I hope you have had time for relaxation over this long hot summer. Sabbath rest – the need for proper periods of stepping away from routine work whether creative, practical or dutiful – has been baked into Creation from the very start. Do we rest enough I wonder? I read Read more
Many of you will have spotted two new furry friends around church lately, peeking into the church hall or St John’s rooms. Puck and Ariel are our new(ish) Vicarage cats and they have been busily exploring ever since they were allowed to go outside in the spring. Puck (tuxedo cat) Read more
Turning left, my friend Simon checked the map, took a bearing, and we headed off the path, towards our campsite. “Keep your eye on that big boulder,” he said. It was right in front of us. We walked in a straight line. I looked up, and the boulder had moved! Read more
Not long ago I had the pleasure of welcoming the Falcon Cubs of Grove Scout Group to St John’s to help them earn their world faiths badge. We talked together about the Christian circle of the year and the different colours that mark our seasons. There are the great white Read more
The Environment Group, a sub-committee of the PCC, has been considering and acting on environmental issues relevant to our church for many years. Outcomes are often implemented by other church groups as, for example, insulating the church hall as part of the hall improvement or installing energy efficient light bulbs Read more
Coming to, growing in, and living out faith in Jesus is the foundation of our vision at St John’s for this next phase in our church’s life. Three inextricably interlinked aspects of faith – like walking a labyrinth. Labyrinths have aided Christian prayer for over 1800 years. I walked one Read more
I like to think of myself as a bit of an eco-hippy at heart, and I had done the Big Plastic Count before in 2022 and 2024, so I thought: How bad could it be? Dear reader, it was a lot worse than I thought. Not only did I not Read more