Subject: News from the University Church of St Mary the Virgin

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Drinking at the Well of Eternal Life
Jesus said to her [the Samaritan woman], ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. (John 4, vv13-14)

The Lent Quiet Day at the Cherwell Centre on Saturday 14th March will offer time for reflection and meditation as we embark on our Lenten pilgrimage. We will share some time of worship and prayer, and will also explore scripture through Ignatian contemplation, allowing us to engage imaginatively with God’s word. This might be through drawing or by writing poetry or prose in response to what we read or hear.

I recently came across this poem by St John Paul II (translated into English)

Looking into the well at Sichar
Look now at the silver scales in the water where the depth trembles like the retina of an eye recording an image
With the broad leaves’ reflection touching your face water washes tiredness round your eyes.
Still far from the spring.
Tired eyes are the sign that the night’s dark waters flow through words into prayer.
(Consider how arid, how arid our souls.)
The light from the well pulsates with tears:
a gust of dreams, passers-by think, brought them down.
The well sparkles with leaves that leap to your eyes. 
Reflected green glints round your face in the shimmering depth.
How far to the spring?
Multitudes tremble in you, transfixed by the light of your words as eyes by the brightness of water.
You know them in weariness. 
You know them in light.

Revd Dr Simon Thorn
Associate Vicar
 
The Week Ahead

Sunday  Lent 1
10.30  Choral Eucharist with University Sermon - Nave
           Preacher - Loretta Minghella OBE, 
           First Church Estates Commissioner
15.30  German Lutheran Service - Nave 

Weekday Services

Monday  
09.00  Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15  Eucharist  - Chancel
18.15  Choral Evening Prayer - Worcester College   

Tuesday   
09.00  Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15  Eucharist - Chancel
18.00  Book Club - Keepers

Wednesday  
09.00   Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15   Eucharist - Chancel
18.00   Choral Evensong - St John's College 

Thursday  
09.00  Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15  Eucharist - Chancel
12.45  Lunchtime Bible Study - Old Library
18.15  Choral Evensong - Merton College  

Friday  
09.00  Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15  Eucharist - Chancel
18.15 Choral Evensong New College

Saturday  
18.00  Choral Evensong - Magdalen College

For full listings of weekly evening services across the University, see our website.

Next Sunday

Sunday 8 March   The Second Sunday of Lent
10.30  Choral Eucharist -  Preacher:  The Revd Canon Dr Simon Jones, Merton College 
15.30  Choral Evensong - Preacher:  The Revd Laurence Price  
CREATING TOGETHER

On Thursday 5 March, at 5.30pm, you are invited to bring a project to work on and enjoy a relaxed evening of quiet productivity in the company of like-minded people. Refreshments will be provided. For more details, contact ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk. 
DRINKING AT THE WELL OF ETERNAL LIFE

On Saturday 14 March 10.00am – 3.00pm. there will be a Quiet Day led by the Revd Dr Simon Thorn. This will be a day of prayer and reflection, exploring scripture through Ignatian contemplation. Lunch is provided and the suggested donation is £10. 
Volunteer with us at the University Church

Our volunteers work in a variety of roles to ensure all who come to the University Church are welcomed and supported. 

From welcomers and guides, to concert stewarding and school visits, there is something for everyone and it is a rewarding role.

Learn new skills and join a thriving community in the extraordinary birthplace of the University of Oxford!

Do come along to our next coffee morning (27 March) for more details and to meet other volunteers. Please contact Patrick Croom at patrick.croom@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk for more details or visit our website www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/content/volunteering
Passion and Compassion Oxford

Drawing on the ancient spiritual devotion of the Stations of the Cross, we invite you to participate in a journey of reflection and discovery in the city of Oxford.

Using the website or the mobile application, weave your way around our ancient city, where key works of art can be found - in both religious and secular spaces, from churches to museums, and even city rooftops.

On this journey, you will be accompanied by leading academics, theologians and artists, contemplating the profound meaning of the Stations of the Cross through some of Oxford’s most impressive works of art.

A linked exhibition of all 14 Stations of the Cross will be up in the Adam De Brome Chapel starting this Sunday until Pentecost.

www.passionandcompassion.org
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.

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 

POETRY WORKSHOP

Join us in the Old Library at 17.30 on the following Wednesdays 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.

Entrance via the Vaults & Garden Cafe

Wednesday 11th March 
ELECTORAL ROLL REVISION

If you worship regularly at St Mary’s and would like to be added to the electoral roll, please ask for a form from one of the stewards. The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will take place on Sunday 26 April at 12 noon.

BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION

If you would like to be baptised or confirmed, please talk to one of the clergy. Baptisms will take place on Easter Day. The Bishop of Oxford will be visiting St Mary’s for a Service of Baptism and Confirmation on Sunday 24 May.  

Termcard

 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 
St Mary's Church, High Street, OX1 4BJ, Oxford, United Kingdom
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