Little Gaddesden Parish Church
St Peter and St Paul’s –
Church of England
We are lucky enough to be the custodians of a beautiful, ancient church, tucked away in the Hertfordshire countryside, in an idyllic setting – the quintessential English Village Parish Church.
Coronavirus
Worship in our Churches
The church is now open again for services, subject to restrictions. Provisionally, and subject to currently awaited further guidance and requirements from the Church of England, we expect the following restrictions to apply:
- Limits for communal worship will be set.
- Little Gaddesden is subject to Tier 2 restrictions, and so people must not mingle indoors, including in church, with anyone they do not live with or have formed a support bubble with.
- Face coverings are required by law to be worn in church. There are valid exemptions for some individuals and groups to not wear a face covering in church, in particular those who are leading permitted services and those who assist them.
- Social distancing must be adhered to. People should be 2 metres apart – or more than 1 metre apart as well as taking extra steps to stay safe (such as wearing face coverings).
- Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 (a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of, or change in, their normal sense of taste or smell) should not attend church due to the risk that they pose to others; they should self-isolate at home immediately with other members of their household.
- On entering and leaving church, everyone should use hand sanitiser.
- Please bear in mind that there are no toilet or hand washing facilities in church at the moment. This is because of the building works for the Thomas Field Hall, and is not a consequence of the coronavirus restrictions.
- A QR code is provided for you to check in with the NHS app. If you don’t use the NHS app, you may be asked for contact details. A temporary record of visitors will be kept for 21 days. We will assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for data if needed for contact tracing and the investigation of local outbreaks.
All of this is subject to change, possibly more than once and possibly at short notice. Please keep checking back here for any updates.
2 December 2020
Little Gaddesden Church is open daily between 10:00am and 4:00pm
- Please use hand sanitiser on entry to and exit from the church.
- No more than five visitors are to be in the church at one time.
- Facemasks must be worn.
- Social distancing is to be observed.
- Opening times are subject to change.
- The building works for the Thomas Field Hall are underway, but should not significantly interfere with permitted church access.
- There are no toilet facilities and no running water because of the building works.
Video/Audio Recordings: Sunday Morning Services and Wednesday 10:00am Podcasts
Video recordings of Sunday services, and pre-recorded midweek podcasts on Wednesdays, are made available on the Services page. See Coming Up… or the Calendar on the Services page for details of these and any other live or recorded services. Read on for mode details about our…
Wednesday Podcasts
If you feel that The Archers and the Today programme have become a little unbelievable, then you need to listen to something you can truly believe in: The Berkhamsted Team Worship Midweek Podcast! Your chance to opt out of lockdown and escape the vale of tiers for a few contemplative minutes in the middle of the not-very-busy week.
Every Wednesday a ‘podcast’ is published on the Services page. It’s simply a radio programme on the internet, and no more difficult to tune in to than switching on your kitchen radio! The advantage is that you can listen at any time from 10am on Wednesday. After a few days it will then be accessible on the Services Archive page.
The programme is usually 15 to 20 minutes in length. The theme of each programme is centred on festivals and saints’ days in the church calendar. So far, we’ve heard about St Swithun, Mary Magdalene, and Florence Nightingale, amongst others. The Collect for the day, and the appointed Psalm are usually included, along with a Bible reading, before a short homily or contemplation by the Vicar, or one of our Readers. Interesting and challenging music choices are becoming a feature.
Don’t be scared of ‘podcasts’… they are your friend!
POD = ‘programme on demand’… it’s just like catching up with your favourite programme on the BBC iPlayer. If you want to comment or complain about the content, just add your thoughts to the comments section on the Services page of the website.
Jonathan Kempster
Messy Church At Home – Autumn Activity Sheets Now Available
Messy Church at Home has new resources on the Youth and Children’s page. You’ll find activity sheets there for September, October and November 2020.
Heather Tisbury, Reader
Coronavirus Precautions
Updated 14 September 2020:
- Little Gaddesden Church has a limited schedule of services and is usually open daily (see above).
- Everyone is urged to follow the Government’s current instructions in a national effort to limit the transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
- The current practice of hand hygiene is to be rigorously maintained and physical contact of all kinds should be avoided.
- We should be vigilant in keeping a close eye on those around us for signs of illness.
Further official guidance and advice for churches is available on the Church of England’s website.
Please keep an eye out for further information on our News page or subscribe to receive news items (scroll down or click here for the sign-up form) .
Read on for our usual front page content, including our mailing list sign-up form…
The church of St Peter and St Paul, Little Gaddesden, has stood here for centuries and, just as it has always done, represents a beacon of hope and light in a world which isn’t always as we would like.
The congregation and community are thriving and full of life, so whether you’re a visitor or a new resident, you will always be welcome to our services. Our style of worship combines, we hope, the formal (delivered in a relaxed and friendly way) with opportunities for teaching and reflection.
Our principal Sunday service is Sung Holy Communion at 9:00 am most weeks – although on the second Sunday of the month we have a Family Service, sometimes with communion, which offers a simplified form of worship and is aimed more especially at families and younger people. The Family Service takes the place of our recently introduced, informal ‘Café Church’ service during the coronavirus outbreak.
Children are very welcome: on Sundays other than the second of the month, a Sunday School is run during the morning service, and on the second Sunday there is a separate teaching activity for younger children during part of the service.
At least three times a month there is Sung Evensong (Book of Common Prayer) at 6:00pm, and occasionally there are alternative evening services. Please see the Services page for details.
The church is open daily for private prayer and to light candles, should you so wish, and on most Thursday mornings there is quiet service of Holy Communion at 10:00 am.
On most Tuesdays from 10.30 till noon, coffee and delicious cake are offered together with lively conversation.
The Churchyard is very important to our community. It is a place of respite for walkers and visitors to the church, who discover it to be very peaceful and tranquil. Not only is it a beautiful setting for just sitting and admiring the view, but it also provides the perfect place for people to come to remember their loved ones who are buried here, or whose ashes are interred here. For details about funerals, please first look here.
We welcome all those who would like to receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism, (Christening), and many couples are married here or have their marriage blessed. If you would like to know more about Holy Baptism (discussed briefly here), please contact the Vicar. For more details on weddings, in the first instance please go to the Weddings page.
Ministry at Little Gaddesden is shared with the adjoining parishes of Great Gaddesden and Nettleden.
The Revd. John Russell
Vicar
Little Gaddesden Church
Church Road
Little Gaddesden
Hertfordshire
HP4 1NZ
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Photo credits: Barbara Sheard, Lyn Hyde, Andrew Sheard
Tuesday Morning Coffee and Cake is back!
