St John’s Late
St John’s Late begins our winter series this evening with a choral evensong at 6pm. This candlelit service will be sung by the choir. The Responses are by Smith and the settings for the canticles by Stanford. The anthem is Wood’s Hail Gladdening Light.
26th January, 6pm
Jazz Mass
A joyous mass with choir and double bass in the setting of a jazz club. The setting is Chilcott’s Little Organ Mass and Hogan’s This Little Light of Mine the anthem.
2nd February
A mid-winter hiatus. There is no evening service this Sunday.
9th February, 7pm
Compline by Candlelight
Night prayer with choir and flute, preceded by a soup & cheese supper at 6pm. A sung service stunning in its simplicity. The anthem will be In Pace in Idipsum by O Lassus.
16th February, 6pm
Jazz Mass
Before the solemnity of Lent, the excitement of a second jazz mass! The setting will be Todd’s Missa Brevis and the anthem Hogan’s arrangement of Let the Heaven Light Shine on Me.
St John’s Star Bakers
A very big thank you to our gallant bakers of Galette des Rois who guided our hospitality after our Epiphany Carols service last Sunday evening. It was fabulous having so many homemade delicacies and a big well done to all our bakers.
Margaret Legg
Sadly for St John’s, after 12 years of wonderful ministry here, Margaret is due to retire from being our Assistant Priest on 2nd February 2020. During her 12 years at St John’s, Margaret has become much loved as a dutiful pastor and friend to so many and has built up Culture Vulture Ventures as an integral part of our communal life together. She has entertained us with her royal tit bits in her sermons and brought her many years of experience to illustrate living out our faith in real life. There is much for which to give thanks and to celebrate and we will be doing so on 2nd February after the 10am service so please save the date in your diaries so that we can give Margaret a positive send off!
Rainy Day Appeal
Raised: £27,458
Target: £40,000
Two years ago we undertook some very essential repairs to the roof, gutters and parapets. If you look up on the outside north or south sides of the church, you’ll notice the beautiful new stonework. To fund the works, however, we had to borrow £200,000 from the Diocese of London.
The goal of our Rainy Day Appeal is to raise £40,000 to cover this year’s repayment commitment and interest. There are 160 metres of guttering, which works out at £250 per metre (£200 per metre if gift aided). To clear one or more metres or for more information about Gift Aid, speak to Bryan Sollenberger. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.
Culture Vultures Venture
Culture Vulture Ventures Special Treat
A Private Guided Tour of Buckingham Palace:
24th January 2020
CVV have managed to snap up tickets for a Private Guided Tour of Buckingham Palace on Friday, January 24th at 4.30pm - an ideal Christmas or Birthday gift for that special person! Our guide for the tour will explain how the Palace has evolved from a private royal residence to become one of the most famous buildings in the world and will describe the paintings, porcelain, furniture and sculpture as we move through the State Rooms. There will be no barriers in place so we can view the treasures close up and ask questions galore, before enjoying a glass of champagne and doing some royal shopping (20% discount available)! Afterwards we enjoy a 3-course dinner (drinks self-paying) at The Naval and Military Club, known informally as The In & Out, (www.theinandout.co.uk) a private members club with a strict dress code, located at 4 St James's Square, SW1Y 4JU. A big thank you to Andy Beverley for facilitating this. Total cost £115 each. Meet at the Ambassadors' Entrance on Buckingham Palace Rd. Payment to Margaret please (cheques preferred). All tickets have been taken for this event but there is a waiting list.
Culture Vultures Venture again to The Cockpit Theatre: Saturday February 1st
Come and hear two of our choral scholars: Helen May, soprano and Kieran White, tenor (in the choir three years ago) sing with the Ensemble Orquesta (violins, cello, lute, baroque guitar, harpsichord and organ) in Italian with English surtitles, in Cavalli’s ‘La Calisto’ at 7.30pm on Saturday February 1st at The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth St, Marylebone, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk. This 17th-century baroque masterpiece is brimfull with beautiful music and emotions ranging from sexual intrigue and seduction to cross-dressing, comedy and disguises. It is thought-provoking, entertaining and uplifting. Meet at 5.30pm for supper (self-paying) at The Seashell, 49-51 Lisson Grove, NW1 6UH, seashellrestaurant.co.uk, one of London’s finest fish restaurants and just a short walk from the theatre. Thanks to our churchwarden we have a 50% discount so tickets are only £8.50. Please give Margaret payment (cheques preferred).
COMMUNITY EVENTS
School Gate Gossip
This half term at St James and St John our focus Christian value is fellowship. This week we have been thinking about how we can show fellowship to each other in school be helping each other when things are difficult or we have to overcome problems.
Our year one class and year three classes visited the Natural History Museum this week. Year one are learning about dinosaurs this term and year three are learning about earthquakes and volcanoes. Both classes were really inspired by their visits so we look forward to seeing their learning this term. All of our after school clubs are up and running with our new Science club and filmmaking club proving very popular.
We hold school tours every other Wednesday during the Spring term so please get in touch with the school office if you woukd like to come and visit.
Stay and Play
A community playgroup meets weekly in St John’s on Thursday mornings from 9.30-11.30am. Come and stay for a play, a sing-song and to share stories over a cup of coffee. All children and babies are welcome (newborn to 5 years). Suggested donation: £2.
