This is the regular publication containing
news of events and our church life. You could
help by sending content to
advance@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
St John’s URC Ipswich Diary
Regular Events at Present
Sunday
10.45am
Worship for All.
Communion first Sunday of each month
included with the online service.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
7.30pm
Local AA Group Meeting
Thursday
5.00pm
2nd Hamilton Rainbows
6.15pm
40th Ipswich Brownies
7.00pm/2:30pm Church Meeting (5 meetings per Year)
Friday
Services
10.45 am on Sundays Worship for All
at which you will find a warm welcome
Services last about 55 minutes. Our Worship Leaders include Ministers, such as our own Ipswich and East Minister Rev David Rees and Adam Earle, plus some excellent lay preachers, also including our own two lay preachers, Sara Pells and Peter Dawson. We use a large screen to pr oject elements of the service including the hymns.
Minister’s Letter
Our Communion Service is held on the first
Sunday in the Month
All age ‘Celebration Services’ are held with inputs from Rainbows,
Brownies and Pre-School when circumstances permit.
Seeing through the blindness
The healing stories of Jesus in the gospels are full of nuance. On the surface they about
a person being physically healed from, say, blindness. But in every case there is also a
subtext, something else is going on and the healing doesn’t take place just physically. It
is an invitation and there is always a deeper purpose.
In the case of blindness and restored sight, there is also spiritual blindness being
exposed in the Pharisees or the onlooking crowd or sometimes the disciples and, by
extension, you and me. The healing of the spiritual blindness is left unresolved long
after the physical healing has taken place. It leaves us with an open question, where
are we blind and how do we receive this real, deep and lasting sight.
Arguably, its this second strand that is the point of the healing stories, and we can
easily get bogged down in the flashy miracle rather the underlying theme. In the case
of blindness, whether or not we are healed in body, the writers of the gospels want us
to see clearly that God is at work in the world around us and in us. But often we are too
blind and refuse to see.
David Adams in his book, Powerlines, has a poem titled, Vision. It expresses the
heartfelt prayer:-
O Lord,
Extend our vision,
Our clearness of sight.
Open our eyes to see
Beyond the obvious,
To perceive that this is your world.
You are in it,
You invade it,
You pervade it,
You enfold it,
It is immersed in you.
Here we encounter you,
Here we meet you,
Here you come to us,
Here your presence waits to be revealed.
Blessings
David
O Lord,
Extend our vision,
Our clearness of sight.
Open our eyes to see
In the depth of reality,
Your grace,
Your goodness,
Your glory,
To see that we dwell in you, That
you are in us,
That you are with us always. Here
you offer us your kingdom.
Room Hire
Below
are
the
main
rooms
availab
le
followed
by
an
interactive
guide
on
hiring
space
at
St
John’s.
The
Booking
Forms
below
the
pictures
of
the
spaces
offer
two
ways
to
start
the
process
of
Booking.
What
is
different
between
the
methods
can
be
seen
in
the interactive guide.
The Main Hall Upstairs
This
is
used
for
Pre-school
every
weekday
during
term-time.
Also
by
Brownies
and
Rainbows
on
Thursdays.
Other
than
the
Sanctuary,
it
is
the
largest
space
in
the
building
and has kitchen
fa
ci
lities just off the hall.
Room 1
This
is
a
regulary
used
space,
including
use
as
a
Polling
Station!
It
is
easy
to
mak
e
all
sorts
of
furnitur
e
arrangements.
It
is
also
straight
off
the
main
lobby
so
ma
kes
for
easy
access.
Rooms 4 and 5
A
useful
space,
with
a
divider,
so
it
can
be
made
cosy
or
more
open.
It
is
used
as
a
double
room
by
the
AA
Group
on
a
Wednesday
evening
regularly
throughout
the
year.
There
is
flexi
bility
in
the
setting
of
the furniture.
The Sanctuary
The
sanctuary
is
also
very
flexibl
e
in
layout,
but
as
the
chairs
are
m
ore
substantial,
re-arrangements
r
equire
much
more
work.
Ther
e
is
a
loop
sound
system
and
a
projection
screen.
The
organ
console
se
en
in
the
picture
to
the
left
is
moveable.
The
organ
pipes
can
be
seen
above
the
congregation
seating
ar
ea in the picture below.
Last, but not least, are the supporting areas.
There
are
toi
lets
on
both
floors
including
baby
changing
and
disabled
facilities
on
the
gr
ound
floor.
There
is
a
small
lift
in
the
entrance
lobby
for
people
to
get
to
and
from
the
upper
floor.
Finally,
each
flo
or
has
kit
chen
facilities.
The
pictures
are
of
the
downstairs
kithen.
There
are
toilets
on
both
levels with a disabled facility on the ground floor.
Below is a brief guide to hiring a room in St John’s.
Booking Rooms at St John's URC Ipswich
Initial Considerations
When? Day? Time? Looking at the
Church Diary will give you an indication
of any availabilty Click here .
How long needed for Booking Including
: Setting Up, Clearing Up
What Space Do You Really Need
What Sized Space? How Many People?
How Many Tables? How Many Chairs?
Do You Need Kitchen Facilities?
£ COST: Price on Application
Please note that it will vary with the
frequency of use and, in colder parts of
the year, the heating requirements.
Car Parking
This is really difficult so assume it is
NOT AVAILABLE
Conditions of Booking Summary
No Smoking,
No Exit Blocking
Restrictions on Alcohol
You Must
Take all precautions on safety
Have Public Liability Insurance - See
Conditions Document for Guidance on
Public Liability Insurance requirements.
Comply with all Laws On:
•
Health and Safety
•
Safe-Guarding of vulnerable adults
and children
•
Food Hygiene
•
Entertainment Licences
•
Disability
•
Equality
•
Clean and Tidy Up after the event
with everything
returned to its original place!
Complete Booking
Enquiry Form
There are 2 ways of doing this
1 Complete the enquiry Typeform
on special page
Click Here
The simplest and most secure
way
2 Download a form and complete it
and return to:
roombooking@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Simple and you can work on it when you
have time and can check information.
The
form
is
a
fillable
PDF
but
you
may
need
to
print
it
still
if
your
PDF
reader
is
not able to cope with it.
Conditions PDF
Contact Details
St John’s URC Ipswich
Our Postal Address is:
St John’s United Reformed Church
1 Cowper Street
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP4 5JD
United Kingdom
Office
Telephone (Answer Machine)
01473 724961
Please use the adjacent contact
form. Minister: Rev David Rees/Rev
Adam Earle (Ipswich and East)
or email:
minister@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Church Secretary:
email:
Secretary@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Webmaster
webmaster@stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
Website which is https for security
www.stjohnsurcipswich.org.uk
You can use the form below for any enquiry
