Parish Jottings

Churchyard Clear-up

On 19^th March, the church held another Churchyard Clear-up. The previous one, which was held on 24^th November last, turned out to be almost a complete washout due to the unexpectedly wintry day; however, this time the weather was fine, although rather cold. About a dozen people turned up to care for 'God's acre' and also many indoor jobs in the church were done as well. Our churchyard is a haven of wildlife containing a rich diversity of plant and animal life, and for this reason, it is important that we take regular care of it for the benefit of future generations.

New Church Banners

Mary Burton, together with Rosemary Woodroffe, has made two new banners for our church and they can be seen hanging in the nave. One banner has an Easter theme: "He is risen; He is risen, indeed." The other banner reflects the white dove as a messenger of love and peace and the descent of the Holy Spirit into Jesus during His baptism.

Easter Flowers

'All things bright and beautiful' was the keynote of the Easter flowers in church. The flower ladies provided us with displays of glowing colours to adorn the interior of the church and captivate the natural beauty and heavenly radiance of the spring flowers. The flower displays comprised a predominance of white and yellow colours and include white lilies, white and yellow roses, pale lemon chrysanthemums, yellow daffodils and forsythia and red flowering current, all set amongst a variety of mixed greenery. Unfortunately, the church copier cannot reproduce pictures of these displays in colour, so you will have to see them in church, or, on-line.

New Bishop of Oxford

A new Bishop of Oxford has been appointed. He is The Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, who has been Bishop of Sheffield for the past seven years and a member of the House of Lords since 2013. Bishop Steven expects to take up his new post in the autumn. The former Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, retired in October 2014 and since then, the Rt Revd Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester, has been Acting Bishop of Oxford.

The Rt Reverend Dr Steven Croft, the new Bishop of Oxford

The Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd Professor Martyn Percy, said: “Bishop Steven comes with a wealth of experience in ministry, mission and in theological education, and the diocese will welcome the many gifts that he will bring to our work across the cities, communities and counties of the diocese. The diocese – like its cathedral – is both complex and unique, and we look forward to the distinctive gifts that Bishop Steven will bring to us in our shared vocation.”

Word for Today

Reading the newspapers these days can be both concerning and disheartening; they seem to be full of scaremongering headlines and articles and contain confusing and misleading propaganda about what our destiny is to be - in, or out, of the European Union. As an escape from this secular grind, you can relax and read a daily devotional passage from 'The Word for Today', and reflect on the comfort of God's Word. These bi-monthly booklets are free of charge and can be picked up in church. The latest one available is the May / June issue.

Easter in pictures (by the children of Trinity School)