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

23-Dec Christmas Email with Livestream Links

 
 

Only two more sleeps ’til Christmas!
The waiting is almost over!  Well done, we’ve nearly made it! 
This is the last email of 2021 to all our church family, so I want to begin by thanking everyone who has played a part in our ministry through the year.  The visible part of our ministry is only the tip of the iceberg – so much is done behind the scenes by a wonderful array of different team members.  Without the dedication of each team member we would not be able to put on the different services, activities and events or offer the warm welcome and pastoral care which are so important to our church family.  So, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone for their hard work through the year.

Below are the details of our Christmas Services and all that we have coming up in the next few days and details of all we are doing to keep one-another safe.

Whatever your plans  – whether they’ve been rewritten a dozen times, or your sticking resolutely to Plan A, we wish you the peace and joy of the Christ-child this Christmas and in 2022.

God bless you and your loved ones – from Richard all the team at St Helen’s and St Peter’s Churches.

PS. Coffee in the Chancel is now closed until Tuesday 4th January 2022. In the New Year it will be open again on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays offering a warm welcome, serving hot drinks, delicious refreshments and providing a great space to meet.

 

 

 
 

Christmas Eve – 24th Dec.

 

 
Join the Choir for Carol Singing on the High Street
Christmas Eve 11am to 12pm
outside Manor Pharmacy.

Bring some festive sprit and cheer to the community as we sing some favourite carols and enjoying a few choir pieces. All are welcome to come and sing – or to simply listen and enjoy.

To hear the choir at their best,  listen / watch last week’s service of Nine Lessons and Carols here.
Christmas Eve Crib Services
3pm and 4:15pm.

Join us for a relaxed and engaging service especially suitable for younger children as we tell the Christmas story and assemble the crib. Everyone is invited, (if they wish) to come dressed as a favourite character from the Christmas Story.

We will be working hard to keep everyone as safe as possible – so there will be a few changes from previous years to improve social distancing.  See below for details of the precautions in place.
 
“Midnight Communion”
St Helen’s Church
– starting at 11pm.

Join us as we welcome the birth of Jesus at our atmospheric and moving candlelit Midnight Communion Service.

If you are not able to join us in church, you can still join us online. Click here or on the image for the Youtube link or click here to view from our website.

 
 

Christmas Day Services

 

 
 
All are welcome at St Helen’s Church for a Christmas Celebration at 10am! This service will also be livestreamed if you wish to join us online. Click here or on the image for the Youtube link or click here to view from our website.

 

 
Come and join us for a relaxed and informal Christmas Celebration at St Peter’s Church.  All are welcome, and the service is especially suitable for families with older children and teenagers.

 
 

Boxing Day Service – Sunday 26th Dec.
If you want a quieter, simpler Church service without carol singing, come at 10am on Sunday 26th December.  We are offering a said service of Holy Communion by Extension which Roger Payne, one our Reader Ministers will lead.

The service on Boxing Day will not be livestreamed.
The 10am service on 2nd January to celebrate Epiphany will be livestreamed.

 

 
 

 

 
 

Keeping everyone as safe as possible.
We are committed to taking the steps necessary to keep everyone safe, whilst continuing to offer worship in church for those who wish to attend.  We are fortunate that through investment in technology and the dedication of our team you can join us online for many of our services if you prefer.

“Lateral Flow before you go…” This slogan, coined by the Government, encourages us all to take a free rapid Lateral Flow Test before attending any social gathering or event.  Please take a test before coming to church and stay at home if you have a cold or Covid symptoms. (click here to order free tests by post, or click here to get a code and collect tests from a pharmacy)

Our doors are open, and so are the windows!  Before the services, we will open the windows in the chancel and keep the West Door open.  This will create further air-flow to improve ventilation – so wrap up warm!

Social Distancing.  Alternate pews will be closed, which will help us to keep a safe distance. – This will reduce the capacity of the church, so it may be necessary to turn people away.  We also encourage you not to hang around inside.

Refreshments Al Fresco. Because you can’t drink tea, coffee or mulled wine whilst wearing a face-covering, we will be serving refreshments outside where it will be safer to mix and chat – and easier to do so at a safe distance. 

Carry on with face coverings.  The government has made wearing face coverings mandatory at indoor venues.  This means a mask and not a visor, except for those who have a valid exemption.    Thank you for your help with this out of consideration for others. 

 

 
 

CELTIC PRAYER GROUP RETURNS!

Celtic Prayer re-starts in St Helen’s Church on Saturday mornings (in addition to Zoom) – 9.15am prior to Saturday Coffee in the Chancel.
All being well, depending on Covid, we are planning that the first gathering will be on
Saturday 8th January.

We look forward to seeing those who used to come but we’ve not been seeing on Zoom and, of course, we would be delighted to see new faces.