St Helens Church, High Street, Wheathampstead, St Albans, AL4 8AA. Worship Times: 10am every Sunday

06-Apr Midweek Email

 

 

 

In in this email:
  • News from Kimbilio
  • Holy Week and Easter Events
  • Our Easter Garden
  • 40 Green Ideas for Lent
  • Climate Change Short Course
  • School Easter Holidays – diary changes

Holy Week and Easter are just around the corner.  If your friends or neighbours used to come to church, why not take this opportunity to invite them back to Church.

Our Easter Evensong at 6pm, Sunday 24th April 2022 will be an opportunity to say farewell to Rob Milner as he moves on to be Director of Music at a church in London Diocese.

Help needed by the Kimbilio Project, Ian Harvey writes……
3 years ago this week, we opened a small outreach centre for street children in a Church building in Lubumbashi, D.R.Congo. We had around 20 children on that first session. That work has grown over the 13 years and we’re now reaching over 250 children a day through our outreach centre, four homes and primary school.
The Kimbilio outreach centre currently provides a safe place for girls and boys living on the streets. We provide food, health care, clean water to drink, showers and carers who spend time with the children, get to know them and try to reconnect them with their families.
However, we have a challenge, the Church, which was generously given rent free since 2009, need their building back so we need to find alternative premises.
We have a vision to build a purpose-built community outreach centre for street children and to support families at risk of breakdown. A rare empty plot of land is up for sale on the other side of the road from our current location and would make an ideal site for us to build. The cost of the land is £40,000. There will then be additional costs for the construction.
Amazingly Global Giving are offering 50% match funding on donations up to $50 from today, Monday 4th April until Friday 8th April towards this project via this link https://www.globalgiving.org/…/fulfil-vision-for…/
Over the last 13 years the Kimbilio Day Centre has literally changed the lives of thousands of children for the better and has undoubtedly saved children’s lives through the swift provision of medical care. Supporting the building of this purpose built outreach centre will be an investment in bringing change, hope and new life to many vulnerable children on the streets in D.R.Congo.
We would love your support if you’re able. Please spread the word. Thanks so much.

Holy Week and Easter Events 
On Palm Sunday, April 10th, we are meeting at St Peter’s at 0845 so that we are ready to leave at 0900 to walk to St Helen’s via New Bridge. There we will meet a donkey about 9.40 (as you do!) and proceed to St Helen’s church for our Palm Sunday Parish Communion Service.at 10am.
Our Easter Garden
On Sunday April 3rd, families and children at Kids Worship helped to create a beautiful Easter garden. we then shared the Easter story together.

Do have a look in the churchyard and perhaps add a few small plants or flowers in a pot.
 

 

Easter Flowers

If you would like to contribute to Easter flowers in church in memory of a loved one, please contact Ruth Coles at 01582 712330 or email ruthpcoles@aol.com

40 Green Ideas for Lent 2022

Here is the last of our 40 Green Ideas for Lent, for the week starting Monday up to Palm Sunday.
Click on the image to see the details.

Ideas from previous weeks can still be seen on our website.
Let’s do what we can to help take care of our planet.
 

 
Our next study course starts on 21st April at 7.30 pm in St Peter’s Church, Gustard Wood and runs for five weeks. It is based on the book ‘There Is No Planet B’ by Mike Berners-Lee. The book is introduced as follows:

Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics, pandemics – the list of concerns seems endless. But what is most pressing, and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? How can we take control of technology? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do, as individuals?

In the first session we will take an overview and ask what exactly is climate change and what are its implications. The next three sessions will look more closely at Food, Transport and Energy respectively. In the last session we shall look at the Christian perspective and what it means.

Each session will involve both presentations and discussion The sessions are open to all and prior knowledge is not required although it might be helpful to have a copy of the book and to have read the relevant sections in advance.

SCHOOL EASTER HOLIDAYS
2nd – 18th April

CHANGES TO THE DIARY

  • Coffee in the Chancel – Open as usual on Saturdays. Please note changes to weekday opening times below.
  • Following the Message – break for Easter. Resumes at 11.15am on Monday 25th April
  • The Ark Parents and Toddlers Group – break for Easter. Resumes at 9.30am on Wednesday 27th April
  • St Helen’s Fellowship – not meeting on 14th April. Resumes at 2.45pm on Thursday 21st April

An Important Date!
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Wednesday 4th May at St. Peter’s at 7:30 pm
All are welcome at our APCM (refreshments provided) which offers you a report on Church activities in 2021 and the financial statements for that year. As we emerge from a period of uncertainty, we must look to the future as our churches come back to life.

We are very keen to be strengthened by new faces on our Parochial Church Council (PCC). The “Job Description” is people committed to our new vision of “Living God’s Love in our Community” and able to help us work so we can make a difference for the people of Wheathampstead and Gustard Wood. PCC Members are leaders in our church and trustees of our charity.  More info from Stephen (PCC Secretary) 01727 863490  stephen.wilson02@hotmail.co.uk

Events and Activities this week (at St. Helen’s Church unless otherwise indicated).
Please ask if you need further details

Monday 4th April
7.30pm – 9.15pm Bell Ringing Practice

Tuesday 5th April
10.00am – 11.30am  Coffee in the Chancel

Wednesday 6th April

Thursday 7th April
2.45pm – 4.15pm St Helen’s Fellowship at Mead Hall

Friday 8th April
6.30pm – 9.00pm  Choir Practice

Saturday 9th April
9.15am – 10.00am  Celtic Morning Prayer
10.00am – 11.30am  Coffee in the Chancel

Palm Sunday 10th April
9.00am – 10.00am Palm Sunday Walk from St Peter’s (meet at 8.45am)
10.00am – 11.00am  Parish Communion Service

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