Coronavirus (Covid-19)
We are very pleased that public worship continues as restrictions relax 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.
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 is now possible to socialise outside in groups of up to 30 socially distanced. The forecourt will be split into two – please choose one side and do not move between groups.
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.
Coming to church on Sunday?
https://www.stjohns-hydepark.com/ordersofservice
To help us plan, if you are reading the electronic version of these notices in advance of Sunday and intend to come to church, please click on the link above and scroll down the page. So far we have comfortably seated everyone who has come to church each Sunday, but it is helpful to know in advance if you are attending.
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 and Damon, a huge thank you for your generosity.
A very big thank you to everyone who has continued to support us so generously this year and for those who have begun to give regularly or who have increased their giving. We are immensely appreciative of all donations again when our income from the use of the forecourt, the hire of the building and use of the church for weddings, funerals and other such services has been severely affected and your financial commitment is very much appreciated. 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.
The Reverend Canon Paul Rose
Paul Rose, who died in April, was Vicar of St John’s with St Michael and All Angels from 1972 to 1979.
At the time, London had moved from the swinging Sixties into a more anxious period in the 1970s of economic crises and IRA bombs. The parish was still going through a long process of bringing together two parishes which were divided by Sussex Gardens and by churchmanship - St John’s on the Church Commissioners’ Hyde Park estate, which at the time was still being redeveloped; and St Michael’s, the home of a strong community centred on pre-gentrification Star Street and St Michael’s Street. Many activities brought people together from all over the parish and beyond, including a young adult group called the Infinities and The Crescent Club for women.
During his time as Vicar, Paul led the rebuilding of the church hall. He also built up a friendship between St John’s and a church in West Berlin, also called St John’s. As Paul was a keen musician, he organised regular concerts and encouraged the active choir of parishioners.
Paul Rose left St John’s to take up the role of Precentor at Canterbury Cathedral, where his major role was to organise services including the enthronement of Archbishop Robert Runcie in early 1980. He subsequently was Vicar of Holy Trinity, Rothwell, Northamptonshire before retiring in 1997.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Our APCM, along with the Annual Vestry Meeting, will be held this morning immediately following the 10am service. We will be electing 2 churchwardens at the Annual Vestry Meeting and 3 members to the PCC at the APCM. The meeting will also accept the Annual Report and Accounts for 2020, which have been available on the website via the link on the home page: www.stjohns-hydepark.com.
A big thank you to Damon Greeney and Ian Smith, who have served as churchwardens since October. A special thanks to Ian Smith, who retires after completing three years as churchwarden. Also completing terms of office on the PCC are Esme Daley, who has also served as minute secretary, and Sam Tear, who has also served as Deputy Churchwarden for the past year. We are very grateful for their time and input over the course of their terms of office.
Priesting of Georgina Elsey
Saturday, 19th June, 5pm
This will be a very special day for Georgina as she is priested at St John of. Jerusalem, Hackney. Sadly due to Covid-19 tickets for congregation are not available this time but do keep Georgina in your prayers.
Georgina will celebrate Holy Communion for the first time on Sunday, 27th June, at the 10am service. The service will be followed, we hope, by a barbecue or a picnic in the gardens behind the church depending on where we are on the easing of Covid restrictions at the time.
Congratulations to Dan Warnke
We are thrilled that Dan has been appointed Chaplain to Westminster School. Dan joined Team St John’s as a deacon after completing his training at St Melitus. Dan will take up his new position in September. We are sad to see Dan leave us but wish him well in his new ministry.
St John’s Book Club
The Book Club members are currently reading Neville Shute’s Trustee from the Toolroom. They will meet to discuss it on Monday, 7th June. For further details, see Michael King.
Zoom Exercise Class
Zoe Birch runs a free weekly exercise class on Zoom from 11.30am-12noon on Wednesdays. No special equipment is needed – just things that are normally found around the house. To join the meeting, use the link below:
https://zoom.us/j/2426006892?pwd=VXoyR1Y2aHJ0empadXN5NFd3UmpmZz09
