From Patronal Festival

On Sunday 6 September we kept our Patronal Festival with a splendid day for all ages to enjoy. Our celebrations began with an uplifting service attended by well over two hundred people, young and old, who were treated to some wonderful music and an inspiring and challenging sermon by the Archdeacon of St Albans, the Venerable Jonathan Smith. Also during the service, we had the privilege of mandating our new Local Ministry Team of ten lay and ordained members to serve our church and community over the next six years.

Following the service the congregation, and many invited guests from our community, spilled out into warm sunshine to enjoy drinks and a fantastic lunch. It isn't often that you have a choice of 25 different puddings on offer!

As we ate and chatted, to the accompaniment of a brilliant jazz quartet, the young (and young at heart) enjoyed a bouncy castle and games on the church lawns. Our prayers for good weather had again been answered, capping another fabulous event for our church's Patronal celebrations and marking the start of our build up to our exciting 900th anniversary next year.

You can view a few pictures of the celebrations. Click the Read More link.

Why Celebrate?

In 1110 St Mary’s Church was founded. This gave a real sense of identity to the local community which, it is believed, then consisted of only some 27 people.  These celebrations in 2010 are not only about the founding of the church but also about the development of our community.  This is a community which has emerged, after some 900 years, into the beginning of the 21st Century, with over 5000 residents living in a vibrant and diverse village, in beautiful countryside, with great warmth and a fantastic community spirit, a spirit reflected in winning the People Category of the 2009 Hertfordshire Village of the Year Competition.