Dear friends,
This Sunday, we are celebrating the feast of St Luke the Evangelist. Luke is perhaps best known as being the attributed author of both the Gospel that bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles, giving us a sweeping two-part narrative, from the shepherds on the hillside to the Mediterranean adventures of St Paul.
Tradition often speaks of Luke as a physician, and you can certainly feel a doctor’s eye in his writing. Of all the Gospel accounts, his Jesus is focused on those on the margins: the poor, the sick, foreigners, and women whose stories might otherwise have been forgotten. But Luke was also a masterful storyteller, and it is to him that we owe some of Jesus’ most beloved parables – the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, and the Pharisee and the Publican.
What unites all of Luke’s writing is a vision of God’s extraordinary mercy. He shows us a faith that moves outward, crossing social, cultural and geographical boundaries and restoring wholeness to broken lives. As we celebrate St Luke this weekend, we are reminded that we too are called to be compassionate observers and active ministers of healing in our own communities – sharing the good news of a God who meets us all precisely where we are, and whose mercy knows no bounds.
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 11 October
St Luke the Evangelist
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
Readings and Collect for 10:30am Services
Collect for St Luke
Almighty God,
you called Luke the physician,
whose praise is in the gospel,
to be an evangelist and physician of the soul:
by the grace of the Spirit
and through the wholesome medicine of the gospel,
give your Church the same love and power to heal;
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.
Bible Readings for St Luke
- Old Testament: Isaiah 35.3–6
- Psalm: Psalm 147.1-7
- Epistle: 2 Timothy 4.5-17
- Gospel: Luke 10.1-9
Recent sermons
Listen to Daniel’s sermon from last Sunday (11 October), or read Siân’s sermon from Sunday 4 October, both at St Giles’ Church.
Click or tap below to listen/read:
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 (18 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)
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
Sammy’s TOMORROW (Saturday)
Will Barnes Quartet
The Will Barnes Quartet returns to Jazz at St Giles’ on 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.
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!
“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
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
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) :
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.
Children and Families at St Margaret’s
A message from Eva:
Working with children isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, even if you love having them as part of the church. If this is you and you’d still like to help, then I need a little group of people who can help me with preparing for our activities. It will mainly be cutting out cardboard or paper shapes. Nothing too strenuous and I’ll provide all the materials. Please do talk to me if you think you might be able to support the work in this way. Eva
Memory Café
Our next Memory Café will be on Wednesday 14 October at the St Margaret’s Institute.
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.
Community News
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.