News
Confirmation of Pearl Winkworth & Davinya Higgins - St Paul's Kingston Hill - 22nd September 2012
A large contingent from St John's joined the congregation at St. Paul's Kingston Hill to witness the Confirmation of Pearl Winkworth & Davinya Higgins.
Cooking team at Venture Camp 2013
Dave Pamphilon, Christine Vasvalingam & Gina Wong from St. John's helped provide the cooking team at the Venture Camp at Blaithwaite in Cumbria during August. Our photograph shows them in the kitchen enjoying a rest.
Café Style Church - Time to Talk Sunday evening 14th July 2013
6:30 pm
Paul Jacobs - Kingston Street Pastor Coordinator described how Street Pastors spend their weekend nights in Kingston. If you are a member of St John's you can hear Paul Jacobs' talk again via the Members' Pages.
Recently our St. John's Street Pastor Viv Irvine told us: "Street Pastors are a team of people from local churches who get together on Friday and Saturday nights to walk around Kingston Town Centre helping those in need - a very drunk person who doesn’t know how to get home or somebody who has been involved in a fight, or even somebody who is lonely and scared."
We start our round at 10.00 and walk around Kingston wherever we feel we are needed. This can be for a couple of hours and then we head back to our base at the URC church in the centre of town. This is where our Prayer Pastors stay while we are out and they support us with their prayers. A hot drink (and hopefully some cakes) awaits us and we talk about events of the evening and have a prayer time together before setting out on our 2nd shift. After another 2 hours or so we are back for another drink (or chips) and then onto our 3rd and final shift which finishes around 4.00/4.30 by which time I am ready for my bed!!"
Were you there in this picture in about 1968?
Thanks to Pauline Williams for this picture taken at a St. John's camp at Ashburnham around 45 years ago.
St. John's Passover Meal
Maundy Thursday 28th March 2013
St John's Lounge was full for the Passover Meal.
Enough Food for Everyone If ......
St John’s Pauline Williams & Dave Pamphilon went to London – not to see the Queen – but to take part in a stunt publicising the ‘Enough Food for Everyone If ....’ campaign. The campaign has been organised by 120 Aid Charities with the purpose of highlighting how world hunger can be stamped out to the G8 meeting in the UK in June this year. The event in Parliament Square put the focus on the budget and demanded that Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne maintained the 0.7% of national income designated for UK overseas aid. You can see ‘George’ and Pauline & Dave in the pictures. Well done – let’s hope that the next part of the campaign is as successful!
KCAH - Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness is celebrating it’s 20th birthday this year! In that time they have proudly served over 5,000 clients threatened with homelessness. Details of the KCAH ‘every birthday counts’ appeal are in their latest newsletter. Click here
See also the KCAH website: www.kcah.org.uk
Youth work charity - Oxygen shared the story of their work at the Morning Service at St John's on Sunday 27th January 2013. John Trend, Oxygen's Director, spoke about the past 12 years and described how Oxygen continues to deliver a range of programmes, activities and training focused upon the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people in Kingston. www.oxygen-online.org
The pictures show the breadth of the current Oxygen projects and the members of the Oxygen team (Adam, Charlie, John, Naomi & Analice) who joined us for the service.
Family Tea à la Ritz - at St. John's
Great opportunity to dress up and enjoy cakes, scones (with cream & jam!), and neatly cut sandwiches with friends.
Our Thanks go to Dave and Chris and the team
Christingle - Christmas Eve 2012
If you missed Christingle at St John's or would like to share in it again take a look at the photos here.
Here is a reminder of what Christingle means: 
· The orange – represents the world
· The red ribbon
– indicates the love and blood of Christ
· The dried fruits and sweets
– symbols of God’s creations
· The lit candle – symbolises Jesus, the light of the world
Beveley Trotman at St John's 17th November 2012
For a second time Beverley Trotman entertained at a Gala Dinner in St. John's New Malden. Regulars at St John's and their guests sat down to a three-course dinner and listened to songs from Beverley and heard extracts from her life story and about her experience as an X-factor finalist.
Some photographs here, but more just a click away.
Olympic Fun Day & Barbecue
As we build towards the Olympics, the Fun Day welcomed many to come and enter into the spirit of the Games. All the normal attractions were there with an added Olympic theme, all good preparation to get geared up for the summer.
Some views of the day - enjoy the fun!
Queen's Diamond Jubilee lunch
St. John's & our local community celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a BIG LUNCH street party on Saturday June 2nd. Flags & bunting bedecked the front area of the church and around 90 people enjoyed eating and chatting in the festive surroundings.
Megacities team at St. John's
A Megacities team has spent a month with us at St. John's. Hotfoot from Hawaii following a period of training they have worked with us, prayed for the community, and on Sunday 6th May worshipped with us at 10:30. They moved on to China on 11th May. We are praying for their month working in cities there.
Carol Singing World Record: It's Official - We Did It!
St John’s joined the nationwide World Record Attempt at Carol Singing in multiple locations event on Sunday evening 18th December 2011. 83 people were added by St John's and the record now stands at over 18,100. 196 churches both in the UK and abroad took part. Take a look at the Official Result
See also the pre-event information
The Spring edition of Newslink looks forward to some of the forthcoming events at St John's in 2012 Read it here ...
Quiz and Puddings!
The Diamond Jubilee Quiz on Saturday 17th March tested everyone's brians, but brains were fed by the puddings - 6 in all which had to be graded 1 to 6.
On Mothering Sunday 18th March 2012
To celebrate Mothering Sunday every woman in the congregation received a bunch of flowers. Later, St John's God Squad set up a 'Guatamalen Café' after the service. Light refreshments and drinks were served in St. John's lounge to raise money to help street children in South America.
Sunday 19th February 2012 - Mission Focus Sunday
Phillip & Susanne working with Arab World Media joined the morning & evening services.
Saturday 15th October 2011 - Indian Experience. St John's members, our friends and neighbours enjoyed a delicious Indian meal served on banana leaves and Indian themed activities.
Saturday 24th September 2011 - Vision Theatre at the Street Café
St John's Street Café was basked in autumn sunshine and patrons were entertained by puppets from Vision Theatre.
August 2011 was a busy month at St. John's. Throughout the month we welcomed the New Malden Baptist Church who shared their morning worship with us whilst their church was renovated.
For our Day Out on the 7th August members of St John's spent the day at the People without Limits Summer Celebration at Detling in Kent. more pictures...
Later in August over 60's from the local community joined St. John's for a lunch and an afternoon of crafts and games.
Family Fun Day & Barbecue - 25th June 2011
The local community came along for a fantastic Fun Day in the forecourt and in the church buildings. There was something for adults and children alike. A clown, story time, icecreams and the barbecue & hog roast gave everyone plenty to enjoy.
More to see on the Members' Pages
The Spring 2011 edition of Newslink looked back at 2010 and forward to some of the forthcoming events at St John's in 2011. "Last year St John’s Church had a big celebration. We have been on the corner of Kingston and California Roads for 125 Years. We thought it was worth celebrating and invited you to join us! We had a brilliant time at the Family Fun Day in June." More ...
See St John's 10:30 Service thoughts on Growth as Christians on the Members' Pages.
Whit Monday May 22nd 1961 was a big day for Brian Lay and Ann Jordan - their Wedding Day. 50 years to the day they were back in St. Johns for the first time since then, joining the Morning service to celebrate their Golden Wedding. 
They had met at a Saturday night joint youth club (the boy's bible class & the girl's covenanters) at St Johns in 1955, getting engaged in January 1959, and held their engagement party in the church hall. 
They were welcomed by the current congregation and commented that the church had changed a lot in the fifty years!
Our photos show Brian & Ann Lay on their wedding day and again back at St. John's fifty years later.
On Sunday 20th March 2011 - Curate-in-charge from 1961 to 1964 Rev. Peter Yacomeni was welcomed to the 10:30 Service. Peter preached on Taxing Questions using as his text both Luke 20:20-26 on paying taxes to Caesar and Jeremiah 29:4-14 Jeremiah's letter on the Lord's words to the exiles.
Although Peter Yacomeni's term as Curate-in-Charge at St. John's started 50 years ago, our present Associate-Vicar Helen Durant-Stevensen had the pleasure of welcoming into the congregation many former members of the King's Own Youth Group from that time.