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.
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 have been giving so generously throughout the Covid pandemic. We are hugely grateful for all who have continued to give – whether regularly through a standing order, in the collection on Sundays or at other times and in other ways. As some of our sources of income still have not resumed, we remain very reliant on your generosity. Please continue to help us if you can. If you wish to give directly via the bank, 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.
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.
FIRST CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION BY GEORGINA ELSEY & ST JOHN’S SUMMER BARBECUE
Sunday, 27th June 10am
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 BBQ or a picnic in the gardens behind the church depending on where we are on the easing of Covid restrictions at the time. Sign-ups will soon be up in the porch - do keep an eye out and sign up if you would like to come. The residents of Raynham and Oxford & Cambridge Squares have ones again kindly opened up the gardens for our use.
ADMITTANCE OF CHURCH WARDENS TO OFFICE
This morning we admit our churchwardens who were elected at our annual meeting 2 weeks ago to office: Damon Greeney, starting his second year, and Gaynor Scruton, starting her first year. We congratulate them on their election and wish them well as they carry out their duties and responsibilities over coming year. Do keep them in our prayers.
A huge thank you to Ian Smith, who now retires after serving three years as churchwarden. We are very grateful for all the time and effort Ian has invested in the parish during his three years in office, especially for the care and attention to the building.
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
Meeting ID : 2426006892
Passcode : 154639
