New role and upcoming events

On Sunday I was able to announce that, subject to DBS clearance, I will be moving on from St John’s in the New Year to become Priest for Partnership Development Development at two churches in London. I will be Priest-in-Charge at St Stephen Walbrook in the City of London and also an Associate Minister at St Martin-in-the-Fields. This is a new role which involves forming partnerships between the two churches as well as with businesses in the City of London and cultural organisations around Trafalgar Square.

It is always difficult to know when to move on from your current ministry but the fact that this is a unique opportunity which involves all of my key interests in ministry and is a role which won’t be advertised in this way again has made up my mind that this is the time for me to move on. It will be a wrench to leave all our friends at St John’s, in Seven Kings, Newbury Park and the Redbridge Deanery but I hope and pray that all we have done together over the past eight years will stand St John's in good stead for this new phase of its mission and ministry in the interregnum and beyond. My last Sunday at St John's will be 18th January.

In the meantime, there is much going on and the attached files have posters for some of what is coming up. We have our Christmas Bazaar at St John's this coming Saturday (29th November) from 10.30am to 3.00pm. I will be sharing some reflections and photographs from the recent East London Three Faiths Forum Tour of the Holy Land in services at St John's on 30th November and 7th December. I will also be sharing some meditative materials from my sabbatical in the Listening to God session at St Laurence's Barkingside on Sunday 7th December at 6.30pm.

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Felix Mendelsssohn - Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20 Fourth Movement (Presto).

Upcoming events

commission4mission will have a stall at the Winter Fayre in Seven Kings this Friday. Our stall will include books, cards, Christmas cards, jewellery, meditations, notebooks, prints and T-shirts. This is an opportunity to purchase our original Christmas cards.

The Seven Kings Business partnership has been working with Redbridge Council and other partners to create this second Winter Fayre in Seven Kings. The Fayre will be on Friday 21st November from 3.00pm – 7.00pm right by Seven Kings station – in the bay opposite The Joker pub.

This is an excellent initiative on behalf of businesses to use spaces on the high street for community events, to build up relationships with residents and to increase opportunities for trading. So far the programme includes live music and entertainment, face painting, stalls, food and Farnham Green School Choir. More is being planned!

I will be showing photographs from the East London Three Faiths Forum Tour of the Holy Land and sharing some reflections based on the tour in services at St John's Seven Kings on Sunday 30th November and 7th December (10.00am). The service on 30th November will be our Advent Reflections Service while that on 7th December will focus on our Christian Aid Partnership Project.

At 6.30pm on Sunday 7th December I will be sharing some reflections, meditations and photographs in the Listening to God session at St Laurence Barkingside. These will either be based on my sabbatical art pilgrimage or the East London Three Faiths Forum Tour of the Holy Land.

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Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream.

Music in Lent: Search vs stasis

On Monday 31st March I will be talking at Chelmsford Cathedral about Van Morrison's 'Summertime in England' as part of their Lent Course. In this series five different speakers are talking about different pieces of music that inspire them in their Christian faith. The five meetings all begin at 7.30pm in the North Transept of the Cathedral, and will last around 90 minutes, ending with Compline. Everyone is welcome and there is no need to book in advance.

What I'll be saying will draw on one of the themes (Search vs Stasis) covered in 'The Secret Chord', my book, co-authored with Peter Banks, which is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life, written through the prism of Christian belief.

I'll be presenting some of the same material in the Going Deeper Evening Service at St John's Seven Kings tomorrow (6.30pm) and at St Laurence's Barkingside for their Listening to God slot on Sunday 6th April at 6.30pm.

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Van Morrison - Summertime In England.

Exhibition and gig: Bishop and Superhero

commission4mission's Patron, The Rt. Revd. David Hawkins will be exhibiting his paintings at St Peter's Harold Wood from 11th – 21st March, prior to his retirement as Bishop of Barking. +David is a landscape artist who works with acrylics, watercolour, mixed media and installations. He is fascinated by the organic structure of landscape and its transitory appearance as weather and light pass over it. Bishop David has exhibited previously in Stafford, Leeds, Merseyside, London, Nigeria and Capetown. Earthairwaterfire can be viewed weekdays from 9.00am – 5.00pm. Saturday 15th March, 9.00am – 12.30pm. Wednesday and Friday evenings from 6.00 – 9.30pm.

Superherouk will be visiting St Laurence Barkingside as part of their rescheduled Battle For Your Soul Tour in March. Check out their Facebook page, or visit their reverbnation page by clicking here http://www.reverbnation.com/superhero.

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Superhero - Cool Police.