Come and join us for a presentation by Debbie Coupland, in St John’s Church, Loughton at 8.00pm on Thursday 8th November in remembrance of the centenary of the signing of the Armistice, as a prelude to peace in 1918. Debbie’s presentation will include details of the actions of Private Sidney Godley VC who rests within Loughton Cemetery and our other local fallen heroes. Debbie will review the war, it’s final stages and the consequences for world peace. She has an abundance of forensic detail, born of a lifelong passion for the War to end all Wars. Do come for a fascinating insight into the world of our forefathers. The retiring collection will be in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund.

Debbie Coupland

Debbie has been a keen student of the First World War since childhood. She decided not to go to university, as expected, but instead, take an Officers Commission in the Army. In due course, as a lieutenant (in the Women’s Royal Army Corps) she was posted to Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, linked inextricably with the most famous memorial to the missing (72,195) of the battle of the Somme.

Having left the Army to bring up a her family, she completed a University degree in Military History, as a mature student. She left her job within the Civil Service, recruiting men and women to serve as Officers in the Army, to create Great War Tours, providing personal escorted Great War Battlefield experiences.

Fireworks will be taking place on Saturday 3rd November from 6pm to 9pm, and we are hoping to sell as many tickets as possible beforehand to help with queueing and congestion on the night.

Tickets can be ordered by calling 07383 489556 and bought from the church each Sunday after our family service 12.30pm to 1.30pm from Sunday 7th October

Tickets will also be on sale inside St John’s Church at the following times:

• Tuesday, 30th October, 8pm-9pm
• Wednesday, 31st October, 8p-9pm
• Thursday, 1st November, 8pm-9pm
• Friday, 2nd November, 8pm-9pm
• Saturday, 3rd November, 10am–4pm

Pricing remains the same as the last few years, ie £15 family (2 adults and up to 3 children), £6 adult, £3 child, and we would ask that you bring the correct money with you as it really helps our volunteers!

There will be a Choral High Mass at the 9.30am service this Sunday, 14th October. Pieces will include the Gounod Mass in C and pieces by Saint-Saëns and Fauré.

Please do come along to support St John’s Singers.

Our monthly charity for September is the Spark!. We will be collecting donations for them after the morning services on Sunday.

[We seek] a society in which people are work ready, mobile and equipped to make a significant difference to the economy, their lives and community.

We will work with education and business to prepare people for working life and enhance their employability through practical, accredited and inspiring work-related experiences.

With Sam joining us we will be able to offer more services, so we are now offering morning and evening prayer.

• Morning prayer will be available at 7.45am Monday to Friday mornings and should last around 20-25 minutes.
• Evening Prayer will be available at 6.00pm Monday to Thursday evenings and is slightly shorter.

The Church of England tells us that:

As Christians we believe the full purpose of our lives is to praise God. As we do so we begin to recognize more and more that everything comes from God and to feel even more thankful and full of praise.

Come along and share in this wonderful tradition.

Our monthly charity for August is Us (formerly USPG Missionary Society). We will collecting donations for them after the morning services on Sunday.

From their website here:

For over 300 years we have been sharing God’s love through practical action, and seeing lives transformed.

Our goal is to help more and more people ‘take hold of the life that is truly life’ (1 Timothy 6:19).

How we work looks different according to the culture and context of our church partners.

• In Zimbabwe, we initiated a national programme to tackle HIV stigma so more people will come forward to receive counselling and treatment.
• In Myanmar, we are supporting a programme to take healthcare into isolated rural communities.
• In South Africa, we have developed a programme to provide church leaders with practical development skills.

Our programmes have a deep impact because they are run by local churches that are embedded in the communities they serve – communities that have often been overlooked.

We don’t give handouts, which can create dependency. Instead, we support the development of local skills and the empowerment of communities, leading to change from within.

Visit the bell tower at St John’s, learn a little about the art of bell ringing and climb above the tower for good views of Loughton.

Saturday 8th September, 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

Our monthly charity for June is the Church Urban Fund. We will be collecting donations for them after the morning services on Sunday.

As the Church of England’s response to poverty, our aim is to inform, inspire, resource and support churches as they work to tackle poverty and build community.

At the heart of our work is a network of partnerships with individual Dioceses called the Together Network. Through this network we aim to enhance, multiply and transform the Church’s engagement with poverty at a local and national level.