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We whom the Spirit lights, give light to the world
Happy New Year!
Most of us welcomed this new year with a sense of trepidation. The world is engulfed in violence, climate crisis and rising political and civil turmoil. I woke up this morning to find that World War III is a trending term on Twitter…
This Sunday, on the feast of the Epiphany, Christians around the world will ask God’s blessing on their homes by marking their door post or lintel with 20 + C + M + B + 20. The initials C, M, and B commemorate the Magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They also stand for the Latin prayer-request Christus Mansionem Benedicat: “May Christ bless this house.”
The chalking of doors is connected to the ancient practice of putting apotropaic marks on doors and windows, weaving strong protections into the very fabric of buildings. Doors represent distinctions and gateways, they are one of the first cultural articulations of space and self. Such rituals of placing symbols, whether they are hieroglyphs, horse shoes, or even welcome mats, have always been part of community life and are deeply bound in the conceptualisation of the sacred and the profane, the inside and the outside, shaping our own identity, our community and the idea of the other.
As Christians, such markings remind us of the welcome the Magi gave to the Christ-child. The gifts they brought were more than just gold, frankincense and myrrh. Those gifts represented their willingness to go beyond their comfort zone and journey into the unknown, carrying what was most precious to them, to offer it to a child king and welcome him into the world.
On the feast of Epiphany, let us remember that it is our duty and our joy to follow in the Magi’s footsteps, and being blessed, extend those blessings and hospitality to all who find themselves passing through our doors.
Ana-Maria Niculcea
Communications, Learning and Outreach Officer
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| NEW ASSOCIATE VICAR
We welcome the Revd Dr Simon Thorn as our new Associate Vicar this morning. He is our preacher today. We look forward very much to his ministry among us.
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The Week Ahead
Sunday 10.30 Sung Eucharist - Nave 15.30 Evening Prayer (said) - Chancel
Weekday Services
Monday
09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
Tuesday 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 William Laud 09.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
For full listings of weekly evening services across the University, see our website.
Next Sunday
Sunday 12 January The Baptism of Christ
10.30 Choral Eucharist - Nave Preacher: The Rev'd Dr William Lamb 12.00 Parish Lunch - Old Library 15.30 Organ Vespers - Nave Preacher: The Rev'd Simon Thorn
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| BLESSING YOUR HOME FOR EPIPHANY
On the feast of the Epiphany, Christians around the world will ask God’s blessing on their homes by marking their door post or lintel with 20 + C + M + B + 20. The initials C, M, and B commemorate the Magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They also stand for the Latin prayer-request Christus Mansionem Benedicat: “May Christ bless this house.” If you’d like to share this tradition, please take a piece of chalk after the service. Here is a prayer to use while writing the inscription:
“The three Wise Men, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar, followed a star to find the Christ Child. Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless it and all who live or visit here with the gift of your love; and grant that we may show your love to each other and all whose lives we touch. Lord Jesus Christ, be with us now and for ever. Amen.”
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| | Termcard
Welcome to a new term! To see our full term card, click the link below or look at our website.
https://www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/content/hilary-term-2020
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| | PARISH LUNCH
There will be a Parish Lunch in the Old Library on Sunday 12 January at 12 noon. If you would like to help with organising the lunch, either by providing food or helping to serve the meal, please have a word with Katie Hicks or Julia Reece after the service today.
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| | Bookclub
Tuesdays 21 January - 10 March
6 - 7pm
Keepers, 73 High Street, Oxford
Raymond Carver called Anton Chekhov ‘the greatest short story writer who has ever lived’. Elusive and subtle, spare and unadorned, the stories in this collection are among Chekhov's most poignant and lyrical.
Each week, someone introduces a discussion on one of the stories.
21 January - The Huntsman
28 January - On the Road
4 February- Fish Love
11 February- The Black Monk
18 February- Rothschild’s Violin
25 February - The Bishop
3 March - About Love
10 March - The Lady with the little dog
For more details, contact Ana-Maria at ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk
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| | Art of Modern Conversation
In the ever-shifting patterns of our online selves, where we move between the real and the unreal and where truth becomes a political and social commodity, is the art of conversation lost? This series explores how our patterns of engagement are changing and how all the minutiae of conversations, the things we say and the things we leave unsaid are affected by virtual environments. Join us in the Old Library from 19:30-21:00 to find out more. Entrance through Radcliffe Square.
5 Feb Hard Conversations in a Divided World
Dr Bethany Sollereder
12 Feb Artificial Intelligence for Good
Dr Mariarosario Taddeo
19 Feb Is Our Online Self Less Human?
The Revd Canon Bruce Kinsey & The Revd Dr Melanie Marshall
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| | Poetry Workshops: the poetry of climate change
Join us in the Old Library this term for an exploration of the poetry written in response to climate change and for writing exercises challenging how we might respond to climate change through poetry. Tea and biscuits are provided.
Wednesdays, 5.30pm in the Old Library. Entrance via the Vaults & Garden Café.
29th January
12th February
26th February
11th March
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| | VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
Members of the congregation on the electoral roll will have received a Christmas card from the Vicar as well as some information about volunteering opportunities at St Mary’s. If you would like to contribute to our life together by reading, interceding, serving, or helping with different aspects of our ministry, please have a word with one of the clergy.
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| | ELECTORAL ROLL
If you would like to be on the electoral roll, please ask one of the stewards for the relevant form.
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| | The Oxford Winter Night Shelter
We are recruiting volunteers for January-March 2020, when once again churches will offer beds to up to 20 rough sleepers a night. Last year 300 people volunteered for evening, night and early morning shifts. Of the guests who made use of the shelters, over half did not return to rough sleeping. To volunteer this year, visit ownsoxford.org.uk, and register for a training/refresher session. |
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Safeguarding and Child Protection
The Parochial Church Council has recently revised and approved a new Safeguarding Policy in light of guidance from the Diocese of Oxford. This means that every member of staff and volunteer at St Mary's needs to have the requisite DBS check and undergo the relevant level of training. This is important and urgent. Attending to these matters ensures that we become alert and attentive to the issues around safeguarding. No one can ever anticipate a situation in which they find themselves listening to a disclosure about a painful episode in someone's life. Knowing how to respond in a way which will protect the most vulnerable is an essential part of our Christian vocation. |
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