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We wish all our readers a Happy and Peaceful year. Once again the children and staff from Belvedere Junior School Came to St John’s for their end of term Carol Services, and we were happy to welcome them again. The children were very well behaved and a credit to their school. CHRISTINGLE
For the December Church Parade we held a Christingle Service, with the
offering being given to The Children’s Society to support them in their
work with vulnerable children The BELLRINGERS were thankfully able
to ring for the Carol Service as the urgent repairs of the stonework
had been completed. We were so lucky that the frosty weather held off
until the work was finished just in time for Christmas. The restorers
were using the tower to store their ladders and other equipment while
the repairs were carried out so ringing had been suspended. JUNIOR CHURCH NATIVITY:
The members of the Young Church, and Revelations Group gave us food for
thought with their presentations on the Nativity. It is great to see
the younger members of the congregation taking an active part in our
worship. CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT:
This took the form of the traditional ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ which
was very well received. The congregation enjoyed singing the well known
carols, and judging by the favourable comments afterwards the hard work
of the choir in preparing to lead the worship was much appreciated. A
big ‘thank you’ also goes to all who helped to decorate and prepare the
Church for Christmas, especially the ‘Flower Team’ for their beautiful
arrangements. Over fifty people attended the CHRISTMAS EVE Crib Service to listen to a re-telling of the Christmas story in poetry, prose and carols. The MIDNIGHT COMMUNION was well attended and as usual the loose offerings from the Christmas services were, donated to the Shelter and Crisis charities. CHARITY GIVING As
usual the loose offerings over the Christmas season have been donated
to charities. There was also an envelope collection for The Children’s
Society. The amounts donated will be published in the next issue.
Thank you everybody who donated to these worthwhile causes QUIZ NIGHT:
this item should have been reported in our last magazine. At the end
of October Paddy Timms organised a quiz night in aid of the Church Hall
fund. As well as the quiz, there was a raffle for a meat prize, and an
auction of promises. A fantastic amount of over £400 was raised. Thank you Paddy for your efforts. We look forward to more. FOOTPATH CLOSURE: the footpath through the Churchyard will be closed for twenty four hours from 9.00am on 11th February – 9.00am on 12th February. BARN DANCE: A Family Barn Dance with a bring and share supper will be held on Saturday 11th February from7.00pm in the Church Hall. Proceeds will go to the Church Hall Fund. ASH WEDNESDAY 22nd FEBRUARY: The usual service of Ashing and Communion will be held on Wednesday 22nd
February at 8.00pm. It is also possible that there may be a service in
the morning for those who are unable to make the service in the
evening. JUNIOR CHOIR CONCERT: The Junior Choir will be giving a concert on Sunday 11th
March at 3.30pm, followed by refreshments. Entry will be free but a
retiring collection will be taken in aid of Church funds. Please come
and support our children at this event. FILM NIGHT: There will be another family film night on Saturday 24th March at 7.00pm. There is no cost for admission, but donations are welcome. [Picture] MOTHERING SUNDAY SERVICE will be at 10.00am on Sunday 18th March. Help would be appreciated on Saturday 17th March at 9.30am to prepare posies for the ladies at the service on Sunday. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS Magazine
subscriptions for the next year’s magazines are now due. If you
haven’t already taken out a subscription for the next year, now is the
time to do so. It does help us to have some idea of how many to
produce. The subscription for a copy to be collected from Church is
£4.80, and for a postal copy £8.00. Forms are available on the leaflet
table near the door. Please make cheques payable to PCC Erith Parish
Church, or pay by cash to Margaret Heald. CHURCH OPENING:
We again hope to open the Church on one morning a week for two hours
during the summer months, but if we are to do so we urgently need
volunteers to be in the Church to welcome any visitors. There will be a
planning meeting for volunteers on Wednesday 28th March at 10.30am. PREPARATION FOR EASTER: Help will be needed on Saturday 7th
April from 9.30am in decorating the Church for Easter. Also any
children who would like to help prepare the Easter Garden are welcome to
come at the same time to help Margaret. [Picture]ANNUAL PARISH MEETING – This meeting to elect Church Wardens and PCC members and to hear reports on the last year is due to be held on Sunday 15th or Sunday 22nd April after the morning service. The date is still to be confirmed by the PCC. Please try to attend ERITH PLAYHOUSE THEATREBox Office – 01322 350345 13th – 18th February A murder is announced Agatha Christie, adapted by Leslie Darbon 5th – 10th March Fawlty Towers John Cleese and Connie Booth 26th – 31st MarchFiddler on the RoofBook: Joseph Stein, Music: Jerry Bock Lyrics: Sheldon Harnick Erith Operatic advance bookings01322 526425 16th – 21st AprilSense and SensibilityJane Austen, adapted by Roger Parsley and Andy Graham Think -[Soft Break] Can I be a Christian without joining other Christians in church? Yes, it is something like[Soft Break]being
a soldier without an army, a seaman without a ship, a business man
without a business, a tuba player without an orchestra, a footballer
without a team or a bee without a hive![Soft Break] |
Parish News Dec 2011 - Jan 2012
HARVEST LUNCH –As last year, we held an ‘Agape’ (bring and share) lunch in the
Church. It proved quite popular and
everyone was very generous with their contributions. LICENSING SERVICE – On 9th November we were pleased to welcome
Bishop James, the Archdeacon, Paul Wright and the Assistant Rural Dean, Rev.
Adam Foot for the Licensing of the Rev. Rob Radcliffe as Priest-in-Charge at St
John’s. After several months’
interregnum we are thankful that at last we have a priest to lead us. Our thanks are also due to Graham and Ken,
our Parish Representatives, for their work for us in finding a priest to take
on the Ministry at St John’s. your helpers for your hard work to make it
a success. http://www.communityhospice.org.uk/lightupalife/ Christ Church, Eltham - Thursday
8th December at 7pm Christ Church, Erith – Friday 9th
December at 7pm Greenwich & Bexley Community
Hospice COMMUNION SERVICES – After the Remembrance Service Rob presided over a
short said Communion for those who would like to stay. We hope that this will become a regular
feature on Sundays when the main service is a Service of the Word, taking place
at 12.00 noon MAGAZINE ADVERTS - Do you have a business to advertise? If so why not put an advert in the
magazine. The cost is £7 for one issue,
£35 for the year – i.e. 6 issues for the price of 5. See Margaret Heald or Luke Potgieter if you
wish to place an advert in the magazine. FILM NIGHTS – Our new venture to hold family film nights have proved quite popular,
the most recent being held on 26th November where the film ‘Elf’ was
shown. The showings are free, though
donations are welcome and £66.71 was raised for Church funds. Thank you Luke and Donna for organising it. QUIZ NIGHT – The quiz night held on the 29th October raised over £400
towards the Church Hall Fund. It was a
great evening and fun was had by all who attended. The winners were a team of two!!..
Thank you Paddy for all your hard work to make it such a success. CHURCH REPAIRS – As some of you will have noticed two areas of the
Church exterior have had scaffolding erected.
Urgent repairs are being carried out to the stonework at each end of the
South Aisle, following the collapse of parts of the outer walls – see the
article on this later in this issue. BEXLEY CHOIR – the choir will be hosting a Christmas Concert at St Lawrence’s
Church, Main Road, Sidcup on Tuesday 13th December from 8.00pm. They will be performing John Rutter’s
‘Magnificat’ and Christmas carols. The concert costs £5 and tickets will be
available at the door. ERITH PLAYHOUSE – OZ – THE PANTOMIME – Written and directed by Jenny Tallowin Snee. Performances will be from Wednesdays –
Fridays at 7.45pm, Saturdays at 2.00pm, 5.00pm, and 8.00pm and Sundays at
2.00pm and 5.00pm. There will be no
performances on Mondays or Tuesdays. Tickets cost £8.00 on Wednesdays and
Thursdays and £9.00 for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Box Office: 01322 350345 www.playhouse.org.uk We wish all our readers a Happy Christmas |
Parish News: August - September 2009
Patronal service This was held on Saturday 27th June at
3:00pm. It took the form of Evening Praise and was followed by afternoon
tea and the AGM of the Friends of St John's. We were delighted to welcome
the Rev. Irene Durndell to lead the service and to be our guest preacher.
It was also great to see so many old friends who no longer live in the
Parish. We also thank our friends in the choirs of Christ Church and St
Augustine's Slade Green, who gave their support to our choir in leading the
worship, and to all those who prepared the church for the service. Parish weekend As agreed by the PCC after the APCM, the parish
weekend away has been postponed from the 18th-20th September 2009 at Ashburnham
place in Battle. It will now tak place on the weekend of 18th-20th June
2010. The cost is £125 full board, £58 for 5-15s and free for under
5s. Day visitors are also welcome. Places are limited, so if you
would like to go, or would like to know more, please see Robert or
Barbara. Please sign up as soon as possible if you wish to go. We
really need 25 names. Friends outing Mary Chapman is organising a coach trip to Oxford
on 3rd October. Meet at the bottom of Avenue Road at 9:00am. Cost
£12. Concert The choir present a concert on Sunday 5th July in
aid of the Ellenor Lions shining lights children's team which provides support
and care, mostly at home, for children with life-threatening and life-limiting
conditions. Well done to all those who took part. Church opening The church has continued to be open on Wednesday
mornings from 11:00am.-1pm for visitors to look around or have a time of quiet. Summer gift day The summer gift day raised £600, thanks to your
kind donations. Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially. Barn Dance It is proposed to hold a Family fun barn dance,
with a 'bring and share' supper in the Church Hall on Saturday 19th September
in aid of Church funds. Please try to come. You don't have to know
any dances as they will all be easy to pick up. Come and have some fun. New starts We wish all our young people going on to secondary
school in September best wishes. Several of them, including Eleanor,
Michael and Isobel will be going to Trinity School. Thanks |
Parish News: April May 2009
Mothering Sunday
Thank you Nicky and your helpers for preparing the
posies for children to give to their mothers at this service. Palm Sunday This service will take place on April 5th at
10:00am in church On Maundy Thursday - April 9th at 8pm there
will be a service of Holy Communion celebrating the Last Supper, followed by
stripping of the altars ready for Good Friday. On Good Friday 10th April there will be a
service with hymns, readings and meditations from 2 until 3pm remembering the
last hour of the crucifixion. Do try to come for a quiet time of reflection. Saturday 11th April - Preparation of the church
for Easter. Nicky would appreciate help with the flowers and Margaret
would like any children interested to help her with the Easter Garden from
9:30am. You don't have to be good at flower arranging because it always
looks lovely. Easter Sunday - April
12th. Holy Communion at 10am. Come and celebrate the resurrection
with us. Church opening - We are again
hoping to open the church on Wednesdays form 11 until 1pm beginning in
April. If you are able to help with greeting any visitors we may have
please see Ron Penalver. If we have plenty of offers, individuals will
not have to be there many times. Annual Parochial Church Meeting - The APCM will take place after the service on Sunday 26th
April. Please try to stay and hear what has been happening in Church and
what is needed in the future. Dustbusters - once
again we are asking if there are any of you able to lend a hand on the first
Tuesday of the month from 9:30-11am to help with keeping the Church tidy and
polishing the brasses. If you are able to help out please see Pam Sadler. Patronal service: The service this year will take place on Saturday 27th June at 3pm and
will be followed by the AGM of the Friends of Erith Parish Church. Discipleship Groups - have been meeting throughout Lent to reflect on the Narnia stories
and writings of C S Lewis. Choir Concert - Following
last year's successful concert, the choir are preparing another concert for
Sunday 5th July, the major proceeds of which will go to a children's hospice
charity. Do try to come for a musical evening. Congratulations - to Amelia
Brookes on achieving 77/100 in her recent Primary ballet exam, being commended
and 80/100, Highly Commended for Primary Tap dancing. |
Parish News: April May 2008
Mothering Sunday Thank you to those who helped make the posies for
Mothering Sunday. Palm Sunday The service on Palm Sunday started with a
procession of witness from the Riverside Gardens along West Street to
Church. The Church members who braved the elements were pleased to
welcome the Mayor of Bexley who joined them for the procession. The Mace
Bearer also brought the old Mace of Erith for the congregation to see. Easter Services Thank you everybody who contributed in any way to
the smooth running of our Easter services. On MAUNDY THURSDAY the service took the form of a
shared mean and meditation on the events of the day before the Crucifixion. On GOOD FRIDAY the Church was open from 12:00pm for
private prayer and meditation followed by a thought provoking service at
2:00pm. On EASTER SUNDAY the day started with a breakfast
in the church hall. Thanks to Janet for masterminding it. Thanks
also to Nicky and her team and for all those who came to help to make the
church look so beautiful. Thank you Amelia, Claudia, Ryan, Eleanor and
Jenny for helping Margaret to prepare the Easter Garden. A lot of hard
work went into preparing the Services for Holy Week and we did appreciate the
beautiful singing of the choir, the worship and hearing God's word spoken
afresh. Thank you. EASTER EGG HUNT. Thank you Dave and Jackie
for organising the Easter Egg hunt for the children on Easter Sunday. Church Opening The Church will again be open this summer on
Wednesday mornings for visitors to look around or spend time in prayer. Annual Parochial Church Meeting The APCM will take place after the service on
Sunday 27th April. Please try to be there. Church cleaning Once again we are asking if there are any of you
who can lend a hand with this important ministry. Church cleaning is held
on the first Tuesday of each month from 9:30am until around 11am. However
we would be grateful for any time that can be given to help out. If it is
something that you think you could do, please see Pam. Patronal Service This will be held on Saturday 21st June at
3pm. It will take the form of a Songs of Praise Service and will be
followed by afternoon tea and the AGM of the Friends of St John's. Discipleship Groups These have continued throughout Lent with members
following a course based on the "power of small choices." There
will be a praise service around Pentecost on 11th May for members of the
Discipleship groups and anyone interested. Please listen out for details. Friends It was lovely to see Barbara Edwards and Dorothy
otgieter in Church over the Easter season after their operations. Junior Choir Welcome to Ryan who was admitted to the choir on
Palm Sunday and congratulations to Eleanor, Michael and Helen who have gained
their light blue ribbons on the RSCM Voice for Life training scheme. Choir concert The choir members are hoping to give a concert on
19th July, in order to raise funds towards new collars, cuffs and surplices which
are getting rather shabby. Half of the proceeds will be given to charity. Beetle Drive There will be a fund raising beetle drive at 7:30pm
on 19th April. Please support this. Margaret would also appreciate
any items for raffle prizes for this event. Church fete This will be held on Saturday 7thJune. Please
listen out for details of time. Offers of help would be appreciated by
David and Jackie Wickham. Bexley Choir |
Parish News October - November 2007
Church opening The church has continued to open on Wednesday
mornings for the summer months. We have had a few visitors, some of whom
would like to come again. We will be reviewing whether it has been
worthwhile and whether we will continue next year. Wednesday opening ends
at the end of September. Open House London The Church was open to visitors on Saturday and
Sunday 15th and 16th September as part of the scheme to allow people to visit
notable buildings in London. Our thanks go to Bill Brookes who organised
our participation and made the arrangements for the day. Thank you, Bill. Church flowers The flower arrangements for the
Open House days were beautiful and several visitors commented on them.
Thank you to Nicky Winch and her team who spent hours working on them. If
anyone would like to join the flower team, please see Nicky who would
appreciate your help. Winter Fayre For many reasons, we did not hold a summer fete
this year. There will now be a Winter Fayre in the Church Hall on
November 24th from 10am - 2pm. Any offers of help would be appreciated. Congratulations Congratulations to Stuart Hill who will be
celebrating his 18th birthday on the 18th October. Claudia Brookes achieved a score
of 78 marks in her Grade 2 ballet exam and was commended. Well done
Claudia! Amelia Brookes is also be to congratulated on being
elected to the School Council at Belvedere infant school. Rebecca Heald, who used to be a server and member
of the choir was deemed very competent in her Bar Training course and was
called to the Bar in the Inner Temple Church on July 26th. She is now
looking for a pupillage for twelve months in order to finish her qualification
and start practising as a barrister. We wish her every success in her
chosen career. In Memoriam Sadly we have heard of the deaths of two former
members of our congregation. Rose Ward died on Thursday 26th July and
Doug Robinson on Friday 25th August. Both had moved away from Erith but
kept in touch with some members of St John's. Shoe Boxes Once again we are supporting the
Samaritan's Purse appeal for shoe box parcels to send to children in deprived
areas of Europe for Christmas. The closing day for these is 7th
November. Last year we sent 126. Can we make it more this year? |
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