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 to any who are joining us this morning for the first time. 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.
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, Gaynor, Ian Nelson and Damon, a huge thank you for your generosity.
Who would have thought, back in the spring of last year when we began to ponder the financial hit to St John’s of the first lockdown, that we would still be taking steps back to normality. This obviously brings a renewed uncertainty for life at St John’s for a second year running and, while we make every effort to watch costs and look out for help where it might be available, we ask you to remember that again this year the carpark is not full and we are unable to make money through letting the church. 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.
Dan Warnke
This morning we celebrate the ministry of The Reverend Dan Warnke and bid him farewell after three years of ministry among us here at St John’s. Dan arrived as a deacon and served his title among us, facilitating Kid’s Club and our education programme as well as looking after communication and ensuring our livestreaming ran so well during the various lockdowns. Over his time here Dan has become much loved by the staff and congregation and we are sad to see him go but wish him well as he starts as chaplain at Westminster School in August. We say our final good-byes on the forecourt, where we will gather to sing the final hymn before the churchwardens make a presentation and the choir sing a blessing.
Farewell to This Year’s Choral Scholars
This Sunday also marks the end of the choir’s year and normally we would say good-by to them over coffee. As these are not normal times, the choir will sing farewell to us outside (socially distanced, of course) so please remain socially distanced around the forecourt after the presentation to Dan. We are very grateful for the contributions of each scholar this past year – Emma Jones, soprano Emma Roberts, mezzo; Ted Black, tenor and Ed Jowle, bass - and wish all of them well in their future studies and careers.
Congratulations, Ian Adams!
Ian has been included in INvolve’s OUTstanding LGBT+ Role Model list. INvolve is a consultancy and global network championing diversity and inclusion in business and each year publishes a list to recognise and celebrate business leaders and future leaders who are breaking down barriers at work and inspiring the next generation of diverse talent. Ian has been acknowledged especially for his role at NHS Resolution, where he championed the development of their new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and has recently represented NHS Resolution on a cross-organisational BAME group. He is also involved in LGBT+ work across the wider community and is the LGBT+ Lead Member for Westminster City Council.
Kid’s Club ‘Reboot'
September 2021
Here at St John’s we love having children and young people as part of our church family. One of the ways we support them to explore the Christian faith is through Kid’s Club sessions hosted each Sunday. Throughout the trials of the pandemic, and with thanks to Blanche, this has taken an online format and we had hoped to have a ‘reboot’ in the coming weeks before the summer holiday. However, with restrictions remaining in place we are looking to do this in early September. If you are interested in finding out more or would like to volunteer, please speak with either Blanche Mbanda or Susan Greeney.
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
Or use the meeting ID and passcode below:
Meeting ID: 242 600 6892
Passcode: 154639
St John’s Book Club
St John’s Book Club met this recently and discussed Trustee from the Toolroom, by Neville Shute. They will meet again on 2nd August and are reading Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell. After that, they will be reading The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark.
