The Speaker will be Canon Richard Wheeler (Anglican Diocesan Social Responsibility Adviser). He will talk about the work of the East of England Churches Network.

Do you enjoy writing? Would you like to pen your thoughts for The Gazette's Christian Viewpoint column? Each week, our local paper publishes an article of about 100 words written by Christians for the community. Contributors are prompted about twice a year to submit an article or two for the paper. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch with the column's coordinator Lisa Dussek with your contact details.
Just write to 6 Charles Street, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 1JH, telephone

Day excursion on the Grand Union Canal from Nash Mills on two of the Reach Out Project's boats. Numbers are limited to 22 so book your place now.
Contact Peter Cotton on 213838

The churches in Brazil have many stories to tell of faithful Christian action in response to desperate human need.
They have also learned how to open themselves to the Spirit of God empowering people to challenge the forces of evil in the name of Christ. Through the Cutting Edge mission partner, the Brazilian churches would have much to share with us.

Behind Cutting Edge lies a deep concern for a fresh vision of mission to inspire our churches in challenging times.
We believe

• the mission is God's not ours as we work together for the coming of the Kingdom.
  
  
• marginalised people - the poor and the voiceless among them - have a special place in God's mission, as lives are renewed and society transformed.
  
  
• all Christians, wherever they are in the world church, are called to join in God's mission, sharing their resources, insights and experience.
  

A three-year full-time ecumenical appointment of a mission partner from Brazil to be based in but not confined to Grovehill.

Why Brazil? It is a society where injustice, corruption and exploitation face the church with a constant challenge to make real the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What will the mission partner do? Two things: encourage the church's engagement in community ministry and aid reflection on the place of such activity within the whole mission of God.

Why Grovehill? It is a neighbourhood of recognized social need where the churches and others are already working together. From work at a local level will spring opportunities to assist churches elsewhere in the town in their approach to mission.

Aldo is a priest of the Igresia Anglicana - the Anglican Church of Brazil. He has a dual ministry. He has churches in two favelas of Sao Paulo (ironically named Paradise and Park Royal).

His work in these crowded, destitute shanty towns is complemented by ministry at the Cathedral in an adjoining affluent suburb.

A vital part of his ministry is to help the churches face the stark inequalities in Brazilian society.

What have Christians like Aldo got to teach us in Hemel?

Read overleaf about an exciting new
initiative called Cutting Edge...

A presentation of Graham Kendrick's The Gift will take place at the town centre bandstand on the afternoon of the Christmas light switching on ceremony.

Interested in taking part in this simple but profound act of witness to the truth of Christmas?

Full practice and backup provided. Put the date in your diary and keep a lookout for rehearsal dates and further details.

For more information, telephone Stephen French (Vicar, St Albans, Warners End and St Peter's, Gadebridge) on 251897

Increasingly, the main-line denominations are finding it hard to fund conventional ministry. Cutting Edge offers the chance for the churches locally to pool resources in supporting, for a limited period, a new style of ministry in an area of particular need.
The annual cost of Cutting Edge (stipend, housing, travel, working expenses) will be £29,000. This cost will be met in part by the USPG under its ecumenically-focused Global Village programme and by the Verulam House Fund Trust. To be sure of going ahead, however, Cutting Edge needs the financial support of local churches - like that already forthcoming for ventures such as Crossover, the Mustard Seed and DENS.
We are trusting that the movement of the Spirit we discern in the Cutting Edge proposal will receive similar support - from individuals and congregations - for the sake of God's Kingdom in our town.
Members of the Steering Group are available to explain our plans and needs to local churches. In the first instance, contact Frances Killick on 01442 266941 or at francesk@btopenworld.com

Riding Lights Roughshod Theatre Company are coming to All Saints', Berkhamsted with their new show on Saturday 4th May.

An official event of Science Year, it tackles the issues of science, faith and moral responsibility and promises to be both challenging and entertaining. Come and bring all your friends!

Show time:7pm (Tickets £5 (£3 conc.) NB show not recommended for under 11s.
Box Office 01442 873470