Coronavirus (Covid-19)
We are very pleased that public worship continues under lockdown and we are delighted that you have chosen to join our community today. A special welcome if you are joining us for the first time this morning. You can download an order of service on the Welcome page of the website if you prefer not to use a preprinted copy : www.stjohs-hydepark.com. If you are isolating or vulnerable and can’t come to church, do join us live on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/Lwy8iIED.
We want everyone worshipping at St John’s this morning to be as safe as possible so to minimise the risks of catching Covid-19, guidelines have been drafted. They are on display in the porch and on our website at https://www.stjohns-hydepark.com/covid19guidance. In compliance with government guidance, we are required to have an informal community behaviour agreement and the guidelines constitute this. In summary, please observe the following:
If you are displaying any of the Covid-19 symptoms – high temperature, continuous cough or a change in your normal sense of taste & smell – please do not come into church but self-isolate and arrange for a test.
Please sanitise your hands when you enter the building. A volunteer is on duty with sanitiser just inside the main glass doors. You can also use your own sanitiser or wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soapy water in the toilets. If washing your hands, please use a paper towel to operate the taps.
If you have not already given us your contact details electronically, please do so now. This information will be held for 21 days and only used in what we anticipate will be an unlikely outbreak of Covid-19 which could be traced to someone attending St John’s.
Seats have been set out in clusters of 2, 3, 4 and 5 chairs. Please sit in a cluster appropriate for the size of your household, filling the church from the front.
Orders of service have been printed in advance and placed on the chairs on Sunday morning by a member of staff masked and gloved. Please take your order of service away with you at the end of the service.
At the collection, members of staff masked and gloved will circulate with a collection plate. Place your cash or Gift Aid envelope in the plate but please do not touch it.
When exchanging the peace, please remain within your household cluster. Feel free to smile or wave at those in other households but do not make any physical contact with anyone outside of your household.
For communion, please remain standing at your seat. Lower your face mask by unhooking the loop around one ear, after which your hands will be sanitised. The clergy will bring the bread to you and place a wafer in your hand. If you prefer to receive a blessing instead, cross your hands over your chest. After you have consumed the bread, reattach your face mask in place over your mouth and nose.
At the end of the service, please remain in your seats until directed to leave the church. It will be tempting to socialise outside, but while we are in tier 3 or above people must leave and not linger on the forecourt.
At present we regret that we are unable to offer hospitality after the service.
Children and Young Families
We are delighted to have so many families with young children as members of our congregation. At present, there is no Kids’ Club so children will stay with their households at all times throughout the service and afterwards when leaving the church. Please do bring along with you anything that your children may need during the service as we are unable to make pew bags, soft toys, books or any other items available.
Toilets with changing facilities are available near the entrance of the church but remember to wipe down all surfaces you have touched before going back into church. If for any reason your child becomes restless or upset during the service, please feel free to use the forecourt as a breakout space.
Each week there is a children’s story and activity on the children’s page on our website: https://www.stjohns-hydepark.com/children. Big children as well as smaller ones will find it interesting.
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.
Keep Calm! Keep Alert! Keep Giving!
A very big thank you to all who gave so generously in 2020. It was one of the bright spots of the year. Along with the help of the Lottery Fund and other grants, we survived the year. On behalf of Steve, Ian Smith, Ian Nelson, Damon and Neville, a huge thank you for your generosity.
Who would have thought, back in the spring of last year when we began to ponder the financial hit to St John’s of the first lockdown, that we would find ourselves in lockdown 3 in the first three months of 2021. This obviously brings a renewed uncertainty for life at St John’s for a second year running and, while we make every effort to watch costs and look out for help where it might be available, we ask you to remember that again this year the carpark is not full and we are unable to make money through letting the church. Please continue to help us if you can by contributions either on Sunday mornings in the collection plate or, alternatively, directly to our bank account. Our details are:
Name: St John the Evangelist
Bank: HSBC
Sort Code: 40-11-58
Account #: 80108251
Donations given electronically still qualify for Gift Aid as your name will appear alongside your donation. If you have any questions about giving, please speak to Bryan Sollenberger.
British Summer Time Begins
On Sunday morning at 1am British Summer Time (BST) begins. Do remember to set your clocks one hour ahead before going to bed. While we lose an hour Saturday night, we gain all those hours of daylight in the evenings – very convenient as from Monday we can socialise outdoors in 2 households or a group of 6!
Palm Sunday
This morning we commemorate Palm Sunday – the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The service begins on the forecourt with the Gospel of the Palms and the blessing of palm crosses. A member of staff, gloved and masked, will hand out palm crosses as you arrive. Please remain outside on arrival at church. Should you enter the church and take a seat, we must ask you to remain there so that no one occupies it when we come into church.
Wednesday Club (in Lent)
Throughout Lent the Wednesday club will continue each week, taking a Lenten theme to each session. Exploring all things from scriptural studies, through to prayer, ethics and wondering together about how our faith affects our day-to-day living, the Wednesday Club is open to all questions and perspectives. We meet via Zoom from 8-9pm with the termly link sent out on the day. For further info or to register (so you get the link) please contact our curates Dan or Georgina.
HOLY WEEK & EASTER 2021
Easter Flowers
Help us to decorate the church for Easter and remember loved ones at the same time by contributing to our Easter flowers. Fill in the slip in your order of service and give it to Andre Livins or Bryan Sollenberger after the service. A list of contributors and those commemorated will be posted in the porch at Easter.
Maundy Thursday, 1st April, 6pm
This is a sung eucharist where we commemorate the Last Supper. Sadly, there will be no washing of feet this year. The service will conclude with the Gospel of the Watch.
Good Friday Children’s Service, 2nd April, 10am
Following the success of the Christingle service last December, we will have a similar-styled service for families on Good Friday at 10am. Through this interactive service we will tell the story of the events that lead us towards the Easter garden, which will be built as the story unfolds, that leaves us with a closed tomb and many questions to discuss on our way back home. We would love to see you there to connect with one another and explore the mysteries of this season.
Good Friday Liturgy of the Day, 2nd April, 2pm
Good Friday is one of the holiest days in the Christian year. This service of reflection and prayer is centred on the passion and death of our Lord.
Mrs Mops’ Easter Special! 3rd April, 11am
Andre is organising a special effort on Saturday morning before Easter 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, 4th April, 6am
This service begins this year at 6am 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!
Support Age UK, Westminster
Target: £2,450
Raised: £2,452
We’ve done it! We have reached our target of £2,450 for Age UK, Westminster! They wish to thank everyone who contributed so generously and who will enable them to continue to provide support for the isolating and vulnerable in our community. Your support is very much appreciated.
Age UK have asked us to pass on this special message:
‘A huge thank you from all of us staff, trustees and volunteers at Age UK Westminster for your congregation’s tremendously generous support throughout this past year. With all of your help to keep our regular Thursday hub space open at St. John’s, and the donations from your congregation, together we have brought emergency food parcels to several thousand of Westminster’s most vulnerable residents. We look forward to continuing this positive way forward with you all.’
Sermons podcast
Our sermons are going online! You can listen again to our Sunday mornings sermons at stjohns-hydepark.com/sermons or find us on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com/sjhplondon.
