Dear friends,
This is one of those rare Sundays where our two churches are keeping completely different celebrations: at St Giles’ it is our Dedication Festival, while at St Margaret’s we mark the last Sunday after Trinity before we both go into that period between All Saints and Advent sometimes known as the “Kingdom Season”.
There are lots of new announcements this week, from the churches and beyond, so rather than reading a lengthy introduction, scroll down to see what is happening to make sure that you don’t miss out!
Revd Daniel Walters
Vicar, St Giles’ and St Margaret’s
P.S. Please send your items for next week’s notices to me at vicar@StGilesStMargarets.org by mid-day on Thursday.
P.P.S. If you’d like to be notified by email each weekend, please click or tap here to sign up.
Worship & Prayer
Sunday 25 October
Dedication Festival (St Giles’)
Last Sunday After Trinity (St Margaret’s)
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)
3.30pm – Choral Evensong at St Giles’ (sung, 1662 BCP)
6.00pm – BCP Evening Prayer at St Margaret’s (said, 1662 BCP)
Readings and Collect for 10:30am Services
Collect for Dedication Festival
Almighty God,
to whose glory we celebrate the dedication of this house of prayer:
we praise you for the many blessings
you have given to those who worship you here:
and we pray that all who seek you in this place may find you,
and, being filled with the Holy Spirit,
may become a living temple acceptable to you;
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.
Collect for Last Sunday After Trinity
Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast
the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Bible Readings for Dedication Festival
- OT: 1 Kings 8.22–30
- Psalm: Psalm 122
- Epistle: Hebrews 12.18–24
- Gospel: Matthew 21.12–16
Bible Readings for Proper 25
- OT: Leviticus 19.1–2, 15–18
- Psalm: Psalm 1
- Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 2.1–8
- Gospel: Matthew 22.34–end
Prayer Diary
Our prayer diary has now transformed into a daily prayer email. Same content as before, but instead of downloading a PDF each week, you will receive an email in your inbox at 6am each day – but only if you sign up for it!
Enter your email address below and hit subscribe – you will be asked if you want to subscribe to “Weekly News”, “Daily Prayer” or both.
Next Sunday (1 November):
All Saints’
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)
6.00pm – All Souls’ Requiem Eucharist at St Giles’ (sung, Common Worship / Latin)
October’s “What’s On” leaflet
Download below, or pick up a printed copy from either church.
Support St Giles’ and
St Margaret’s
It often surprises people to learn that the parish churches of St Giles and St Margaret receive no regular funding from the Church of England or the Government. In fact, it is quite the reverse: the “parish share” payments we make to the Diocese not only pay for our clergy and essential services like legal, property, and safeguarding, but also help support churches in less affluent areas.
Following the disruption of the pandemic and major projects in both our churches, we are currently struggling to cover the day-to-day costs of running our parishes and maintaining our key work – including music, youth and family activities, and community care for the elderly.
Compared to many churches, we are fortunate to have additional revenue sources, and we are doing everything we can to minimise expenditure while maximising income (such as venue hires). However, for our churches to sustain what we currently offer – let alone expand – we rely on the regular support of our members and friends.
How you can help:
Please pray and reflect on whether you are able to support us regularly – or increase your existing contribution – via Direct Debit through the Parish Giving Scheme. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a huge difference.
Use the buttons below to log in or set up your regular gift – and if you need help, please contact our Benefice Manager, Anna:
Parish News
All Souls’ Service
Our annual All Souls’ service, featuring a choral performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, will take place at St Giles’ Church on Sunday 1 November at 6pm.
If you would like to have someone remembered by name in the prayers in this service, please write their name in the lists which will be in both St Giles’ and St Margaret’s churches from this Sunday. Alternatively, you can email them to me at vicar@StGilesStMargarets.org
Brrrrrr!
You will have noticed that it is getting decidedly autumnal outside, and we are having a few heating issues at both churches:
- At St Giles’ we are waiting for heating engineers to replace the control panel that was damaged earlier this year – this will be late November;
- At St Margaret’s we are also waiting for engineers to confirm why the heating isn’t coming on (everything seems okay with our boilers).
As soon as we have any updates we will let you know. But for tomorrow’s services please wrap up warm. (We do have fleece blankets at St Giles’ for those who are especially vulnerable to the cold – please do ask the welcoming team).
Will Barnes Quartet
The Will Barnes Quartet returns to Jazz at St Giles’ tonight (Saturday 24 October) with Outside the Light, a bold new collection of original jazz compositions. Drawing inspiration from local folklore and Celtic mythology, the album explores themes of light, seasons and changing landscapes.
“City Context” and “Inclusion & Welcome” meetings
As part of St Giles’ Our Church, Our Future strategic planning, we are bringing together two of our key working strands – “City Context” (outreach) and “Inclusion and Welcome” (er, “inreach”?) – to help shape St Giles’ vision for the next five years. Together, we will be looking at how we make the most of our central Oxford location and support local partners like The Gatehouse, while ensuring we dismantle barriers so everyone coming through our doors feels truly valued.
We’ll be holding three focused, 90 minute online meetings via Google Meet on Wednesdays 28 October, 4 November, and 11 November at 7:30 PM. Whether you’re a regular churchgoer or simply invested in the future of our church and local community, you are very welcome to join!
If you’d like to attend, receive the Meet links, or read our brief “Where Have We Got To So Far?” summary document before coming, please email me at vicar@StGilesStMargarets.org
First Communion and Confirmation
If you would like to explore First Communion for your child, or Confirmation for yourself or your young person, please do get in contact with Daniel, as the ministry team makes plans for the coming months.
Please note that this doesn’t commit you to anything! At this point we are just gauging interest. If you would like a longer conversation with Daniel about what these sacraments mean or about whether this might be right for you at this stage, again please don’t hesitate to ask.
Prayer spaces at Phil & Jim School – volunteers and furry coats needed!
We are partnering again with the BeSpace charity to bring a Narnia prayer and reflection space to Phil & Jim School from 23–27 November. To offer this to our parish school, we need volunteers throughout the week (volunteers from both St Giles’ and St Margaret’s are very welcome!). Please contact Eva if you can help.
We are also looking to borrow several faux-fur coats to create the wardrobe entrance—if you have one we could borrow, please let Eva know!
Budding photographer(s) needed!
Both St Giles’ and St Margaret’s websites are currently being redeveloped, but one thing that we are short of is good up-to-date photographs of the churches, or people at church, or people doing churchy things!
If you fancy yourself as the next Jimmy Olsen and could provide some good photos for our websites or social media channels, please contact Daniel.
Funeral of Hilary Hiorns
Those who remember Hilary Hiorns might like to know that her funeral will take place at St Giles’ Church on Tuesday 3 November at 12:00 noon. All are welcome.
Children’s Singing Afternoon
Here at St. Giles’ Church Oxford, we’re running a free afternoon of music-making for young people from 6 to 12. We’ll start at 2:00pm, rehearse great Christmas music, and then perform it to parents, families, and friends.
We welcome boys and girls from age 6. Choristership is a great foundation for future musicianship. Recent former choristers have moved on to music college, or hold choral and organ scholarships in Cambridge, Oxford and elsewhere.
The afternoon is welcoming and low‑pressure: pupils learn and sing music together, meet current choristers informally, and share a short, optional end‑of‑day showcase with parents. No prior musical experience is required, and participation is entirely free.
To register for a free place, click or tap the button below:
St Margaret’s shortlisted for preservation awards
St Margaret’s recent building works have seen it as is one of the finalists in the adaptive re-use category of the Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) Awards 2026. the OPT Awards celebrate excellence in design, historic conservation and sustainability across Oxford.
For more information (and photos) see the article on the Diocesan website below:
History of Oxford
The next talk in the St Margaret’s Institute’s “Tea and Talks” series is on Wednesday 4 November and features Professor William Whyte who will be speaking on The University: a history in stone, silk, and blood.
All events in the series run from 1.45pm to 3.30pm, with the talk itself between 2.00pm and 3.00pm. Entrance is £2, including tea and biscuits. All welcome.
More vacancies at The Gatehouse
The Gatehouse is advertising for two more roles: a Counsellor and a LEAF Project Worker: details are in the packs below (both have an application deadline of Friday 30 October) :
Diocesan News
New Diocesan Website
If you haven’t been to the Diocese of Oxford website recently, take a look! It’s been relaunched this week with a new look, and lots of useful content for ordinary church members, as well as clergy and church officers.
Register via the Eventbrite link below:
Community News
For more information on these events, download this term’s newsletter from the St Theosevia Centre:
University of Oxford – St John Henry Newman celebratory public event on Thursday, 19 November 3-5pm
To celebrate St John Henry Newman being declared a Doctor of the Church, the University of Oxford is putting on a public event at the new Stephen A Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities (OX2 6GG) on Thursday 19 November, 3-5pm.
The event will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Irene Tracey. The speakers will be:
The Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, KG, CH, PC, Former Chancellor, University of Oxford
The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Anglican Bishop of Chelmsford
The Rt Revd Monsignor Roderick Strange – expert on Newman
Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe OP, Blackfriars Priory and Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford
To book a place, here is the link:
The organisers are expecting high demand. Please book early to avoid disappointment. There is no charge for the event.
Featuring St Giles’ very own Paul Rutterford! Book tickets below:
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.