Church Life – The 3 Churches Benefice

VE Day and VJ Day 2025

VE Day on 8th May

8th May 1945 was a day of immense relief and celebration across Britain and the Commonwealth after nearly six years of conflict.

During the war years, the villages of Great Amwell, Stanstead St Margarets, and Stanstead Abbotts played their part in the national effort. Residents served in the armed forces and civil defence roles, while the countryside and local facilities were used for various wartime purposes. Local residents would have experienced rationing, blackouts and the arrival of evacuees. The local railway line was a key part of the transportation network, linking local communities with the broader wartime logistics system.

This year’s 80th anniversary commemorations not only honoured the past, but also brought the community together in a shared act of remembrance and unity.

Within the benefice, delicious cream teas were served from 2.30pm on Sunday 4th May in the beautiful setting of St John the Baptist Church. It was a lovely afternoon. Sitting in the quiet of the historic church, provided an opportunity for members of the community to come together, reflect and remember the significance of the day.

VJ Day on 15th August

Of course, this year also marks the 80th Anniversary of Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II. Here at The 3 Churches Benefice we remembered this important event with a special Celebration Tea at St John the Baptist Church on 17th August from 2.30 to 4.30pm.

Many families, including those of Churchwardens Sue and Margaret, waited until August for the homecoming of their loved ones. Their service and sacrifice is important to remember on this 80th Anniversary of VJ Day.

It was a lovely gathering with delicious cream teas available within the calm and beautiful setting of the church. Coming together as a community to remember our lost loved ones who fought so bravely was a special and poignant way to spend the afternoon.

Thank you to all those who came along or who shared the stories of their family members in the ‘Forgotten Army’.

As part of commemorating this event, we asked Elizabeth Goldsmith to share her memories of experiencing VJ Day in China in 1945. You can read this article in the September print issue of The Three Villages Magazine (out at the start of September and available for FREE at the back of our three churches as well as other locations across the villages) or online HERE.

Experience Easter

On Wednesday 23rd April 2025, all classes from Reception to Year 6 came from St John the Baptist CE VA Primary School to St John the Baptist Church to ‘Experience Easter’.

It was a really lovely event that took place outside. There were five stations: the children visited the church and thought about the Last Supper; then they went out to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed; next they went to the courtyard where Peter denied Jesus three times; then they went to Golgotha and the cross; and finally onto the garden tomb to discover it was empty and to think about Jesus’s Resurrection.

Alice and Ralphy wrote this brilliant report about their visit:

‘On Wednesday 23rd April, classes from Reception to Year 6 went to the church and learnt about the Easter story. First, we learnt about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday. Next, we went to the camp fire where Peter claimed he didn’t know Jesus and we all burnt sticks in place of our sins. Inside the church, we thought about the last supper. Shortly after, we went and tied ribbons to the trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. At the next station, we went to the crucifix and were told that one of the thieves at the side of Jesus begged for forgiveness whilst the other thief mocked him. We were given palm crosses to help us remember Jesus’ death. We next went to the empty tomb, which had nothing but Jesus’ grave clothes in and we planted forget-me-not seeds, so we can watch them grow through the years.’

Thanks go to the school for organising the children to come along. Thanks also go the church team for setting everything up before Easter and for helping to make the experience come alive for the children on the day.

Officially the Vicar of the Benefice

The Institution, Induction and Installation of Rev’d Dr Sarah Forrest as Vicar of the Benefice

Saturday 22nd March marked a very special day. After four and a half years as Priest in Charge, Rev’d Sarah was officially made Vicar of the Benefice!

It was a really lovely service led by The Rt Rev’d Dr Jane Mainwaring, Bishop of Hertford, and The Venerable Janet Mackenzie, Archdeacon of Hertford, with assistance from Rev’d Canon Mark Dunstan, Rural Dean. With over 100 people in attendance, the church was filled and united in celebration as the Institution, Induction and Installation of Rev’d Sarah took place.

Members of the Benefice family, including Churchwardens Richard Mellor, Margaret Mellor and Peter Melrose; Assistant Churchwarden Martin Vaughan; Readers Lynne Griffiths and Rachael Melrose with Ministry Team member Anne Pulford, took part in the service in various roles. We also had John Hookway as Patron’s Representative for CPAS, along with Master Eugene du Toit and Jonathan Trower as Patron’s Representatives for Haileybury College in attendance.

We asked members of the local community to be part of The Welcome. Helen Payne (1^st Stanstead Abbotts Brownies), Will Drury (Stanstead Abbotts Scout Group), Councillor Tom Foy (Great Amwell Parish Council), Councillor Michael Dormon (Stanstead Abbotts Parish Council), Michael Speed (Headteacher at St Andrew’s Primary School), Lydia Hunt (Headteacher of St John the Baptist Primary School) and Clare Jackson (Representing of All Nations Christian College) kindly came along to officially welcome Rev’d Sarah.

Prayers of Dedication and Intercession were led by Richard Mellor, Mary Salter (Deanery Lay Chairperson) and our Headteachers, Lydia Hunt and Michael Speed.

Lynne Griffiths also played the organ and performed a triumphant trumpet voluntary at the end of the service to lead us all out to the refreshments. And what a marvellous spread it was! Everyone had really pulled together to prepare a lovely buffet for us all to enjoy, and those in the kitchen did a stellar job making sure we were all well fed and watered.

Thank you to everyone involved in the planning, preparation and running of the event. It was really wonderful to be all together and to celebrate Rev’d Sarah taking up the permanent role of Vicar to our Benefice Family.

Anna Bond

[Images courtesy of Richard Mellor and Anna Bond]

: Lynne Griffiths on the organ

: Churchwardens Richard Mellor, Margaret Mellor and Peter Melrose bring forward Rev’d Sarah

: Declaration of Assent and Oaths

: Signing the Declarations

: Reading by Martin Vaughan

: Sermon by Archdeacon of Hertford

: The Institution by the Bishop of Hertford

: The Institution

: The Anointing

: The Blessing of the Vicar and Ministry Team

: The Induction and Installation

: Welcome by Cllr Tom Foy

: Welcome by Cllr Michael Dormon

: Welcome by Lydia Hunt

: Welcome by Michael Speed

: Welcome by Clare Jackson

: Welcome by Will Drury

: Welcome by Helen Payne

: Presentation of the stole (a gift from some of the church family)

: View of the congregation

: Presentation of a flagon of water by Anne Pulford (Act of Commitment)

: Presentation of a Bible by Rachel Melrose (Act of Commitment)

: Presentation of bread and wine by Lynne Griffiths (Act of Commitment)

: Processing out (Anne Pulford and Rev’d Mark Escott)

: Processing out (Rev’d Canon Mark Dunstan, Rev’d Sarah, Archdeacon Janet, Bishop Jane and Rev’d Theresa Musiwacho)

: Gathering outside the church, including Churchwardens, Clergy and Patron’s Representatives

: Churchwardens with Bishop Jane, Archdeacon Janet, Rev’d Canon Mark Dunstan and Rev’d Sarah

: Bishop Jane, Rev’d Sarah, Rev’d Canon Mark Dunstan and Archdeacon Janet

: Lynne Griffiths, Rev’d Sarah and Bishop Jane

: Lynne Griffiths and Rachel Melrose

: Rev’d Sarah with the gifted stole

: An excellent spread

: At St John the Baptist Church, on Sunday morning, all the churchwardens and assistants presented some spring flowers to Sarah for the springtime of her becoming Vicar.

The Bishop of St Albans’ Visit

Bishop Alan, the Rt Rev’d the Lord Bishop of St Albans, who has been visiting all the churches in the diocese over the time of his episcopacy, came to St John the Baptist, Great Amwell on Sunday 19th January to lead and preach at the 9am Eucharist Service.

It was wonderful to celebrate Communion with Bishop Alan in our beautiful church, with the church family and the wider community. He even got involved with some bell-ringing, which has been a passion since he was a teenager. As many of you will know, we have a historic set of six bells (with the earliest dating from sixteenth century, called ‘Come all ye faithful’) all hung with wheels so they can be rung full circle.

Churchwarden, Richard Mellor said, ‘The Bishop’s visit to St John’s was welcomed by the congregation. He gave an amusing yet powerful sermon and he left us with much to consider. He joined us for refreshments after the service and chatted to everyone, who enjoyed the opportunity to meet him and talk to him.’

Rev’d Sarah said, ‘It was a joy to have Bishop Alan visit us in these last few months of before his retirement, and to receive a handwritten note from him following his visit in which he expressed a real pleasure at being with us. Please remember Bishop Aan in your prayers as he prepares for retirement.’

Bishop Alan, the Rt Rev’d the Lord Bishop of St Albans (image courtesy: Richard Mellor)

The Christmas Journey 2024

Every year we see the numbers who attend ‘The Christmas Journey: The Nativity Story Reimagined’ increase and there is quite a buzz in the local community in the lead up! We had a fantastic 180 children and adults (not to mention dogs) gathering together at St Margarets Train Station to make the journey to meet baby Jesus in the manger (at St Andrew’s Church).

As our numbers swell, we are even more conscious of the need for road safety. As such, we had a greater number of helpers in hi-vis jackets marshalling everyone safely on our journey. Thank you so much to everyone who helped.

We visited inns along the way and, as always, love to see the engagement with the general public as we sing and share the nativity story. Special thanks to The Jolly Fisherman, The Oak and The Red Lion for taking part again this year. We were amazed to see our Innkeeper at The Red Lion dressed for the part – that was an extra treat!

We are really pleased that this special service continues to go from strength to strength and has become a Christmas tradition for local families.

Christmas Tree Festival 2024

Once again this year, we held a Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary’s Church, St Margarets. We were so pleased that the community got involved again, including some new tree holders this year.

Despite the storms, we had 90 visitors over the weekend who came along to enjoy the beautiful trees. We also had some seasonal refreshments, some craft items for sale, a tombola and activities for the children.

Thank you to everyone who braved the weather to come along and support this weekend. We raised a gross total of £403.78, which will go towards the work and upkeep of the church.

Thank you to all our amazing tree holders and to everyone who came along to help over the weekend.

Our Memory Tree, provided and decorated by The Walled Garden

Advent Carols 2024

On Sunday 1^st December, a special Advent Carols service was held at the beautiful and historic church of St James. The church looked stunning, bathed in candlelight, and was full of people. The Priory Choir were wonderful too.

As many of you will know, St James’ old church is the former parish church of Stanstead Abbotts. When St Andrew’s Church was built in the village in the 1880s, St James’ became redundant, although it still hosts five services a year.

Now owned by the Churches Conservation Trust, and managed by the Friends of St James’ Church, this delightful building also hosts a number of cultural events, whether musical or theatrical. You can find out more about the work the Friends of St James’ Church undertake here: stjamesoldchurch.org.uk.

Thank you to everyone for your hard work making this service so special.

(Images courtesy of Vanessa Murphy)

Remembrance Sunday Fundraising 2024

Remembrance fundraising at St Andrew’s

Our Remembrance Sunday Services on 10th November were, once again, wonderfully attended.

The collection at St Andrew’s Church on Remembrance Sunday was £226.11 and there as also £43.58 in the poppy collecting tin that was in the church beforehand. The total for the village was £5402.22, which was really good.

The money raised by The Poppy Appeal helps those who have served to cope with trauma and live the full and rewarding lives they deserve.

Thank you everyone for your generosity.

Find out more about the significance of the poppy for Remembrance by visiting The Royal British Legion’s website here: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/remembrance/about-remembrance/the-poppy.

Cups on a String: a TLG/Riding Lights Performance

On Wednesday 16th October, we were delighted to host the Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) / Riding Lights Theatre Company production, ‘Cups on a String’, created to mark 25 years of TLG bringing hope and a future to struggling children across the UK.

Here at The 3 Churches Benefice we are passionate about the charity TLG and the important work they do. We are actively involved with Make Lunch (running Make Lunch Club on Mondays and Fridays during the school holidays) and Early Intervention (with a number of Early Intervention Coaches in our Benefice, who mentor children once a week in school). With this in mind, we wanted to support the national tour of ‘Cups on a String’ and host a performance.

‘Cups on a String’ is a warm-hearted and moving new play, developed from remarkable true stories. Challenging, surprising and beautifully hopeful, ‘Cups on a String’ takes you into the heart of the friendship between Heather and Joe, and the profound impact it has on them both.

St Andrew’s Church was a hive of activity on Wednesday afternoon as the stage was set. The doors opened at 7.30pm and we had an audience of 65 strong. The performance was really good and it was a great evening.

Thank you to those who hosted the performers and for everyone who helped on the evening with tasks like ushering, refreshments and car park duty.

News from St John the Baptist

South African Braii
In August, in the lovely summer sunshine, we had a South African braai in the churchyard of St John the Baptist, organised kindly by parishioners Graeme and Paola McSorley. We enjoyed boerewors followed by melktert, washed down with fabulous South African wine.

Visitors come to St John the Baptist
St John’s church has been blessed this year with visitors from overseas. Recently, we have had visitors from America, who can trace
their ancestry to Richard and Elizabeth Warren who were married in the church in 1610. Richard being one of the Pilgrim Fathers on Mayflower 10 years later.

In September, came Sue and Tom Dietrich from Arizona, followed on 3rd October by well-known authoress Jodie Picoult and her husband, Tim Warren Van Leer from New Hampshire. On the same day, Eric Nye, a visiting professor at Cambridge and related to the Warrens, joined us. It was great to welcome them to St John’s and show them round the church and the churchyard.