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

 

Where streams of living water flow


by Elizabeth Adams


At the end of June, I was on holiday in the Lake District, each day we saw low cloud descend obscuring Skiddaw with accompanying showers. The fells around us were green and dotted with Herdwick sheep and in the meadows, hay was being made. Walking round Buttermere streams were cascading down the hillsides. Returning to Oxford I was aware how little rain had fallen, in my garden everything looked sad and brown and the reach of the Cherwell close to the Parks almost stagnant, very shallow and exposing the detritus of modern life; bottles, glasses and for some reason bike locks.


Although I have a water-butt it is of limited size, so I decided to recycle my shower water each day for the plants. Cutting down spent delphinium flowers and the minimal watering has produced a new flush of leaves, pale green and shooting upwards, the plant renewing itself. Carrying the water downstairs each morning made me think about the many thousands of women and children across the world who walk miles each day to collect water which is not always clean and safe to drink, but it is all that is available to them. In Britain we are so lucky clean safe water flows from our taps to quench our thirst and to wash in, but we must preserve that precious resource.

SUMMER OPENING HOURS


July brings with it our summer opening hours:

Monday - Saturday: 9.30am – 6pm

Sunday 12noon – 6pm


Please note the church might be closed at short notice for specific events. For the most up to date information, always check our website.

Livestreamed Services

at the University Church

Due to the sound system installation, we aim to restart livestreaming on Sunday 7 August.

Livestreamed Services Playlist

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

Notices


CHORAL EVENSONG: SUNDAY 31 JULY – 3:30PM

Join us for an uplifting service of choral music, sung by the University

Church choir. This week features repertoire by Farrant, Smith and Gibbons. The

preacher is the Revd Canon Bruce Kinsey.


THOMAS MERTON – A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION,

15 JULY - 15 SEPTEMBER, ADAM DE BROME CHAPEL

From 15 July we are hosting a new free exhibition in the Adam de Brome chapel, of photographs belonging to the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. Our own Esther de Waal has graciously curated a series of his photographs, accompanied by his own words and created a deeply moving and thought-provoking experience. Free to see during our normal opening hours.


GODLY PLAY: SUNDAY 7 AUGUST

Godly Play takes place monthly on the first Sunday of each month in the Old

Library during the first 45 minutes of the service for children aged 3-8 years

old and their family. Thanks to the dedication of our team, Godly Play will be

continuing throughout the summer and will be meeting next on 7th August at

10:30am in the Old Library 


THE OXFORD PROMS

The Oxford Proms are delighted to announce five evening concerts taking place in St Mary's during August. Tickets and more information are available on the Oxford Proms website: www .oxfordproms.org


VOLUNTEERS AT THE UNIVERSITY CHURCH

If you are interested in volunteering opportunities, please speak to Ana-Maria Niculcea or email her: ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk


SUPPORTING UKRAINIAN REFUGEES

The Diocese of Oxford has joined Citizens UK in providing a safer, more streamlined system designed to provide support for those undertaking the sponsorship process for supporting Ukrainian Refugees. For more information on hosting or supporting refugees visit: www.oxford.anglican.org/everyday-faith/becoming-a-christian/how-to/make-a-difference-in-ukraine.php


STILE ANTICO: ENSEMBLE IN RESIDENCE

Stile Antico, our Ensemble in Residence, will be offering two events in the

autumn. There is a concert, A Garden of Delights, which will take place at 8.00pm on 23 September 2022, and a workshop for singers on Saturday 12 November 2022 beginning at 2.30pm. Please make a note in your diaries if you would like to attend either of these events. You can book on the church website.


NEW BOOK RELEASE: CAMEOS OF FAITH, TODDY HOARE

Cameos of Faith is a collection of theologically and spiritually inspired poems penned as reflections to stimulate or help in turn all readers to think, meditate, and pray a little more. Subject matter ranges from saints to sculpture, Scripture to spirituality, creation to Christmas, Easter to eternity, climate change to cuckoos, environment to evolution. Whether kept by the bedside for an evening thought or during sleepless hours, or referred to as a thought for the day or a prompt for prayer, or used as food for thought when traveling, readers will be stimulated and will hopefully keep a copy handy. Available on Amazon or any good bookshop.


NEW TO ST MARY’S? If you are new to St Mary’s and have started coming to services in the last six months or so, we may not have your contact details. If you would like to find out more about what is going on at the University Church, please email admin@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk with your name, address and telephone number and ask for your name to be added to the Parish Directory. This directory is used only by parish staff but it enables us to get in touch with you as the need arises.

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

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