In the Heart of your Community, in the frantic rush of the Town Centre, in the Parish of Southend, you will find us.  A place of Peace and Calm.  Why not drop in and experience our tranquillity

Our Mission is Simple

We are here to serve you, worship God and Love the Community in

Jesus Christ.

Join us in worship, our services are easy to follow and understand.  Whether you worship with us regularly, are staying in Southend on holiday or on business or looking at faith for the first time, you will find something that will guide you through your week.

Here at St John's you will find relevant teaching, spiritual help with a touch of modern day realism.  We are non judgemental and welcome you all.

Reading: John 2.1-11  

How are you getting on with your New Year’s resolutions?  

Is anyone dieting, getting over the Christmas binge?  Has anyone given up drink? I was reading of someone who is not touching a drop until March! Then there was that recommendation the other week that we should leave off alcohol for two days each week to give our livers a chance. Probably a good idea.  

But there are so many warnings about alcohol that I wonder that today’s Gospel of the Wedding at Cana of Galilee ever got into the Bible. Jesus changed 120 -180 gallons of water into wine!! That’s a considerable quantity even for a decent sized wedding party. Jesus clearly thought that wine was a good thing. And while I’m at it I want to say that it annoys me when there keep coming calls to increase the cost of cheap drink in Supermarkets to stop binge drinking. Why should we all be penalised because some abuse alcohol? Why not target instead those who actually binge on Friday & Saturday nights in the Town Centre ? Surely that’s fair ?  

The answer is of course, moderation in all things. And alcohol is not the only addiction. There are also, of course, drugs. There is binge eating. Excessive dieting is addictive. Sex can be addictive and so can shopping. There are those who buy so compulsively that they become deeply and damagingly, indebted. Addiction is when we are captivated by something and are no longer free.  

The story of the Wedding at Cana of Galilee tells us something about this. The water become wine stands for Jesus himself. The fact that this superior wine is produced later in the wedding feast is saying that Jesus supersedes all that comes before. He is superior to anything that can captivate us. In fact if you have a relationship with God you don’t actually need anything else as a prop.  

So this New Year, try to deepen the relationship you have with your God.

Canon Steve