Welcome to our weekly newsletter for the benefice. If you would like to be notified by email each week, please sign up using the form at the bottom of this page.
If you have any items for next week’s notices, please send them to manager@StGilesStMargarets.org by Wednesday.
Worship & Prayer
Sunday 7 September
Twelfth Sunday After Trinity / St Giles of Provence
8.00am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (said, 1662 BCP)
10.30am – Parish Eucharist at St Margaret’s (sung, Common Worship)
10.30am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (sung, Common Worship)
5.00pm – Blessing of St Giles’ Fair (outside St John’s College, on St Giles road)
6.30pm – Choral Evensong at St Giles’ (sung, 1662 BCP)
Almighty Father,
you have built up your Church
through the love and devotion of your saints:
inspire us to follow the example of Saint Giles,
whom we commemorate today,
that we in our generation may rejoice with him
in the vision of your glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Pew sheets
The pew sheets for our services on 7 September including the readings, prayers and music details, are available to download below:
Coming up this week
Morning Prayer: 8.30am Tuesday-Thursday at the Vicarage, Church Walk
St Giles’ open for quiet prayer: 12pm – 2pm, Monday-Friday
Evening Prayer: 5.30pm Monday-Saturday at St Giles’
Next Sunday (14 September):
Holy Cross Day
8.00am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (said, 1662 BCP)
10.30am – Parish Eucharist at St Margaret’s (sung, Common Worship)
10.30am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (sung, Common Worship)
6.30pm – Choral Evensong at St Giles’ (sung, 1662 BCP)
Last week’s sermon
We now have a podcast series allowing you to listen to recorded sermons either here on the website, or on your favourite podcasting app.
From the Vicar
Can (or should) Christians be political?
Parish News
Coming up in the parishes…
As you may realise from the length of this week’s newsletter, there is a LOT going on in the parishes at the moment. To help you get your head around it all, we have two new ways for you to see at a glance what’s coming up:
Monthly “What’s On” leaflet
A downloadable, printable leaflet listing everything(ish) that is coming up in the next month, along with contact details for office holders in the parishes.
(There will also be a few printed copies in the churches this Sunday, for those who need them).
Download September’s issue below:
Online events calendar
Thanks to our ChurchSuite system, you can now see all of the events that we have coming up in the next few months online, and get more information where relevant. You can view them as a list or in a calendar view:
Morning Prayer returns
After a long absence, Morning Prayer is returned this week. However, to allow the builders to continue uninterrupted at St Margaret’s Church, for the time being it is taking place at the Vicarage.
It is at 8.30am each day, and this coming week it will be Tuesday – Thursday only. (It will also take place on Fridays, starting on Friday 12 September).
All are welcome, but if you are planning to come, please let Daniel know.
Choir News at St Margaret’s
Over the past few months, the PCC – following a suggestion from our Director of Music – has been considering how we can expand our musical team and have decided to trial splitting the role of Director of Music into two. We are therefore delighted to be welcoming George Rose as our new interim Choir Director from September at St Margaret’s. George studied music at Oxford University and has significant experience as both a singer and conductor in choirs. George works in music licensing and was until recently Chair of Governors at Phil and Jim School. George and his family are already part of our community at St Margaret’s, and we are so pleased that he will be stepping into this new role.
We are also delighted and very grateful that Richard Goodall will continue as organist (while also hopefully having a little more time to dedicate to grandparenting!). Richard will also carry on his brilliant work encouraging our young organists.
Please join us in praying for George, Richard and the choir at the start of this new academic year and giving thanks for those who lead us worship each Sunday.
Joining the Choir: If you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining the choir we would love to hear from you! Please get in touch with George: choir@stmargarets.org
Model Fairground Exhibition
We are pleased to welcome the Model Fairground Exhibition back to St Giles’ on Monday 8 September, the first day of St Giles’ fair. We need helpers to provide refreshments and donations of cakes to sell. If you are able to give some time and/or provide a cake/s please add your name to the sheets on the notice board in church (north wall). Alternatively please email mary@st-giles-church.org giving time when you can help, or if you can provide a cake. The exhibition has attracted many visitors over the last two years and is sponsored by the Noyce family who are well known fairground ride providers. The past two exhibitions have proved very popular and interesting, a chance to see working models and talk to the people who made them, we hope you will come and join us.’
Ride and Stride & Open Doors at St Giles’
On Saturday 13 September the annual Ride and Stride event takes place, together with Open Doors weekend which will take place on both Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th.
Ride and Stride raises money for the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust which provides financial support for many projects in local churches. Those taking part are sponsored to visit as many churches as possible and in doing so raise funds for their own churches as well as the Trust. St Giles’ was a recipient of a grant from the Trust for the kitchen and repairs to the vault and was recently featured on their website.
Open Doors welcomes hundreds of visitors to Oxford to access buildings that may well be inaccessible for the rest of the year. In previous year visitors have told us that they have walked past the church on a daily basis, but have never been inside. Open Doors gives them the opportunity to visit.
To enable us to steward the church and welcome visitors we need volunteers who could give some time over the weekend. Please sign up on the rota sheet on the notice board in church, or email mary@st-giles-church.org if you are able to help.
Call for loose threads
Do you have any leftover wool, embroidery thread or wooden curtain hoops hanging around at home? If so – please contact Eva.
Jazz at St Giles’: Ben Holder Trio
The next Jazz at St Giles’ concert is Saturday 13 September 7:30pm: Ben Holder Trio. Come and see the award winning jazz violinist return to St Giles’.
Other Jazz events in the Autumn / Winter season include the Jacqui Dankworth and Trio (11 October), Claire Jones Ensemble (25th October), the Ewan Bleach Sextet (8th November), and the The Velvet Tones (6th December).
Exploring faith and spirituality group
Beginning on Tuesday 16 September, a new group on faith and spirituality will be meeting once a month at St Anne’s College from 5:15 to 6:45 (while the girls’ choir is rehearsing at St Giles’). This group is for anyone in the benefice who is interested in exploring faith and different approaches to spirituality. The only pre-requisite is an open mind and an interest in different points of view. We will be reading passages from the Bible and excerpts from some of the great spiritual writers, including Julian of Norwich, Ignatius of Loyola, and Teresa of Avila. If you are interested in attending, please contact Siân Grønlie.
Save the date – 29 September
On the evening of Monday 29th September at St Giles’, there will be a ceremony to mark the signing of the organ agreement with the visiting organ makers from Italy. More information to come!
Christian Aid at St Giles’
Following Christian Aid Week, we have sent a further £25 to the Christian Aid Emergency Fund; this being donations from the congregation for Summer herb and oregano plants. A small sum but ‘every little helps’. If anyone has further ideas for fund raising for this cause, please let me know. – Helen Dodd
What emergency aid does Christian Aid offer?
As a founding member the Disasters Emergency Committee, Christian Aid brings decades of experience and local knowledge to DEC responses. Its role is to ensure that funding is used effectively to provide: Immediate relief including food, water and medical supplies and emergency shelter for displaced families.
Spotting the Signs of Modern Slavery
For those who were at St Margaret’s a couple of Sundays ago you will have heard Claire speak about the prevalence of Modern Slavery and information on spotting the signs of it in our communities. The Clewer Initiative works with churches to help spot the signs of modern slavery – find out more here.
If you spot signs and are concerned please report it:
If you think someone is in immediate danger, please call the Police on 999.
For local concerns: Email ASIOX at office@asiox.org and they will create an alert for the Modern Slavery Adviser to Oxfordshire for further investigation. All information will be treated as confidential.
For national or other concerns: Call the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline in confidence at 08000 121 700
If you are on church property, any safeguarding concerns should be reported to your Parish Safeguarding Officer.
ASIOX (anti-slavery initiative oxford) are also looking for support to house the survivors of modern slavery in Oxford, if you would be interested in finding out more please contact them directly. office@asiox.org
Browser Extension to Raise Money for St Margaret’s
Raise a free donation for St Margaret’s Church, Oxford when you shop online via #easyfundraising. Add the extension to your browser and whenever you shop online with one of 7,500+ easyfundraising’s partners they will make a donation to us! This includes Tesco, Sainsbury’s, John Lewis, Argos, Trainline and more! If you’re not supporting us on easyfundraising yet, now’s the perfect time to get involved.
Diocesan News
New issue of Pathways has arrived
Copies of the Summer 2025 issue of Pathways, the Diocesan magazine, will be available from church this Sunday – or you can download it from the Diocesan website below:
Community News
Gerard Manley Hopkins Study Day
Oxford Centre for Spiritual Growth presents Gerard Manley Hopkins: A Companion on the Way. An introduction, in three stopping places, to the poet’s life and poetry. 10:30am-3.00pm, 20 September at Church of St Michael at the North Gate. A reflective exploration led by Dr Jill Robson, Journal Editor of the Hopkins Society (UK). Attendance in person £25 Online/recording access £10.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is a major priority in our Benefice as we work together to keep everyone in our community safe. It is often said safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, thank you for the part you play. If you are concerned about a person’s or activity’s safety in our community, please contact our Parish Safeguarding Officers (details below) or the Diocesan Safeguarding Team (details below). We are greatly helped by many volunteers, thank you for your time, including for completing required DBS checks, safeguarding training and safer recruitment forms.
St Margaret’s Church PSO Becca Rose: safeguarding@stmargaretsoxford.org
St Giles Church PSO Lorraine Desai: safeguarding@st-giles-church.org
Diocesan Team 01865 208 295 safeguardingreferrals@oxford.anglican.org
Out-of-hours: Thirtyone:eight on 0303 003 1111 for confidential advice, guidance and support.