Patronal Festival

St John's Seven Kings will be celebrating its 110th Anniversary over its Patronal Festival weekend on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th October. Our celebrations will include Choral Evensong (Saturday 4th October, 6.00pm) followed by refreshments, Patronal Festival Service (Sunday 5th October, 10.00am) followed by a Bring & Share Lunch, plus photographic displays and the celebration of special anniversaries/birthdays for congregation members.

Many former members of St John's are returning for the weekend including:

• Revs. John & Rosemary Enever, who will be preaching at the Patronal Festival Service. Rosemary is a former curate at St John's who became Vicar of St Andrews Great Ilford and Area Dean of Redbridge; and
• Judy Acheson, our former Church Mission Society Link Worker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Judy is celebrating 50 years of Christian ministry and, as a result of her ministry in the Congo, St John's continues to support youth work in that country.

Returning and current members will gives testimonies in our Patronal Festival Service to the work of God in their lives through St John's.

There are 15 different significant anniversaries/birthdays which are being celebrated within our congregation this year and all these people will be congratulated as part of the Patronal Festival Service. They include two 60th wedding anniversaries, one 50th wedding anniversary, and two 90th birthdays, among others.

Michael Blackstaff, a former server at St John's, has written a reminiscence in which he says, 'St John’s was, and is, a very special place. I was a bit short on blood relations (though very rich in adoptive ones) and came to regard it and its many good people as part of my family. I shall always feel greatly privileged to have been welcomed into its loving embrace.'

Judy Acheson says, 'I am longing to be with you all and share in God's blessing for us. I thank the Lord for so many blessings received. May the Lord bless you all as you plan this special weekend.'

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Chichester Cathedral - Choral Evensong.

New church community garden

St Andrews on The Drive in Ilford has created an excellent new community garden which will be officially opened by the Mayor of Redbridge on Saturday 22nd September. I hope that this church-based community garden will be as well used as has been the case for the community garden created at St John's Seven Kings.

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Eric Bibb - Shingle By Shingle.

Exhibition: Alan Stewart

Alan Stewart, Vicar of St Andrew's Hertford, has an exhibition at St Mary's Hertingfordbury on Friday 19th November at 7:30pm and Saturday 20th November at 4.00pm. The exhibition will feature striking charcoals and vibrant oils.

Alan has exhibited previously at London Bible College, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, and Intermission at St Saviours. In 2005 his painting Early one morning was dedicated by the Bishop of Barking for the Youth Chapel of St Margaret's Barking. His Lent project with Hertford and District Churches Together, Hertford stns: A stations of the cross for Hertford, was the subject of a feature article in the Church Times.

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Rickie Lee Jones - I Was There.

Spirituality, creativity and the Arts (2)

Last Saturday I was involved in '... hearts and hands and voices...’, this year’s Exploring Spirituality Day in the Diocese of St Albans.

Revd. Nicholas Cranfield, Vicar of All Saints' Blackheath and Arts Correspondent for the Church Times, was the keynote speaker. He spoke about the significance of shaping sacred space in churches, as much for those who are secular but visit churches, as for those who do share the Christian tradition. Symbols, in particular, mark out sacred space; as with the Christ in Majesty seen at St Andrew's Bedford, where we were meeting. He noted the various extremes within the Church in relation to this issue from the Iconostasis' of Orthodox Churches to the boarded up stained glass of Anglican churches in the Diocese of Sydney but outlined a Biblical basis for the Christian visual tradition beginning with Bezalel and his fellow workers who were filled with the Spirit for their artistic design work through to Christ as the visible image of the invisible God.

In the workshop which I led, we explored connections between the Psalms and popular song. Statements on different aspects of the Psalms made by Dennis Potter, Nick Cave and Bono were illustrated with songs from Stacie Orrico, Evanescence and the Black Eyed Peas. Discussion of these statements and songs led on to workshop participants beginning to write their own contemporary psalms.        

This was my second year of leading workshops at the Exploring Spirituality Day and on both occasions those attending have been particularly enthusiastic and engaged.

Alan Stewart, Vicar of St Andrew's Hertford, who is one of the Exploring Spirituality Day organisers has an exhibition at St Mary's Hertingfordbury on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th November. The exhibition will feature striking charcoals and vibrant oils.

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Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?

Confirmation & camping

Here are the candidates from St Johns Seven Kings who were confirmed by the Bishop of Barking at St Andrews Great Ilford last Sunday, together with candidates from St Andrews and St Georges Barkingside.

Bishop David preached another memorable confirmation sermon based around a tent (which symbolised Jesus' pitching his tent among us through his incarnation) and camping equipment; a calor gaz stove symbolising the fire of Spirit and a pump for a lilo symbolising the wind of the Spirit. Those present will not forget the Bishop with the lit stove balanced on his head or the nap he took on the lilo once inflated. These moments of visual humour remain in the memory together with the points being made.

Bishop David's sermons are sometimes criticised for their 'gimmicks' but I can remember both the main illustrations and the point of those illustrations for all of his confirmation sermons that I have heard since my ordination. Of how many preachers would it be possible to say that!

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Howard Goodall - Love Divine.

Advent Art @ St Andrews

The Advent Art Installation is currently at St Andrew's Great Ilford and can still be viewed at the following churches, dates and times:

• St Andrew’s Church, The Drive, Ilford IG1 3PE: 13th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 14th 12.00 noon – 4.00 pm; 15th 10.00 am –12 noon & 2. 00 pm – 4.00 pm; 16th 10.00 am –12 noon & 2. 00 pm – 4.00 pm.


• St Margaret’s Church, Perth Road/Balfour Road, Ilford , IG1 4HZ: 17th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 18th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 19th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 20th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm.


• The Vine Church, Riches Road, Ilford, IG1 1JH: 21st 10.00 am – 11.00 am; 22nd 10.00 am – 3.30 pm; 23rd 10.00am - 3.30 pm.

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Karl Jenkins - Adiemus.