| View this email online if it doesn't display correctly |
| |
|
|  |
In recent weeks, I have announced a number of staff changes at St Mary’s. Esther Brazil has been appointed as our new Ministerial Assistant and will begin on 18th September. Mariama Ifode has been appointed as a part-time Community Engagement and Outreach Officer and will begin on 25th September. James Crockford was licensed as our new Assistant Priest on Tuesday. It is exciting - if not a little daunting - to be working with so many new colleagues!
Following consultation with the Bishop of Oxford, I am also delighted to announce that the Revd Charlotte Bannister-Parker has agreed to stay on at St Mary’s for the foreseeable future in a newly configured role as Director of Outreach. The title of this role reflects many of the initiatives established by Charlotte in recent years, including for example the Interfaith Friendship Walk. Charlotte will continue to function as an associate priest at St Mary’s and will be with us for one Sunday a month. Although she will be attending to family commitments in the USA for much of the year, she will also take on specific outreach projects when she is with us in the UK.
This emphasis on outreach reflects my own concern that St Mary’s should continue to be outward-looking and proactive in developing its ministry. Our setting offers unique opportunities to promote faith in the public square. The language of faith is often placed at the margins of public life, and yet we can offer a confident, intelligent and joyful account of the Christian faith, unafraid to engage with the modern world. Part of our calling is to promote opportunities for real engagement and genuine conversation within the university and within the city. I believe we are most effective at doing this when our feet are firmly rooted in the Christian tradition and our arms are extended to reach out and embrace people from all walks of life. When we respond to Christ’s invitation to love our neighbour as ourselves, we learn to recognise difference and diversity not as something to be feared, but as a gift to be treasured.
May the God who created a world of diversity and vibrancy,
Go with us as we embrace life in all its fullness.
May the Son who teaches us to care for strangers and foreigners,
Go with us as we try to be good neighbours in our communities.
May the Spirit who breaks down our barriers and celebrates community,
Go with us as we find the courage to create a place of welcome for all. Amen.
The Revd Dr William Lamb
Vicar
|
| | The Week Ahead:
—
This Sunday
10.30am Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd James Crockford
Monday
9.00am Morning Prayer
Tuesday
9.00am Morning Prayer
12.15pm Eucharist
6.30pm Parochial Church Council
Wednesday John Chrysostom, 407
9.00am Morning Prayer
Thursday Holy Cross Day
9.00am Morning Prayer
12.15pm Eucharist
Friday Cyprian, 258
9.00am Morning Prayer
Saturday Edward Bouverie Pusey, 1882
Next Sunday Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
10.30am Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd Dr Will Lamb
12.15pm Holy Baptism
5.00pm Evening Prayer at St Cross Church (Holywell) |
| | Annual St Cross Service
On Sunday 17 September, we will mark Holy Cross Day (14 September) at a special service of Evensong at St Cross Church (Holywell) at 5.00pm. All welcome.
|
|
|
| | Ride and Stride
The annual Ride and Stride event supporting Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust, will take place on Saturday September 9 th. If you would like to take part, cycling or walking to as many churches as you wish, sponsor forms and more information can be obtained from Margaret Chaundy - margaret.chaundy2@btinternet.com |
| | Newman Walk
On Sunday 1 October at 12noon (following the Sunday morning service), we are going on a little pilgrimage to Littlemore as we walk from St Mary's to the church in Littlemore, which was established by Blessed John Henry Newman, who was Vicar of St Mary (1828 - 1843). Please bring a packed lunch, stout walking shoes and a waterproof (in case of inclement weather). If you would like to use this walk as an opportunity to raise funds for the restoration of Littlemore church, please email universitychurch@ox.ac.uk for a sponsorship form.
|
| | | Poetry Corner
‘Florence brought him forth;
Now he wanders as a foreigner and pilgrim
That he might forever be a citizen among those above.
This is his likeness; the writings conceal his mind;
Integrity and piety cannot be represented by art.’
[Translation of Latin poem, possibly by Rudolph Gualther, inscribed on portrait by Hans Asper, 1560]
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Peter Martyr Vermigli (8th September 1499-12th November 1562), an early Italian reformer. Born in Florence, he inspired other Italians to flee to northern Protestant countries, and was an authority on the Eucharist. He was invited by Thomas Cranmer to take the post of Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford, and became the first married priest at the university. In 1549, the Prayer Book Rebellion forced him from Oxford, and he lived with Cranmer at Lambeth Palace; together they wrote sermons denouncing the rebellion.
|
| | Other Events
Diocesan Festival of Prayer – Saturday, 9th September
Spiritual wisdom says, “We should pray as we can and not as we can’t.” The D.F.P. is a ‘taster day’ of prayer styles. Come and reflect, experience, and discuss prayer. Brochure and booking forms are at the back of the Church.
|
| |
