Weekly News 15th November 2015/ A Week's Thought Process!

A WEEK’S THOUGHT PROCESS! At first Andrew White (vicar of Baghdad!) was talking about his ministry in Iraq. Now with progressing MS and exiled to Jordan for safety, he spoke of the dangers of his work and the tragedies suffered by him and his church members as one after another Christian friends were killed.

Then, a few days later a friend told me about her ageing dad, gone out to Afghanistan again, to support and encourage Christian workers.

On day seven I bumped into someone who told me that his church had a couple of people “behind the scenes” in Afghanistan, helping Christians.

Amazing I thought. As together we learn here about sharing our faith in the safety of, say Costa or the local pub, there are Christians putting themselves on the line in far off parts.

As we pray for these people sharing their faith in danger zones, let’s resolve to grasp opportunities that present here, to tell our story and share our faith.

Click here to download   Weekly News 15th November 2015

Weekly News 8th November 2015/ 100 Years On

100 YEARS ON...! This week a political leader wondered aloud whether it is right for us still to be featuring WW1 in our “remembering”. Then, later in the week, politicians let it be known that there would be little support for military action in Syria. And it is in that second point that we find the answer to the first.

We remember all recent wars not only to give thanks for the noble sacrifices of our troops but to ensure that we keep the horrors of death and destruction in mind when military decisions are being made today.

In our act of remembrance in church together, we will give thanks for the sacrifices of the past, pray for continuing peace throughout the world today and for wisdom and sound judgement in those leaders who are called to make such important decisions. Let that be our prayer in the week ahead.

Click here to download   Weekly News 8th November 2015

Weekly News 1st November 2015/ In 45 Seconds

IN 45 SECONDS..... Here’s a challenge to work on over the next week or so.

In our current sermon series we have been hearing a lot about telling others about the good news of Jesus. Last week Dan gave some terrific pointers helped by some memorable free hand illustrations. Remember!

So, in the quiet of your home, or out walking, practice how you would answer one of these questions, or something like it.

“Why is your faith so important to you?”

“Why do you go to church?”

“What do you believe?”

That’s it. You may be invited to use your answer soon.

Oh... and your answer must not be longer than 45 seconds.

Click here to download   Weekly News 1st November 2015

Weekly News 25th October 2015/ Light the Night

LIGHT THE NIGHT As we have done for many years, we will run our ‘LTN’ alternative to some of the usual Halloween celebrations on 31 October.

The action begins at 6pm, and there will be food, crafts and fireworks. The event is typically well attended, so any assistance that you can give would be much appreciated. Please let Julie Lancaster know if you can help out, either with the set up/clearing away, or with the laying on of the various activities themselves.

There is also an opportunity to pray for the whole evening - for safety and more widely, for our on-going positive engagement with the wider community that this occasion represents. This will take place on Monday 26 October, 8pm, at 11 Sylvan Way.

Click here to download     Weekly News 25th October 2015

Weekly News 18th October 2015/ Jon Taking Time Out

JON TAKING TIME OUT From 23 October to 10 December, I shall be taking a sabbatical break. All vicars are encouraged to do this at certain intervals to recharge spiritually, mentally and physically, and find space to reflect and pray. There might just be a little bit of surfing involved in my case as well.

My absence has been planned carefully with the wardens and cover have been provided for all the usual parish activities. Richard and Jonathan will be responsible for the overall well-being of the church, in the same way they would be if the church was in a vacancy. If there are any concerns with buildings, programmes or other general, church-related issues then please contact them on rcienc@waitrose.com (020 8462 1737) or jtickner@btconnect.com (202 8462 1573)

Nick Lang will be the first point of contact for any matters of a pastoral or personal spiritual nature and he is happy to be contacted at any time on niklang23@gmail.com (020 8650 6151).

Click here to download   Weekly News 18th October 2015

11th October 2015/ Memorial Service Next Week

MEMORIAL SERVICE NEXT WEEK Next Sunday at 3pm we are hosting a Thanksgiving Memorial Service for anyone who has been bereaved in the recent past.

People from our community who have been through a funeral in the last year have been invited along, but the invitation extends to anyone who wants to remember and give thanks for the life of a loved one, no matter when they may have passed away.

Please let friends or neighbours who may find it helpful know, and if they are unable to make it, they can provide the name of the person they wish to be remembered and it will be included as part of the service. Tea and cakes will be provided afterwards.

If you are interested in coming along, please let Sue Watson or Maureen Lang know. Thank you.

Click here to download   Weekly News 11th October 2015

Weekly News 4th October 2015/ Helping Out at Harvest

HELPING OUT AT HARVEST Harvest is rightly a time to celebrate and give thanks for all that God provides to us. Reflecting on the abundance we have, also prompts us to consider how in turn, we can be generous. Perhaps this year more than ever, we are mindful of many families who are displaced and face uncertain futures. We’ve been pointing you to avenues to explore in response to the ‘refugee crisis’, but today there are some specific things we’ll be doing:

• Taking a collection of non-perishable foods and/or clothing (Men’s clothes – small/medium & women’s clothes size 10-12) for the Croydon Refugee Day Centre; and
• Taking a money collection for the work of ‘Open Doors’ and ‘The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East’ – 2 organisations that are helping Christians in the Middle East who have been driven out of their homes, under threat, because of their faith.

Click here to download    Weekly News 4th October 2015

Weekly News 27th September 2015/ SJ's

SJ’s No doubt word has got around, but in case you’ve been away, SJ’s won the vote as the new name to replace the Beacon Centre. It’s going to take a while before ‘The Beacon Centre’ doesn’t slip out your mouth, but we’re encouraging you to try and use SJ’s from now, so the adjustment begins early.

If you didn’t get a chance to see the plans, these will be put up in church for all to look at in their own time. Planning Permission for the front of SJ’s went in this week and we are knocking around designs for the signage.

As was mentioned last Sunday, we’ll shortly be producing a list of ‘fittings and furnishing’ to which people can contribute. It’s a part of helping pull us all into ‘ownership’ of the place. Beyond that we would value your prayers for: i) the on-going planning for the management of the place; but ii) most importantly that what is essentially just a building, would be used well by us to fulfill the vision of ‘serving the local community better and connecting people with Jesus’.

Click here to download   Weekly News 27th September 2015

Weekly News 20th September 2015/ New Look, New Name...

NEW LOOK, NEW NAME… If you’re getting this in advance, then don’t forget that we are meeting in the Assembly Rooms this Sunday. If you got this in your hand, then you’ve already made it.

Today we’ll be focusing on breathing fresh wind into our personal prayer lives, but also looking at some of the reinvigoration that has started with one of our resources – the Beacon Centre. The church leadership is aware that people will have different levels of knowledge about what is happening. We’re going to fill you in more comprehensively about the vision for the place, show you the design plans which have been developed around that vision and invite you to vote on a new name.

If you can’t make it, but would like to vote on the name, email Jon by Sunday lunch time. Thanks.

Click here to download   Weekly News 20th September 2015

Weekly News 13th September 2015/ Responding to Need

RESPONDING TO NEED The photos of a Turkish Gendarme cradling the limp body of Aylan Kurdi have stirred emotions worldwide. It’s an arresting image which will forever define a wealth of issues that are complex and painful – 5,000 camped at Calais, 2,000 drowned this year alone in the Mediterranean, 2 million camped along the borders of Turkey, over 50 million refugees worldwide.

Processing the details is hard enough but formulating a meaningful, personal response that will make a difference is equally challenging. In our ‘Secret Church’ and Harvest Services in the coming weeks we will take collections for organizations wrestling with the refugee crisis. However, there are resources to help us all consider what an authentic Christian response might look like. I encourage you to try some of these for starters:

• http://www.christiantoday.com/article/the.refugee.crisis.a.call.to.compassion/63952.htm
• A resources sheet on the Mission Table, produced by Leicester Diocese;
• The Croydon Refugee Day Center need food, clothing and money for newly arriving asylum seekers – see their website for more details.

Click here to download   Weekly News 13th September 2015

Click here to download the resources sheet  mentioned above   Resources for Christians thinking about migration

Weekly News 6th September 2015/ A Big Welcome to the Scott Family

A BIG WELCOME TO THE SCOTT FAMILY We extend a really warm welcome to the Scott clan and all their friends today. The new (and very cute) addition to the family, Anna, is being brought forward for baptism by Ian and Faye, with her brother and sister, Richard and Beth, cheering on from the sidelines.

We are aware that some of you have travelled a fair old way to be part of the celebrations. Thank you for making those journeys. We hope you feel at home and find yourselves able to take a full part in the service. Some of it may be familiar, other bits less so, but we trust you’ll pick up the spirit of the occasion and enjoy the moment.

God Bless one and all.

Click here to download    Weekly News 6th September 2015

Weekly News 30th August 2015/ New Curate at St John's

NEW CURATE AT ST JOHN’S Many of you will be aware that we were in the diocesan mix as a possible training parish.

Over the summer, Peter Churcher and his family came to visit on a number of occasions, and we are really pleased that he has indicated he would like to serve his curacy at St John’s. The formalities are yet to be finalised, but it is anticipated that he would start with us in September 2016.

Peter is married to Josie. They have 4 children – Sophie, Faith, Izzy, and Xander. They are currently based in Nottingham, where Peter is doing residential training at St John’s theological college. They have plenty of church experience between them, but much more significantly than that, they are people of real character and warmth, and it will be great to have them as part of the church family.

Please pray for them during this final year of training and for all the adjustments that will come later, as they contemplate the move.

Click here to download   Weekly News 30th August 2015

Weekly News 16th & 23rd August 2015

BAPTISM SEASON Who knows whether there has been a local baby boom recently, but it’s great to be welcoming a number of families to St John’s over the coming weeks, as they bring their children forward for baptism.

On the 16^th, we greet Lara, Graham, and their family and friends, as Fenella is entrusted to God’s care. And on the 23^rd, it’s Matthew, Natasha, and their entourage, as they support Joshua in his baptism. We hope you all feel welcome and at ease, and these occasions are a memorable celebration for you all.

The baptism ceremony itself may look similar each time, but every family’s journey to this point is slightly different. We trust and pray that from here, the way God continues to engage and invite a family into a deeper knowledge of Him will be unique to them. God Bless.

Click here to download   Weekly News 16th & 23rd August 2015

Weekly News 9th August 2015/ God with us in our Painful World

GOD WITH US IN OUR PAINFUL WORLD Sometimes something familiar somehow surprises us or touches us in a new or different way. Earlier last week numerous people commented on how they had appreciated the service last Sunday when we baptised a baby, welcomed her into God’s family, prayed for her and then heard from Mark about the next instalment of Jonah. An ordinary and familiar service seems to have touched us in a new way.

Since then we have been reminded in the news of the horrors, evil and complexities of our world. Hiroshima remembered, boat people in the Mediterranean, plane wreckage found in the ocean and transport disrupted in London. So much more too.

This leads us to think that it is the same God of peace and promise at Baptism that is with us in the chaos and disruption of life’s events. In those chaotic moments, when we witness or hear of evil in our world, we need to remember the God of the baptism service, who came to bring new life and peace into our chaotic, painful and sometimes evil world.

Click here to download   Weekly News 9th August 2015

Weekly News 2nd August 2015/ Second Chances

SECOND CHANCES There were some sensational failures in the news this week. A leading member of the Lords caught with drugs in messy circumstances. A vicar who was pocketing thousands of pounds of church fees. Spectacular falls from grace.

Most of our lives are not so prominent yet we are all subject to temptations to do stuff we would be ashamed of. Any of our lives can easily get in a mess.

In the Jonah story last week we discovered that even when we are in a mess...failures...distraught...depressed....at our wits end, God does not give up on us. Just as with Jonah, God is there with us. The essence of our Christian faith is that when we turn back to God he forgives and forgets. We have a clean slate and fresh start. Our God is the God of the second chance.

Let’s all hold on to that great truth as we hear today how Jonah used his second chance.

Click here to download   Weekly News 2nd August 2015

Weekly News 26th July 2015/ Green Light on the Beacon Centre

GREEN LIGHT ON THE BEACON CENTRE We finally received all three quotes in for the refurbishment of the Beacon Centre, and the PCC approved the instruction of Dan Prayag to oversee the work.

Dan owns Anthuriums in Coney Hall and works closely with a design team and a builder, who is also local. It’s great that the best proposal came from a team who are part of our community. Next week a detailed survey will be taking place, alongside initial CAD drawings, so that design concepts can really take off and there will be something for everyone to visualize.

We’ll keep you posted with as many updates as possible.

In the meantime, Dan has asked if we could pray for the speedy recovery of one of his daughters, Anna. She has been unwell and is at Great Ormond Street, with a condition that looks to involve a long process of recovery.

Click here to download   Weekly News 26th July 2015

Weekly News 19th July 2015/ Keeping You Posted

KEEPING YOU POSTED Many of you will be aware that we are currently considering the different ways we share information and how we can keep improving our communication. A simple text message has an immediacy that can make it an effective way to give a reminder about something that’s taking place. As we continue to update the contact book, we’re inviting you to indicate whether this is a means by which you are happy to be notified. A draft of the Contact Book will be on the Welcomers’ table and we’re inviting you to:

1.  Provide your mobile number if you haven’t so far, but are happy to do so and don’t mind receiving the occasional text
2. If you have provided your mobile number, but would prefer NOT to receive any texts from St John’s, to place a cross next to your entry;
3. If you are new and haven’t yet provided any contact details – to complete a new contact form and return it in the box provided.

Click here to download   Weekly News 19th July 2015

Click here to download   A5 Contact Book Form v2

News 12th July 2015/ Summer Season

SUMMER SEASON You know summer is almost in full swing when it’s Wimbledon finals and the we’re battling it out with the Aussies in the Ashes.

As the holiday season begins, people head off in lots of different directions and so we adapt our patterns of Sunday worship a little. As from 26 July, our services will be geared for all ages as there won’t be Sunday Club, a little shorter, and Communion will always take place after coffee.

We’ll be looking at the book of Jonah over a 4 week period and then dipping into Genesis for a series called ‘Family Life’ - exploring some of the highs and lows of life with our nearest and dearest, as seen played out with Joseph and his family.

We’ve also got a number of baptisms in the pipeline, providing us with an opportunity to give guests a taste of ‘family life’ at St John’s.

Click here to download   Weekly News 12th July 2015

Weekly News 5th July 2015/ Spree Weekend

SPREE WEEKEND Next weekend, we are taking a number of 8-15 year olds off to the South of England Showground in Ardingly for ‘Spree’.

If you’ve only ever really heard the word ‘Spree’ used with the word ‘spending’ before, then here are a few more details. It’s an action-packed, camping weekend, with a ‘fast and furious’ programme of activities, alongside creative opportunities to explore the Christian faith. We increasingly have a number of young people from beyond church going along, invited by friends; some of whom are part of our midweek youth groups. As is the nature of these things, it is guaranteed to leave young people and adults exhausted – but in a really good way.

If you are free on either the Friday or Sunday to help set up / take down the camp that would be really appreciated (please speak to Jon).  Otherwise, we’d love it if you prayed for the whole event – that the young people would have fun, are kept safe and they would discover more about the God who delights in them.

Click here to download    Weekly News 5th July 2015

Weekly News 28th June 2015/ Church Picnic

CHURCH  PICNIC With the Summer holidays on the horizon and weather forecasts promising us Barbadian-esque weather, it seems a good moment to invite you to pencil in your diaries a get together in the park for some food and games.

After the 10am service on the 19 July, we’re encouraging people to bring some food along to Coney Hall Recreation Ground for a picnic. Afterwards, we’ll line up some suitably inappropriate games for full stomachs.

Attendance at church that morning isn’t a pre-requisite for coming along, so invite any friends / family along you may have in tow.

More details will follow shortly, but for now let us know (via the Parish Office) if you need some help coming along.

Click here to download   Weekly News 28th June 2015