Subject: News from the University Church

 

Embracing change


by Esther de Waal


If we are going to see life as a succession of thresholds to be crossed, we are reminded of the journeys of the people of Israel in the desert, and we then find symbols and images that we can apply to our own experience. The very words passover and exodus carry a fullness of meaning as a journey from bondage into freedom. It is important to remember that the Passover was a yearly ritual, so that its memory was kept alive and the cycle lived through time and time again….  


The psalms are the journey songs of the people who made that passage. Time and again they raised a fist to God and shouted angrily at him…. They are the songs of a people who were moving away from a known situation into the unknown, and they were often angry with a God who removed all those certainties, who instead seemed to be leading them along an apparently precarious path. They did not sit down for long beside gently flowing streams or linger in lush meadows….  


Read the whole editorial here.

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Ecohints of the week

 In St Mary's new Vision and Strategy document 'Faith Seeking Understanding', one of our missions is to 'seek to safeguard the integrity of creation, working with partner organisations to sustain and renew the life of the earth'. Would you like to be more involved in this whole church mission? Get in touch today: admin@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk


TRY to keep the phone you have and avoid buying new electronic products. Instead, try to repair products, borrow them, rent them, buy second hand; keep new items to a minimum. Rule of thumb should be for an electronic product to last seven years. If you manage to take this action, let us know HERE

Notices


COFFEE & DOUGHNUTS - 11.15AM WEDNESDAYS

All are welcome to join us for coffee, doughnuts, and conversation in DeBrome.


POETRY HOUR - 5.30PM WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY

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 term we are reading and responding to Liz Berry's collection The Home Child.


FREE LUNCHTIME RECITAL SERIES - 1PM THURSDAY

This week we welcome Yuzhang Li to play works by Brahms and Rachmaninov.


THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES BIBLE STUDY - 12.45PM FRIDAYS

The Acts of the Apostles tells of the earliest disciples as they are drawn by the Holy Spirit to become a community that is genuinely inclusive, bringing God's salvation to all people and challenging the divisions created by Empire. The theologian Willie James Jennings describes it as a book of 'revolution', that highlights the disrupting, joyful presence of the Spirit of God, and our reading will be guided by his recent commentary The Book of Acts in the Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible series. All are welcome to join us in the Old Library beginning on 5th May.


HOLYWELL CEMETERY GARDENING DAY

The next Gardening Day will take place on 13 May from 10am - 1pm in Holywell Cemetery.


FAMILY CRAFT AND CHAT - 10.30AM-12PM, SATURDAY 13 MAY

Come and swap stories, chat and catch up with others over a cup of tea/juice and some craft for the little (or big) kids in your life. Children of all ages are welcome to drop in informally with their parents, grandparents, godparents or guardians.


BAMPTON LECTURES - 23 & 30 MAY

The Revd Dr Willie James Jennings will give this year's Bampton lectures titled:

'Jesus and the Displaced: Christology and the Redemption of Habitation'. Taking the work of the great African American theologian and mystic Howard Thurman in his famed text, Jesus and the Disinherited as inspiration, these lectures focus on the problems of displacement - geographic, racial, social, and environmental - and how a fresh consideration of the landed life of Jesus might speak to these problems.

 

BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION CLASSES

If you are considering taking the next step in faith and would like to be baptised or confirmed at Pentecost (28th May), it would be wonderful to hear from you. Please be in touch with Hannah for an informal chat and put the following dates of baptism and confirmation preparation classes in your diary, all 5.30-6.30pm: 9 May, 16 May. On 23 May will be a rehearsal. To make it as accessible as possible we will be taking a hybrid approach with some sessions in the Old Library and some on zoom.


SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY   
If you would like to support the ministry of the University Church, you may wish to make a cash donation at the offertory or via the contactless card machine by the High Street entrance. You can also make a donation online (please use the QR code) through the Parish Giving Scheme or by sending a text: Text "SMV X" to 70085 to donate £X. E.g.: "SMV 5" to 70085 will donate £5.00. Texts cost £X plus one standard rate message. Thank you!

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

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