DECORATING ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS
St Ippolyts Church will be decorated for Christmas on Saturday 23rd December from 9.30am. The colour theme this year is silver, white with greenery and ivy and holly is always welcome too. There will be white candles and Frances Williams has kindly offered a Christmas tree for the Lady Chapel. Anyone in our local community is invited to help decorate St Ippolyts Church together with Friends and we look forward to seeing you.
ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH FLOODLIGHTING SPONSORSHIP – 2024
St Ippolyts church installed the floodlights for the Millennium celebrations 23 years ago with the aid of a grant from the Floodlighting Trust. They were first illuminated on Christmas Eve 1999, and they have been used every night since. We now have mainly LED replacement lights that are more reliable, have better colour control and are cheaper to run. We have recently had to renew the two spotlights on the top of the tower that illuminate the cross with LEDs so we are now 100% LED floodlit.
With the current electricity costs the annual sponsorship needs to be £20 per week, we hope this will be enough and we have 52 weeks to fill. You may sponsor as many weeks as you wish and you may wish this to be in memory of a loved one, to celebrate a birthday, a wedding, or anniversary etc.
The list giving the 52 weeks is normally at the back of church so please sign up early if you want a particular week.
Please pay by BACS if possible to
St Ippolyts Church Finance Fund
Sort Code 20-41-12
Account Number 00522899
please ref Floodlighting .
Otherwise Cash or Cheques made payable to ‘St Ippolyts Church’.
Roger Cox Tel: 01462 432445 Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH NATIVITY CRIB FESTIVAL 2nd & 3rd DECEMBER, 11am – 5pm
For lots of people the Crib Festival is a very special start to the Christmas season, it really is a unique experience. As one of last year’s visitors said “I don’t know what I was expecting, but we were blown away by the whole setup. So many cribs and very well displayed. We had a lovely time looking at them all. Such a variety and great to read some of their back stories. We had a lovely time, and the tea and cakes were great too.”
The variety of the cribs need to be seen to be believed, 260 cribs last year and hardly a duplicate! They are made from an unbelievable array of materials – nescafe pods or banana leaves to name a couple and they come from all around the world from as far away as New Zealand and Alaska. However, what makes them so special are their “stories” about what makes them so important to the families that own them.
After wandering around and taking in the fantastic display some refreshments will be in order and we have our mini café serving hot drinks and fabulous, homemade cakes. You could also dress up as a “living crib” and take a photo for your Christmas cards! Entry is £4 but children are free.
Can you help?
Do you have a crib we could borrow for the weekend? If so, please contact Barbara.
Could you bake a cake? There are sign-up sheets at the back of the church (or contact Barbara) – due to lack of space we ask for specific cakes and it would be wonderful if we managed to get equal quantities of each variety!
Could you spare a couple of hours to help man the event? There are sign-up sheets for this too or contact Barbara.
For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 07443228468
You can see photos of previous years on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nativitycribfestival
COMMUNITY COFFEE MORNING
Our previous Coffee Morning was once again a lovely sharing time with 20 friends who joined together in the Parish Hall Committee Room. We enjoyed chatting with each and this was helped with a selection of cakes, biscuits, and some fresh warm cheese scones too. If you would like a lift to a coffee morning, please let Joan Pinkstone know 01462 457660.
Our next Coffee Morning is Wednesday 1st November 10.30 am until Noon. We look forward to seeing you.
Frances Williams Carol Scott Joan Pinkstone
ST IPPOLYTS CHURCH FRIENDS
Friends are very grateful to St Ippolyts School families and to all who donated groceries which were given to our local charities. North Herts Sanctuary, Grove Road help to support a Sanctuary in Stevenage and a Sanctuary in Baldock too. Homeless people travel from various parts of the UK and the aim of the Sanctuaries is to give the right support enabling homeless people who come from all walks of life, to find work and accommodation and to give them a fresh start. Revd Ginni also has a food larder for our local community.
Thank you to Friends who helped sort groceries into their various categories on Monday following Harvest Festival. Children from St Ippolyts School made up gift boxes to be taken to our local friends in the parish and these along with flowers were all gratefully received.
Frances Williams Carol Scott Joan Pinkstone
