St John’s Wood Church is next to Lord’s Cricket Ground, and just to the north of Regent’s Park, opposite the London Central Mosque, and near three synagogues of differing Jewish traditions. The nearest underground station is St. John’s Wood on the Jubilee line from which there is just a 5 minute walk. The Vicar is the Rev Dr Anders Bergquist, born of Swedish parents, who has been there since 2002 and is involved at national level in ecumenical work with the Scandinavian and Baltic Churches. Since 2019 the Associate Vicar is the Rev Kristina Andréasson who was ordained in the Church of Sweden and served at the Swedish Church in London before joining Anders at St John’s Wood.

The Society’s Annual Meeting consists of a very short Annual General Meeting of the Society and then the exploration of a theme or topic. In 2026 we plan to look at aspects of Pastoral Care of people who are somehow displaced by lay and ordained people in a variety of contexts.

The Rev Sarah Farrow (Lutheran) will help us think about caring for people in hospital settings. She is Vice Dean, and Chaplain to the St Thomas’ & Waterloo Campuses of Kings College Hospital.

Natalia Pierson, a Lutheran theologian and ordinand, will lead a session on the Christian in social work settings.

The third presentation will be on the work of the Together Network, which carries on the work initiated by the Church Urban Fund.

Something new this year is that there will be NO CHARGE for the meeting, and refreshments and lunch will be provided. We have noted a complaint that we received after the last Annual Meeting; there were insufficient tea breaks! This will be remedied this coming year!

A registration form will be circulated with the January Window. In the meantime, note the date and venue and make your travel arrangements early to take advantage of cheap transport.