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Caterham School Spring Concert

Caterham School Spring Concert, Tuesday 17 March, 7pm in St John's Church Caterham
A showcase concert from our Chamber Choir, ETS, Consort and other ensembles.

Featuring Requiem, Fauré and more.

Tuesday 17 March at 7pm
St John's Church
Clareville Road
Caterham

In aid of St John's Church.

Tickets not required, all welcomed.

Munch with Music - March 2026

Munch with Music logo.

The next Munch with Music will be held in the church on 4th March 2026 featuring Holtág Quartet.

You are invited to bring your own ‘Munch’.

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Coffee, tea and biscuits from 12:15pm, with the performance starting at 12:45pm and lasting about 45 minutes.

The following Munch will be on 1st April 2026, with Faronel.

The Bishop of Southwark’s Lent Call 2026

The Bishop of Southwark’s Lent Call 2026
 
18 February 2026
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
For our Lent Call in 2026, my last one as your Diocesan Bishop, we are focusing on the crucial role played by schools in the care, nurturing, development and championing of children. Jesus invited children into the midst of his disciples, blessing them and affirming their significance in God’s Kingdom. Scripture reminds us that the care, protection and teaching of children are high callings, indeed.
 
As a result, I have chosen this verse from Proverbs 22:6 as the theme for this year’s Lent Call:
 
‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.’
 
Each year during Lent, I invite our parishes to spend time praying and raising funds for the Bishop’s Lent Call. Through scripture, prayer and storytelling, this initiative raises funds for local community projects in south London and East Surrey, as well as for our sisters and brothers in Zimbabwe and Jerusalem. We are continuing to seek to offer help to our young people through education and learning, using a variety of different means.
In Zimbabwe we are called to support feeding programmes, as well as helping to build new schools and improving the buildings and facilities in older ones. Schools are important in all the dioceses in Zimbabwe. Each of them has diocesan primary and secondary schools which they seek to run as effectively as possible in order to ensure that pupils have the best possible opportunities. Where there are schools at Mission Stations – a hub focused on providing spiritual guidance, education, healthcare and aid – there are also orphanages, where children can be housed, fed and cared for as well as educated.
 
In the Diocese of Jerusalem, Archbishop Hosam and his team have asked us to focus on the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Jordan. Here, the team offers a range of programmes for children who are hard of hearing, deaf or blind in the community, seeking to ensure that those they engage with are given the best possible assistance to succeed. The Institute also has outreach programmes for children living in refugee camps and elsewhere.
Finally, in the Diocese of Southwark, the Diocesan Board of Education is developing a programme entitled Love Thy Neighbour, which is designed to be used throughout our diocesan schools. Over five weeks, the programme will give pupils the opportunity to think about what it means to be a ‘neighbour’ - in the classroom, school, community, church and wider world.
 
I hope that you will encourage your congregations to observe this Lent in a prayerful way so that it deepens faith and refreshes the soul. Lent is a time for us all to focus on all that God has done for us and to pray for guidance as we consider what we should doing in response to God’s incredible generosity. Please do think and pray about these Lent projects, encourage your congregations and schools to do the same - and to consider what they might give to ensure that this vital frontline work can continue.
 
The Lent Call materials will all be online in a format that you can download and print for your church and school. Please also direct people to our website (southwark.anglican.org/lentcall) so that they can explore the materials for themselves, as well as find out how to give. There will also be worship and project materials for our schools – which can work for children’s groups in parishes, too.
 
I am proud of our Lent Call and of all that the generosity of our churches has made possible over my time with you as Bishop. Thank you for your faithfulness to God’s calling. Please do support this work in your parish and encourage others to do so. I hope and pray that, by using the relevant project sheet and by praying each day week people will find new understandings of the plight of many children and young people in our world today and be able to consider their own response.
 
With my thanks and prayers for all that you do and for our partnership in the Gospel,
 
The Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun
 
 
 

Lent Lunch

Lent Lunch in St John's Church Hall, 21 February 2026 12:30pm to 2pm, soup and bread.

Caterham Mothers’ Union are holding a Lent Lunch of soup and bread in the Church Hall (Clareville Road) on Saturday 21st February, to raise funds for the Bishop’s Lent Call. Please come between 12.30pm and 2pm.

Please let us know if you are able to attend so we can cater accordingly (stjohnschurchcaterham@outlook.com). Donations of any amount are welcomed.

Image generated with AI for illustrative purposes.

Double Duos - Munch with Music - 4 February 2026

It wouldn't be a Munch with Music season without Double Duos.
 
Back by popular demand, Trevor, Susan, Philip and Michael had a programme that was nostalgic, with classic music from the 20th Centuary, performed with energy and expert musicality.
 
The audience enjoyed:
 
1. Frim Fram Sauce
2. The Charleston
3. Chattanooga Choo-Choo
4. In the Mood
5. Hernando's Hideaway
6. Get Happy
7. In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening
8. Manhattan
9. Black Bottom
10. Hokey Cokey
11. We'll Meet Again
 
Given the enthusiastic audience applause it's guaranteed that we will be meeting again in the future.
 
 

Munch with Music - February 2026

Munch with Music logo.

The next Munch with Music will be held in the church on 4th February 2026 featuring Double Duos.

You are invited to bring your own ‘Munch’.

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Coffee, tea and biscuits from 12:15pm, with the performance starting at 12:45pm and lasting about 45 minutes.

The following Munch will be on 4th March 2026, with Trinity Laban: Holtág String Quartet.

Our New Organist and Music Director

Luis V, our new organist and music director.

We welcome to the family at St John's Luis V, our new organist and music director.

An impromptu photo which unfortunately caught Luis in mid blink! I shall endeavour to do better with my next attempt.

And the winner was ....

The winning tree, St. John’s School PTA Once upon a Bus - a beautifully crafted tree out of books.

The winning tree with the most votes, was St. John’s School PTA Once upon a Bus - a beautifully crafted tree out of books.

Trinity School Scholars - Munch with Music - 3 December 2025

We were very lucky to have a glimpse into the future when four Trinity School Scholars gave a Munch with Music concert on the piano.

The programme was:

Lucian
Piano Sonata in C minor K. 330 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 I. Allegro moderato

Thomas
Prelude from Suite Bergamasque - Claude Debussy

Orpheus
Fantasia in D minor - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Isaac
Piano Sonata in C major Hob. XVI:50 - Joseph Haydn
 I. Allegro
Fantasie in F sharp minor Op. 28 - Felix Mendelssohn
Pogodes from Estompes L. 100 - Claude Debussy
Toccatina from 8 Concert Etudes Op. 40 - Nikolai Kapustin

Sitting among the Festival Christmas Trees and listening to the scholars play was a rare delight. We wish them all well for wherever their music talent takes them.

Merry Christmas!

 
 

Munch with Music - December 2025

Munch with Music logo.

The next Munch with Music will be held in the church on 3rd December 2025 featuring Trinity Steinway Scholars & Friends.

You are invited to bring your own ‘Munch’.

Admission is free, donations are welcome.

Coffee, tea and biscuits from 12:15pm, with the performance starting at 12:45pm and lasting about 45 minutes.

The following Munch will be on 4th February 2026, with Double Duos.

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