Notice Board
What's happening at St John’s
Sunday 20th September
Sung family Eucharist-10:30am
with Rev Stuart F Gray
Tuesday 22nd September
Said Eucharist 6pm
Friday 25th September
Macmillan Coffee morning 10am-12noon
Saturday 26th/Sunday 27th September
Doors Open Days 11am-3pm
All are Welcome to our Services
Revd Stuart F Gray BD PGDE
Broad Street, Alloa, Clackmannanshire FK10 1AN
Tel No 01259 724550
Email office@sjea.org.uk
Website - www.stjohnschurchalloa.org.uk
Facebook- https://en-gb.facebook.com/stjohnsalloa
Twitter - St John’s Alloa @StJohnAlloa
Instagram – stjohnsalloa
ST JOHN'S ALLOA NEWSLETTER
20TH SEPTEMBER 2026
Growing in God's love and sharing it
READINGS FOR 20TH SEPTEMBER
Join us this Sunday, 20th September, as we explore the teachings of the Gospel and grow together in God's love.
Theme
Our theme this week is that God is equally generous to all.
Psalm 105
SERVICE TIMES
Sunday 10.30am Family Sung Eucharist until around 11.30am then all are welcome to stay for refreshments and time to chat.
Tuesday 6pm Said Eucharist (Quieter Service) until 6.30pm.
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ST JOHN'S NEWS
Creationtide We continue to reflect on how we act as God’s stewards of Creation, to think about and give thanks for those who grow, harvest, and produce our food on land and on the seas. We also focus on our need to share our world's resources, and we invite you to bring a donation for The Gate Foodbank each week.
Safe Families Caitlin from Safe Families is coming to speak to us this Sunday 20th Sept on their work in Alloa and the Gospel values of their organisation. Caitlin writes:
Safe Families and Home for Good From an hour to a lifetime, we believe that the church has an integral role to play in seeing children and families flourish in their local communities. We exist as a charity to encourage, inspire and equip the church to answer the call of biblical hospitality. This looks like resourcing churches, training volunteers to support overwhelmed families in their community and inspiring individuals to explore fostering, adoption or supported lodgings. We do this so no family feels alone, and every child has a home where they can flourish. You can find out more info on our website safefamilies.uk or get in touch directly caitlinfrew@safefamilies.uk. Looking forward to being with you all next week!
Bible Study Group This new group led by Alison will meet every two weeks after the Tuesday evening service (the service is usually finished by 6.30pm) starting on 22nd September. We will look at the Book of Jonah and will mutually explore what the scripture means for us today. All are welcome.
The Macmillan Coffee Morning at St John's will be on Friday 25th September from 10am-12noon, raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. There will be delicious home baking and a raffle. Please come along and bring your friends and family. If you see the St John's Facebook post about the Coffee Morning, why not forward it to all your Facebook friends and get the word out! Give any donations for the raffle to Pam.
Doors Open Days at St John's are 26th and 27th September. There will be a model railway in the church on Saturday 26th. On Sunday 27th Sept we will also hold our Harvest Service and Harvest Lunch and the day will close with Evensong at 2pm. There's a sign-up sheet in the kitchen area is you're able to bring some food or beverages for the lunch.
Deposit for Iona Pilgrimage 2027 If you wish to go, please bring the deposit of £85 per person by the last Sunday in September, 27th. You can pay in cash, by cheque, by bank card on Sunday or by bank transfer. St John's Bank details are - Account number 27205860 Sort code 80-22-60. If you pay by bank transfer please include in the reference field "SJ Iona and an abbreviation of your name" to enable Tom to match up the payment with the correct person.
Music Group We are going to have a singing group to learn some music and have a sing along. The first meeting will be on Tuesday 29th September after the evening service (the service is usually finished by 6.30pm). If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, do come along.
The Fellowship Group meets on Tuesday 13th October at 1.30pm for friendly chat and delicious tea and cake. Everyone is welcome.
Liturgy Day On Saturday 31st October, Stuart will lead a day of reflection on ministry.
The Flower Group really needs some additional people to help decorate the church. Don't worry if you've never arranged flowers, there's lots of friendly help. Speak with Daphne to find out more.
Some good news on the environmental front.
EPIC - Enabling Projects in Clackmannanshire - run by our local branch of TCV (The Conservation Volunteers) has won TCV Local Heroes Award 2026 and is a finalist for The BBC Scotland “Make a difference Award”. Volunteers (including our very own Evelyn) work at various sites throughout the county.
Some of the activities include maintaining core footpaths; removal of invasive species; meadow creation and management; tree planting; hedgehog monitoring and caring for wildlife ponds. EPIC works with a range of landowners and community projects throughout the county. Volunteers are from a range of backgrounds, ages and fitness and skill levels. They are supported by fantastic, dedicated staff, some of whom started as TCV volunteers or on paid training schemes which the charity offers. We hope that they will be involved in St John's Church garden next year so you may see the blue t-shirts and caps which are becoming weel kent around the Wee County!'
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NEWS FROM AROUND AND ABOUT
Pilgrimages Rev Simon Hessett, Pastor to the Fife Pilgrim Way, has sent word of two upcoming pilgrimages, the first on Monday, 21st September at 11am and second on Tuesday, 6th October at 10am. Please follow this link to register https://www.trybooking.com/uk/event/eventlist/fpw.
Hope for Creation is a residential conference organised by the Scottish Episcopal Net Zero team, which will take place between 20 to 21 October in Stirling, bringing together people interested in practical action to tackle climate change in the Scottish church context. Further information on the conference is available via the Eventbrite event page: https://www.evenall out religious persecutiontbrite.co.uk/.../hope-for-creation
AI - a threat or a blessing? There have been a lot of news articles about both the extreme threats and the groundbreaking health assistance from rapidly developing AI. Where does this fit with our faith? The website ai and faith has an article on 9 bible verses that can give insight into AI and our faith today.
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BEFORE YOU GO....
Holidays St John's folk go on interesting holidays to both close and faraway destinations. We'd love to hear about them. Send news@sjea.org.uk a photo and a few words about your holiday and we'll share it with our readers. The first one is from Steve who's mountain biking in the Alps from Chamonix to Zermatt just now. He says it's been roasting so far.
Revd Stuart F Gray BD PGDE
St John's Alloa
18 Broad Street Alloa
FK10 1AN
office@sjea.org.uk
01259 724550 www.stjohnschurchalloa.org.uk
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