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Items for next week’s notices can be sent to manager@StGilesStMargarets.org by Wednesday.
Worship & Prayer
Sunday 22 March
Fifth Sunday of Lent (Passion Sunday)
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)
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
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 22 March including the readings, prayers and music details, are available to download below:
Wednesday (25 March):
The Annunciation of Our Lord
12.30pm – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (said, 1662 BCP)
8.00pm – Holy Communion at St Margaret’s (said, Common Worship)
Thursday (26 March):
8.00pm – ‘Come and See’ Lent course (online – email Daniel for link)
Friday (27 March):
11.00am – ‘Come and See’ Lent course (in person, followed by optional soup lunch) – St Margaret’s
Next Sunday (29 March):
Palm Sunday
8.00am – Holy Communion at St Giles’ (said, 1662 BCP)
10.00am – Liturgy of the Palms at St Margaret’s, with procession to St Giles’
followed by Liturgy of the Passion at St Giles’ (see below for further information)
6.30pm – Stabat Mater at St Giles’ (sung, 1662 BCP)
Come and See: Lent 2026
The Bible readings at our 10.30am Sunday services in Lent are linked to our ‘Come and See’ courses, which each feature a video reflection from Bishop Steven.
Watch Bishop Steven’s reflections on this Sunday’s readings below:
“Come and See” this year focuses on the Eucharist as the heart of the Christian life: more information on what we’re doing in the benefice is available by clicking or tapping below:
From the Vicar: Holy, catholic and apostolic
In our series of labels used in the Church of England, we begin by exploring what is meant by the “catholic tradition”.
Coming up in April…
Monthly “What’s On” leaflet
Download April’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:
Parish News
Benefice Manager vacancy
We are looking for someone to join our team who is confident with people, comfortable managing multiple tasks, and able to work independently and proactively with good judgement.
Do you know someone who fits? Point them here:
Lack of heating at St Giles’
Unfortunately we’ve been having more problems with heating at St Giles’ – and completely unconnected to the problems we had earlier in the year!
The churchwardens are working as hard as they can to get things working again, but given the drop in temperatures in the last few days, we encourage everyone to wrap up warm today!
Midday organ recital
This Sunday (22 March) at Midday in St Giles’ Church (soon after the 10:30am service).
JS Bach, Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig (BWV 768)
Andrew Kong
Discover Bach’s craftsmanship through his masterpiece of unfolding variations on Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig. The text on which Bach bases his variations, beginning with Hail to you, Jesus, kind and good, is tied to Passion devotion themes.
Poetry Evening
Calling all poets and poetry lovers! We’ll be holding a poetry evening at St Margaret’s Church on Sunday (22 March), from 7pm. You can share your favourite poem, or a poem you have written yourself. There will be light refreshments (tea/coffee/wine and snacks). Everyone is welcome. Please extend this invitation to anyone you think might like to attend. It would be useful to have an idea of numbers, so please let Sam Schad (samantha.schad@oup.com) know if you’d like to come.
The Annunciation – Holy Communion services
Throughout 2026, we are offering simple, said services of Holy Communion on major saints’ days or holy days which occur during the week.
On Wednesday 25 March we will celebrate The Annunciation of the Lord: 12.30pm at St Giles’ and 8.00pm at St Margaret’s.
All are welcome at either service, regardless of your usual church.
Holy Week services
Details of all of our Holy Week and Easter (29 March – 5 April) services can be found online by clicking or tapping the button below:
Palm Sunday practicalities
Next Sunday (29 March) will be Palm Sunday, which means that our usual morning routine will be slightly different.
Congregations and choirs from both St Giles’ and St Margaret’s will congregate at St Margaret’s Church at the slightly earlier time of 10:00am, for the first part of the service – the “Liturgy of the Palms”. This includes a procession from St Margaret’s down to St Giles’, where the service will continue with the “Liturgy of the Passion”.
We recognise that for some members of our community, this procession may be too physically demanding. If this applies to you, please make your way directly to St Giles’ Church for 10:15am, where there will be a slightly shorter version of the Liturgy of the Palms.
We also need readers for the dramatised Passion Gospel, which forms a central part of the Liturgy of the Passion. If you would be willing to read (we’d like volunteers from both churches), please email Sam Schad (samantha.schad@oup.com).
Memory Café
Our next Memory Café will be on Wednesday 25 March. 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.
Benefice book group
The next meeting of the benefice book group is on Wed 15 April, 7.15pm at St Anne’s; and we are discussing Pearl, by Siân Hughes.
For more information, contact Siân Grønlie (curate@stgilesstmargarets.org)
Youth Pilgrimage 2026
Booking is now open for the 2026 Youth Pilgrimage to Worcester Cathedral from 10-14th August. Spaces are limited so please contact Eva for more details.
Volunteers needed on the 17th February to help in the kitchen with refreshments and pancakes. Help also needed for setting up and tidying up, and with serving food. It would be lovely to have some of our young people helping out during the holidays too! Please contact Eva or Claire.
House groups
We are exploring potential interest in small “house groups” for those who might enjoy meeting in homes for conversation, prayer, and informal engagement with Scripture. This is something some people will know from other church traditions, but there is no expectation here that anyone “ought” to join.
At this stage we are simply gathering interest. If you might like to attend, host, or help lead a group, please email Daniel.
Community News
Tea & Talks at St Margaret’s Institute
The current season of Tea & Talks at St Margaret’s Institute continues on Wed 15 April at 1:45-3:30pm with a talk titled Tackling the legacies of slavery and colonialism at English Heritage sites from Andrew Hann. Entry is £2, including tea and cake. All welcome.
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.