(2nd before Advent / Safeguarding Sunday)
Dear friends,
It is an increasingly common custom, in churches of all denominations across the country, to mark the Second Sunday before Advent as “Safeguarding Sunday” – an initiative started a few years ago by the UK Christian safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight.
It is an appropriate moment in the Church’s year for several reasons. First, it falls close to the national Safeguarding Adults Week – a helpful reminder that safeguarding is about vulnerable adults just as much as it is about children. Liturgically, this “mini-season” between All Saints and Advent also carries a particular focus on remembrance; and as we have seen time and again, institutions can find it all too easy to conveniently “forget” the victims of abuse.
Currently, the news headlines are full of high-profile cases of abuse in the worlds of comedy and entertainment – involving not only minors, but also adults who, regardless of their education, competence, or social background, were placed in a vulnerable position by the structures of power around them. Power structures exist in all organisations, including the Church, which has of course been in the national spotlight for its own failures all too often.
It is rightly a cause for anger and lament whenever abuse is uncovered, and especially so within communities dedicated to Christ Jesus, who always placed the weakest and most vulnerable at the very centre – just as we see in Emil Nolde’s vibrant painting Christ and the Children above. The only way to counter abuse is for all of us, as a community, to recognise our shared responsibility to be vigilant, to listen well, and to protect the least among us.
Revd Daniel Walters
Vicar, St Giles’ and St Margaret’s
P.S. A huge thank you to everyone who sent well-wishes to Eva and the family recently, they were greatly appreciated, even if we couldn’t reply to them all individually!
P.P.S. Please send your items for next week’s notices to me at vicar@StGilesStMargarets.org by mid-day on Thursday.
P.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 15 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 – Evening Prayer at St Margaret’s (said, 1662 BCP)
Readings and Collect for 10:30am Services
Collect for the Second Sunday before Advent
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.
Bible Readings for Safeguarding Sunday
- First: Isaiah 43.1-3a
- Psalm: Psalm 34.13-20
- Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:12–26
- Gospel: Matthew 18.1-11
Prayer Diary
Many apologies for the temporary break in sending out the daily prayer emails – this resumes from tomorrow (Sunday).
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 (22 November):
Christ the King
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 – Contemplative Prayer at St Margaret’s
December’s “What’s On” leaflet
The next issue of our monthly “What’s On” leaflet, covering late November and December, will be posted here soon – watch this space!
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
Brrrrrr!
The temperatures have really dropped this weekend, and at St Giles’ we are still waiting for heating engineers to replace the control panel that was damaged earlier this year – this will be later this month.
As soon as we have any updates we will let you know. But if you are coming to any of the services at St Giles’ this weekend please wrap up warm. (We do have fleece blankets for those who are especially vulnerable to the cold – please do ask the welcoming team).
Children’s Singing Afternoon
Here at St. Giles’ Church Oxford, we’re running a free afternoon of music-making for young people aged 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:
Christmas Toy Appeal
Miss Charlett, our lovely Year 3 teacher at Phil and Jim, is collecting money to buy presents for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Toy Appeal. If this is something that would appeal to you but you don’t have time, or don’t know which toy to buy, then a donation to Angel’s fundraiser means that she uses her knowledge to find the right present and will deliver it to the collection point in Cowley. You get to feel good about supporting a child in need.
Click or tap the button below:
Ancient Rome
The next talk in the St Margaret’s Institute’s “Tea and Talks” series is on Wednesday 2 December and features Dr Paul Roberts who will be speaking on The Grandeur of Ancient Rome.
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.
Budapest Café Orchestra
Budapest café life and gypsy campfires – plus a few surprises along the way
Refreshingly unconventional and snappily attired boutique orchestra the Budapest Cafe Orchestra redeliver gypsy and folk-flavoured music in their own fresh and surprising way. From Balkan and Russian traditional pieces to artful distillations of the Romantic masterpieces to Gaelic folk anthems their infectious music will get into your bloodstream and stay there forever.
“Their arrangements are brilliant, their improvisations inspired. Their humour and, on occasion, sheer silliness hides a real brilliance of execution. In every bit of the material the charming irony hides really serious and focussed music-making. This is entertainment of a high order.Sir Roger Norrington
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.
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.
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.
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