Little Maplestead Church Evensong (2022)

​The annual Choral Evensong service was held at Little Maplestead Church on the 12th June. The weather was extremely kind to us and guests included:

• Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst
• The High Sheriff of Essex, Mr Nick Alston Esq and Mrs Phillipa Alston
• The Chairman of Essex County Council and his wife, Councillor Eddie Johnston and Mrs Carol Johnston 
• Mr Michael Messinger, Chancellor of the Priory of England and the Islands
• Mrs Caroline Sunnucks of the Order of Malta

Other guests included long standing friends and Members of the Order of St John in Essex, including Knights of Grace, Lord Petre and Bob Mann.

The Lord Lieutenant was superbly supported by the St John Ambulance Cadet of the Year for Essex, Kaavya Chandrasekar.

The sermon was delivered by the County Chaplain, Fr James McCluskey.

Following the service, two presentations were made:

• The Jack Petchey Award to Rebekah Pike, for work supporting Vaccination Training at Stanstead Airport
• An award recognising 7 years as County President to John Hopkins MStJ JP as he steps down from the role.

Little Maplestead village and the picturesque church of St John the Baptist have links to St John through the Knights Hospitaller dating back to 1185. The procession ahead of the service used to start in the village and makes its way up to the church. This annual  event is unique and very special to St John in Essex.

Thanks to the Rev Beverley Vincent, Fr James McCluskey, Doreen Barton, Frances Howard  and to all of the team (including those at the church) who helped make the service such a success. 

Special thanks to Lawrence Aldren for the photos below (if you would like a higher resolution picture then please send a request via the "Contact" link