NOTICES 11 MARCH 2018

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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.

Mothering Sunday

This morning we celebrate Mothering Sunday when we give thanks for the many ways our mums have cared for and influenced us.  The theme for this year is ‘Women Opening Doors’.  During the service our children will give flowers to every woman in the congregation while the choir sings Wonder Woman  and after the Show and Tell will sing a special song they have prepared for all the mums.

Sunday Evenings in Lent

Jesus: the Living Water

In this series of Lenten evening services at 6.30pm, we explore how Jesus brings life in many different ways to many different people, using his encounters with water as illustrations.  With our own lives as our templates we reflect, through music, worship, prayer and water-focussed practical interludes, on the times when we have been healed and reshaped and have felt we have no control.  Ultimately, we focus on Jesus himself as the source of new life within us, through the cleansing and empowerment that he gives us through his death and resurrection.

This week the focus is on Jesus' power over creation, with music ranging from Bridge over Troubled Waters (by P. Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel) to Sumsion's They that Go down to the Sea in Ships.  As Jesus calmed the storm, so, using water beads and meditation, there will be an opportunity to reflect on times of turmoil and chaos in our lives and the serenity that Jesus can bring.

Lent Course 2018

Faith and the Arts

For centuries, different art forms have been used as channels to capture faith. The beauty found in these artistic expressions goes beyond the religious motif, to something deeper within the artist and the beholder.  In our final session of this year’s course we will explore sculpture with Professor Alexander Stoddart, Queen’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland.

Come along on Wednesday at 7pm for supper in the Garden Room at the Grosvenor Chapel, 24 S Audley St, Mayfair, London W1K 2PA.

Annual Vestry and Parochial Church Meeting

Our APCM this year is on Sunday, 18th March, immediately following the 10am service.  This is the meeting where we receive the annual report and accounts and elect our churchwardens and members to the Parochial Church Council (PCC).  This year we will be electing churchwardens and two members to the Parochial Church Council (PCC).  Nomination forms are available at the back of church.  Completed forms can be given to Bryan Sollenberger.

Our thanks to Damon Greeney and Andy Moxon, whose terms on PCC come to an end.  A special thank you to Damon for serving the past two years as a deputy churchwarden.  We particularly thank Louise Rowland, who has served as churchwarden for the past three years and retires after the Annual Vestry Meeting.  The vitality of a parish like St John’s is dependent on people being willing to give of their time and skills in leadership of the parish.  We are as a community grateful for all that they have brought and shared.  Please think carefully about whether you might have skills you can share by standing for PCC.

Change Your Clocks

Remember to set your clocks one hour ahead on Saturday, 24th March.  While we lose an hour of sleep, we gain an hour of daylight in the evenings!

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 27th March.  For further information, speak to one of the clergy.

HOLY WEEK & EASTER 2018

Maundy Thursday

A special sung mass commemorating the Last Supper with the washing of feet takes place on the Thursday night before Easter at 8pm.  The mass setting will be Missa Brevis by Kodàly and the anthem Casal’s O Vos Omnes.  If you would be willing to have your feet washed at this service, please speak to one of the clergy.

Good Friday Children’s Workshop

A children’s activity morning is planned for Good Friday between 10am and 12 noon for children from 0-11.  Coffee, biscuits and hot cross buns will be available and we will build the Easter Garden.  Volunteers are needed to help with the activities.  A donation of £5 per child is requested (babies go free).  If you can help, speak to Antonio or Becky Stringer.

Good Friday Liturgy of the Day

Good Friday is one of the holiest days in the Christian year.  This service of reflection and prayer, centred on the passion and death of our Lord, is led by our choral scholars and is based around Jesus Christ, Superstar by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.  The service begins at 2.00 pm.

Mrs Mops’ Easter Special!

Andre is organising a special effort on Saturday morning, 31st March, to clean and to get the church ready for Easter.  Please speak to him if you are happy to don your housecoat and report for duty for a morning of hard work and fun along with a mid-morning refreshment of the Vicar’s special hot milky brew.  Come armed with your marigolds, Brasso and Pledge.  Many hands make light work: please help if you can.

Dawn Vigil and First Mass of Easter

This service begins at 5am with a Vigil of readings as we await the dawn and the resurrection of our Lord.  This colourful and dramatic service incorporates the Service of Light, Renewal of Baptism Vows and the First Mass of Easter.  Well worth getting up for!  The service is followed by breakfast and champagne.

Easter Breakfast

A cooked breakfast is served in the hall following the dawn service.  Please sign up in the porch if you plan to stay for this.  Anyone wishing to volunteer to organise the Easter breakfast would be very warmly welcomed by the Vicar (who will be coming off his Lenten diet).

Easter Baptisms

There will be an opportunity for adults and children to be baptized as part of the Easter liturgy at 5am again this year.  If you are considering being confirmed on 22nd April but have not yet been baptised, this is the perfect time for it – it is a traditional for those wishing to be confirmed to be baptised at Easter.  If you are interested in being baptized at this service, please speak to one of the clergy as soon as possible.

Easter Reception

Following the Festival Eucharist on Easter morning there will be a fizz reception with finger food.  Please bring a plate of finger food to share and indicate what you will be able to bring on the sign up sheet in the porch or on one of the clipboards that will be circulating during coffee.

Heart Start Training

Claudia Finlay has organised this course, run by London Ambulance, for members of St. John’s Church on Tuesday, 3rd April. 18.30 – 20.30 at 220 Waterloo Road, London SE1.  The course is available for 15 people only and is free, but you need to register.  Please send your name, mobile number and email to Claudiafinlay@btconnect.com.

Confirmation

On Sunday, 22nd April, the acting Bishop of London will be presiding at a service of Confirmation.  Courses preparing children and adults for Confirmation will be run in Lent.  If you would like to be confirmed or if you would like to explore the possibility of being confirmed, please talk with one of the clergy.  Do come along and support those who are being confirmed.

Help Robin Get to Church

Robin Plummer lives in Great Western Road and needs help getting to and from church.  Would you be willing to help him?  There is a rota and you would be expected to help Robin approximately one Sunday per month.  Robin is particularly fond of riding in fast cars although he is also very happy to walk to church.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Children’s Community Choir

Thursdays, 4.10pm

The Children’s Community Choir is open for children 6 years old and above, sessions will be 30 minutes long and children will sing different genres of music.  If you are interested in bringing your children along please let Robert or Antonio know.

LORD MAYOR’S CORNER

Last week, Chris and I attended a fascinating lecture given by Canon Vernon White at Westminster Abbey about ‘truth’ - one of a series of thematic talks organised by the Westminster Abbey Institute (highly recommended!).  We also took to the stage at Methodist Central Hall for an afternoon of music and reflection with around 2,000 people from across the UK at this year’s Daffodil Day Celebration, entitled Bright Hope.  Later the same day, I hosted a performance featuring musicians from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and some local clients of the West London Day Centre; a very inspirational event.  I rounded off last week with a speech at the Royal Navy Reserve Officers’ Dining Club, talking about Westminster’s historic links with the navy.

Coming up, there’s a Hungarian flavour to Monday 12 March, when I host the Mayor of Budapest for tea in my Parlour prior to joining other London mayors for lunch at the Hungarian Ambassador’s residence.  I shall also be laying a wreath at the Memorial Gates, Constitution Hill on Commonwealth Day, before attending the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey, in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family.  Tuesday sees me visiting the Irish Embassy as part of the annual St Patrick’s Day celebrations and on Wednesday I am guest of the Director of the National Gallery for a viewing of Tacita Dean: Still Life.  I am also attending the ‘topping out’ of the new Marylebone Boys’ School and will be handing out oranges and lemons to pupils from St Clement Danes School, part of an annual ceremony.  On Friday, following a meeting with the London Director of the Institute of Directors, I shall be hosting an LGBT+ reception for stakeholders across Westminster.

St James & St John School Gate Gossip

As we went to print last week with our School Gate Gossip we were told that school would be off the following day. Obviously, this was great news for our children, though parents and teachers may have seen it differently. Anyway, we had a fantastic day out in the snow, building snowmen and taking the sledges to Hyde Park. Luckily, World Book Day had not been cancelled but moved to this week, and we had a great day on Thursday dressing up and choosing our favourite costumes. This Friday we celebrated our Mothers with a Mother's Day Tea Party, which was organized by the PFA and which is an important fund-raiser. Next big event for our children is International Day on the 15th March.

Under Five’s Playgroups

An international playgroup aimed at Russian speakers meets in St John’s on Wednesdays at 10am.  Other playgroups meet on Wednesdays at 3.45pm and Thursdays at 10am.  Suggested donation for all groups: £2.  Information about the playgroups can be found at www.HPPplaygroup.weebly.com and www.HPPrussian.weebly.com for the Russian speaking playgroup.