Revd Gill O'Neill
You may have seen the coverage of the Rt Revd Mariann Budde, Bishop of Washington DC, in the United States, on the news last month. Bishop Mariann’s words caused a stir after the interfaith inauguration service in Washington’s National Cathedral In January this year.
Bishop Mariann delivered a sermon on the theme of unity, drawing on the gospel reading, Matthew 7:24-29, the wise man built his house on rock, criticising the culture of contempt that, she argued, had become normalised in her country. She later appeared to pause, take a breath, and then addressed the new president directly, appealing to him to have mercy on those who are frightened; those who identify as gay, lesbian or transgender, as well as undocumented migrants and their families.
The president later took to social media to brand her as ‘nasty’ and has gone on to sign a raft of executive orders targetting transgender, nonbinary and intersex people, and immigrants. I felt enormously grateful to her for articulating a faithful, Christian counter-narrative to the ‘Christianized’ culture of contempt.
But the political issues aside, I was incredibly moved by Bishop Mariann’s evident character. I know I’d feel rather intimidated if tasked to preach at such an event, and even more so if I felt that, with all integrity, my role required me to address such a powerful person so directly.
Yet any fear Bishop Mariann might have felt did not get in the way of her speaking with great gentleness and calm, on behalf of the fearful. I wonder if she had been preparing for this moment?
Two years ago Budde published a book called “How we learn to be brave: decisive moments in life and faith”, and I already have it on order. Her character has obviously impacted others, if social media is anything to go by, people who have long abandoned the church are writing that someone like Bisho Mariann might bring them back to it.
Perhaps this is a moment for us to engage with the idea of Christian character? Perhaps in a secular world that has largely abandoned Christianity, it is the character of those who profess to be Christian, that is, their evident, courageous faith, their gentleness and mercy, that is the best evidence for the existence of God, and the truth of the gospel? In the past we recognised people of strong Christian character and called them saints, maybe we are all called to join their ranks?
C
hristmas: We welcomed about 2,000 people to St John's at our Christmas services, including the Carol Service, Christingles, Midnight Mass and Christmas Day Festival Mass. Thanks to everyone who helped in any way. The Christingle services were particularly popular and we nearly ran out of Christingles! We raised over £1,700 for the Children's Society.
Carols by the Green: Our annual Carols by the Green event took place on 7 December with singing, musical performances, stalls, games, mulled wine, mince pies and a visit from Santa Claus! Thanks to everyone who took part.
Safeguarding Sunday: We marked Safeguarding Sunday on 17 November to raise awareness of safeguarding in the church. Look out for the posters with details of the Safeguarding Team for more details.
Candlemas: We were delighted to welcome back the Archdeacon of Southwark, the Venerable Jonathan Sedgwick, to preach on Candlemas (2 February). Copies of his sermon are available here.
The Bridge: The February 2025 edition of The Bridge, the newspaper for the Diocese of Southwark, has been published and can be read online here.
Choral Evensong: Our next Choral Evensong is on 16 March at 6 pm. All welcome!
Messy Church: The next Messy Church is on Sunday 9 March at 3.45 pm.
Requiem Mass for Brian Grant: This will take place on 23 March at 4pm and will be followed by refreshments
Violence against women and girls: In November, the Safeguarding Team all went to see a preview screening of a new documentary film, "People Must Do Something" in Lambeth. The film explores how faith settings can become agents of change for women and girls. The documentary was very impressive and we will host a screening and discussion at St John's on Tuesday 29 April. Look out for more details soon.Ash Wednesday: There will be a Mass at 8pm on Wednesday 5 March.
Holy Week and Easter: Palm Sunday is on 13 April and Easter Day is 20 April this year.
Annual Meetings: the Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place after the 10am Mass on Sunday 11 May.
Visitation Service: Tthe Southwark Archdeaconry Visitation Service (where church wardens are sworn in) will take place on the evening of Thursday 12 June 2025 at Southwark Cathedral. Everyone is welcome to attend.
The refurbishments mean that the Centre is more accessible for all our users and the facilities comply with current safety and hygiene standards. We have already had very positive feedback on the improvements from many Centre users and other visitors.
The work was largely supported by grants from Valencia Communities Fund and City Bridge Foundation. We are also very grateful to all the individuals who made donations and supported fundraising events that enabled this project to happen, and to the PCC for its commitment. Thanks to all the members of the Project Team who have worked on this over several years.
In a short speech, Ellie Reeves spoke about her family connections to East Dulwich and the importance of having welcoming centres for community activities. She also met many users of the Centre and volunteers from church groups.
Pictured (left to right): Councillor Charlie Smith, Jim Nurton, Revd Gill O'Neill, Ellie Reeves MP, Rt Revd Alistair Cutting (Bishop of Woolwich), Louise Pollard and Martin Howell. (Photo by Tayo Olatunde.)
Toilet twinning
To mark the opening of the refurbished facilities, the PCC agreed to twin our toilets with toilets in Zimbabwe - as the Diocese of Southwark is twinned with three Anglican dioceses in Zimbabwe. This means we are providing resources for people in Zimbabwe to build clean, private and well-functioning facilities.
Our newly twinned toilets stand as a reminder that small actions, when done with love and intention, can ripple out to make a world of difference. If you haven’t yet twinned your own toilet, we strongly encourage you to consider it! It’s a simple act, but its impact is profound - saving lives, restoring dignity, and embodying the gospel principle that we are all called to care for one another.
You can find out more on the plaques in each toilet and on the Toilet Twinning website.
If you are interested in joining the choir, please speak to our Music Director John Webber or send him an email.
The music list for the next few months is available on the St John's website here.
Gemma writes: "Dear friends, thank you all so much for the wonderful farewell gifts. I absolutely loved the beautiful flowers, the handmade pottery tea pot and mugs set, the angel paintings and the very generous John Lewis gift card. Thank you also for the very many well wishes, kind messages and prayers. I was very touched by all your generosity and I will always remember, with great affection and joy, my time as assistant curate at St John’s.
By Sue O'Neill
Coffee Morning meets every Wednesday from 11 until 12:30. Most people come to coffee morning for the opportunity to chat with others. We also have cards, dominoes, Scrabble and some other board games available, and these are increasingly popular. Sometimes we offer additional activities. In October we had a very enjoyable Singing Geese session. In November we experimented with an autumnal-themed afternoon art session where a fee was required. This resulted in some lovely drawings.
A visitors meeting covered topics including activities at coffee morning, results of a recent diversity survey and feedback from an evaluation of the Strong and Steady Exercise Class. It is always good to hear our visitors’ views and ideas. December included a Christmas craft session and Christmas Coffee Morning, where we had a Christmas Quiz, played Christmas bingo and sang Christmas carols. We got the new year off to a good start with a very inspiring talk about keeping fit by Julie Whitney.The Strong and Steady Exercise Classes also take place on Wednesday mornings and are very popular; both classes are now nearing capacity. These classes are primarily aimed at older adults who are concerned about their balance or feel they are at risk of falling. If you are interested in joining this programme please email goosegreencoffeemorning@gmail.com.
All are welcome at Goose Green Coffee Morning, it’s a great place to connect with the local community – do drop in!
By Martin Howell
Recent highlights from the Lunch Club include the annual outing to Woodcote Green garden centre and our Christmas party.In late September, funded by a generous grant from Southwark Charities, around forty of us travelled to the Dobbies Garden Centre in Wallington by an old Routemaster bus.
At the garden centre we enjoyed a cream tea for lunch! We also had plenty of time of look around the garden centre which also has a large aquatics shop with lots of tropical and cold water fish.
Another highlight of the year was the Christmas party, where in addition to a enjoying a three course Christmas meal, we were entertained by the choir from St John’s and St Clement’s School.
The Lunch Club meets every Thursday in term time at 12.30 pm. We serve a two course meal with tea or coffee for £5. Do come and join us!
The model was displayed in church in December and is being kept safe in the archive. It anyone would like to see it please speak to one of the wardens or the archivist, Clare Brown.
By Dorothy Oxley
We humans need communication skills to share information, express our needs, understand each other, build relationships, resolve conflicts, learn, collaborate, and practically everything else in life, from early childhood onwards, so it’s worrying that around 10% of children in the UK have speech, language and communication needs (SCLN).
With SLCN, the earlier a child’s problems are recognised and support provided, the better. So, if you’re worried about your child - even if you’re not entirely sure they have a problem, as some children develop their speech, language and communications skills more slowly than others – it’s still best to check it out. (You can find a list of age-related ‘warning signs’ of SLCN here.)
If your child does have SLCN, the best person to help them – and to help YOU to help them – is a speech and language therapist, and if you are registered with a GP in Southwark or Lambeth, this therapy is provided on the NHS by the Evelina Children’s Community Speech and Language Team, who offer support for parents and children in a number of ways:
If your child is under 5 years old
Chattertime
These free, fun ‘stay and play’ sessions are open to all under-fives and their accompanying parent/carer and offer an opportunity for you to meet a speech and language therapist, discover and practice communication strategies to help your child. You don’t need to be referred, just turn up. The nearest ones to St John's are:
- Ann Bernadt Children and Family Centre, SE15 6DE (Tel. 020 7740 0252) (Tuesdays, 10 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.)
- Albrighton Children’s Centre, SE22 8AH (Tel. 020 7525 2017) (Wednesdays, 1.00 p.m. – 2.15 p.m.)
- Rye Oak Children's Centre, SE15 3PD (Tel. 020 3848 5780) (Thursdays, 10.00 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.)
These offer advice and support if your under-five child hasn’t yet been referred for speech and language therapy, or you’re on the waiting list. Most are held once a month across the children’s centres in both Lambeth & Southwark.
For a full list of all the Chattertime sessions and ‘Drop in’ sessions in Lambeth and Southwark, together with contact numbers for the centres where they are run, please click on the links given in the sub-titles, or email gst-tr.contactsIt@nhs.net.
Email is the most effective way to be in touch, but there is an administration telephone number, 020 3049 8181 if you don’t have internet access.
If your child is over five
Evelina Children’s Community Speech and Language works with some school settings (including mainstream and special schools and further education colleges) in Lambeth and Southwark which have purchased the Evelina SLT service input.
If you are concerned about your school-aged child’s speech and language, talk to your child’s school’s SENCo (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) to discuss their needs. SENCos may refer to the speech therapy support available through their setting.
Evelina Children’s Community SLT can accept non-SENCo referrals if for speech sounds, voice or stammering; and the child is registered with a Lambeth or Southwark GP.
Advice and support
As well as giving information about their own support and advice sources, the Evelina site also provides a range of external contacts you might find helpful (click here), including one I know well and can recommend – Afasic.
If this article has helped you, or if you’ve experienced problems following up the sources given, please let me know. Feedback is always welcome and can be passed on to the organisations involved.
By Dorothy Oxley
King’s College Hospital wants to find out more about the experiences of patients while they wait for care at King’s. They are particularly interested to understand:
- The information you received about waiting for your treatment or care.
- Any support you were offered while you waited.
We don’t have a closing date, but it must be quite soon, as King's are running workshops to share the results.
The nearest of these is on Wednesday, 25 February from 11 am to 1 pm in the Boardroom at King’s College Hospital. There are also online meetings on Wednesday, 19 February, from 6 to 8 pm., and on Thursday, 26 February from 2 pm to 4 pm. You can sign up for one of these when you complete the form.
The survey findings will help them to improve care and make the experience of waiting better for everyone.
Who's who
Vicar Revd Gill O’Neill vicar@stjohnseastdulwich.org
Curate Revd Gemma Birt curate@stjohnseastdulwich.org
Assistant Priests Revd Anne Clarke anne@oakhurstgrove.com , Revd Alistair McCulloch mccullocha95@gmail.com and Revd Rosemary Shaw rshaw1983@icloud.com
Parish Administrator office@stjohnseastdulwich.org
Churchwardens Louise Pollard and Jim Nurton
Parish Safeguarding Officer Mary Dawson (contact via Parish Administrator)
PCC Secretary Christine Camplin
PCC Treasurer Claire Nylander
Stewardship Martin Howell
Director of Music John Webber
Editors of The Gander Christine Camplin, Jim Nurton, Tayo Olatunde and Dorothy Oxley
(Contact each of the above via Parish Administrator)
Website: www.stjohnseastdulwich.org
Twitter: @StJohnsEDulwich
St John's & St Clement's C of E Primary School, Adys Road, London SE15 4DY
www.stjohnsandstclements.org, 020 7525 9210
Disclaimer
The views expressed in The Gander are not necessarily those of the Editors, Vicar or PCC.
Magazine Deadline
Notices and items or articles for possible inclusion in the next issue of The Gander must be with the Editors by the 15th of the preceding month. Please contact the team in person or by email to the Parish Administrator with any questions.
