Author Archive Steve Hurley

Come and join us at St John's Church Christmas Fair on

Saturday the 30th November from 10am till 3pm

Fun for all the family! There will be stalls, free activities , refreshments, a raffle and more!

Meet Santa and listen to the Nativity Story being retold!

It will be a really special day and we look forward to welcoming you.

For more information -  mrsjaxloveland@gmail.com 

Join us for a Big Breakfast Special with guest speaker John Hailes from Hope Three 16.

After a life-changing encounter with Jesus, John’s life turned around. He now runs a charity for guys who were homeless, and works to alleviate food poverty.

Date     : Saturday 1st March

Venue  : Toby Carvery , Festival Leisure Park, Basildon SS14 3WB

Time    : 9am to approx. 11am 

The cost is around £10 per person for unlimited breakfast, tea and coffee. (plus a suggested £5 speaker donation)

For more info and to book a place, please contact Steve Hurley on 07921 - 875007

Please join us at our Beautiful Believer's Christmas Event

Date  - Friday 13th December

Time - 7.30pm

Venue - St John's Church, Forest Glade, SS16 6RX 

Festive fun & friendship with mulled wine, mince pies & Christmas cheer.

The Beautiful Believers coming together & wearing our best Christmas Jumpers !

There will be mulled wine and mince pies available but please feel free to bring other snacks and drinks (no nuts please ) to enjoy while wrapping your presents, chatting & writing cards to the sound of Christmas music.

All Ladies Welcome – Contact Jill Hurley on 07906 352639 for more info.

This is a free event but donations to our hardship fund would be most welcome.

Please let Rev Jeremy know if you are interested in being baptized, confirmed or reaffirming your baptism vows.

Baptism Service:
Easter Sunday, 20th April
at St John’s

Confirmation Service:
Sunday 4th May
at St Andrew’s Church, Basildon

Please join us at our Spring Fair taking place on

Saturday 15th March from 10am - 2pm

St Johns Church , Forest Glade , SS16 6RX

Free entry and fun for the whole family

• Stalls
• Easter Activities
• Retelling of the Easter Story
• Raffle
• Refreshments

and much more...

Raising money for St John's Church and Preschool & St Mary's Church 

We look forward to seeing you

All young people secondary school age and above are welcome to join us at St John's Church, Forest Glade , SS16 6RX

When  - Every 2nd and 4th Sunday Evening

Next Session - Sunday 6th April

Time  - From 6.30pm - 8.30pm

What happens ?

There are sports & games for around 30-45 mins (table tennis , hockey, volleyball etc) then food together, which might be Pizza's or hot dogs etc. Please let us know of any food allergies. After this we have some time for faith discussions together.

We are currently running the new Alpha Youth series for the faith discussions. It's an all new programme running over 10 sessions looking at various topics relating to life and faith.

Even if you miss a few sessions due to other commitments  it's not a problem as we can send you the video links.

Click the link to watch the Alpha Youth Trailer https://alpha.org/alphayouthseries/

We would love you to join us - everyone is friendly and it's a great chance to meet new people, have fun and talk together.

Please contact Nikki Hall - stjohnsca@gmail.com or text 07720 089260 for more info or you can just pop along. 

LENT AT ST MARY’S AND ST JOHN’S
During Lent this year we will be engaging in a whole-church programme called 40 Days In The Word. This will include Sunday teaching through sermons. We will be encouraging those in small groups to attend in place of normal small group meetings and we would love to see those not in small groups joining us too.

The course will run for 6 weeks at St John's Church, Forest Glade, Langdon Hills , SS16 6RX

There are signup sheets at both Churches or you can contact our Parish Administrator Nikki -  Email stjohnsca@gmail.com or phone  07720 08926

Evening sessions start Thursday 6th March @ 7.15pm tea/coffee for 7.30 start

Please speak to Rev Jeremy if you are interested in a daytime group.

To get the most out of the programme we are encouraging everyone to purchase a 40 Days In The Word workbook, which contains everything you will need for the programme, including the study guide for each small group session, space for weekly sermon notes, and suggestions for further study. The workbook costs £7.65 and we will be placing a bulk order on 24th February (so please order by 23rd Feb at the latest!). If you would like to purchase a workbook, please let Nikki Hall or your small group leader know, including how you would prefer to pay. Payment can be made online direct to the church bank account, for which the details are as follows:

Account name: PCC of LANGDON HILLS
Sort code: 20-04-96
Account number: 40691690
Reference: LENT

This is the preferred method, but you can pay by cash on Sundays if paying online is not possible for you. If you’d like a copy but the cost would be difficult for you, please speak to Jeremy in confidence.

40 Days In The Word will be a great opportunity for all of us to deepen our biblical knowledge during Lent, so we’d encourage everyone to engage in the programme in every way possible.

Please join us for a lovely walk through the woods at Westley Heights to see the beautiful bluebells on

SATURDAY 26th APRIL at 10.00AM

Assembly point:-

St Mary’s Church Car Park, SS16 6HY

A short, flat walk of about 20 minutes and for the more energetic, a longer walk of another 30 minutes.

Tea, coffee, refreshments, cake & biscuits etc will be served at St Mary’s.

Everyone is welcome

NOTICE FOR ANNUAL MEETINGS
The Parish Annual Meetings (AMP and APCM), will take place on Sunday 11^th May at 12.30pm, immediately following the service at St John’s.

These are important meetings where the churchwardens and other PCC (Church Council) members are elected

We will be aiming to elect:
4 Churchwardens (2 per church for 1 year terms)
Churchwarden roles are very important and ensure the smooth running of services and lots of other things. Deputy churchwarden roles are also important although these are unofficial roles. If you would like to see a job description please let Nikki Hall know. Churchwardens are always grateful for the help.

3 PCC members for the period 2025-2028
The PCC is our Church Council, which works with our Rector and churchwardens in making decisions about various aspects of church life.
The commitment involved is usually 6 meetings per year (every other month on a Monday evening), as well as any responsibilities you offer to take on.

1 Deanery Synod Representative for a 1 year term.
Deanery Synod is a regular meeting of representatives of C of E churches in the Basildon area (the deanery). Issues concerning the Church of England both in Basildon and more widely are discussed and decisions are made. In addition to the PCC meetings (see above) you would also be expected (when possible) to attend Deanery Synod meetings (3 per year) so that we, as a parish have a voice in what happens in our deanery.

The nomination forms for churchwardens, PCC members and Deanery Synod representatives will be on the welcome desks at both churches this coming weekend. The deadline for the nominations is the 4^th May and you also need to be on the Church Electoral Roll, which is being completely revised from scratch this year. Therefore, if you are being nominated you need to ensure you have also completed an electoral roll form if you haven’t already.

CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL – NOTIFICATION OF REVISION
Every Parish belonging to the Church of England has its own electoral roll. Every 6 years we are required to completely refresh the roll, and 2025 is the year!
Anyone that would like to be on the new roll, needs to complete a form and hand it in (via the post-boxes on the welcome desk). If you are on the existing list you won’t automatically be added to the new list, so still need to complete a form.  Forms are available at both St Mary’s and St John’s and are located on the welcome desks. If anyone would like a copy of the form emailed to them, please let Nikki Hall know and she can arrange that for you.

The electoral roll will then be published in hard copy, and a copy will be available at both St Mary’s and St John’s 2 weeks before the annual meetings.

Closing date for the forms is Sunday 20^th April

Please contact our Parish Administrator, Nikki Hall, if you want a church electoral roll form emailed to you or if you need further information on any of the elected positions.     Email - stjohnsca@gmail.com Phone - 07720 089260