Summertime Special Services
Our summer services are led by a cantor and musician and the mass setting is Folk Tunes, using familiar melodies for the Gloria and other sung parts of the service. Normal services resume again on Sunday, 4th September. This morning we are pleased to welcome soprano Emma Jones as cantor, guest musician Ruth Stockdale, flautist and a special welcome to Alex Norton, guest organist while Robert Greenhill is away.
Dog Collar Dinner
2nd September 2022, 7pm
The launch of the social season this autumn will undoubtedly be the Dog Collar Dinner on 2nd September! This safari-supper style meal will involve moving from home to home for each course. Tickets have been priced at £25 per head and are available after this morning’s service. People are asked to bring a bottle. There will no doubt be a raffle as such an event would somehow be incomplete without one! Proceeds from the evening will go towards the costs of our music programme and children’s ministry. There are only 30 tickets for this year’s dinner and once they are going quickly. Don’t leave it to the last minute – there may not be any tickets left then. See Bryan Sollenberger after the service to buy your tickets.
Rebuilding St John’s!
Don’t be a spectator – get involved!
Your church needs you - now is the time to get positive and to rekindle the spirit of St John’s. We cannot do this by the staff team alone and we encourage members of the congregation to get back involved… We need servers to help carry the cross and candles in the service, people willing to help with coffee and hospitality, as well as people to help Red Balloon in Kids’ Club. For Kids’ Club to be revived we need to have more than one group and so the Red Balloon leaders need your help. If you are not currently volunteering, take this opportunity to get involved on one of the rotas. Speak to Bryan or Andre this morning!
Look up! Something’s Stirring!
As we begin to come out of the pandemic, we are grateful to those who have been steady in their financial support during the past two years, but now is the time for us to start thinking about rebuilding our music, taking on an organist, staffing and getting back to normal, so we need your help please. Your contributions are really valued and so, in the coming months, we plan to encourage members of the congregation to review their giving, or to give regularly if they don’t already do so, to help us fund our recovery.
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.
Save the Date!
Social activities are returning to St John’s! Here is a heads up for future events:
Thursday, 13 October St John’s Quintessential Quiz Evening
Being With
Autumn 2022
If you (or someone you know) is looking for an opportunity to discover more about Christianity, or take another look, having been away for a while, you or they may like to join a group starting in the autumn called Being With, which offers a chance to explore what Christianity is really about over ten weeks in a respectful and thoughtful setting. Talk to Georgina or contact her via the office if you or someone you know would be interested.
Requiem in Pacem
It is with much sadness that we learned of the death of The Reverend Canon Thaddeus Birchard on 21st June. Thaddeus was vicar at St John’s from 1980 – 2001 and was an Honorary Canon of the Diocese of Louisiana. He came to St John’s when things were at a low point and built up a thriving and vibrant congregation. He was particularly instrumental in attracting members of the Americans community living in the area. This encouraged other international people into the congregation. During his time, St John’s installed the glass doors at the west end of the church, formed a housing association for those dying with HIV in the last months of their lives and began the fundraising which led to the replacement of the roof in 2003. Thaddeus died suddenly in Brussels. A funeral was held in Ghent this past week and we expect that a memorial service for him will be held at St John’s in the autumn.
