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As we look towards August and some people manage to get away for a break we are also talking about scaling down some of our routines for a month. Here are the arrangements for services in August:

• The online service will continue as usual each Sunday at 10am.
• Wednesday Communions will continue at 11am in St Mary’s Kidlington.
• 8am services will stop for August and resume in September.
• Pause for Prayer will stop for August but will resume in September.
• Sunday 1st August the whole team of leaders will be away so there will be no services in our buildings on that day.
• For the rest of August there will be 10am services at St Mary’s Kidlington each week, but they might be simpler.
• St Mary’s Hampton Poyle will have a communion service on Sunday 8th at 10am and we might manage a Rogation Day blessing walk on the afternoon of Sunday 29th (possibly with a horseback rector) – watch this space.
• St John’s will have communion services at 10am on the 15th and 29th August.

We are beginning to see a way forward with opening up our churches that seems to fit with where we are as a parish at this moment in the pandemic. However this takes a little time and we won’t have the agreed way forward for a few more days. 

We are looking for a new administrator to join the team supporting our ministry “to serve the people of Kidlington and Hampton Poyle for their own sakes”. Applicants should be a people person, committed to our vision of ministry, able to use their own initiative, proficient in a range of IT applications, and have some experience in bookkeeping (or a willingness to learn).

For full details and an application form just click here.

We now have access to a better recording of the service at which Susy was ordained priest on June 27th and a selection of photos. See them all here.

Susy will be ordained priest at 3pm on Sunday June 27^th. Normally we would take a coach load of people to support Susy and celebrate with her but with social distancing still in force she can only invite a very few people to be with her in in person. The service will be livestreamed and you can support her from your own home. But we have also had the idea of some people gathering in St Mary’s Kidlington to join the livestream and watch together. This might feel more friendly and more of a shared occasion.  Now that we have our new wifi in the church we can do this sort of thing. You will need to book but there is plenty of room, just click here. Thank you to Scott Cheeseman for volunteering to do the technology for this.

The livestream for the service will be on YouTube, see here

The Order of Service can now be downloaded here.

Susy’s first Mass will be the following Wednesday 30^th June at 11am in St Mary’s and the preacher will be The Rev’d Lucy Winkett. So do put the date in your diary and come and support her if you can; booking as usual. Following the service the congregation will be invited to stay for a presentation to Susy.  Champagne and soft drinks will be served in the churchyard and Susy has asked people to bring their own sandwich lunch to eat together instead of a bring and share lunch which is what we would usually do. 

The meeting for election of churchwardens and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be held, via Zoom, on Tuesday 22nd June at 8pm. Papers will be available in the churches soon or can be downloaded here.

Bishop Steven will be holding a service of Confirmation in St Mary’s Kidlington at 6pm on Tuesday 25th May. Please pray for the candidates: Scott Cheeseman, Denise Dempsey, Sophia Gardam, and Tyson Newell. The service will be livestreamed, so you can join with Facebook as usual.

As usual for Pentecost we will be joining with all the Churches Together in Kidlington for a joint service at 10.30am. So there will be no Anglican online service at 10am. The CTK service will be livestreamed by Kidlington Baptist Church on YouTube, which you can find using this link. There will be an “in-person” service of Holy Communion at 3pm in St Mary’s Kidlington on that day; as usual you will have to book here.

Wanted – Part Time Children and Family Worker

Are you interested in being part of the relaunch of Kidlington Community Hub?  Do you have a passion for working with children and families?

Kidlington Community Hub at St Johns is looking for a Part time Children and Family Worker to support open access Children’s Services to the residents of Kidlington and surrounding areas.

We are looking for a person with a ‘can do’ attitude to lead stay and play sessions, co-ordinate and support volunteers and work in partnership with other agencies.

For more details and an application form just click here.

PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH

10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021

We are deeply saddened by the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh and offer our sincerest condolences to the Royal Family.

A PRAYER ON THE DEATH OF HRH THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH
God of our lives,
 we give thanks for the life of Prince Philip,
 for his love of our country,
 and for his devotion to duty.
 We entrust him now to your love and mercy,
 through our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen.

You can find more on the diocesan website and on the royal website, both of which offer an online book of condolence.

A short reflection from Christ Church Cathedral is available here and you might like to know of the following services which will be live-streamed:

• Evensong from Christ Church at 6pm on Friday 9th (also to be broadcast on BBC Radio Oxford) see YouTube link
• Requiem in Remembrance of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at 1.05pm on Saturday 10th, see YouTube link

Our usual online services are continuing after Easter but we will also be holding some “in-person” services. Every week there will be a service of Holy Communion at St Mary’s Kidlington on Wednesday morning at 11am. We will also celebrate Holy Communion on Sunday afternoons at 3pm at one of our churches, starting with St Mary’s Kidlington on 11th April and St Mary’s Hampton Poyle on 18th April. As usual, it is necessary to book for all the services, just see here. We will be monitoring booking numbers and extra services will be introduced as seems appropriate.

The one difference between now and former times is that congregations are now allowed to sing if they are outside. So if you do book in to a service please be prepared to be invited to sing a hymn outdoors at the end, or indeed in warmer weather to be outdoors for other parts of the service, if appropriate, at the leader’s discretion. This feels like something to celebrate as the first hint of being able to open up a little more. If, however, you don’t want to be involved in singing please feel free just to slip away. There is no compulsion.