Anthem Notes
Lord, Who Hast Made Us for Thine Own (Psalm 148) - G. Holst
During 1912 the English composer Gustav Holst, of Planets fame, wrote two major psalm settings; today’s selection uses a paraphrased version of the original psalm text by Francis Ralph Gray. It is a series of exhortations to all creation to praise the Lord, based on a Lutheran tune that we tend to know as All Creatures of Our God and King. [Spoiler Alert: The other Holst psalm setting, of Psalm 86, will make an appearance during Lent 2025 and is an absolute banger.]
Harvest Sunday Family Eucharist
6th October 2024, 10am
Our annual giving of thanks for the fruit of the earth will take place on 6th October. It is traditional for the older children will read the lessons and lead the intercessions and the younger children will be in church for longer than normal. As usual, we will be collecting dried foodstuffs for the food bank at St Matthew’s, Bayswater.
Owen Dobson
We are pleased that Fr Owen has been appointed as Priest-in-Charge of St Pancras Old Church and St Paul's Camden Square (subject to the completion of the usual formalities). His last Sunday at St John’s will be 13th October. We will wish him well and thank him for his participation in our life and ministry at the 10am service.
Irene Griffiths
We were saddened this week to learn of the death of Irene Griffiths. Irene died peacefully at home late Tuesday night, having celebrated her 95th birthday the previous Saturday.
All Souls
4th November 2024, 6pm
We mark this special festival with a service at which we remember those who are part of the church community but who have died. This year the choir are singing the Requiem by J A Trotta and during the service we remember those dear to us who have died. If you will be at the service and wish to have loved ones remembered, please add them on the sign up sheet in the porch. As part of the liturgy, there will be opportunity for you to light a candle and place it on the altar in remembrance of your loved ones.
Autumn Education Courses
Bible Book Club
Bible Book Club returns this September and is held on the first Wednesday of the month: 2nd Oct, 6th Nov and 4th Dec at 7.30pm. The October meeting will be at Alex’s house, 23 Archery Close.
Advent Course
Heaven and Earth Collide
The Advent Course will take place on Wednesdays, 11th and 18th December, at 7.30pm. In these two sessions we will be expanding on the theme of our Advent Carol Service, ‘Heaven and Earth Collide: An Advent Odyssey’. For further information and to book please contact: parishadmin@stjohns-hydepark.com. All events are free to attend.
St John’s Quiz Evening
17th October, 7pm
This annual event returns on 17th October, when Chris Cochran, landlord of The Victoria, will once again have an array of questions to test your general knowledge. The evening starts at 7pm in church. Tickets cost £20 and are available from the parish office. Included in the ticket price is a supper of homemade cottage pie! Form a team of up to 8 or come on your own – it’s a great fun evening!
Book Club
Book Club met recently and discussed The Night Watch, by Sara Waters. They chose their next book – Hilary Mantel’s A Memoir of My Former Self. They will consider this book at their next meeting on 14th October. As well as a celebrated novelist, Hilary Mantel long contributed to newspapers and journals, unspooling stories form her life and illuminating the world as she found it. “Ink is a generative fluid,” she explains. “If you don’t mean your words to breed consequences, don’t write at all.” A Memoir of My Former Self consists of the finest of this writing over four decades.
