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Subject: News from the University Church

For A New Beginning

by the Revd Dr William Lamb

Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year. It is a time of new beginnings - and yet it is also a time of waiting and expectation. It is perhaps no accident that we tell stories from scripture about two pregnancies during the Advent Season: Mary and Elizabeth. Pregnancy is a good metaphor for the season of Advent. It encapsulates that sense of ‘already, but not yet’. So during Advent we wait, with a sense of anticipation and hope - but for all the wonder and joyful anticipation, we might as well acknowledge that this time of waiting, like a pregnancy, can also be uncomfortable, unsettling, unfamiliar, just a bit exhausting…. The challenge during the season of Advent is to cultivate a kind of 'contemplative patience' as we await the coming of the Messiah.

‘Contemplative patience’ is a phrase of the Irish poet, John O’Donahue. We might wonder whether there is any value in ‘contemplative impatience’, particularly as we contemplate the pain of the world, the war in Ukraine, and embrace our longing for justice and mercy. But it is another poem by John O’Donahue that I want to commend you. Its title? For a New Beginning.

In out of the way places of the heart

Where your thoughts never think to wander

This beginning has been quietly forming

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire

Feeling the emptiness grow inside you

Noticing how you willed yourself on

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the grey promises that sameness whispered

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

- John O’Donohue (1956 - 2008)

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.

Livestreamed Services

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We livestream our 10.30am Sung Eucharist every Sunday.

Please follow the links below for our social media channels.

If you have any feedback or questions about our livestreamed services,

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

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

Notices

CREATIVE MORNING, SAT 26 NOV

Please join us for Christmas card making or bring your own creative project on Saturday 26 November, 10am in the Old Library.

POETRY BOOK, ON DISPLAY IN ADAM DE BROME CHAPEL, DECEMBER 2022

Throughout the month of December, check out our newest poetry book, 'God, Creation and us' .This gathering of poems, photographs and art is a collaboration between the Green Team and Poetry Hour. These poems reveal how God’s love can be experienced in the natural world.

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 27th 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.

CHRISTMAS CHARITY TREE

From 30 November, we will have a Christmas Tree in the Adam de Brome chapel. This year, we are initiating St Mary's first communal charity Christmas card scheme. There will be ready-made Christmas card in the shop but you can also recycle or bring your own Christmas cards to hang in the tree. There will be a collection box in the shop with a suggested donation of £5 per card. All proceeds will go to the same charity as the Ukrainian icons. This is a great way to support this very important cause if you do not wish to purchase an icon and is a very sustainable way to send off your Christmas wishes.

POETRY HOUR: 5.30PM WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER, OLD LIBRARY

Poetry Hour is a forum for a diverse group of poets who have been reading and writing poetry together since 2015 in a relaxed and supportive environment. This week we will read Advent and Christmas poems.

FREE LUNCHTIME RECITAL SERIES: 1PM THURSDAYS

The next in our Thursday lunchtime recital series will take place on 24 November as we welcome Soli Cyrus Nallaseth, a student at the Royal Academy of Music. The programme includes works by Liszt and Prokofiev.

GOOD CHRISTMAS PRESENT HUNTING

Come and exchange your books at the Book Swap on 4th December. Bring your books along and find something new on Sunday 4th December. You can make a donation to the Faith in Action projects for each book you take away (£1.00 per item suggested.)

ICONS ON AMMO BOXES EXHIBITION, 5 DECEMBER, ADAM DE BROME CHAPEL

From 5 December until February 2023, we will be hosting an exhibition of icons by the Ukrainian artists Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko. The icons will be for sale and all proceeds will support the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital in Ukraine.

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 8 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.

Faith in Action

www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk

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Subject: News from the University Church