Welcome

                       Photo large of St Johns Church

 

 

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.

 
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WHAT'S ON AT ST JOHN'S IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AT A GLANCE

   

 
  • Sunday 20th September
    • 8am - Quiet Communion (BCP)
    • 11am - Reflective Worship
    • 3pm - St John's@3 Wild Autumn Worship*
       
  • Thursday 24th September
    • 10am - Morning Prayer
       
  • Sunday 27th September
    • 11am - Holy Communion
       
  • Thursday 1st October
    • 10am - Morning Prayer
* Children are welcome at all our services, but these services and events are especially suitable for families and children (as well as people of all other ages!)


Readings 

      Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity 

              First Reading: Jonah 3:10-end of 4 - to read click here (opens in new window or new tab) or Philippians 1:21-end  - to read click here (opens in new window or new tab)

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-6 - to read click here (opens in new window or new tab)

  
CAR PARKING

Because car parking at the church is becoming difficult, we are  opening up the school playground on Sunday mornings for everyone to use.  The playground is at the back of the school, and is large enough to accommodate about 30 cars.  Please do use this area to park in, but take extra care when exiting into the street as cars do tend to speed up and down the hill.








Season of Creation Update

This autumn we're giving special attention to God's creation and how we can care for it. The Church of England's General Synod has recently approved a new Festival of Creation in Christ (see the Church of England's Season of Creation Webpage for more), and we're marking it with our All Together service this Sunday, 6 September — New Term, New Creation! 
This opens the Season of Creation, which runs until 4 October.

Here's what's happening across the month at both St John's and St Michael's:

  • Sunday 6 September, 11am — All Together Service: New Term, New Creation!
  • Thursdays, 10am — Morning Prayer for Creation Season
  • Thursday 10 September, 3:30pm — Messy Harvest at St Michael's church (crafts, story and a shared meal for all the family)
  • Saturday 12 September — Creation-friendly Bike and Hike (see below for details)
  • Sunday 13 September, 11am — Creation Care Sunday Club
  • Sunday 20 September, 3pm — St John's@3 Wild Autumn Worship (an interactive all-age gathering to experience God in nature)
  • Sunday 4 October, 11am — All Together Harvest Service, followed by our Bring and Share Harvest meal at 12 noon

During September we'll also be inviting people to think about how they might get involved in Eco Church, a scheme helping churches take practical steps to care for God's creation. Geoff and Bridget will be sharing resources on St Francis, patron saint of ecology — and this year carries extra significance, as 2026 marks 800 years since his death. His feast day, 4 October, falls on the very day of our Harvest service, so we'll be keeping him in mind as the season draws to a close.

And if you're looking for a good first practical step to care for creation: come along on a Monday morning from around 9am and join the gardening team caring for creation in our church garden! All welcome.

Later in the autumn, we're aiming to have a screening of The People's Emergency Briefing — a short film bringing together UK scientists and experts on the climate and nature crisis. Details to follow once the date is confirmed.

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The Beds & Herts Historic Churches Trust Bike 'n Hike event took place last Saturday (12th September) and here's a picture of those who took part outside the public entrance of St Albans Cathedral:


Left to right: Sarah, Lorraine, Gina, Geoff, Rev Kathryn, Frank (me), Lucy, Kevin, Richard, Paul & in front Rosie the dog (Butler). Rosie was particularly energetic.  A full report and photos will be in the upcoming magazine.



Reports and Photos from our All Together New Term Service and BBQ

Lots of beginnings at St John’s last Sunday (6th Sept)!
🌱 A new term
🌱 The beginning of a new Season of Creation
🌱 And the celebration of the brand-new Festival of Creation in Christ!
We thought together about how God doesn’t discard what is messy, damaged or frayed, but can transform it into something full of new beauty and hope.
The scraps of fabric placed at the foot of the cross represented our commitment to join in God’s work of healing creation.
And then we continued the celebrations with a BBQ! Thank you to everyone who came, contributed food and helped make it happen.

 
 
 



St John’s@3 – Wild Autumn Worship - Sunday 20th September at 3pm



Join us later this month for an afternoon of Wild Worship - heading outdoors to discover God in the world around us.
We’ll be exploring the churchyard together, with stories, activities, things to discover, and a chance to get creative.
A relaxed, informal gathering for all ages.
Come dressed for the weather.
Everyone welcome.




The Big Give - a Date for your Diary - Friday 25th September 2-4:30pm



Join us on Friday 25th September for The Big Give at St John's Church - a fun-filled afternoon to raise money to support the work and ministry of the St John's Church. There will be tea & coffee, homemade cakes, games, a craft activity, and even live music!
Entry is free, with donations welcome via the QR code on the poster.
We'd love to see you there!
 


August/September Parish Magazine

 
Here it is - the August/September edition.
Look out for printed copies in Church this Sunday (2nd). As usual you can also, or alternatively, download a pdf copy by clicking here - the pdf is in full colour and the link is safe to click.
There are the usual great articles from Revd Kathryn, Andy Chapman (Lemsford local history group), Michelle, Boylan (Head of St John's School),  Geoffrey Hollis (Nature Notes) and Jo Brooks (Children and Families).  But now we start with a column from Dan Ide our new curate.
In addition look out for the article by Faye on St John's new school playground equipment, it's amazing.
 

THE YEAR OF SPIRITUAL RENEWAL AND WELLBEING
This year, St Albans Diocese invites us all to embark on a journey of reconnecting with our faith and discovering the renewing life of the Holy Spirit. There’s a wonderful new website full of opportunities, including retreats, quiet days (some specially for churchwardens), pilgrimage walks, talks, online accompanied prayer weeks, courses, and a special summer Cathedral celebration.

You’ll also find resources for prayer, as well as helpful guidance to care for your own wellbeing.

Why not take a look? You can book events directly, but if something catches your eye and you’d like some company, let us know, and we can see if others would like to join in too.

Visit: year.stalbansdiocese.org


 

'IOO CLUB' AUGUST DRAW WINNERS

The winning numbers of the August '100 Club' Draw were:

1st prize:  Number 86  £88.20
2nd prize:  Number 73  £52.92
3rd prize:  Number 9  £35.28

To join the 100 Club please contact Nigel.

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FOOD BANK
Our local Food Bank at the New Zion Christian Fellowship church would appreciate receiving donations of food and other things from us now and all year round. It would be wonderful if you could support them by bringing various things in on Sunday mornings, and placing them in the big plastic box which will be placed in the porch. The sort of things the Food Bank would like to receive are:
  • 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.

Nigel will arrange to take our offerings to the New Zion church every Wednesday morning.




COULD YOU BE A ST JOHN'S SCHOOL FOUNDATION GOVERNOR?

St John’s school currently has a vacancy for a Foundation Governor. 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




CHURCH GIVING

We greatly value, and desperately need, your financial support to help with the running of St John's Church.  We are always delighted to receive weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual or ad hoc donations, and these can be made in the following  different ways:

  • By bank transfer or Standing Order.  Our church bank account details are:  HSBC Bank, sort code 40-46-08, account number 51431609.
  • By cash into the church plate during services.
  • By using the contactless card machine near the main door of the church.
  • By using the link from this QR code:
This code is also printed into many of our church service leaflets.
  • By using our Quick donation page via this link
CLICK HERE

  • By text.  Just text the word LEMSFORD followed by a space and then an amount that you wish to give, to 70085, e.g. to give £10 type LEMSFORD 10, and send to 70085.
  • By using the Parish Giving Scheme, which is a direct debit scheme.  Please ask the Treasurer or a Church Warden for more information.

MANY THANKS INDEED




 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.

 



Please sign up for a spot in the Cleaning Rota or to help with refreshments after our Sunday services


More volunteers are needed to help us. All the materials you'll need for church cleaning are provided. All that we need is your time.

Please contact the churchwardens if you would like to take a turn with either cleaning or by helping with refreshments 
You can choose dates that suit you.




 

2026 PCC meeting dates


2nd February 2026 at 7.15 pm

20th April at 7.15 pm

APCM - 10th May at 12 noon

16th May 2026 Away morning at Codicite Church at 9.30 am

14th July 2026 at 7.15 pm

29th September 2026 at 7.15 pm

 


  


    

 

  

 

To email us either click the button below or go to the Who's who and Contacts page and click on the person you would like to contact.  Alternatively please use the form at the bottom of the Who's who and Contacts page.