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The news of the terrorist attack in Manchester this week has shocked the nation and the international community. That such carnage should be visited on children and young people is heartbreaking. There is anger and grief. But at the same time there has been an extraordinary outpouring of compassion, a steady resolve to resist the threat of terror, and a refusal to allow fear and aggression to take hold in our response to this terrible tragedy. As the Bishop of Oxford has said, 'We must say again and again that these terrible acts are the work of a tiny number of extremists. They do not represent Islam or any people of faith'.
It is at times like this that we learn the real value of investing time and energy in promoting good community relations. A place like St Mary’s has a particular responsibility and vocation to promote good relations and greater understanding between people of different faiths. We discover through such engagement that there is so much more that unites than divides us. But building those relationships takes time. It makes demands of us. It requires us to discover the full depths of our capacity for empathy and understanding, an ability to listen and see the value in the experience of others, as well as an ability to articulate clearly for others the hope and love which we have found at the heart of the Christian mystery.
On the evening of the 29th June, members of our community will be taking part in an Interfaith Friendship Walk in Oxford along with members of other faith communities. It is an opportunity for us to walk together, and as we walk together, conversations unfold and relationships begin to be formed. These encounters are vital to building a strong community and I invite you to consider taking part this year.
From a prayer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
Goodness is stronger than evil;
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death.
Revd Dr William Lamb Vicar |
| | Services
—Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12.15pm
Lunchtime Eucharist —
Sunday 28th May Easter 7
10.30am - Choral Eucharist
Preacher: Revd Dr William Lamb Mass setting: Mozart, Missa Brevis in D major, KV 194 Anthem: Vaughn Williams, O clap your hands |
| | RIP Raynaud de la Bat Smit
We are sad to announce the death of Raynaud de la Bat Smith. His funeral will held at St Mary’s on the Friday 2nd June at 10.30am. Our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with his family.
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| | Barbara Keen Funeral
Barbara Keen’s funeral will be on Thursday 15th June at 2.30pm in the Church. We continue to hold her family in our thoughts and prayers.
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| | | TONIGHT Exhibition: ‘Of Things Not Seen: A Year in the Life of a London Priest’
An exhibition of Jim Grover’s photographs following the daily work of a London Priest will on display in the Chancel from 24th May-3rd June.
The Revd Charlotte Bannister Parker invites you to a private view of Jim Grover's photos "Of things unseen" tonight in the chancel at 6.30pm, followed by drinks in the Old Library. All welcome
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| | A chance to think: an open study group for Pentecost
Following meetings in Lent, we will meet on Thursday June 1st, 8th and 15th at 12.45-13.30 following on from the 12.15 Eucharist. This week we will continue our discussion about the Holy Spirit. We will be using extracts from an essay by David Ford. If you would like these in advance please email claire.browes@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk
Bring your own sandwiches. Tea and coffee provided.
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| | | Architecture and the Medieval Mind
A six-part series of talks on the important role that architecture – both physical and representational – played in the imaginative, artistic, and theological life of early medieval England.
31st May: Mark Clavier – Holy Places, Holy People, and Holy Time: Sacred Space and the Medieval
Social Imaginary
The medieval landscape was interwoven with imaginative engagements with the Christian story. Drawing on the philosophy of Charles Taylor, Dr Mark Clavier, Vice Principal of St Stephen’s House, will offer a way of understanding how this interplay between sacred places (such as parish churches, monasteries, and shrines) and sacred time (daily worship and the liturgical year) shaped the medieval imagination and how people engaged with their world.
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| | Poetry Corner
from ‘Spring’
Sound the Flute!
Now it’s mute.
Birds delight
Day and Night.
Nightingale
In the dale
Lark in Sky
Merrily
Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year
William Blake
William Blake’s exultant ‘Spring’ – the first stanza of which is reproduced here – is charming in the seeming naivety of its language. Its unusual metre, with just three syllables per short line, has the effect of setting you off with a fresh step each time: a stress at the start of each line makes the poem sound insistent rather than lilting. It is a call to arms: the sound of the flute (presumably signalling summer) rouses the birds to singing ‘day and night’, mimicked by the melodious ‘merrily / merrily merrily’, in which the stress-pattern is altered. The poem’s delight in sound is just as important as its sense.
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CALL FOR ACTORS - AUDITION DATE: Tuesday 30th May
On 29th July a new reworking of seven of the key York Mystery Plays will be performed in Radcliffe Square and the University Church. These have been rewritten by local Oxford groups, including one play (The Crucifixion and Resurrection) by members of St Mary’s congregation. We are casting a wide range of roles, from the large (God) to the small (Demon 3!). If you are interested in a role, please contact Penny (penny.boxall@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk). All are very welcome to take part in what promises to be an exciting and novel community performance, and for those who are unsure, we prize enthusiasm as much as acting experience. Rehearsals will be held in June and July, before the two performances in the afternoon and evening of Saturday, July 29th.
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