Welcome

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh

It is with great sadness that we have received the news that His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has died.  We mourn his passing and offer our prayers for Her Majesty The Queen and all the members of The Royal Family at this   time.  St Etheldreda's Church in Hatfield will be open for private prayer and for those who wish to light a candle in his memory from 8am to 8pm on Saturday 10th April.  For Covid reasons we will not be having a book of condolence at the church, but if you would like to send a private message of condolence to the National Online Book via the Church of England website, please click HERE.  

A Prayer for Prince Philip

God of our lives, we give thanks for the life of Prince Philip, for his love of our country, and for his devotoion to duty.

We entrust him now to your love and mercy, through our Redeemer Jesus Christ

Amen

To read a statement from Bishop Alan please click HERE

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Please click on the link below to watch an aerial video of the church and listen to our bells. 

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.

To contact our vicar Paul Seymour, please either email him by clicking        Email: vicar or by using the form at the bottom of the Who's who and Contacts page, or phone him on 01707 271966.   

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The following announcement was made on Sunday 7th February 2021 by the Rt Rev Michael Beasley, Rev Stephen Copson, Rev Dr David Chapmen and Rev Dr Andrew Prassad.

Following a recent process of discernment undertaken by us as Regional Church Leaders and the Elders of Panshanger Church, we are delighted to announce that the Rev Paul Seymour, currently Team Vicar in the Bishop's Hatfield Team Ministry within the Diocese of St Albans, has been appointed as Minister in pastoral charge of Panshanger Church (LEP).

This is subject to the completion of the usual legal formalities, after which further information will be announced.  Meanwhile, please remember Paul and his wife Cate in your prayers as they prepare for their move.

With our prayers and all good wishes,

Rt Rev Michael Beasley (Bishop of Hertford), Rev Stephen Copson (Baptist Regional Minister), Rev Dr David Chapman (Methodist District Chair) and Rev Dr Andrew Prassad (URC Thames North Synod Moderator).

Paul's last Sunday service at St John's will be on 25th April 2021.

WHAT'S ON IN APRIL AT ST JOHN'S

**** THE CHURCH IS REOPENING AGAIN FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP ****

Sunday 28th March at 11 am  Palm Sunday Holy Communion

Following the service at 4 pm there will be a Zoom coffee morning.  To join us, please contact Paul for a link.

Wednesday 31st March at 11 am  Virtual Coffee Morning - see below for details.

Friday 2nd April at 11 am  Good Friday service - The Nail  This will be a live streamed Zoom service .  If you would like to join the service, please contact Paul who will provide you with a link.

Sunday 7th April at 11 am  EASTER SUNDAY Holy Communion

Sunday 11th April at 11 am  Holy Communion - A service during the period of mourning

A message from Paul

As you will be aware the daily prayer broadcasts/podcasts have gone out every day now for over a year. With me leaving shortly after Easter it seems proper that these should end on Easter Saturday. I know how much they have meant to many of you and I’m grateful that you enjoyed them or at least suffered without too much complaint. May God bless you over the next years and keep you safe and may you find something to fill the space that these broadcasts have, maybe simply read a passage of scripture each day from the Psalms or the new Testament and let God speak to you through it and then pray about it.

The coffee mornings will end after Wednesday 31st March as well as the Sunday afternoon coffee times.  Again, these have been great fun and a source of conversation for a good number of peoiple through the lockdowns, and I pray that you find some other way to communicate with each oher during the week.  Perhaps you can start setting up WhatsApp groups when you can chat to each other either in text or by video.

PAUSE AND PRAY

In and open letter, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are asking everyone in the nation to pause and pray at 6pm daily from the 1st February.  Please click below to read their letter.

LEMFEST 2021

With the ongoing public health advice about large scale public gatherings, and the need to ensure social distancing, the decision has been taken to cancel the 2021 fete.  However, plans are now being made to hold the next fete on 2nd May 2022.

If you cannot wait that long to have some fun and entertainment - we introduce LEMSFEST 2021 which will be a musical festival in the grounds of St John's School, Lemsford on 10th July 2021 from 1pm to 7pm.

We have a range of local musicians lined up to entertain you, and we will also be running a licenced bar and BBQ for refreshments.  This will give you the chance to join family and friends in a safe environment - and have some fun!

So that we can control numbers on the site and maintain suitable social distancing needs that are likely to be in place at the time of the event, entrance will be by pre-purchased tickets only (no ticket sales on the day).

Tickets are available at £10 for adults and £5 for U16's and can be purchased by application to:

Lemfest-admin@lemsfordfete.co.uk

Please book early to avoid disappointment, as spaces are limited.

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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

CLICK HERE

 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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PARISH MAGAZINE

The February / March edition of the Parish Magazine is now out, and for those who cannot collect a copy from church, it is available to read by clicking HERE

To see earlier editions of the magazine, please visit the 'Getting Involved' page. 

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Choir practice every Sunday at 9.30 am 

Bell ringing practice every Monday evening at 7.30 pm  Cancelled until further notice.