Sunday 16th November 2025
St John’s holds services in Church on Sundays at 10am, with a recording of the morning service uploaded online for those not able to join us.
Paper services available on request.
Dear Church Family,
Some passages of Scripture never made it onto embroidered cushions or Sunday School memory cards. This week’s reading from Genesis 16 is one of them. It tells the story of Hagar, a woman used, silenced, and driven out by those who should have known better—by those we often place on a pedestal. And yet, it is Hagar, not Sarah or Abraham, who gives God a name: El Roi—"the God who sees me."
On this Safeguarding Sunday, we are reminded that the Church must not only see like God, but also act like Him. The same God who met Hagar in the wilderness and the haemorrhaging woman in the crowd still meets the hidden and hurting among us today. So come. Bring a friend. Bring a neighbour. Bring your silence, if that’s all you have. Because here at St John’s, even the wilderness has a spring.
N.B. Last week – on Remembrance Sunday – I shared about The Chinese Labour Corps. If you’d like to learn more about them and support my campaign to have a memorial installed at St. Paul’s Cathedral, follow this link: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/clcmemorial You can catch my interview on BBC Radio Oxfordshire here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/814068148063042
With prayers and hope,
Mark 甄英深
Notices
SAFEGUARDING SUNDAY | Sunday 16th November 2025. At this special service THIS COMING Sunday 16th November 2025 we will be asking what our role is—as a church and as individuals—in ensuring that all within our community remain safe. Protecting vulnerable people is at the heart of the Christian message. This year’s theme is ‘The God Who Sees’.
MOTHERS’ UNION | Wednesday 19th November 2025 2.30pm. The Mothers’ Union will be meeting on Wednesday 19th November at 2.30pm in the Church Centre. Money will be collected for the December Christmas tea of £5.00. New members are always welcome.
QUIZ NIGHT | Thursday 27th November 7.30pm. The next online quiz is on Thursday 27th November at 7.30pm. Great fun and a way to meet without going out in the dark. Just click on the link to join via ZOOM.
AUTUMN ARTS FESTIVAL. Michael Garaway would like to say a very big THANK YOU! to all those who gave their time and energy to help with the Autumn Arts Festival last Saturday 8th November. We had 130 visitors enjoying the displays and stalls, as well as the refreshments on offer, and with your help we are supporting and promoting local creatives as well as the work of St John’s in the parish.
For our prayers
For our world. There are so many countries in our world that are at war with one another. Pray for peace. Pray for all who are suffering the ravages of war. Pray for doctors and nurses trying to put broken bodies back together. Pray for orphaned children. Pray for all trying to bring much needed supplies to those areas. Most importantly pray for the leaders of those countries, that they will talk peace together. We have just celebrated the lives of those who fought for freedom around the world. Pray that the time will come when wars will cease.
For our country. Pray for us all at this time of uncertainty. For all struggling with the continual rising prices of daily necessities. For all suffering with job loss which seems to happen regularly at this time of the year. Pray for all who are homeless and sleep rough. Pray for our young people who are influenced by social media. Pray that barriers will be put in place to filter out evil. Pray for all trying to do good in their communities. For those who are good neighbours. For those providing spaces for young people to meet safely. For those running food banks. For those providing places for the lonely to meet.
For those who are unwell. Pray for the many people we know and love who are unwell just now. Pray especially for Suzanne, Val, Janet A., Pam, Pat, Carol, Irene and Ricky M., Dhoj Gurung, Liz, Caroline, Devina, Adrian, Mo, Wayling, Margaret H. and Chris.
In our prayers. Pray for all mourning the loss of a loved one. Pray for the family of St. John’s. For Mark, Richard, Suzanne and Dawn. For Brian our Churchwarden, our PCC and all who lead our organisations. Pray for our young people as they grow in their faith and for those who teach them each Sunday. Pray and thank God for our freedom of worship.
Church Office
The church office is usually open Tuesday - Fridays from 10am - 12pm. Please note that any notices need to be sent to info@stjohn-woodley.com by 10.00 am on Thursday, for inclusion in that week's newsletter.
THIS WEEK
Sunday 16th November
9.00am - BCP Service of Holy Communion.
10.00am - Service of Holy Communion. Safeguarding Sunday. This week’s Bible readings will be Genesis 16: 1–10 and Luke 8: 43–48. A video recording of the service will be uploaded to the website at: https://www.youtube.com/@stjohnswoodley
3:00pm - Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi Fellowship.
Tuesday 18th November
10.00am - St. John’s Toddler Group. Contact Dawn for further details.
7.30pm - Praying Together on Zoom. To phone in, call 0203 481 5237. Zoom ID: 977 0607 9786.
Wednesday 19th November
10.00am - Midweek Communion Service.
2.30pm - Mothers’ Union.
7.45pm - Fellowship and Study Group. To phone in, call 0203 481 5237. Zoom ID: 962 9254 2704.
Friday 21st November
11.30am - Lunch, Munch & Chinwag.
Pastoral Support
Would you like a prayer?
If you would like support, please do let us know - you do not need to face hard things alone. Please contact the office to arrange for a Pastoral Visit from one of our team. Alternatively, complete the prayer request form below and someone will be in touch.
A MESSAGE ON BEHALF OF WOODLEY FOODBANK. Thank you for your donations throughout the year. We are currently low in tins of whole tomatoes, soup & custard, coffee, tea and toilet rolls. There continues to be a high demand at the moment, so your help is very much appreciated. Donations of Sugar, Coffee, Pasta Sauce, Noodles (inc. Pot Noodles), Tinned Vegetables (all types), Tinned fish, Tinned fruit, Tinned meat meals, Biscuits, Crisps, Custard - tinned and dried, Tinned Desserts, Long Life milk, Juice (cordial & long life), Toiletries and Toilet Rolls are welcome at any time.
Envelope Collection. David, our Treasurer, is kindly offering a collection service for those that usually give to St John’s by envelope. Please call him direct on 0118 969 2521 or email.
Church Suite - Login Required. Please do log in and update your personal contact details and what information you want to share with others in the St John’s church family. This way you can make sure you are kept up-to-date with news at St John’s and stay linked in with others. For those who are not online, we will be contacting them separately to do this.
