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.
Heroes & Heroines in the Bible
In the weeks after Easter, the anthems at the 10am morning services will be dedicated to Heroes & Heroines from the Bible. The series starts with Christ, the image of heroism to which all should aspire. The series then opens out to include the Virgin Mary, King David, the Queen of Sheba, Samson, Elijah, Noah, Esther and Moses. Slightly outside of the mould of ‘Hero’ though still extremely important to the narrative of scripture is Adam whose story is told in the musical, Children of Eden.
Moses, after being called by God from a burning bush, led the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea into Exodus. At Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments. This morning the choir are singing a chorus from Israel in Egypt composed by Handel in 1739. The chorus comes from the end of the 2nd part of the oratorio.
FOOD 4 THOUGHT
Little Questions with Big Answers
Food 4 Thought continues this afternoon. Based around a series of ‘little books of guidance’ these sessions deal with some of the little questions about Christian faith which stir up big challenges when it comes to answering them. We meet in the Library at The Victoria Pub on Strathearn Place at 12 noon (except on the 23rd July when we will meet at 12:30pm). Everybody orders their own food and then we get into the discussion - all to be completed by 2.00pm.
What is Christianity?
16th July 2017
What is Christianity all about?
What is faith?
What difference does it make?
Why did Jesus have to die?
23rd July 2017
Was the cross necessary?
What is atonement?
Is God atoning?
Why does God allow suffering?
30th July 2017
What’s the problem?
Why create a world with suffering?
What does Jesus do about suffering?
Organ Recital
The recital scheduled for 22nd July has had to be postponed. We are hoping to reschedule the recital in the autumn.
Farewell to Pippa Turner
Pippa became part of Team St John’s shortly after returning from New York City where she had spent twenty years, having obtained her Master of Divinity Degree from Yale Divinity School. She was ordained Priest by the Bishop of New York in 1995 and soon after became Associate Priest at our sister church, The Church of the Heavenly Rest, in Manhattan. Pippa returned to London in 2008 to become Chaplain to the Royal Veterinary College and UCL Medical School. Earlier in the spring we were pleased to announce Pippa’s appointment as Vicar at St Philip’s, Earl’s Court Road, but we will also be sad to see her go. We will say good-by to Pippa on Sunday, 23rd July, and celebrate her ministry here.
Jazz Mass
23rd July, 10am
The choir will have completed their year at St John’s on 16th July but we have a special treat the following Sunday morning – a jazz mass! Ewan King, who introduced us to the jazz mass in 2010, will be back with his band and singers to lead our Sunday morning service. If you have not experienced a Sunday evening jazz mass, you are missing something quite special – do make sure you don’t miss it this Sunday morning.
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 last Tuesday of the month – the next meeting is on 25th July. For further information, speak to one of the clergy.
Horseman’s Sunday
17th September 2017
This year we are celebrating the 50th Horseman’s Sunday! In addition to the usual volunteers, this year we are looking for someone with particular PR skills to help us to publicise this milestone event. If you can help, please speak to Bryan Sollenberger after the service.
Sponsor a Window
As part of the works, we are delighted that we have been given permission to restore the clerestory windows and replace the frosted glass with clear glass, as would have been originally. The restoration of clear glass at this level should flood the ceiling with light and significant enhance the building in all seasons as the light changes.
The cost of replacing the glass and restoring these windows is likely to be in the region of £28,000. There are 14 windows so that is £2,000 per window. We would be delighted if people would like to sponsor a window! If you are a UK taxpayer, after Gift Aid it is only £1,600. If a full window is a bit much, then why not half a window, which would be £1,000 (or £800 with Gift Aid). If that is a bit of a stretch, we would be delighted if you could sponsor a quarter of a window (£400 plus Gift Aid) or just a pane or two for £100 or £200. Every donation helps!
Donations can be made either to the Vicar or Bryan Sollenberger at the parish office.
Culture Vulture Ventures
Culture Vultures Venture to Oxford
Tuesday, 25th July
The Reverend Sally Hitchiner, who has spent time as a student and chaplain at Oxford University, is arranging a day in the city for us. We will catch the 10.15am Oxford Tube from Marble Arch and return at either approx. 5pm or after attending a College Evensong – 6pm start. Day return is £18, £14 for over 60’s, under 15’s travel free. The plan is to explore Oxford’s literary landmarks and the itinerary will encompass Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland so the day is very suitable for children as well as adults. We'll also venture inside Christ Church College where the Harry Potter film was set and where CS Lewis and Lewis Carroll were dons and visit the pub where CS Lewis, JR Tolkien and their friend Hugo met each week to discuss their writing. Sally will arrange coffee and lunch stops and afternoon tea in the crypt library underneath the university church. Please give Margaret travel fare as appropriate if you would like to join this venture.
St John’s Book Club
St John’s Book Club recently met and, after some deliberation, selected "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling", known colloquially as Tom Jones, as the subject of their next meeting. Given the summer and that this is a long read, the next meeting will be on Monday October 2nd.
Celebrate!
Marking a special birthday? Celebrating an anniversary? Wanting to remember that special person? St John’s can help! To honour a loved one or to commemorate a special event, you can sponsor some music or flowers, have fizz & refreshments after the service - there are lots of possibilities. If you would like to observe a special occasion or honour someone special, speak to Bryan Sollenberger.
LORD MAYOR’S CORNER
I was honoured to lead this year's Pride in London Parade down Regent Street and onto Trafalgar Square. Not often one gets to hold hands in public with Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, who was in attendance! I also took part in a service at St James's Piccadilly as part of Pride. My other big activity this week centered around the State Visit by the King and Queen of Spain - I was among the official lineup at Horseguards, where HM The Queen introduced me to our Spanish visitors. I met them again the following day, this time along with Prince Harry, during a wreath-laying at Westminster Abbey, prior to attending, with Chris, an official banquet at The Guildhall in the City held in their honour.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
St James and St John School
This year’s Leavers’ Service will be on Wednesday, 19th July, at 2pm here at St John’s. We celebrate the achievements of the Year Six students, who will be blessed as they complete their primary years and prepare to move on to secondary school. Parents and members of the congregation are very welcome at the service.
Under Five’s Playgroups
Information about the weekly community playgroups that meet at St John’s can be found at www.HPPplaygroup.weebly.com for the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning groups and www.HPPrussian.weebly.com for the Russian speaking playgroup on Wednesday mornings.
The scaffolding has now come down in church but as the summer holidays are imminent, playgroups will resume in September.
