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

Beyond expectations


by Dr Sarah Mortimer


There is a striking story in one of Montaigne’s essays about two new converts to Christianity. Full of expectation they visited a city famed for its saints and churches, hoping to study the holiness of the citizens’ behaviour and to learn more about their new religion. When they got to the city, however, things were not at all as they had imagined. All around they saw conflict, vice, and worse. One of the converts – a Tartar King - was so appalled that he left immediately, worried this experience with real-life Christians would ruin his faith for ever. But the other person had a very different reaction. He became yet more firmly attached to Christianity, thinking that it must be truly divine if it could maintain its dignity and power in the hands of such selfish people.


For Montaigne, who was writing in the midst of the French religious wars, this story was a challenge but also a comfort. He was calling on his readers to live out what they believed and to care for their neighbours, urging them to put their faith into practice for their own sake and for the sake of those around them. But he was also reminding them of the strength and power of the gospel even in the midst of our human weakness, even despite our own failings and fractiousness as individuals and as a church. For his story is above all a story of hope, of confidence in the gospel to transform even the most difficult situation and to shine with eternal light.

Oxford Town & Gown - Sunday 27 June


The Oxford Town and Gown Race is taking place on the morning of Sunday 27 June, so please allow a little longer time to get to church that day.

There will be regular pedestrian crossings and the organisers have advised us that access points are available as indicated in the map below. The whole route can be found here.

Sunday 27 June: The Fourth Sunday after Trinity


Sunday Services

There will be two services on Sunday 27 June.


8.30am - Holy Eucharist in the Chancel. Preacher: The Revd Dr William Lamb, Vicar.

Those attending this service no longer need to register in advance. On arrival, please confirm your attendance by giving your contact details to the stewards.


10.30am - Sung Eucharist in the Nave. Preacher: The Revd Jane Baun, Chaplain, Wadham College.

As the Vicar announced last Sunday, in the light of more recent changes in the infection rate in Oxford, we will continue to use Eventbrite to register for the 10.30am Sung Eucharist until further notice.

Register Here

This service is livestreamed.



On the day of the service, please remember to arrive in good time to ensure everyone gets seated in a safe and organised manner before the beginning of the service. It is a legal requirement to wear a mask when attending our services, unless you are exempt.


Registration for services on Sunday 4 July:


8.30am - Holy Eucharist in the Chancel

Those attending this service no longer need to register in advance. On arrival, please confirm your attendance by giving your contact details to the stewards.


10.30am - Sung Eucharist in the Nave

Register Here


Summer Services at St Mary's

Along with the 8.30am and 10.30am services, on Sunday 11, 18, 25 July, there will be Choral Evensong at 5.00pm at St Mary’s. Please make a note in your diary. Advance booking will not be required but you will need to register when you arrive with the NHS app or by giving your details to the stewards. On Sundays in August, there will be an Organ Recital at 3.30pm.

Online Worship:


Every Sunday, we livestream the 10.30am service on our YouTube channel.


Please subscribe to our social media channels to ensure you see the videos in your newsfeed and you are alerted to all our other online events coming in Hilary term.

Book your visit to the Tower online


The Tower is now open and you can book a ticket online for your visit at the link below. You can find more information as well as our Terms & Conditions on our website.

Online Bookings

Notices


New podcast on the Common Good

Listen to a new podcast on Politics and the Common Good, a conversation between Sarah Mortimer and Paul Billingham. In it they discuss how we might think about the Common Good as a political concept, and how Christians might contribute to our public debate. You can find the podcast at https://www.universitychurch.ox.ac.uk/content/seeking-common-good.


ST PETER IN THE EAST

St Peter in the East is a 12th century church, which lies within the parish. It now houses the college library of St Edmund Hall. It has a Norman crypt, which was built around 1140. The crypt remains a consecrated space and has been used by the parish on a number of occasions since the church was closed in the 1970s. On St Peter’s Day (Tuesday 29 June), the Vicar will preside at a Eucharist in the crypt of St Peter in the East at 5.00pm. The Revd Dr Zachary Guiliano, the Chaplain of St Edmund Hall, will preach. Places are limited, but if you would like to attend this service, please send us an email at admin@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk


Gardening Day at Holywell Cemetery

The next gardening day at Holywell Cemetery will take place on Saturday 10 July. You don’t have to be an experienced gardener to help. We can also supply garden equipment and wooden spatulas (to help remove the ivy from the gravestones). It is a lovely way to spend a morning with lots of fresh air and some socially-distanced company. Please send us an email at admin@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk if you would like to join us.


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

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