DIOCESE OF ST ALBANS

Team Secretary – Church Buildings
Part Time (25 hpw)
Applications are invited for this busy and varied post
supporting parishes, professional advisers and committees in
the care, maintenance and development of church buildings
across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Luton and Barnet.
Good computer skills are essential and an understanding of
the Church of England an advantage.
Salary £24,916 - £28,307 pa (pro rata)
plus generous pension
Further details are available at
www.stalbans.anglican.org/diocese/other-vacancies
Closing date: 15 September 2021 – 12 noon

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September 2021 Parish Letter

Dear Friends, 

I am writing my September letter in mid-August, so please forgive me if anything I say no long applies.
At the beginning of July, Janet Bellingham started preparation for the Scarecrow Festival by holding several
artistic events getting the street decorations made and painted. The first event was in the village hall at High
Wych and the room and surrounding areas outside were full of enormous brightly coloured butterflies, then
later in the month on two Tuesday’s mornings in St James Church, traffic cones and umbrellas were trans￾
formed into outsized mushrooms. I just can’t imagine what is going to be designed next. But will wait with
excited expectation.
Another exciting event was a village picnic on the playing field at High Wych at the end of July, most people
brought their own picnics, chairs and some brought gazebos, there was a BBQ and tent with a local musical
group using the time to practice together, this was the first time they had been together since the beginning of
the covid pandemic, although they said they were just practicing their music, it was very entertaining. This
event was designed to bring the villagers back together after the pandemic, and it was a massive success.
On the 1
st August there was a Flower Festival at St Botolph, Eastwick. This event was organised by the parish
council as a get together for the villagers of Gilston and Eastwick. It was a popular event only marred by the
exceedingly heavy rain during the afternoon. Congratulations to the organisers of both of the ‘get together’
events.
The churchyard at St Mary, Gilston had a makeover on 8th August, what a difference that has made, well done
to the gardening team.
The Pet Service at St Marys, Gilston on Sunday 15th August at 11.15am for all four legged furry and hairy ani￾
mals, and two legged feathered animals along with the families they own and live with were made very wel￾
come. All the animals were very well behaved, in their own way they joined in the singing and assisted with
the readings and sermon. It was a very interesting, noisy and fun service and the fellowship was enjoyed by
all. Refreshments were served after the service.
The Scarecrow Festival at St James, High Wych is on the 11th and 12th of September, There are going to be
lots of stalls, music, a BBQ, a tea tent, children’s activities and much, much more. Please come along to enjoy
the spectacle of our decorated church and village. We are expecting a lot of visitors to attend this year as we
were unable to hold a festival in 2020, so if you can assist, please contact Janet Bellingham.
The benefit of water is something that is mentioned many times in the Bible, in the New Testament the Bible
tells the story that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding (John 2’ 1-11) another is Jesus being baptised
with water by John (Mark 1). There are stories of Jesus healing by using water and I am sure we all know the
story of Jesus walking on water and controlled the waves. These are just a few of the many instances when
water is mentioned. And today children and adults are still baptised with water as a symbol of their faith. We
just cannot live without water. With this in mind it is very appropriate that this year’s Bishop’s Harvest Ap￾
peal is entitled ‘Water is Life’, collection bowls will be available at each of the Harvest services to enable
clean, safe water to be brought to the communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, because more than
70% of that population drink unsafe water and suffer the consequences of doing so. Clean, fresh, abundant
water is something we in this country take for granted, but just imagine not having that regular supply of water
on tap in abundance. Donations to this worthwhile appeal can also be made directly. Visit the Bishop of St
Albans Harvest Appeal 2021 page and at the bottom is a gift link.
The Harvest Festival service at St Mary’s, Gilston is on the 26th September and the one at St James, High
Wych is on the 3rd October. Please come.
May God bless you all
Joy Galliers-Burridge (Reader)