Christmas is a wonderful celebration. Accordingly, many of us will be gathering with family – some of us will go away, others of us will host. (Before you ask, I will be staying at home for Christmas – it sort of comes with the job!) There will be presents and special food and drink and …
Author archives: St John the Baptist
An Exciting Project
Over the weekend of 13th – 15th September we will be sharing our plans to modernise part of the church building, to be able to host some new community groups for the village, as well as resurrect some that have been lost over the years. Plans include creating a community café for simply catching up …
A Community Lunch
Following the success of the Open Day / Autumn Fair in September and the inaugural “Widford Talks” event in October (report here), Kerry Holt and her team brought us a Community Lunch in November. The food was delicious and hot, and catered for both meat-eaters and vegetarians, and what a joy it was to sit …
The Inaugural Widford Talk
With no village shop, Public House or village clubs there are few occasions when people can meet and enjoy good company whilst welcoming newcomers. The Coronation Party was a splendid example of how much pleasure such events can spread, but Coronations do not occur very often. The Church is seeking to create more opportunities for …
A Different Harvest
A priest once told me that their suggestions for the Harvest Festival service they had been asked to lead (in a church without their own priest) had been dismissed out of hand with the phrase, “No, we have always done this.” He had then gently reminded the parish that the thing they had “always done” …
Open Day 2023
It was one of the hottest days of the year, but very pleasant in the shade and inside the cool church for this special event in the church grounds. There were lunches, teas, coffee, cake, Pimm’s and much more to be enjoyed, stalls to browse overlooking the Ash Valley, and face-painting, duck-catching and other amusements …
A Celebration of Service
When children are learning to speak, one of the first things they are taught to say is “Thank you.” They forget, of course. Frequently. But one hopes that eventually, expressions of gratitude will come quickly and freely. In life, there are countless situations in which other people will do or say something kind to us; …
Harvest Challenge 2022
As we gear up for our Harvest Celebration in support of the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal this year, I thought it would be good to hear from TEARFund, whose project in Mozambique we will be supporting. When I contacted them, they invited me to run a week-long challenge within the church in the run up to …
The Way of the Cross 2022
We are delighted to welcome, once again, the choir from the church of St John the Baptist, Great Amwell, who will lead us through a moving selection of hymns and anthems as we listen once again to the story of Christ’s Passion and reflect on how it addresses us today. The service is at Widford …
A Harvest Celebration 2021
Generosity, Joy and Imagination all on display – and a good dose of gratitude.