Subject: News from the University Church

 

Where do I belong?


by Patricia O'Neill


Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations

Before the mountains were formed or you brought forth the whole world

From everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Psalm 90 v 1-2


Ascension Thursday is the day for the tradition of beating the bounds of the parish, which, in the St Mary’s version, is a diverting mixture of the ancient: hitting walls with sticks to claim title and the modern: college porters holding up buses so that seventy people can straggle across the High Street singing a hymn while in pursuit of cornetto ice cream. As we meandered through various colleges with their hidden gardens, spacious halls and claustrophobic kitchen corridors it was easy to forget the dense network of tiny medieval streets and crowded dwellings that these boundaries would previously have contained. With only the most rudimentary systems of mapping or written title deeds in place, the annual marking of one's territory must have had real geographical and economic significance, from the paying of tithes to the locating of individuals by parish address. We hear the echoes of that in the reading of the banns of marriage where the couple are identified as being ‘of the parish of …..’


Beyond these practical realities is a meaning that we can all recognise, that has to do with the definition of one’s home place. This is the search for identity, for security, for meaning. To discover who we are is a strong drive. We look in various places: our family, our neighbourhood, our community. In other times these would almost certainly have overlapped. Today, in a mobile world, we are scattered beings, physically and emotionally. Walking the parish boundaries can be a way of saying that, for this day, we belong in a particular way to this little section of the world: to this group of people with whom we share a common search for God. Because, of course, our time in history is absurdly short, we are just passing through, a part of the human procession through the ages.  Our true resting place is with God; from the unknown we come and to the unknown we return. In the unknown, in the sacred mystery at the heart of it all, in the love of God we find our identity. 

PINACLE REPLACEMENT WORK - THIS SUNDAY, 21 MAY

There may be some noise disruption to services today and over the next six-to-eight weeks as work to replace the pinnacle begins. We have been assured that the contractors will do all they can to minimise disruption to services, however there may still be some short periods of noise disturbance during worship, especially whilst the scaffolding is erected. Thank you for your patience with this essential work.

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Notices


TONIGHT - THE OSLO CATHEDRAL BOYS CHOIR CONCERT - 6PM

Join us for a Nordic Spring Celebration and enjoy Norwegian folk tunes mixed with music by E. Grieg, H. Kjerulf, C.V. Standford, J. Barnby, J.S.Bach and W.A. Mozart.


CHRISTIAN AID COLLECTION - SUNDAY 21 MAY, AFTER THE 10.30AM SERVICE

This week is Christian Aid week and Lyn Roberts will be at the door to receive cash donations towards their work. St Marys have supported Christian Aid for a number of years. If you would prefer to give online you can do so at: www.christianaid.org.uk


CHORAL EVENSONG - SUNDAY 21 MAY, 3.30PM 

Join us for Choral Evensong according to the Book of Common Prayer. The service draws on Scripture and the ancient monastic offices of Vespers and Compline, offering a simple, elegant framework for reflection and prayer. Repertoire by Whyte, Smith, Jackson, and Archer will be sung by the University Church Choir.


BELLS OF ST MARYS TALK - 4PM, TUESDAY 23 MAY

Simon Bond is part of the Oxford Society of Change Ringers, the University Bell Ringers. He will be talking about the history of university bellringing and the University Church bells. Everyone is welcome to attend.


COFFEE & DOUGHNUTS - 11.15AM WEDNESDAYS

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


FREE LUNCHTIME RECITAL SERIES - 1PM THURSDAY

Join us for a free lunchtime recital with XinRu Chen, a Royal Academy of Music student. She will play Schumann’s Kreisleriana Op.16 & Jörg Widmann’s Elf Humoresken.


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.


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.


CHORAL EVENSONG & RECEPTION 3.30PM, NEXT SUNDAY 28 MAY

The Revd Dr Willie James Jennings will be preaching at this special service of Choral Evensong. Afterwards there will be a reception with opportunity to hear from some of those involved in issues of homelessness/housing justice locally. All are warmly encouraged to come and invite others to hear more about this important topic.


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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