Church Services resuming

The Wednesday services will be held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month until further notice.

The Church will be open for private prayer on the other Wednesdays and on Fridays from 10am-11am. 

The first Sunday service back in Church will be on 6th December.

Sunday 6th December - Second Sunday of Advent

The sound from the services will also be available on soundcloud for those who are unable to access the video service. 

Do join us for the Sunday Zoom Chat at 11:45am on Zoom (note the slightly later time)

Hundreds of Christians have pooled their unique skills to create an incredible library of free resources for churches and individuals this Advent. Contributions have come from across the globe – and from our own Diocese. 

Material for Advent

We are using Advent Resources from Embrace the Middle East and these are now available! Simply click here to view the resources. Behind each day's window, you will find an Arabic Word of the Day which will allow you to write a bible verse in Arabic once you have seen all 24, and a downloadable copy of your daily Advent reflection. To access the resources, simply sign up using your email address. 

In Sermon Resources, you will find notes that you can use to build a sermon for each Sunday of Advent. In the top menu, you will also find the script for an original Nativity Play, a comic book retelling the Christmas story from the Magi's perspective, and our festive new song, specially written for this year, "Turn to Wonder!"

We wonder how Mary felt as she waited for the signs that she was about to give birth? She must have pondered God’s promises and imagined herself holding and feeding God’s greatest gift. But, her sense of wonder and anticipation would have been tinged with fear and uncertainty.

In the difficult and strange times that we are living through many of us are afraid, but like Mary we can place our trust in God who became a fragile human baby and, like us, experienced fear and longing. 

We hope that these resources will help you and your church travel more deeply into the Christmas story and God’s promises to us. 

Join us as we trust in God’s promise and welcome God’s gift.

Click here to access Advent Resources.

Hardship Fund

Coronavirus restrictions have had an adverse effect on the finances of many and this fund has been set up to help alleviate this hardship.  The purpose of the fund will be to provide immediate assistance to individuals and families who have a ‘meaningful connection’ with St. John’s to prevent them from falling into new debt directly associated with the impact of Coronavirus.  Clearly the government has a role to play in supporting people over the long term, but it is expected that for some this help will take too long to establish and leave them in short term financial difficulties.  

Examples of things which may be funded

• The cost of special food or medical aids or equipment
• Electricity – to put £20 on a prepayment meter
• A council tax payment 
• Medicines – to pay prescription charges – if exemptions can’t be claimed
• Travel expenses – to attend hospital, doctor or other medical appointments or for visiting purposes
• Emergency car repairs where car use is essential
• Payment of fees for a course or travelling expenses to assist people to earn a living
• Replacing essential broken household items such as a washing machine 
• Mobile phone top ups of £20 where phone is essential
• The cost of essential personal items such as school uniform or shoes 
• Other items which, in the applicant’s circumstances, are considered essential

If you  would like to apply for assistance, please read the attached information sheet and complete and return the attached application form.