Christmas 2025
Nine Lessons and Carols
Sunday, 21st December 2025, 6pm
This evening our service of Nine Lessons and Carols starts our Christmas celebrations. We are pleased to have as our special guest the Bishop of London and next Archbishop of Canterbury, The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally. This will be her final visit to St John’s before taking over her new responsibilities at Lambeth Palace so do take this opportunity to wish Bishop Sarah well in her new role.
Christmas Eve
4.00pm – Crib Service
A unique service for all ages, telling the story of Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus in the crib. Join us as we begin the feast of the birth of Christ.
11.30pm – Midnight Mass
Enjoy the first mass of Christmas in a candlelit church, singing Christmas carols led by the choir and orchestra. The setting will be Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicholai and the anthem O Magnum Mysterium by Lauridsen.
Christmas Day
10am – Family Festival Eucharist
Children are invited to come along dressed up in their fairy costumes and sparkly shoes or Christmas pyjamas and to bring their toys with them if they wish. Sing Christmas carols with the choir, accompanied by orchestra.
Christmas Flowers
Remember a loved one by making a donation to this year’s Christmas flowers. Complete the slip inside your order of service and leave it with Philip. A list of those in whose memory donations are given will be displayed in the porch.
Sunday, 28th December
There is no 8am service this Sunday. At the 10am service, the choir will have a well earned rest so the the mass setting for this service will be our Folk Tunes setting. The choir return on 4th January 2026.
EPIPHANY
The arrival of the Magi, after their long journey following a star seeking Jesus, is one of the oldest festivals of the Christian Church. In the Eastern and Russian Orthodox Churches, this is the equivalent of Christmas. St John’s will celebrate Epiphany with a festival Eucharist on Sunday, 4th January 2026. There will be a procession of the Magi and Presentation of Gifts before the Crib as part of the service. Afterwards, there will be a reception of fizz and finger food. Members of the congregation are asked to bring a plate of finger food with them and, in order to help with numbers, please sign up on the form, indicating that they will be able to attend and what food they will be bringing with them.
Epiphany Carols
18th January 2026, 6pm
From Wonder to Revelation
Join us for an evening of music, readings and reflection as we journey from wonder to revelation in our Epiphany Carol service. We trace the joy and mystery of the first Christmas through to the arrival of the Wise Men and the presentation of Christ in the Temple. Through familiar carols and readings we explore how the newborn child, revealed to a few, is shown to be light for all nations. The service will be followed by a reception of fizz and Galettes des Rois.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Refugee Drop-in Volunteers
St John’s hosts a monthly Sunday drop-in centre for refugees run by the West London Synagogue. This provides families with a hot meal, a shopping voucher and a contribution towards their transport, as well as signposting for other practical help. The drop-in centre normally takes place on the third Sunday of the month and they are always open to volunteers to assist them. If you would like to join the volunteer crew, please speak to the Vicar. The next drop-in centre will be held on 25th January 2026.
Book Club
Book Club met recently and selected their next book – Josephine Tey’s The Daughter of Time. This is a 1951 detective novel concerning a modern police officer's investigation into the alleged crimes of King Richard III of England. It was Tey’s last book published in her lifetime, shortly before her death. In 1990 it was voted number one in The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, a list compiled by the British Crime Writers' Association. Book club next meets on the 12th January 2026. For further information, speak to Irwin Nazareth.
