Subject: News from the University Church

 

An Unquiet Soul


by Patricia O'Neill


Why are you so full of heaviness, o my soul

And why are you so disquieted within me

Put your trust in God, for I will yet give him thanks

Who is the help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 42 v:6-7


So, anxiety and depression are not a recent phenomenon, but part of the human condition. The psalmist writing millennia ago seems to be castigating himself for a lack of faith, a mindset I expect many of us recognise and about as helpful as poking oneself in the eye. The depths of depression are beyond this, but low mood or relentless worrying are different. They can admit the questioning of the odd disjunction between the feelings that often swamp so many of us and the trust in God to which we aspire. If we do believe in Our Father to provide for our needs then why do we torment ourselves with anxiety?


Not that long ago, medication was perhaps too readily prescribed to help us deal with the stress that can make life difficult. Nowadays one is more likely to be offered advice about ways to live that have a positive impact on mental health: exercise, attentiveness, self-care. I find this so interesting: the move back towards a more spiritual approach. It recognises that mental health is a complex affair. Sometimes it needs medical intervention or a methodical therapeutic approach, but sometimes it is within our own resources to manage it. It takes subtlety to know which is needed and in which combination.


I wonder if it’s a matter of recognising when it is the soul that is disquieted, that tending to one’s soul is the way forward. Our anxieties are so often at a deeper level than we think: we worry about money or career or our children, a myriad different ways to disguise from ourselves that our deepest fears are about our own self-worth, our capacity to love and be loved, our mortality. Where can we look for the strength to assuage these fears? In my darker moments I turn back to this psalm and try to follow the injunction of the unknown writer, speaking from the depths of human history, to put my trust in God, who knows me and will catch me up into his eternal love.

PARISH LUNCH, SUNDAY 20 NOV, 12NOON

Katie Hicks is co-ordinating the parish lunch this Sunday. If you did not manage to speak to her after the service but would like to contribute to the lunch, please could you email her on hickscm@uwclub.net.

Livestreamed Services

at the University Church

We livestream our 10.30am Sung Eucharist every Sunday.

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please email ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk

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Click the image to see what's on for Michaelmas term.

Notices


CREATIVE MORNING, SAT 19 NOV - POSTPONED TO SAT 26 NOV

Unfortunately, due to illness, we won't be able to run the creative morning this Saturday. Please join us for Christmas card making or bring your own creative project on Saturday 26 November, 10am in the Old Library. Email ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk for more details.


CHORAL EVENSONG,THIS SUNDAY, 3.30PM

Join us for an uplifting service of choral music, sung by the University Church choir. This week features music by Purcell, Clucas, Dyson and Stanford. This service, devised during the English Reformation by the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, draws on the Christian scriptures and the ancient monastic offices of Vespers and Compline; it offers a simple, elegant framework for reflection and prayer.


LECTURE: CHARACTER & LEADERSHIP: 7.30PM, WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER

Questions of trust, probity and integrity dominate public life in contemporary Britain. These issues often coalesce around questions of character. If character is 'the guiding core of who we are', how does it develop? Can it be taught? What makes a 'good character' and who decides? Does 'character' make any difference to the way in which we exercise leadership? Why should character matter? Join us as we hear from Michael Lamb, the F. M. Kirby Foundation Chair of Leadership and Character, Executive Director of the Program for Leadership and Character, and Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities at Wake Forest University.


FREE LUNCHTIME RECITAL SERIES: 1PM THURSDAYS

The next in our Thursday lunchtime recital series will take place on 24 November as we welcome pianist Victor Brajos. The programme includes works by Beethoven and Schubert.


CANDLELIT TOUR, WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM

The University Church is the place where the University of Oxford began. It is also the place where some of the most significant events in English church history have taken place: from the trial of Thomas Cranmer, Henry VIII’s Archbishop of Canterbury, at the time of the Reformation, to the launch of the Oxford Movement and the Catholic Revival of the Church of England in the nineteenth century. Join the Revd Dr Will Lamb, the Vicar, for a candlelit tour of the church as we explore some of its hidden highlights. The tour continues in the beautiful office of Compline, which will be sung in the Chancel and ends with hot chocolate and port in the Old Library. Book here or email ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk


ADVENT QUIET DAY: SATURDAY, 3 DECEMBER, 10AM - 1PM, OLD LIBRARY

Amidst the busyness and sometimes frantic preparations for the Christmas season, we invite you to spend some time in silence, pondering the hope of Advent. Canon Hugh Wybrew will offer a series of reflections during the day. Places are limited. Adults: £15 Students: £5 (includes lunch). Book here or email ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk


CHRISTMAS SHOEBOXES

Last year the congregation very generously donated knapsacks filled with small gifts to the children of Afghan families awaiting more permanent accommodation. The Faith in Action team would like to repeat the project for newly arrived families. This year we will fill boxes. If you would like to take part, you can collect a box  labelled with the first name, age and see of the child,  after the 10.30 service on 20th and 28th November. We are hoping to buy umbrellas for the adults, as we were advised that this is a much-needed item. If you would like to donate towards this, please make a bank transfer to PC CNCL St Mary the Virgin Oxford, sort code 60-70-03, account 50311379  and reference it FiA Christmas. Fo further details please phone Tess Blenkinsop 07767476043.


COFFEE AND DOUGHNUTS: 11.15AM WEDNESDAYS UNTIL 7 DECEMBER

During Michaelmas Term we are offering Coffee and Doughnuts on Wednesday mornings in the De Brome Chapel as a way of extending our ministry of hospitality during the week and reaching out to our wider community. Do come and invite others for this weekly informal chance to drop in and chat.


BIBLE STUDY: 12:45PM THURSDAYS UNTIL 1 DECEMBER

The Psalms are a treasury of poetry at the heart of the Hebrew Bible and the spiritual life of the Christian Church. From the writings of St Augustine of Hippo, it is clear that his theological imagination was fed by the Psalms of David. In this series of Bible Studies, we are exploring the Psalms with the help of the expositions of St Augustine.


SUPPORTING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES

The Diocese of Oxford has joined Citizens UK in providing a safer, more streamlined system designed to provide support for those undertaking the sponsorship process for supporting Ukrainian Refugees. For more information on hosting or supporting refugees visit: www.oxford.anglican.org/everyday-faith/becoming-a-christian/how-to/make-a-difference-in-ukraine.php


NEW TO ST MARY’S? If you are new to St Mary’s and have started coming to services in the last six months or so, we may not have your contact details. If you would like to find out more about what is going on at the University Church, please email admin@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk with your name, address and telephone number and ask for your name to be added to the Parish Directory. This directory is used only by parish staff but it enables us to get in touch with you as the need arises.

EVENTS ELSEWHERE


CURSILLO TASTER EVENING, FRI 18 NOV, 6.30PM

This is an opportunity for people to find out about Cursillo and whether they would be interested. For more details please visit www.oxfordcursillo.co.uk.

St Mary's Church, High Street, OX1 4BJ, Oxford, United Kingdom

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