lemsford Local History Group's Commemorative Edition book entitled - ’St John’s Graveyard tour’ a history of St John’s church. All profits will go to the church.
Thank you to Andy Chapman for his generosity and time.
We released our Parish Magazine - April/May Edition on Easter Sunday, and if you haven't got your copy (and don't live in the parish, where we deliver them to the door), then pick one up in Church. You can also download a pdf version by clicking here, but remember the pdf version does not contain the parish directory.
The March '100 Club' draw took place on the 30th March in the presence of two PCC members. 116 numbers were in the draw. The winning numbers were:
1st: Number 29 (winning £104.40)
2nd: Number 40 (winning £62.64)
3rd: Number 77 (winning £41.76)
Thanks to everyone, parishioners and friends, who are supporting the '100 Club'. The next draw will take place on Friday 26th April 2024.
If anyone who has not yet signed up to the '100 Club' would like to do so, please contact the Promoter Nigel Johnson whose email address is najofwgc@gmail.com
St John’s school currently has vacancies for up to three Foundation Governors. Foundation Governors are nominated by the PCC, represent the Church of England on the Board, and help ensure that the Christian ethos of the school is maintained.
Please pray and think about whether you - or someone you know - would make a great governor. They don’t need to be a member of St John’s church, but would need to be able to fulfil the role description above.
As a governor myself, I promise you that it’s an extremely rewarding (and often fun) role, and is manageable alongside other responsibilities.
Please contact me if you’re interested.
Rev Kathryn
- All food with good sell by dates (tins of fruit and veg, jams, packets of cereal, coffee, tea, long life milk and so on)
- Toiletries such as shampoo and conditioner and toilet rolls
- Cleaning products (kitchen and bathroom cleaners etc)
We are asked not to donate clothes.
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HOME INSURANCE If you need to take out, or renew, a home insurance policy, please think of using Ecclesiastical Insurance as they will donate £130 to the church through their Trust 130 Promotion. All you need to do is to say that the donation is to go to St John's Church, Lemsford. Find out more at www.ecclesiastical.com/trust130 or call their team on 0800 783 0130 and quote Trust 130. |
2024 PCC meeting dates 15th January at 7.15pm 13th February at 7.15pm 16th April at 7.15pm 30th April via Zoom 7.30pm APCM - 12th May at 12 noon 4th June at 7.15pm 10th July ay 7.15pm 7th September at 7.15pm 14th October at 7.15pm |
PLEASE CAN YOU HELP
WE COULD REALLY DO WITH YOUR FINANCIAL HELP IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING IF YOU CAN TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH AND OUR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY.
EITHER
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR QUICK DONATION PAGE
OR
ALTERNATIVELY WE CAN NOW RECEIVE DONATIONS VIA TEXT MESSAGE BY TEXTING THE WORD LEMSFORD FOLLOWED BY A SPACE AND THEN AN AMOUNT OF YOUR DONATION, TO 70085. FOR EXAMPLE, TO GIVE £5 TYPE LEMSFORD 5, TO GIVE £10 TYPE LEMSFORD 10. THEN SIMPLY SEND YOUR TEXT TO 70085. TEXTS WILL COST YOUR DONATION AMOUNT PLUS ONE STANDARD RATE MESSAGE.
MANY THANKS
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IMPORTANT REQUEST TO REGULAR GIVERS FROM THE FINANCE COMMITTEE If regular givers would prefer to make their payments by bank transfer, the bank details of the church are: HSBC Bank. Sort Code: 40-46-08 A/C No: 51431609 Many thanks |
Choir practice every Sunday at 9.30 am
Bell ringing practice every Monday evening at 7.30 pm