An installation project organised by local artists and St John's Waterloo needs your contribution!
St John’s Waterloo has been a London landmark since it was built in 1824 to cater for the rapidly growing population of London. It was restored after wartime bomb damage to become the official church of the Festival of Britain in 1951 and now, in 2021, we are about to undergo a major restoration so that our historic building can fully serve the communities around us for generations to come.
Before closing in July for building work to begin, we’re hosting the annual Waterloo Festival and this year our theme is “Respair”, an old English word meaning the return of hope after a period of despair. We like to think that St John’s has been a beacon of hope since its rebirth in 1951 and will shine even more brightly when we reopen in 2022. But we’re aware that many other churches in this country and around the world have also brought new hope to their communities with new projects - whether in stone or in words and deeds.
Please send us a postcard of a church that has brought new hope to your community, or one that inspires you. You can tell us its story or simply write RESPAIR. More details below.
We’ll decorate St John’s beautiful churchyard garden with these postcards, and put some of them on our Festival website. Do come and visit us and sign up to our newsletter for news and pictures of Send Us a Postcard.
Is your place of worship or local church a landmark? Has it gone through a transformation? Tell us more on the postcard! We hope to receive postcards featuring churches which have a story of ‘respair’ to share.
We also welcome postcards featuring churches which are dear to you - your local church, your family church, etc. Old and pre-loved postcards, complete with original messages, are also welcome as mementoes.
Address and stamp your mail to St John’s Waterloo, 73 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY
We are putting the installation of received postcards in the garden in May, so please don’t delay and send your postcard today!
With thanks,
St John’s Waterloo
