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

Pilgrimage


by the Revd Susannah Reide

 

Why do we go on pilgrimage? To be expanded.

 

I have just come back from a pilgrimage to Holy Island and Durham Cathedral. It was so lovely to go into the massive scale of the Cathedral, and to find the shrine to St Cuthbert behind the choir and to pray peacefully there.

 

I was only away for 4 nights but can feel a peaceful change within myself, filled up with wide horizons and seascapes. We visited the Farne Islands, where Cuthbert lived towards the end of his life, and saw the thousands of guillemots and puffins, stacked high on jagged cliffs, skyscrapers of birds like a packed city. I felt some of the tensions and compressed living of this last year relax within me, and I filled up with spacious sky and sea. I could feel why people have been drawn to Lindisfarne, cut off each day from the mainland by changing tides.

 

Along the causeway to Lindisfarne there is a refuge hut on stilts, for people to find shelter if they are caught out by the rising waters. It reminded me of Cambodia, where many houses are on stilts, to manage the seasonal flows of water.

 

I had heard that you could hear the seals singing on Lindisfarne, and was very curious to discover if this was true. And I can now confirm that it is true – on our first evening, we went down to the seashore near St Cuthbert’s Island. If you stand and listen, you will hear the curious groaning singing of the seal colony, from the thousands of seals who lie basking on the sandbar between Lindisfarne and the mainland. If you are feeling brave, you can go for a swim, and a friendly seal may come and join you out of curiosity.

 

What can I say? Go on pilgrimage, let your heart be filled with peace.

Sunday 11 July: The Sixth Sunday after Trinity


Sunday Services

There will be three services on Sunday 11 July.


8.30am - Holy Eucharist in the Chancel. Preacher: The Revd Canon Dr Alvyn Pettersen.

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 Dr William Lamb, Vicar.

Register Here

This service is livestreamed.


17.00pm - Choral Evensong

Introit – O Praise the Lord – Batten

Preces and Responses – Tomkins

Psalm – 66, 1-8

Canticles – Weelkes, Short Evening Service

Anthem - O pray for the peace of Jerusalem

Those attending this service do not need to register in advance. On arrival, please confirm your attendance by giving your contact details to the stewards.


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 18 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


PUBLIC HEALTH: ARRANGEMENTS AFTER JULY 19TH

The government has announced an end to public health restrictions from July 19th. At the same time, we are conscious that the infection rate in central Oxford is one of the highest in the country. While the infection rate remains high, we encourage members of the congregation to continue wearing masks. Booking will no longer be required. Congregational singing will resume, but will be restricted to hymns during July and August. In September, we hope to have a voluntary choir to sing the parts of the mass setting as well. This will be open to members of the congregation and further information will be provided towards the end of August. We will also end the restrictions on seating in the nave but we will continue to reserve an area in the north aisle where social distancing will remain in place and mask wearing will be encouraged. We want people to feel safe when they visit us

for worship, particularly during this period of transition. Communion remains

in one kind for the foreseeable future.

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.


COMMUNITY EMERGENCY FOOD BANK (CEF) CEF, based at St Francis Church, Cowley, provides nutritionally balanced food parcels for individuals and families in temporary crisis or hardship. If you would like to help, please put your donations of non-perishable foods into the CEF box which can be found in the Adam de Brome Chapel every Sunday. Currently there is a particular need for tinned vegetables, fruit, meat and fish, longlife milk and juices, and practical toiletries - but all donations welcome.

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

You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.

Powered by:
GetResponse

    This is an online snapshot of a newsletter created by the owner of universitychurch (University Church of St Mary, St Mary's Church, High Street, OX1 4BJ Oxford, United Kingdom) and sent via GetResponse on 2021-07-10. Report abuse