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This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and the start of our liturgical and spiritual preparations for Christmas. Our reading from Mark 13:24-37 concerns time, and pulls us out of our tendency to assume that we have all the time in the world. It speaks of the imminence of Christ's coming, and exhorts us to watchfulness. "Beware, keep alert" says the gospel writer, "for you do not know when the time will come." How might we do this? What does it mean for us to be aware, and to keep watch? It begins with an awareness of the condition of our own minds and hearts, a watchfulness that calls us into greater personal and spiritual truthfulness and grace. May we respond to this advent call, and find in it a promise of enduring hope.
Gill
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Online Services This Week
Sunday Mass.
We will be live streaming Mass from inside St John's today at 10am and so please join us by clicking here. There is no 11am online service.
If you would like to download or print the service sheet you can find it here. The pew sheet with readings is here. If you are not joining us online, you may like to use the Prayer at home sheet we have produced here.
Morning Prayer.
We will be saying Morning Prayer on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week at 9am on Zoom. Please click below to join each service.
Music.
Although we are not having music in church at the moment, you might like to listen to these hymns and an anthem which are appropriate for this week.
Hymns
Christ Be our Light (Longing for light, we wait on darkness)
Lo! he comes with clouds descending
Anthem
“Prepare thyself, Zion” from “The Christmas Oratorio” – J. S. Bach (1685-1750). Sung by Dame Janet Baker with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
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The Advent Prose (Rorate Caeli) is commonly sung to plainsong in churches during the season of Advent. It was arranged into a hymn in the seventeenth century. The words are a series of texts adapted from the book of the prophet Isaiah and combine the traditional text used in the liturgy with other scriptural passages. The refrain 'Drop down, ye heavens from above' is taken from Isaiah 45: 8.
Click here to listen to The Advent Prose, sung by Richard Bannan.
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Children's story:
What's behind the first door of the Advent Calendar?
For the next four Sundays of advent, children (and grownups too) are invited to open a door of our "virtual" advent calendar and listen to a short story.
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Robes SleepIn
Well done to everyone who took part in the Robes SleepIn by spending Friday night in their gardens, tents and conservatories! We have already raised more than £1,500 for the Robes Project which is a fantastic effort.
Big thanks to everyone who has made a donation. You can still do so if you want: just go to the JustGiving page and follow the instructions to make a payment by credit/debit card.
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Open Church
St John's will be open for private prayer between 9am and 11am, Monday to Thursday. You are welcome to come in and enjoy the peace and quiet of the building, and light a candle. Please remember to sanitize your hands on arrival, and wear a mask. There will be no access to toilets for visitors, so please factor that in for when you plan your visit.
We are pleased to be able to re-open the church building for collective worship on Sunday 6 December, with 8am Said Mass and 10am Sung Mass. We will however need to restrict numbers but will continue to livestream our services. Masks are still mandatory within the building, and we ask you to sanitise your hands on entering and leaving. Please leave promptly after the service and avoid mingling.
We will be releasing details and arrangements for our special Christmas services in due course.
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Goose Green Coffee Morning
Dementia Friends Talk
On Wednesday 2 December at 12pm Julie Whitney will be holding an information session about how dementia affects a person and what you can do to make a difference. Anyone of any age can become a Dementia Friend. The talk is about 30 minutes and will start at 12 o'clock. You can see the poster here. Please email Sue O'Neill if you would like the access details for Zoom.
The Goose Green Coffee Morning is every Wednesday at 11:30am through Zoom. Do drop in if you get a chance and beat the lockdown blues!
Just click on this link to join. If you've any problems get in touch with Raymond on 07934 817431 or Sue on 07961 580920.
Coffee Morning is a great way for us to enjoy each other's company, to check in and make sure we are keeping as well as possible and, most importantly, to have fun. Bring your own coffee, cake or lunch!
We hope to see you.
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St John’s online Christmas Quiz
Wednesday 16 December at 7pm
Join us on Wednesday 16 December for a Fun Christmas Quiz on Zoom, with quizmasters Rachel and Gareth Mills. Whether on your own or as a group this promises to be a lovely evening where we can all socialise together, and see one another. There will be questions for all abilities. To join in, please click here.
Entry to the quiz is free, however if you would like to make a donation to support the work of St John's you can do so by clicking the donate button on our church website (suggested donation £5 per adult), or you can make a donation by posting a cheque made payable to St John's PCC to the church office. Do join with other church or family members to form a team, either in your own home (COVID-19 regulations permitting) or by joining others by telephone/WhatsApp, etc. If you are on your own and would like to be join others to form a team, please email Martin Howell and we will put you in contact with someone. We look forward to seeing you!
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The Art of Advent: a study course
It's not too late to sign up! On Mondays during Advent, (30 November to 21 December) we will be holding an online study course looking at Advent themes through art. We will explore the artistic depiction of those characters we remember as we light our Advent wreath: the patriarchs, the prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary. The sessions will begin at 7pm, call or email Revd Gill O'Neill if you are interested. Everybody welcome!
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Peckham Pantry
Fresh and healthy food for less. For a fee of £4.50 visitors to the Peckham Pantry can select fresh fruit and vegetables and store cupboard staples up to the value of £15. Everyone is welcome to use this service and you can pay by card or cash and healthy start vouchers are welcome. This is a great way to get more value for money on your food shopping. Peckham Pantry is at 49-53, Peckham Park Road and is open Monday to Saturday. For more information click here.
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Southwark Foodbank
If you are in need of the Foodbank’s services then we are able to refer you from St John’s. Please just speak to either Gill or Raymond or get in touch by email. If you would like to donate to the Foodbank’s Covid-19 Emergency Appeal, please click here.
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St John’s and St Clement’s
St John’s and St Clement’s C of E Primary School have produced a virtual school tour, given current COVID-19 restrictions. For the video, click here.
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Black & Blue: Black Christian police officers on racism,
law and order and their Christian faith
Wednesday 2 December 7.30pm
Richard Reddie is organising this much-anticipated webinar, which will enable you to hear from present and former serving Black police officers about their views on the Black Lives Matter movement, institutional racism, “stop and search” and related law and order issues.
This webinar brings together the likes of Dr Leroy Logan MBE, Janet Hills and Bevan Powell MBE who will talk about issues such as why they initially joined the police service; whether this decision impacted their relationships with family and friends, and how they have been viewed by their White colleagues.
The session will be chaired by The Venerable Dr Rosemarie Mallett, Archdeacon of Croydon and Revd. Les Isaac OBE, CEO of the Ascension Trust, who will put the participants through their paces and find out, among other issues, how their faith informs, or has informed, their work and commitment to justice, fairness and integrity.
For details and registration, click here.
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