Category: Uncategorized

Light Party on 31st October 2022

twinspirescaroline

We want to invite you all to our light party coming up on the 31st October 2022 at St John’s Church, Rownhams and in the Church Hall. This will be an exciting event where the entire Church will be lit up and we will be looking at light in a day that is always filled with so much darkness!

There will be activities throughout the evening for all the family as well as food, fun and games for all to get involved with!

Please let Ewan Brown know if you would be willing to help with the event and get involved, but please do try and bring as many people as you can, to show the light of Jesus in a fun evening.

The event will be running from 5pm until 7pm at St John’s Church and the Church Hall and so plenty of room for all to come!

St John’s Churchyard Maintenance

twinspirescaroline

A big thank you to those who worked so hard at last week’s maintenance mornings. 

Unfortunately there were more jobs than we could cope with, so some remain undone.  If you’d like to help but couldn’t make the dates feel free to put in an hour or two at times to suit yourself.  I can provide a list of jobs, or you can simply look for things that needs doing – for example there will soon be a lot of leaves to clear-up. 

Alternatively you might consider looking after one particular area:  we already have some who tend the war graves and the grass near the main door.  The church has the equipment you might need; just ask me for the key.  I will also provide a risk assessment, general safety guidance and, if necessary, instruction on how to use the kit.  Note that we now have a fortnightly green waste collection, so if there is space please use the green bin rather than make the compost heap even larger than it already is!

Whilst we want to encourage wild flora and fauna we do need to keep the churchyard reasonably tidy.  The Community Payback Team ceased their visits during Covid and, although I’m still in contact with the organiser, they have not yet recommenced work in our area.  Therefore, unless we pay a professional it’s largely down to us as volunteers.

Randell McKay (Churchwarden St John’s).
Email: churchwardenstj@twinspires.org.uk

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

twinspirescaroline

In light of the recent sad news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passing, we will be keeping the church open today (Friday 9th Sept) all day, and tomorrow (Sat 10th Sept) until 3pm.

The church will also be open Monday 12th to Friday 16th Sept from 10am until 1pm, and on Saturday 17th Sept until 11.00am.

The service at St John’s Church on Sunday 11th Sept will be a communion, which in part will reflect the loss of our Queen.

Morning Prayer online on Monday 12th September will be a service dedicated to the Queen.

We will be holding a memorial service at St Boniface Church at 7pm on Wednesday 14th September.

The Great Big Green Week

twinspirescaroline

The extreme weather in July and August has helped us all to realise that climate change is not something that will happen in the future but something that is happening now.

The Climate Coalition have designated September 24th – October 2nd as ‘Big Green Week’ which is intended to be a celebration of community action on climate change.

At St John’s Church we would like to mark this in two ways.

  • Firstly, with a Scavenger Hunt – with the aim of enthusing and engaging children with nature by having fun and discovering some of the natural things in our area. You are warmly invited to take part.

We will meet at the car park behind the Scout HQ near the skate park on Sunday 25th September at 2.30pm.

Please walk if you can, in keeping with the nature of the event! It would be helpful (but not essential) if you could bring a bag, a pencil and a wax crayon.

  • Secondly, we will also mark the week with the regular litter pick on Saturday 1st October at 10.30am. Please watch for notice of the location on Facebook and the Church website. All welcome, bring gloves and suitable footwear.

Children need to bring an adult to both of these events!

Claire Thompson

St John’s Churchyard Work Parties

twinspirescaroline

If you are willing and able to help with the maintenance of St John’s churchyard 9.30am to 12 noon on Thursday 22nd September and/or Saturday 24th September, I’d be very grateful.

I anticipate the work will involve trimming of hedges, mowing/strimming of grass, weeding and, possibly, collection of the first fall of leaves.

Please wear suitable gardening clothing and bring any tools you think might be useful.

Thanks.

Randell McKay (Churchwarden)

Churches Count on Nature

S L Black

I am sure you will have heard in the news about the decline in biodiversity that our nation is experiencing.
Churchyards are often seen as a crucial haven for wildlife and in the second week of June many churches are recording the wildlife in their churchyards and reporting what they find to the National Biodiversity Network. This should provide useful data on what is happening to wildlife and enable decisions to be made on what actions can best be taken to help recovery.

We would love your help in recording the animals and plants that inhabit St John’s Churchyard. We hope this can be a fun activity for all the family. We will not assume you are an expert and there will be books and information sheets to help with identification, together with fun sheets for the children.

We would like to make this a family occasion and have chosen the time for our count as:

Sunday 12th June from 12noon to 2pm

We invite you to join in and to bring a picnic so we can eat together too.
There is no need to register – just turn up to St John’s Church. We recommend that you wear gloves and stout footwear. We would ask that all children are accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. If you have a clipboard, you might find that useful, also a pencil/pen and any books/apps you have to help identify wildlife.
If you have a particular expertise or general knowledge about wildlife and nature, we’d love to hear from you. Please do get in touch beforehand via the church office.