Do you like a good quiz? Do you like supporting incredible charities? If yes, then we have an evening of fun for you!
Join The 3 Churches Benefice for an epic evening of poverty-beating, community-building fun! Every penny raised will go to Tearfund, who work tirelessly to fight extreme poverty throughout the world.
WHEN: Saturday 16th November, 7pm at The Wilshere Hall, St Andrew’s Church
DETAILS: £5 per person, Teams of up to 8 people, Bring your own drinks & snacks
Get tickets in advance by emailing peter.melrose@ntlworld.com or purchase (in cash) on the door!
To learn more about Tearfund and the important work they do, you can watch this video HERE or visit their website: https://www.tearfund.org/
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is looking for dedicated volunteers to join their team at the recently opened charity shop at 14 The Forum in Stevenage, which has been welcoming the community since July. They need enthusiastic individuals to help support this vital life-saving service.
EHAAT’s charity shops are essential in raising funds to keep their helicopters flying, providing critical care across Hertfordshire, Essex, and surrounding areas. As a shop volunteer, you’ll assist with tasks like sorting donations, pricing items, serving customers, and creating vibrant displays. It’s a great way to develop retail skills, meet new people, and make a meaningful impact on your local community.
Whether you can volunteer a few hours a week or more regularly, they’d love to hear from you. No experience is necessary – just a positive attitude and a willingness to help!
To learn more about becoming a volunteer at the Stevenage shop, visit ehaat.org/volunteer or stop by the shop to chat with the team. Your time could help save lives!
This month’s Equine Table Top Sale and Dog Show is on 27th October.
WHERE: Albury Village Hall, The Bourne, Albury WHAT TIME: 11am to 1.30pm
EQUINE TABLE TOP SALE Entry £1 (cash only) Lots of different stalls offering some lovely items for sale, including some non-horsey things too (like Erin’s Jewels). Refreshments including homemade sausage rolls and cakes on sale!
Book your tables in advance at £10 – numbers are limited. To book a table get in touch with Gail on 07747300095.
DOG SHOW Entry £2 per show per dog (cash only) Ribbons awards up to 5th place for all classes!
All fundraising goes to Cheshunt Animal Rescue, which provide a safe and caring environment for all the animals that come through their doors. They rehabilitate and release wildlife and take in unwanted pets. They strive to find loving forever homes for each and every animal that enters their homes. Find out more about the great work this charity do by visiting their website: https://cheshuntanimalrescue.co.uk.
AND A BIG WELL DONE… Equine Table Top Sale and Dog Show have just celebrated a big milestone. They have been working hard for 5 years now, raising an incredible £27,557.00 to help support 36 different small charities. Well done to Gail and her team of amazing volunteers!
Local Sands supporter The 3 Churches Benefice will be giving bereaved families in Great Amwell, St Margarets and Stanstead Abbotts the opportunity to come together this Baby Loss Awareness Week, 9–15th October.
Sands, the charity that leads Baby Loss Awareness Week, works to save babies’ lives and support bereaved families. The Week is a time for everyone in the baby loss community and beyond to come together, to remember much-loved and missed babies, and raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss.
This special week is represented by its blue and pink ribbon logo, this image has been the inspiration to create Ribbon Displays up and down the UK, in every community, inviting those who have experienced loss to come together and remember their babies.
The 3 Churches Benefice is hosting a Ribbon Display outside St Andrew’s Church and opening the church on Sunday 13th October from 2–4pm to support their Ribbon Run, which will take place from 2pm that day. They are putting together a team that plans to walk the 5km circuit from St Andrew’s to raise funds for Sands. Walkers and Runners welcome! To donate, visit the website: https://fundraising.sands.org.uk/s/7321/25326.
The loss of a baby or pregnancy is heart-breaking, and this is happening to families across the UK everyday. During Baby Loss Awareness Week, The 3 Churches Benefice wanted to create a special display to remember all the babies lost, whether recently or long ago. You can add a ribbon to our Ribbon Display on the railings outside St Andrew’s Church, Stanstead Abbots.
All money raised from the Ribbon Run will go to Sands, so they can continue to support families and reduce baby deaths, by investing in research and championing better maternity care.
For anyone who needs the support of Sands you can find more information on their website www.sands.org.uk .
Saying Goodbye, (part of the Mariposa Trust) are coming to St Albans with a very special Baby loss remembrance and support service (part of a UK and Ireland chain of events).
The Mariposa Trust’s core objective is to support people who have lost babies at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in infancy. It was founded in 2012, by Zoe and Andy Clark-Coates, who saw a critical lack of support for people like them, who had gone through baby loss. With over 258,000 babies being lost yearly in the UK alone, the charity needed to be able to offer not only a comprehensive package of befriending and support but also national baby loss remembrance services (called Saying Goodbye Services), for people to join together and remember the children they had lost.
12 years on, over 200 services have taken place at Cathedrals and Minsters across the UK, US, and France, and 2024 will see 25 services across England, Wales, Ireland, France and the US.
On the 14th October at 7pm, in St Albans Cathedral we will be hosting one of our Saying Goodbye Services and as this is the most local service to you this year we wanted to share this information with you.
So who is the service for? Anyone who has either personally lost a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth, or in early years, or who has been affected by family members’ or friends’ loss. Whether the loss was recent or 80 years ago, everyone is welcome to attend. We have also extended the services, and gladly welcome anyone who is grieving the fact that they haven’t had children. This may be due to circumstance, infertility, or for other reasons – but all are welcome. Babies and children are also invited to come with their families, as the Saying Goodbye service is truly a family event for all.
We know that as 1 in 4 women suffer miscarriage and baby loss, you will have contact with a significant number of people who have either personally suffered baby loss, or who have a partner or family member that has, so we wanted to ask if you would help us in promoting the service.
To read more on the charity, please see the Saying Goodbye website, which you can find at: www.sayinggoodbye.org
Did you see our article on the new community group, Coffee and Coping Hertfordshire, in the September Issue of The Three Villages Magazine? If not, then pick up a copy and check it out!
Coffee and Coping Hertfordshire was set up to create a community that supports those who need it: tackling loneliness, encouraging positive well-being and signposting to real solutions.
The group meets every Wednesday and Friday, 12 to 1.30pm at the Ashlea Room, Parish Hall, Roydon Road, Stanstead Abbotts.
**BRAND NEW EVENING DROP-IN** Wednesday, 5 to 6.30pm at the Ashlea Room For anyone coming home from work who needs a chat to talk about their day!
The next Equine Table Top Sale and Dog Show on Sunday 29th September 2024!
WHERE: Albury Village Hall, The Bourne, Albury WHAT TIME: 11am to 1.30pm
EQUINE TABLE TOP SALE Tables are £10 Book in advance (contact Gail on 07747300095) Tables provided by the hall Entry £1 (cash only)
DOG SHOW Entry £2 per show per dog (cash only) Ribbons awarded up to 5th place for all classes
All money we raise goes to Dogateers, a friendly, dedicated voluntary team of animal lovers who apply their combined experience and skills to help safely locate, trap and bring home lost dogs.
To mark 25 years of bringing hope and a future to struggling children across the UK, Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) are collaborating with the Riding Lights Theatre Company to share their stories with you.
The 3 Churches Benefice are thrilled that the TLG / Riding Lights team have agreed to perform their new production on Wednesday 16th October, 7.30pm at St Andrew’s Church, Stanstead Abbots.
What’s it all about?
Joe’s eleven and home is hard. School is even harder. He breaks stuff: pencils, chairs, rules. One thing he won’t break is his silence. Heather’s fifty-seven. She’s got a comfortable life and a comfortable home. But her comfortable world is about to be turned upside down as she and Joe spend an hour a week together. Every week. For a year. Where will this journey of hours and weeks take them?
‘Cups on a String’ is a warm-hearted and moving new play, developed from remarkable true stories. It’s about playfulness, listening and laughter, and how risk-taking and trust can lead to growth and transformation. Challenging, surprising and beautifully hopeful, ‘Cups on a String’ blends theatre, live music and digital technology to take you into the heart of the friendship between Heather and Joe, and the profound impact it has on them both.
Who is this for?
Everyone! Any individual who cares about children and has a passion for bringing hope and healing to children who are struggling at home and school would be inspired by this event. We hope that many people will gain a better understanding of the experience children face today and how the work of volunteer coaches can transform children’s lives. The play is suitable for teenagers and adults but not recommended for younger children.
Bike ‘n’ Hike is a fun day out where you get sponsored to visit beautiful historic churches by cycling, walking, or any mode of transport on a route of your choice. Take part and help your church – half of what you raise goes to your local church!
Do you like to get out in the beautiful local countryside? Are you interested in our beautiful local historic churches? If yes, then why not take part in this event!
Bike ‘n’ Hike Family Map The 3 Churches Benefice have put together a specially designed Family Map for a circular route between the three churches. Route starts at any of the churches and can be done on foot or bike. The three churches will be open for pit stops along the way! Email admin@3churches.net for more information.
Find out more about Beds and Herts Historic Churches TrustHERE.
The 3 Churches Foodbank Hub is in need of donations, specifically:
* Cooking sauces for rice * Mashed potato * Tinned meat and vegetables * Toiletries especially soap and shower gel * Marmalade * Most thing as they are low on supplies
Donations can be dropped off on Wednesday morning between 10.30–11.30am at St Margarets Parish Church or to Sue Webb at 8 Miller Lane, Stanstead Abbotts.
The Three Villages 