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Items for next week’s notices can be sent to manager@StGilesStMargarets.org by Wednesday.
Worship & Prayer
Sunday 16 November
2 before Advent
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)
Heavenly Father,
whose blessed Son was revealed
to destroy the works of the devil
and to make us the children of God and heirs of eternal life:
grant that we, having this hope,
may purify ourselves even as he is pure;
that when he shall appear in power and great glory
we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he 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 16 November including the readings, prayers and music details, are available to download below:
Vicar’s letter
“Crisis? What crisis?” How do we keep going when everything around us seems to be falling apart?
Coming up this week
Morning Prayer: 8.30am Tuesday-Friday at the Vicarage, Church Walk
Evening Prayer: 5.30pm Monday-Saturday at St Giles’
St Giles’ open for quiet prayer: 12pm – 2pm, Monday-Friday
Next Sunday (23 November):
Christ the King
8.00am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (said, 1662 BCP)
10.30am – All-age 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
Parish News
Benefice Quiet Morning
‘The Weary World Rejoices’: A Benefice Quiet Morning as we look ahead to Advent & Christmas. Join us for reflections on Lament & Restoration, 9.45am – 12.30pm in St Margaret’s Church. Saturday 22nd November. To book email/for more info: associate@stgilesstmargarets.org
Christmas Card Deliveries
It is that time of year again! We are looking for help to deliver cards with details of our Christmas services to as many residences in the Benefice as possible. This is a great opportunity to grow our relationship with the local community and we are very grateful for help! If you are able to join in please email associate@stgilesstmargarets.org
Memory Café
Our next Memory Café will be on Wednesday 26 November. If you know someone who might enjoy or benefit from coming along, or if you’d like more details, please contact St Margaret’s Parish Community Worker, Tricia Brant, on 07776 595456 or at triciabrant@stmargaretsoxford.org.
The Hope Street Consort Concert at St Giles’
Nicholas Prozzillo presents a concert from The Hope Street Consort, a Liverpool based ensemble lead by former St Giles’ Choral Scholar Roshan Hall, with programme of choral music centred on the Christ’s journey to the cross. The concert is at 4:30pm on Saturday 22nd November.
Heating Update at St Giles’
Our heating engineers visited St Giles’ this week but were unable to carry out repairs, as several parts of the boiler have failed. They now need to assess the full extent of the work required. With demand for heating repairs very high at present, we are hoping the system will be fixed by Sunday 23 November.
In the meantime, please do come prepared for a chilly church — warm clothing is recommended!
Musical Help Needed
The Benefice has a developing relationship with Fairfield Care Home and has, for several years, been taking monthly Communion services for residents. We really love to have music at the services. I am looking for some help from someone who can play the piano. Would there be anyone who would be up for recording some hymn tunes for me in lower keys to help support our worship? If you think you can help, please email associate@stgilesstmargarets.org
Jazz at St Giles’: The Velvet Tones
The next Jazz at St Giles’ concert is Saturday 6 December at 7:30pm: The Velvet Tones. Come and see these local legends play some classic Christmas swing.
Other Jazz events in the Winter season include Will Barnes Quartet (10 Jan) and New Jazz Artists Eva Fidler and Colleagues (7 Feb).
St Giles’ Toilet Twinning Competition
Guess how many chocolates in the tub: only £1 a turn. At St Giles’ we now have a large tub of Celebration chocolates in the tub (instead of the original idea of marbles). The winner of the closest correct number has the whole tub as a prize! Please join the fun and raise £60 or more. This will go to a fund twinning our new church toilet with a community project in water, sanitation and toilet facilities in the poorest situations worldwide. For more info visit toilettwinning.org. You can enter the competition after Sunday services at a special table under the tower. Please remember your £1 – or hedge your bets and enter a few times.
St Giles’ Bring and Buy Christmas Tabletop Sale
St Giles’ Church will be holding a bring and buy sale on Sunday 14th, Sunday 21st December and any time the church is open during these dates. We hope to have a table with a spread of goodies for last minute Christmas gifts, everything from soap, jewellery and bottles of drink to socks, jams, beauty products and toys. These should all be in new condition. Please do contribute whatever you can for this festive table to make it a fun sale for all and to help raise a good sum! We will also be raffling a Christmas hamper. Contributions will be needed for this, too.
Please leave all donations in labelled bags in the kitchen as early as possible, addressed to Jane Finnerty or Helen Dodd. Many thanks!
Call for Bottle Bags
It’s that time of year again when Eva needs about 35 used bottle bags (preferably without reference to drinks) for an advent activity for our families. If you have any spare ones, then please leave them in the cupboard next to the children’s area.
St Margaret’s Christmas Fair: please help!
St Margaret’s Church is going to be repeating the Christmas Fair this year on the afternoon of Saturday 6 December – it will be a wonderful opportunity to encourage people into the refurbished building and be able to invite them to join us for worship over Christmas. We are therefore looking for volunteers who would be willing to help with planning and running stalls.
In the meantime, please start collecting:
- prizes for the Tombola;
- second hand books for the Book Stall;
- mince pies or bottles of mulled wine;
- small presents / sweets for the Children’s Stall.
We will also be asking for pledges of cakes for the Cake Stall and home made items (jams, chutneys, sewing, felting, crochet or knitted items or anything else you have a talent for) for the Homemade Stall.
For more information or to join our Christmas Fair volunteers, please speak to Claire (associate@StGilesStMargarets.org) or Eva (eva@StMargaretsOxford.org)
Benefice book group
The next meeting of the Benefice Book Group will be on Thursday 15th January at 7.15pm, where we’ll be discussing Enlightenment by Sarah Perry.
For more information, contact Siân Grønlie (curate@stgilesstmargarets.org)
Coming up in November…
Monthly “What’s On” leaflet
Download November’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:
Join St Margaret’s choir!
If you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining St Margaret’s choir we would love to hear from you! Please get in touch with George: choir@stmargarets.org
Community News
Tea & Talks at St Margaret’s Institute
A new season of Tea & Talks at St Margaret’s Institute continues on Wed 3 December at 1:45-3:30pm with a talk titled Fictional Oxford Detectives from Anna Beer. Entry is £2, including tea and cake. All welcome.
Call for actors and backstage staff for the Oxford Community Passion Play 2026
See the below note from the organisers:
After two successful performances, in 2022 & 2024, we are bringing the story of Easter to the city centre. Come to our LAUNCH PARTY on Saturday 22nd Nov at St Matthew’s Church, Marlborough Road, Oxford OX1 4LW.
Hear about our past productions and watch a short 10 min video of our production in Hinksey Park 2024. Meet the production team who are all professional practitioners and hear from some of our past actors.
Rehearsals will be every Sunday (2pm – 4pm) at St Matthew’s Church, from 4th Jan 2026 until March 29th followed by two performances on 4th April, at New Road Baptist Church, Bonn Square, Oxford. All are welcome regardless of experience or ability. For more information contact Carolyn Lloyd Davies on clloyddavies@msn.com or call her on 07782259471
Documentary Screening
Wycliffe Hall presents a screening of brand new film The First Hymn, documenting the restoring of an ancient Christian hymn, at 6:15pm on Friday 28th November at Curzon Cinema in Westgate. Open to all, and tickets are free (booking required).
St Theosevia’s Newsletter
Please see below the latest newsletter from St Theosevia Centre for Christian Spirituality. The next study day is on Saturday 29 Nov. 10.30 am – 4 pm titled Why the Nicene Creed? Exploring its Nature and Impact with Rt Revd Professor NT Wright, Revd Professor John Behr, Tilly Garvey, and Revd Dr Andrew Teal.
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.