St Johns is
situated in the heart of Southend between the Palace Hotel and
the Royals Shopping Centre, on Pier Hill. Just minutes from the
seafront (Just follow the Map link for further details)
Weddings, Baptisms
and the calling of Banns can be arranged on Saturday mornings by calling at the Parish
Office inside St John’s Church. Or follow the Email link below:
Marriage after Divorce: We are happy to
marry divorce persons after due consideration. Please don’t
hesitate to contact us. You can use the above email link. Canon
Steve
What's Been
Happening in the Parish
Follow this link to find out what we have
been up to:
Check out the new photo
leaflet regarding the churchyard
Also follow this link
to view photos of our Harvest
Festival and recent confirmation service and of the
Graveyard blessing and Echo newspaper acticle
A Warm &
Friendly Welcome awaits you at our Church!
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.
Sunday’s Sermon
(3rd Sunday of
the Epiphany) – 22nd January 2012
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
Our worship has a down to earth approach to it. It is
simplistic with a hidden beauty.
We approach our faith and worship in a practical yet
spiritual way.
We are the Southend Lifeboat Church.
Canon Stephen is proud to be the RNLI Chaplain.
After visiting us we hope you will take something personal
away with you that is 'concrete', for you to use in your day to
day lives.
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Bishop Stephen's
visit to Southend RNLI on 07th April 2011 Their Chairmain Jim Mackie is
pictured centre