St John the Evangelist Church, Shirley, Croydon

Patronal Day

13/06/201913/06/2019 by Mick Wall

On the 7th July please join us in the Vicarage Garden

Please sign up if you can offer help and what food you are able to bring and share.

Sign-up sheets at the back of church.

Looking forward to sharing a great afternoon with the extended family.

In the Creativity Workshops we have many different projects, either for ourselves or making items for the Flower Festival Handcraft stall. Last Saturday we mainly worked on Lavender bags and learning how to Crochet!!

First Aid training

12/06/2019 by Mick Wall

So everyone that visits us can feel safe we had some first aid training. Not only was it very informative it was made fun.

Here are a couple of pictures.

Many thanks to Jennifer for giving up her evening to run the training.

More information and even some online training can be found on the red cross website https://www.redcross.org.uk/first-aid

Inclusive Church: Pentecost

11/06/2019 by Claire Barracliffe

Here is a poem by RS Thomas (1913-2000), poet and Anglican Priest, as we consider prayerfully as a Church, the expression of our community life and mission through joining Inclusive Church.

It is a poem that speaks of the enlivening, transformative coming of the Holy Spirit, with his exuberant fluency, in and through all our human experience. It resonates with discovery, of a God who makes all things new, and the healing journey which we all share together. We think of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the diversity of vernacular, and the cascade of blessing and creativity which followed – as we humbly, at this time, recommit ourselves to the purposes of the “One who is.”

With acknowledgement to The Revd Dr Hannah Lewis, Chaplain for the Deaf Church in Liverpool, who posted this poem for Pentecost

O Worship the Lord

09/06/2019 by Claire Barracliffe

A deeply moving choral evensong today at Church, using the timelessly beautiful language of the Book of Common Prayer. Its poetry echoed through the centuries, uniting us with the whole company of heaven, and re-dedicating us to God’s heart of love, and purposes for the future.

These are the words of William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury during the Second World War, one of our darkest times in recent history. On this Day of Pentecost, let us take to heart his prophetic message of love in action:

“Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose – all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.“

Today we Celebrated Pentecost and admitted some of our young people to Holy Communion

15/06/201909/06/2019 by Wendy Wall

Congratulations to the five young people who were admitted to Communion this morning. Thank you Alice for preparing them. The Holy Spirit is indeed at work – Alleluia!!