The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

We invite all who have lost loved ones in the past few years to join us as we remember them and give thanks for their life at this special service with beautiful music sung by our choir.

Cards are now available to complete if you would like us to remember someone by name at this service, (even if you can’t come along to the service yourself).  You can complete one at the South Door of the church.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them

Every year large crowds of people gather from our community on Remembrance Sunday at the War Memorial to pay our respects and to honour the sacrifice of those who have died in conflict and the pursuit of peace. And as we gather for that time of remembering, I am always struck by those powerful and timeless words of Laurence Binyon, ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’. In other words, day and night, we will never cease to remember them and honour the service they have given to our nation. And this remembering is for people that, for the most part, we haven’t actually known personally. Imagine what it is like when someone we do know and love dies; they’re certainly never very far from our thoughts at any time of the day or night.

A friend of mine has just lost his brother at the tragically young age of 58 and he says that there are at least five times each day when he goes to pick up the phone and tell his brother something and is halted in his tracks. He can’t call Jerry – he’s no longer there. But he is in the eternal care of almighty God and my friend knows that but it doesn’t stop him missing his brother terribly.

At All Souls each year, we have the chance to come to St Mary’s and remember our loved ones before God. To carry on missing them and loving them, of course, but also to remember them in our prayers because we will never stop thinking about them and giving thanks to God for them. Come and join us – whether you come to church regularly or not – all are invited and welcome.

Will

9.30 am All Age Harvest Eucharist

We invite children to bring gifts (fruit, vegetables, dried goods, flowers etc.) that will be distributed to our elderly neighbours in Redbourn, and adults to bring money to support the Bishop of St Albans Harvest Appeal “Light Up Tanzania”, supplying solar panels to Singida, Tanzania.

6.30 pm Festal Evensong for Harvest

Beautiful music sung by our choir as we give thanks for the Harvest
and for all God’s many blessings upon us and his creation.

All welcome – babies and adults, parents and Godparents –  a chance for anyone who has been christened at St Mary’s, whether in recent years or a long time ago, to come and celebrate together.  Come and join us!

It’s okay to point!

On the 24 June each year the church celebrates the Birth of John the Baptist. Now, let’s be clear about one thing – we don’t actually know when John’s birthday was for sure but it isn’t just a random guess either. In the opening verses of Luke’s Gospel we find an account of the events that led up to the birth of Jesus, and alongside that we also are told about his cousin John. And from the dates that are described it seems as if that is how the 24 June was chosen. It comes three months after the celebration on March 25 of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, and six months before the Christmas celebration of the birth of Jesus. It isn’t entirely clear why it ends up being 24 June rather than 25 June but it might be that this is because of the way the counting was done back from Christmas, rather than forward, that has shifted things by a day. Nonetheless, the purpose of these festivals is not to celebrate the exact dates of these events, but simply to commemorate them in an interlinking way.

And what that means is that if the birth of Jesus is important then the birth of John the Baptist is too. It acts as a kind of pre-cursor and ‘warm up’ for the main event and that fits with the way John lived and preached as well. He must have cut quite an odd figure with his camel hair shirt and a diet to rival any bush-tucker trial, but what was important wasn’t his appearance but his message.

His role seems to call people to repent of their sins, to be washed clean in the waters of the River Jordan and to turn to the ways of God. When questioned he was quick to deflect attention away from himself and point towards Jesus. And so when we think of John the Baptist we remember the way in which he was close to Jesus, that he baptised Jesus and urged people to live in the way that Jesus was teaching.

As we approach this date we’re going to use this as an opportunity to celebrate baptism with a special service (actually the day before) on Sunday 23 June. It will be a chance for anyone who has been christened at St Mary’s, whether in recent years or a long time ago, to come and celebrate together. It will be a chance to remember the fact that in our baptism we belong to Jesus and we belong to each other as part of God’s family, the church. There will also be the chance to celebrate the important privilege and responsibility that parents have in bringing up their children in the Christian faith. And in our prayers we will be giving thanks for Godparents and the special relationship they have with children who have been christened. We’re going to be inviting families who have had a christening in the last few years but anyone and everyone is welcome to come and share in the celebrations. We will follow the service with tea, coffee, cake and a chance to meet up with each other.

John’s role was to point us to Jesus so that we could become shaped by him and become more like him. That’s also the role for the church, and for parents and Godparents at a Christening. So perhaps, despite what my Mum told me, it’s okay to point…

Will