Hearing the Service
St John’s has an Induction Loop System so if you have a hearing aid, please switch it to the ’T’ setting.
Margaret Legg
This morning we celebrate the ministry of The Reverend Margaret Legg and bid her farewell after 12 years of ministry among us here at St John’s. As a self-supporting minister, Margaret arrived as a Deacon and served her title among us, crafting a ministry of pastoral care and the facilitating of Culture Vulture Ventures. Over the years she has become much loved by the staff, congregation and members of the wider community. She has entertained us with royal titbits in her sermons and built up Culture Vulture Ventures with a diversity of adventures that has captured our imagination.
Batting Order
Margaret will be preaching at this morning’s service, immediately following which there will be a champagne reception in the north aisle during which there will be a presentation to Margaret on behalf of us all. At the same time, Andre and his team will transform the nave in readiness for lunch. All are invited to stay for the reception, but lunch is by ticket only.
St John’s Late
St John’s Late has a week off this evening but our winter series resumes next Sunday evening with Compline at 7pm preceded by a soup and cheese supper at 6pm.
9th February, 7pm
Compline by Candlelight
Night prayer with choir and flute, preceded by a soup & cheese supper at 6pm. A sung service stunning in its simplicity. The anthem will be In Pace in Idipsum by O Lassus.
16th February, 6pm
Jazz Mass
Before the solemnity of Lent, the excitement of a second jazz mass! The setting will be Todd’s Missa Brevis and the anthem Hogan’s arrangement of Let the Heaven Light Shine on Me.
A Big Gay Night Out
Dick Whittington (an adult Panto) December 2020! There’s nothing like planning ahead – and tickets for this year’s panto at Above the Stag are now on sale! If you are interested in coming to the Panto on Tuesday 8th December 2020, please contact Ian Smith [ipas@hotmail.co.uk] asap. Tickets, £28 a seat, sell fast (even this far ahead!). N.B. Not suitable for children.
Bible Book Club
Bible book club meets once a month to read and to discuss the gospel reading for the coming Sunday and concludes with Compline. Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month – the next meeting is on 5th February. For further information, speak to one of the clergy.
Ash Wednesday, 26th February 2020, 12.00 noon & 7.00pm
We begin our Lenten observations on Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on 26th February. As usual there will be a said lunchtime service at 12.00 noon. In the evening there will be a sung Eucharist at 7.00pm (note the slightly earlier time this year), the setting Victoria’s Missa Quarti Toni, featuring Allegri’s Miserere and Casals’ O Vos Omnes. If you still have your palm crosses from last year, bring them in and we will burn them to make this year’s ash.
Becoming Mindful
A Carol Service for Lent
Sunday, 8th March, 6pm
This service is a bold new venture for Lent which we hope will capture peoples’ imaginations is a carol service-like liturgy but with a completely different feel. Music, song, readings and poetry will explore the Lenten themes of mortality, fasting, prayer, restoration and perseverance and designed to assist us in our preparation for Easter. The service will be followed with tea, coffee and hot cross buns. Please save the date in your diary.
Rainy Day Appeal
Raised: £32,271
Target: £40,000
Two years ago we undertook some very essential repairs to the roof, gutters and parapets. If you look up on the outside north or south sides of the church, you’ll notice the beautiful new stonework. To fund the works, however, we had to borrow £200,000 from the Diocese of London.
The ambition of our Rainy Day Appeal is to raise £40,000 to cover this year’s repayment commitment and interest and we are now 80% of the way there. There are 160 metres of guttering, which works out at £250 per metre (£200 per metre if gift aided). To clear one or more metres or for more information about Gift Aid, speak to Bryan Sollenberger. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
School Gate Gossip
We were delighted to receive a letter from Nick Gibb MP (Minister for Schools in the Department of Education) this week, congratulating the school on our KS2 outcomes. The outcomes achieved place us in the top 3% of primary schools in England for progress in KS2. We are all very proud of our children’s achievements and the team work that has resulted in such outstanding results.
This week has seen more reading initiatives at St James and St John with our first two recipients of the ‘Reading is the Key’ awards from Year 1 and Year 6. Reading key awards are given to children who are making outstanding effort in their reading both in school and at home. We’ve had further class visits to the library to borrow and swap books. Our Nursery class went to visit Kensington Palace as part of their topic on dragons – fortunately they didn’t bump into any on their visit! Our school council were delighted this week to have the chance to participate in the LDBS schools service at St Paul’s cathedral. The service involves children from across the whole Diocese of London and is a great occasion to celebrate the many things that LDBS schools do and their Christian distinctiveness.
We hold school yours every other Wednesday during the Spring term. Please contact our school office on office@stjstj.co.uk to book a place. We encourage all those parents considering applying for a Nursery place in September 2020 or January 2021 to apply as soon as possible as places will start to be allocated at the end of February.
Stay and Play
A community playgroup meets weekly in St John’s on Thursday mornings from 9.30-11.30am. Come and stay for a play, a sing-song and to share stories over a cup of coffee. All children and babies are welcome (newborn to 5 years). Suggested donation: £2.
