We have a wide range of activities at St John’s, our calendar contains some, but not all of them.
Groups
If no contact details are given for the specific group you are interested in, please contact the Parish Office.
Brownies and Rainbows
The 19th Harpenden Rainbows meet in St John’s church hall on Thursday evenings from 4.45pm, followed by the 19th Harpenden Brownies at 6.15pm. Both groups are thriving, with a long waiting list. All the girls enjoy arts and crafts, playing games and working for badges. They also undertake fundraising events and go on regular outings. For more information please contact Linda Traynor or to register your interest in one of the groups visit the Girlguiding website.
Dorcas
The Dorcas Group meets at 2pm most Fridays (not the last Friday of the month) and undertakes needlework and embroidery for the fabrics in St John's such as altar frontals and clergy vestments. We also refurbish these materials as needed. For more information, please contact Helen Davies.
Faith and Light
Faith and Light is a non-denominational worship and fellowship group for adults with learning difficulties, their families and carers. We meet at 4pm on the first Sunday of most months in the church hall. Most meetings include some craft, occasionally drama and a time of worship followed by tea. To find out more, contact the chaplain, Lauryn Awbrey.
Flower guild
The guild is a group of people who give time and energy to creating beautiful displays to enhance our worship. They can also arrange flowers for weddings, and memorial displays for anniversaries or birthdays of loved ones. They arrange displays for flower festivals and meet to learn new techniques. For more information, please contact Elizabeth Curran.
Little Acorns
Little Acorns is a group for preschool children - Please see our Children & young people page for more information.
Mothers’ Union
The St John’s branch has about 40 members and meets in the committee room on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm. Apart from the regular meetings, there is also the opportunity for members to get together at Holy Communion in the Lady Chapel at 9.30am on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, followed by coffee. We are an informal and very friendly group; each member contributes to the work of the branch in their own way and all seek to serve Christ in the community through prayer and fellowship. For more information, please contact Carol Cooke.
Music
St John's has a strong musical tradition. We have an adult choir of about 15 that sings a wide range of music at Eucharists and the occasional Choral Evensong (usually Sunday evening).
The organ is well maintained and used regularly for recitals in addition to regular services.
The church boasts a very fine acoustic and is often used for concerts by local groups.
To find out more, contact the Parish Office.
St Luke’s Cell prayer group
St Luke’s Cell prayer group, named after the ‘beloved physician’, has members drawn from St John's and Southdown Methodist churches. We pray for those in particular need of prayer – this includes those mentioned in the weekly pewsheet, and others for whom we are asked to pray, who live in the parish or are friends or relatives of people living in the parish. Every month each of us prays for a different group of about five people, and we meet together once a month to pray for all these people in a short service. We are always happy to welcome new members or to hear of people who would benefit from our prayers. Please contact Michael Hughes.
Tea at 3
Tea at 3, held on the last Friday of each month in the Hall, was launched in January 2015 and since then has become a very popular and well-attended event. It provides friendly companionship over a cup of tea, homemade cakes and sandwiches to a number of people in the parish. Everyone is very welcome to come along and join us, to meet up with old friends or indeed make new ones. For more information, contact the Parish Office.
The Arts
Art is important to St John's; we participated in the two Cultivate Arts Festivals organised by Harpenden Churches Together (June 2018 ~ theme ‘Beauty Order Abundance’ and June 2019 ~ theme 'Generosity'). For each Festival, St John’s hosted a number of exciting events, including large family-friendly art installations in church, walks, talks and readings, and music events; If you want more information about Art at St John's please contact Liz Sergeant.