| View this email online if it doesn't display correctly |
| |
|
| Modern Pilgrimage
 |
One of the current booms in religious activity in the West is the burgeoning practice of going on pilgrimage. I don't mean merely bus-loads of tourists to religious sites, but those who take to trails and tracks, sleeping in rubbish hostels or under trees, hobbling along dusty roads, for days and weeks, to reach some place of traditional significance for believers. As a regular walker of the Caminos on the Iberian peninsula, I know well that this is not a clear-cut revival of enthusiasm for Christendom. But what I do see occurring is that great swathes of people are finding that, at times in their lives where they need a new focus or direction, to discern some purpose or are simply feeling restless and unfulfilled, they are turning to an activity that has traditionally been one of religious purgation and discovery. And they are finding that it works.
One of my major disappointments of hiking long pilgrimages has been the sheer ineptitude of churches and religious organisations on the route in helping people make sense of what they are experiencing on the journey. I can't begin to tell you the gravity of some of the things that the people I met on the Caminos were walking with - it is humbling, and inspiring. But what the experience of a gruelling pilgrimage does is simply to lay bare and focus the realities of your life. In our daily lives, we, and those around us, carry the same burdens; but perhaps we easily get 'stuck' with them. Pilgrimage is a chance to get out of the rut, to break the normality that encrusts us - to walk off some of the burden, and to find in the aching muscles and sore body a kind of therapy for the wounds that are harder to heal.
This Summer, the Pilgrimage and Pub series is back. On a Saturday afternoon, a group of us stroll out from St Mary's to a local church or chapel on the outskirts of the city, to explore its story and significance, and then grab a pint at a local pub. It's unlikely to be purgatorily painful, but it may well be a small chance to stop, to relax and be refreshed by good company, fresh air, and the surprise of discovering Oxford's spiritual spaces, both ancient and modern. Join us this Saturday (13th) at 2pm in the De Brome Chapel at St Mary's, ready to hoof to East Oxford, where we can explore the hidden Bartlemas Chapel, part of the 12th century hospital there, and then to St Alban's nearby, to view a series of panels by the craftsman Eric Gill, before a pint at the Magdalen Arms on Iffley Road. It's only about 1.5 miles total - do bring good footwear, a bottle of water and sunhat/cream. See you then!
The Revd James Crockford Associate Vicar |
| | | New baby!
We are delighted to let you know that Esther Brazil, our Ministerial Assistant, her husband, Bojan Cicik, and their daughter Beatrice have (very) recently welcomed another baby into their family. We are keeping them in our prayers and hopefully soon, Esther and her family will come back to visit us so you can all meet the little Baby Boy Cicik-Brazil. |
| | The Week Ahead
This Sunday
Sunday 14 July The Fourth Sunday after Trinity 10.30 Choral Eucharist
Preacher: Prof Sarah Mortimer 15.30 Choral Evensong - Chancel
F Jackson, Evening Service in G Harris, Behold, the tabernacle of God
Monday Swithun, c862 9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Tuesday Osmund, 1099 9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel 12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Wednesday
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Thursday Elizabeth Ferard, 1883 9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Friday Gregory, c.394 and Macrina, c.379 9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel 12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Saturday Margaret of Antioch, 4th century 10.00 Graduation Ceremony - Century closed until 13.00
Next Sunday
Sunday 21 July The Fifth Sunday after Trinity 10.30 Sung Eucharist
Preacher: The Revd Tyler Montgomery (Chaplain, Woodberry Forest School, Orange, Virginia, US) 15.30 Choral Evensong - Chancel Weelkes, Short Evening Service Palestrina, Sicut cervus |
| | | Pastor Georg Amann
Many of you will know Georg Amann, the pastor of the German Lutheran congregation which worships on the first Sunday of the month at 3.30pm in the afternoon. Georg is returning to Germany this summer and we will be bidding farewell to him at Choral Evensong on Sunday 28 July at 3.30pm. This is the final Evensong of our summer series so please come and join us as we give thanks for his ministry here. It will also be an occasion to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of the German Lutheran Congregation in Oxford.
|
| |
|
| | Discussion Morning: Faith and Faithfulness
On Saturday 27 July from 10.30am-12noon, there will be a discussio morning led by Dr AlisonLe Cornu. This workshop will focus on the characteristics of Christian faith development. Drinks and pastries provided.
|
| | |
