| View this email online if it doesn't display correctly |
| |
|
|  |
The Oxford Winter Night Shelter
Since the beginning of January, churches in the centre of Oxford have been running the Oxford Winter Night Shelter (OWNS) to provide beds for up to ten homeless people each night until the end of March. This initiative has required considerable planning – to ensure that we provide the best possible care and support for rough sleepers.
Homelessness in England is rapidly rising. Being homeless carries significant personal risk; on average, homeless people die at 47, far below the UK life expectancy of 81 years. A homeless rough sleeper is 35 times more likely to attempt suicide than someone who has never faced homelessness, 13 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime and 47 times more likely to be a victim of theft. It is sobering to consider that in 2008, the phenomenon of rough sleeping on the streets of Britain had almost come to an end. Since that time, cuts in government funding and the emerging housing crisis have led to an almost overwhelming increase in homelessness and rough sleeping.
It is important for us to ask serious questions of our political leaders and to support charities such as Crisis, Shelter and Emmaus. Locally, St Mary’s has a long-standing link with the Oxford Gatehouse.
Since January, St Mary’s has been partnered with Wesley Memorial Church to provide ten beds on a Sunday evening. A number of people at St Mary’s have been trained and are attending as volunteers on Sunday nights as well as other nights during the week. Many people at St Mary’s have also supported this work financially. We are also invited to pray for the Oxford Winter Night Shelter, and especially for the session at Wesley Memorial Church on Sunday evenings.
Loving God, in your house there is room for everyone. Help us as we strive for a world where everyone has a home that truly meets their needs. Give us grace to welcome strangers and refugees. Save us from being overwhelmed by the scale of the housing crisis and show us where to begin. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Revd Dr Will Lamb Vicar |
| | The Week Ahead:
—This Sunday
Sunday 18th February The First Sunday of Lent
10.30 Choral Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd Dr Malcolm Guite
12.00 A Life Worth Living: ‘Forgiveness’ in the Old Library
18.00 Choral Evensong at Trinity College
Preacher: Tracey Byrne, One Body One Faith, CEO
This Week
Sunday 10.30 Choral Eucharist Nave
12.00 A Life Worth Living: Forgiveness Old Library
18.00 Choral Evensong Trinity College
Preacher: Tracey Byrne, One Body One Faith
Monday 9.00 Morning Prayer Chancel
12.15 Eucharist Chancel
18.15 Choral Evensong New College
19.45 Moot (Living in a Secular Age) Old Library
Tuesday 9.00 Morning Prayer Chancel
12.15 Eucharist Chancel
18.00 Book Club Nosebag (Bar)
22.00 Sung Compline Hertford College
Wednesday 9.00 Morning Prayer Chancel
12.15 Eucharist Chancel
17.30 Poetry Workshop Old Library
19.30 Music and Mind (3) Old Library
Thursday 9.00 Morning Prayer Chancel
12.15 Eucharist Chancel
12.45 Lunchtime Bible Study Vestry
18.15 Choral Evensong Merton College
Friday 9.00 Morning Prayer Chancel
Polycarp, c.155 12.15 Eucharist Chancel
18.30 Choral Evensong Queen’s College
Saturday 18.00 Choral Evensong Magdalen College
For full listings of weekly evening services across the University, see our website.
Next Sunday
Sunday 25th February The Second Sunday of Lent
10.30 Choral Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd James Crockford
12.00 A Life Worth Living: ‘Hope’ in the Old Library
17.30 Intercollegiate Service with University Sermon
Preacher: The Rt Revd Martin Seeley
|
| | Moot: Living in a Secular Age
Just over ten years ago, the philosopher Charles Taylor published ‘A Secular Age’ (Belknap Press, 2007). He challenged the theory that secularization was a process whereby religion simply falls away to be replaced by science and rationality, and argued that secularism was a development within Western Christianity, which had helped to shape a pluralist society. He also speculated about what a religious sensibility might look like in such a world. Ten years later, are we more or less convinced by the arguments put forward in Taylor’s book? Monday evening, 7.45pm, in the Old Library.
|
| | A Life worth Living
‘The glory of God is a human being fully alive’ (St Irenaeus of Lyons). How can the wisdom of the Christian tradition help us to live well? Christian humanism is animated by the idea that human beings are created in the image of God. Indeed, secular humanism finds many of its antecedents in religious ideas about human dignity and human rights. The term ‘humanism’ embraces many significant intellectual currents in Western culture but it may require further interrogation if it is to help us articulate a renewed vision of human flourishing.
Each session starts with coffee and bagels in the Old Library at the University Church. Our discussions will be open and free-ranging as we explore what it means to be human and what ‘a life worth living’ might look like.
11 Feb 12:00-13:00 Forgiveness
Today Emma Percy and Will Lamb guide us through the theme of ‘Forgiveness’. How do you cope with hurt and disappointment? What are the sorts of things that make hurts and disappointments easier or harder to manage? The philosopher, Jean Vanier, has argued that the discovery of our common humanity lies ultimately in forgiveness and ‘in loving those who are our enemies’. How does the experience of forgiveness change the way in which we see ourselves and others? |
| | | | Music and Mind
A three-part series on Wednesday nights in 2nd, 4th and 6th week, exploring concepts of music, transcendence, and psychology. Old Library, 19:30-21:00.
21 Feb Listening Well: Managing Modern Life with Music – Dr Gulliver Ralston
How do we rearticulate musical meaning in the contemporary world? Recent work in music psychology has explained away much of the mystery of music, and the academy’s revision of the canon of great composers and ‘monumental works’ makes any such reverence problematic. However, ethics and aesthetics are linked in that they both ask questions about value, and when our listening is informed by values, we have a conscious role in determining how music affects our identities. This talk examines our listening choices and looks at the responsibilities which come with them.`
Gulliver Ralston studied music at Oxford as a choral scholar at New College, completing a doctorate at St. Peter’s College with philosopher Sir Roger Scruton. He has lectured for the Royal Academy of Arts and is currently Director of Music both at Oxford’s University Church and at the University of Roehampton in London.
|
| |
|
| Singing the word
Delve into the rich and beautiful world of plainchant, monasticism, and the medieval musical landscape with this workshop series. The evening will start in the Old Library with a glass of wine and a short talk, followed by singing practice, during which participants will learn to tackle a difficult piece of chant. At 9pm, we will move to the chancel to sing compline together.
8.00pm Talk and Singing Workshop (Old Library) - Access through Cafe door in Radcliffe Square from 7.45pm
9.00pm Compline by Candlelight (Chancel) - Access through the High St Door from 8.45pm
1 Mar Singing the Word – Fr Peter Allan CR (Mirfield)
|
| | Call for donations of books and toys
Do you have any unused children’s books or soft toys you would like to donate to the church? We are creating a Children’s Corner for babies and preschool-aged children who are too small to go to Sunday School during the Eucharist. The aim is to collect enough quiet toys and books to fill a chest that will be kept at the back of the church (no rattles or battery-operated toys, please). Drop off donations in the church office between 9.30am and 5pm, Monday-Friday, or email esther.brazil@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk for more details.
|
| |
