Seven Churches in South Oxfordshire

Church News

From the Rector: Tuesday 19th March 2024

A different kind of prayer. Dear friends, If you were asked to define prayer, what would you say? Most would centre on a reply that was something like “asking God for things” – whether that be aid in difficulties or a material improvement in life circumstances. In the New Testament, Jesus mines this vein in the Lord’s prayer, expanding our engagement with…

From the Rector: Tuesday 20th February 2024

Looking over the wreckage Dear friends “If you want to make God laugh,” said Woody Allen, “Tell him your plans.” This is true for institutions as well as individuals. Lanercost Priory in north Cumbria was one of the smaller religious houses, and thus one of the first plundered (or, reformed, if you are an ardent monarchist) by the agents of Henry VIII,…

From the Rector: Tuesday 6th February 2024

The future of warfare Dear friends, One of the most memorable Dr Who adventures from my childhood was Terry Nation’s “Genesis of the Daleks”. Tom Baker, as Dr Who, complete with floppy hat and flowing scarf, finds himself on the planet Skaro, where two civilisations are locked in perpetual battle, both under huge concrete domes, hurling missiles at each other across the…

From the Rector: Tuesday 30th January 2024

Tail End Dear friends, A wonderful English idiom for “the last bit”, we (happily, unless you are winter lover) reach the dog days of January, knowing that whilst February’s arrival does not necessarily auger any improvement in the weather, nevertheless the days lengthen, and the month ahead is often strangely short, hastened by the school half term and the opportunity presented by…

From the Rector: Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Light and darkness Dear friends This rather bleak and storm swept week in January holds two rather different commemorations. Thursday (25th) is the feast of the conversion of St Paul, knocked to the ground by a divine revelation on the road to Damascus, whilst about the business of destroying early Christian communities, who at that time were worshipping as either house-churches or…

From the Rector: Tuesday 9th January 2024

High Water Dear friends, The level of the Thames begins to fall, as a vast volume of storm water moves through and away from our area. Some recording stations have monitored levels almost a metre above the normal peak. Flood plain fields are awash, and riverside properties in Wallingford have flooded. Only the bird life rejoices, as their aquatic habitat is suddenly…