Welcome to our three historic and wonderful churches. Our styles of worship are different, but we are united in our common worship of God, and in our welcome. If you are local or just visiting the area, we would love to see you.
| St Mary’s Aspenden | St Peter’s Buntingford | St Mary the Virgin Westmill |
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|---|---|---|---|
| First Sunday | No service | 11:00 Family Worship | 09:30 Sung Eucharist |
| Second Sunday | 09:30 Morning Worship | 11:00 Holy Communion | No service |
| Third Sunday | 09:30 Holy Communion | No service | 09:30 Sung Eucharist |
| Fourth Sunday | Benefice Wide Service that rotates around Benefice Holy Communion at 10.00 am |
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| Fifth Sunday | No service | 11:00 Holy Communion | No service |
Events in the calendar below can be filtered by selecting the grey funnel-shaped icon to the top left of the calendar.
Our benefice consists of three churches, with three distinct but connected congregations. We seek to be connected with the communities in which we are located and relevant to them. We are inclusive churches welcoming all who wish to join us in the worship of our amazing, loving, creator God. Various activities take part across our churches, from the regular to the occasional and one-off.
Please see the separate pages for details, either by clicking on the images above or using the main navigation at the top of the page, or click on the calendar below for details of activities and events going on within the three churches.
We believe that God’s love for us was so overwhelming that God the Son chose to come to this earth in the person of Jesus…to die…rise again…and enable our relationship to God to be restored.
We are Church of England Parish Churches and a part of the Diocese of St Albans. It’s very likely the worship of God has continued on each of our church sites for over 1,000 years!
We share the Christian faith with billions of other Christians around the world. Our faith worships One God comprising three persons (God the Father, God the Son [Jesus], and God the Holy Spirit), united in perfect love to form “The Trinity”. We believe that God created the universe, the world, and all that science is still discovering. Through our failings, humanity has broken this wonderful planet God gave us and broken our relationship with God
We seek to follow Jesus’ teaching to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
We believe that God’s love for us was so overwhelming that God the Son chose to come to this earth in the person of Jesus. He was born as a baby in Bethlehem, to die as an adult just outside Jerusalem. Jesus rose back to life on Easter Sunday, defeating death’s power and enabling our relationship with God to be restored. After Jesus returned to heaven, God the Holy Spirit has promised to be with every Christian, helping and guiding us, and after we die God promises us a place in heaven as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
The love God has shown to us inspires us to love and care about others, and we seek to follow Jesus’ teaching to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” [Matthew 22:37-39]
When you first arrive a welcomer will greet you and offer you a “service book” and a “hymn book”. The words we use in the service are in the service book. The minister says the words in normal type, and everyone joins in the words in bold. If you don’t want to join in, that’s perfectly fine. The hymn book (and sometimes extra sheets) contain the words of the hymns and songs which will be sung; please don’t worry if you don’t know the tunes, and you don’t have to join in if you don’t want to.
There are times when the minister invites the congregation to stand or sit. This is because sometimes our posture can help with what we are doing. For example, in communion services, we stand when we hear from the “gospels” (which are the biographies of Jesus). This is done as a mark of respect, in the same way we’d stand if the monarch enters the room we’re sitting in.
Our “communion” or “eucharist” services are when we remember the events of the first Easter, and in particular the “Last Supper”. The “Last Supper” was the final meal Jesus had with his disciples before he was executed on the cross. Knowing what was to happen, Jesus shared bread and red wine with his disciples, representing his body and his blood. Jesus then instructed his disciples and followers to share bread and wine to remember all that He did for us. Because of this, Holy Communion is central and sacred to the Christian faith and always treated reverently.
If you have been confirmed in either the Church of England or Roman Catholic churches, or you would usually receive Holy Communion in your own church, you’re invited to join with us in receiving Holy Communion. If you haven’t been confirmed, or don’t usually receive Holy Communion, you are invited to come forward for a blessing. Here, the priest will place their hands over or on you and pray that God will bless you. If you would rather remain in your seat, that is perfectly fine.
At the end of the service, please do stay and chat with us. There is often tea and coffee as well! If you would rather not stay to chat, that’s fine, it will have been wonderful sharing our worship with you and we hope you will join us again.
If you are nervous about coming on a Sunday, please do get in contact with us. We can always talk things through with you. Alternatively, we can find somebody who can sit with you through the service if that would be helpful. It would be lovely to see you!
Please check our service times, as they vary from week to week. We always have a service at 11.00 am in St Peter’s, Buntingford, and we always have at least one communion service every Sunday. (Unless there are exceptional circumstances which prevent this).
To contact the United Benefice please go to the Contact Us page, or you can find the details for specific team members on the About Us page of the site.
©2021 
