Harvest Sunday Family Eucharist
4th October 2026, 10am
This morning we celebrate Harvest with the theme of Water. Our children will read the lessons and lead the intercessions, and the younger children will be in church for longer than normal. As usual, we will be collecting toiletries and non-perishable foodstuffs for the food bank at St Matthew’s, Bayswater. Suggested items are:
· tinned goods – vegetables, beans, fruit, meat, fish
· toiletries – shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes
· dry goods – rice, pasta, spaghetti, grains, instant noodles, cereals
· instant coffee, biscuits, UHT long-life milk, long-life juice
· cooking sauces and soups.
The St Matthew's Food Bank is a local food bank for local people and has proved invaluable for many people. They are always looking for volunteers on a Wednesday to help.
In addition to the collection of foodstuffs, our morning offertory collection will be in aid of WaterAid UK.
Anthem Notes
This week’s communion anthem is taken from Haydn’s The Seasons, first performed in 1801. Today we hear the beginning of Autumn (Der Herbst), in which three soloists sing of the bounty of autumn’s harvests, before the chorus join in to extol the merits of hard work and effort and the plenteousness of creation.
English Translation: What by various blossoms fair spring in promise showed; what by heat concocting to ripeness summer brought, plenteous autumn offers to glad the husbandman. The abundant harvest now he brings on heavy-loaded wagons home. The extensive barns give hardly room to what the fields afforded him. His pleased looks surveying err, he tries th’accumulated mass to count, and joy pervades his grateful breast. So nature, ever kind, repays the toil of industry. By hope of gain inciting it, she ready help bestows, and all her mighty power exerts. From hard work springs every good; the hut that shelters us, the wool that covers us, the wholesome heartening food, is all its grant, is all his gift. Thou makest all virtues grow, and wildness rude is tamed by thee. Thou keepest from wickedness and safest from guilt the heart of man. Thou firmest mind and will to act as law and duty ask. From thee, O Industry, springs every good.
Here I Stand Autumn Lectures
This autumn we will be attending three of the acclaimed Here I Stand lectures at St Martin in-the-Fields. The series brings together leading speakers to explore important questions of social justice, global responsibility, spirituality and human life. The remaining lectures are:
Monday, 5th October, 7pm
A Blaze of Light: St Hild with historian and broadcaster Janina Ramirez
Monday, 9th November, 7pm
In the City and the Country with Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse.
We meet outside at 6.45pm. Following each lecture, we will gather for drinks in the crypt and an opportunity to discuss the evening together. There is a suggested donation of £10 for each lecture, payable on the night via a retiring collection. For tickets, please contact Alex at alex@stjohns-hydepark.com
Bible Book Club
Wednesday, 7th October at 7.30pm
Giants in the Bible: Did they really exist?
From the mysterious Nephilim before the Flood to the terrifying Goliath, giants appear throughout the Bible. But who were they, and did they really exist?
This month we delve into one of the Bible’s strangest mysteries, exploring ancient texts, archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the extraordinary Book of Enoch.
Were they simply very tall people, ancient legends, or something altogether more mysterious?
Please contact Alex if you wish to attend: alex@stjohns-hydepark.com
Dates for your diary: 4th November and 3rd December (Advent Course), all 7.30pm.
Culture Ventures (CVs)
Wednesday, 21st October, 7pm
One of the remits of Reverend Deborah Marsh's new role as Assistant Priest here at St John's is to look at facilitating something similar to what was called 'Culture Vulture Ventures'. Deborah loves the concept but, as she has been saying to some people, she struggles a little with the name, as 'vultures' are not something she thinks of positively! Looking further into the term 'culture vultures', she discovered that it is used to describe people who steal other people's cultures, which she is not sure is what St John's wants to encourage! Venturing to taste another's culture, to share in their passion and what they enjoy, seems a better way of putting it. Of course, this then gives us the abbreviation 'CV', which many of us know as 'curriculum vitae'. Literally translated, 'curriculum vitae' means 'flow of life', and to Deborah this seems a great description of what St John's wants to do in 'Culture Ventures': venturing out into the flow of life of another and experiencing something different together.
Deborah is very grateful to Krissie Poyser for suggesting a 'Culture Venture' that is close to her heart. Through Krissie, on Wednesday 21st October we are invited to 'Mime in Motion' at the Royal Ballet School in Covent Garden. Audience members will have the chance to discover more about the storytelling capabilities of ballet as dancers are coached in mime excerpts from Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Tickets are £20 and the event runs from 7–9pm.
If you would like to join, please contact Deborah – deborah@stjohns-hydepark.com or Krissie - poyserkandc@aol.com by Sunday 18th October.
The group will meet outside before the event and gather for a drink afterwards for anyone who would like to. If anyone needs help with transport, please let Deborah or Krissie know.
Deborah looks forward to getting to know everyone better, perhaps at this event or at others that will be suggested over the coming months. Please pass on any suggestions you have for future ventures, and any comments on the above, to Deborah.
Prom Concerts
Sunday,11th October, 11.30am
Betty’s Birthday #BETTY161
Organ recital by Tammas Slater. Our new organist shows off his skills with music by Bach, Boulanger and Grainger. J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 Nadia Boulanger Trois Pièces, Percy Grainger (arr. Wolfgang Stockmeier) Handel in the Strand.
Sunday, 1st November, 11.30am
Jenny Clark Memorial Concert Cyrill Ibrahim, concert pianist.
This year’s Jenny Clark Memorial Concert takes place on 1st November following the 10am service. Cyrill Ibrahim is “one of the most exciting pianists of his generation" according to The Daily Telegraph. He has performed for the King and Queen at Balmoral, at the British Embassy in Rome and has even played for Kim Kardashian. His debut album was featured on Radio 3 and Classic FM and he has been profiled in Tatler, Gentleman’s Journal and Attitude magazines.
His programme will include Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise alongside works by Philip Glass and others. www.cyrillibrahim.com
Sunday 17th January, 11.30am
Kieran Hughes, flautist & Robert Bottriell, pianist
Sunday 28th February, 11.30am
Master and Disciple II: Greenhill Returns
Solos and duets for piano and organ, performed by our illustrious Music Director Emeritus, Herr Robert Greenhill, and the artist formerly known as "Little Nicky".
St John’s Quiz Evening
Thursday, 22nd October, 7pm
This year we have a new quizmaster – Diane! The quiz night will be another fundraiser in aid of the hall. Form a team of up to 8 or come on your own and help to build a team on the evening. Tickets are £20/person and include a homemade cottage pie supper! Book your tickets now!
If you wish to help out and provide a cottage pie – meat or vegetarian – that will serve 8-10 persons, please speak to Philip or send an email to parishadmin@stjohns-hydepark.com.
Hall Refurbishment
The hall was expanded around 1973 and, aside from a new kitchen in 1995 and new toilets in 2015, we have not invested much beyond routine maintenance in the space. A key asset for the local community, it is badly in need of upgrading. Paint Pots’ departure last year has given us an opportunity to carry out significant works to it while we locate a new tenant. The PCC has set aside some funds for this last year. The Dog Collar Dinner in September was the first of what we hope to be a few fundraising events to raise money for the refurbishment. Works are expected to commence in the final week of February 2027.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
New Life for our Cherished War Memorial We are delighted to announce that St John’s has secured £650 pounds ‘seed money’ to begin the process of repairing the war memorial in our churchyard. Seventy-five percent was donated by the War Memorials Trust (WMT) and the remainder by an anonymous donor. In making the award, WMT Director, Frances Moreton, said it was “so important that communities come together and maintain these historic monuments to ensure that we never forget those who gave their lives for future generations”. She said the WMT was “delighted to be working with St John’s on this project, which is also supported by Historic England, to ensure that the repair is conducted according to best practice and with maximal involvement of the community”. If anyone wishes to know more or get involved in the project, please be in touch. In the initial phase, we have contracted a conservation-accredited surveyor to conduct a structural assessment, and once that is complete, we will create a schedule of works in order to go out to tender and finalise a contract with a specialist conservation firm. And of course, as we move to the actual repair phase, we will need to raise further funds. Our ambition is to begin work next year.
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 is 25th October.
Book Club
The next book club will be on 16th November 2026. The book choice is "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", a cult classic of post-war, working-class life in Nottingham that follows the exploits of Arthur Seaton, a hard-drinking, hard-fighting factory worker who knows exactly what he wants and is sharp enough to get it. First published in 1958 to instant critical acclaim, the novel was adapted into a groundbreaking 1960 film that transformed British cinema. For further information about the book club please contact Irwin Nazareth.
