Subject: News from the University Church

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Pilgrimage

In 2010 I travelled to Tibet with my family. The others had been there several times before, but this time there was a new feature for foreign tourists to gawp at in the centre of Lhasa: snipers lounging on the rooftops, ready to take out anyone seen protesting the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The year before, in a marketplace in Sichuan Province, a Buddhist monk had self-immolated, and now the Chinese government was keen to make its presence felt. There hadn’t been any immolations that year, but many more have followed in 2011 and beyond. The protesters are always Tibetan; most of them are monks and nuns. In going to Lhasa and visiting the Jokhang Temple, we were entering the epicentre of their sacred landscape, where the absence of the exiled Dalai Lama was felt most keenly by the faithful.

It felt like cheating to walk into the temple -- not because we were foreigners and Christians but because we hadn’t gone through what the Buddhist pilgrims had in order to be there. From the square you could watch them inching round and round the outside of the temple, doing full-body prostrations every three steps, wooden slats strapped to their hands for protection. Many had travelled this way for hundreds of miles, and the few circuits round the outside of the Jokhang Temple were the final rite of passage before they finally entered the sacred space.

Pilgrims of all cultures make their journeys for a whole host of reasons, both sacred and secular. Tomorrow morning we will meet at 10.30am in the Old Library to discuss the concept of pilgrimage: what it meant in the past, how it has changed, and what it means now in the age of selfies and Instagram. How would you document your own pilgrimage, and where would it take you? I hope you will join us for what promises to be a stimulating discussion. 

Esther Brazil
Ministerial Assistant
Sandals and Selfies: Exploring ideas of Pilgrimage

Our next reflection morning will take place at 10.30am on the 16th of June in the Old Library. Join us for a lively discussion of concepts surrounding pilgrimage, both sacred and secular, historical and modern, over coffee, tea, and pastries. 
The Week Ahead 

This Sunday

Sunday 17 June - Third Sunday after Trinity
10.30 Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd Charlotte Bannister - Parker
17.45 Choral Evensong - New College

Next Week

Monday Bernard Mizeki,1896
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel

Tuesday Sundar Singh, 1929
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel

Wednesday 
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel

Thursday 
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel

Friday Alban, c.250
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
 
Saturday Etheldreda, c.678

Next Sunday

Sunday 24 June - The Birth of John the Baptist
10.30 Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd James Crockford

INTERFAITH FRIENDSHIP WALK

The annual interfaith friendship walk will take place on Thursday 28 June starting at the Synagogue in North Oxford at 6.15pm. 

There are prayers offered along the route at St Giles Church, and hospitality is offered at the University Church at 7.15pm before we head off to the Mosque on Cowley Road, where there is a reception (including a delicious curry). 

Everyone is welcome to attend.

























Sponsored Cycle

Choir member and church clock keeper Rupert Griffin is cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats later this summer to raise money for Thames Valley Air Ambulance - who saved his life after he was involved in a serious traffic accident: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rupert-griffin. Please support him!
St Mary's Church, High Street, OX1 4BJ, Oxford, United Kingdom
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