Wychwood

Benefice

St Mary’s Church Feast of Fun on the Village Green on Saturday 18th June from 1 to 4pm

Save your thirst for our bar and your appetite for the variety of lunch options at our Food Marquee:
Traditional hamburger and hot dogs barbecue.
Hot soups and rolls.
Exciting Brazilian, Spanish, and vegetarian options.

Tea, cakes and music in the comfort of the Church.

Don’t forget all of the stalls and games and bring all your loose change.

White Elephant stall:
Please remember to offer your reusable and sellable personal effects, house and garden wares. Quality books and jigsaw puzzles especially welcome. Delivery up to Wednesday 15th June, please.
Anything up to the size of a folding chair can be taken. Please deliver in boxes or transparent plastic bags. Please no electrical goods, liquids or chemicals.

Collection point: Standing House, Shipton Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood (opposite Shipton Standing) preferably between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Thursday to Sunday inclusive.

For advice and information, call the Coordinator, James Walmsley on 830842, and also please contact James if you are willing to assist on the stalls/preparation and are not already signed up.

In answer to popular request we are holding a Barn Dance on Friday 24 June at Manor Farm Barn, Upper Milton OX7 6EX  6.30-10.30pm, in aid of Church funds.

The  bar will open at 6.30 pm and we will have a sit down buffet supper, beginning at 7pm, that will surprisingly feature roast pork accompanied by various salads and followed by home made puddings. There will be vegetarian options.

Dancing to the acclaimed barn dance group Bathsheba’s Wedding will commence at 8.30 and they will continue playing until 10.30. No previous experience is needed – it’s great fun learning!

Tickets cost £15 for adults and £5 for children, from Mike Hartley 01993 830 160  or The Benefice Centre (open Monday and Friday mornings )

We are holding special services in celebration of marriage on Sunday 26 June

at 9.30am in Milton church

at 11.00am in Shipton church

for all those who have been married and their families and friends

There will be opportunity to give thanks for your marriage, to renew your vows and celebrate together. The service will be followed by refreshments.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked that each parish church in the land engage in a week of prayer. This is the week before Pentecost (May 8th-15th). Prayer is to be focused around ‘Your Kingdom come, your will be done’ which is, of course, very close to our hearts too.

In our Benefice, we will be making this a special focus of our midday prayers that week, and we will be handing our home groups over to prayer for that week.
On the Friday, our church school will be visiting Milton for a Pentecost service, where we will be thinking about what the world with God’s Kingdom come might look like.

The week will culminate in our UB Pentecost service, where we will, again, have a particular focus on prayer.
So, let’s get ready to pray with the church across this land, and let’s expect God to do wonderful things in response.

There will be an immediate opportunity for us to respond in gratitude for the many blessings in our lives the week following the week of prayer. Christian Aid week begins on Pentecost Sunday and continues through the week. Let’s begin to think about how we might make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters who do not enjoy the many blessings we have.

Midday Prayers
Midday Prayers are open to all and take place as follows:

Mondays: Milton Church Room
Tuesdays: Fifield Church
Thursdays: Idbury Church
Fridays: Prayers for Peace in Shipton Church

Monday midday prayers in the Milton Church Room is a time for quiet reflection on varied matters, for which our prayers are needed.  The readings often turn out to be most appropriate.  Not only parochial “for the sick”, but also wider issues are raised and there are frequent occasions ‘when two or three are gathered together, you grant their requests ‘.

As a relative newcomer to midday prayers I can say what a difference it makes to be ablegather with some of the “church family” to discuss and pray over, issues and problems that cannot necessarily be addressed on a Sunday. It keeps a sense of continuity of being “church” in this community from week to week and allows us to get to know other members of our “fellowship” and promotes just that – fellowship.. It also provides a forum for us to be able to support each other in our needs and to help us maintain a closer Christian walk which at times is particularly challenging!

I come to midday prayers to share with others our own concerns, and those for people in our church and community and in the world, and remembering to thank God for his goodness – blessings we have received and answers to prayers. It is a more intimate space than church because there are only a few of us. As a result we have got to know each other well and feel free to share things that we might feel uncomfortable about mentioning on a Sunday morning. It is also good to read the set daily bible passages together, which often tie in miraculously with what we have been talking or thinking about. I treasure this time at Milton on a Monday but also try to get to the other churches on different days of the week sometimes – to spend time with others in the benefice and/or have time alone with Kate and/or Anne. I think it is so good that the churches are open and that there are these regular times set apart for prayer in our busy lives – yours especially – it is a great commitment.  It would be great if more people could come and enjoy them –Monday prayers are a welcome time of thoughtful reflection during a busy day and an opportunity to share concerns and give thanks with dear friends.  It has become a valued part of my life.

Marriage Preparation Course:  Sunday 24 April

On 24th April, we will be hosting an afternoon for all our marriage couples to come together and think about their wedding day and, more importantly, their marriage. This will be from 2-5, with afternoon tea provided. Anne, Alan and Jules Kennedy and I are undertaking some training at the beginning of the month to better equip us to serve these couples at this most important time. If you would like to get involved in this part of our ministry, either accompanying couples, making cakes or praying, please do speak to me. Kate
[email protected] 01993 832 514.

Next dates: 1 & 15 May, 5 & 19 June,

CAKE is place where we can relax be ourselves talk about our lives help each other but have fun at the same time! I’ve become close friends with the people at cake and we all believe in the same thing so don’t feel shy about expressing ourselves! CAKE has also helped me understand christianity more and helped bring me closer to god and his world. If there is one thing I would remember about growing up as a christian it would be going to CAKE and the amazing people and unforgettable memories we have made!

CAKE is our youth group which meets on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month from 7-8pm in the Vicarage. All are welcome.

Email Kate Or phone her on 01993 832514

Once again a group of us will be taking part in our Good Friday Walk this year. We leave Shipton at 9.30am and walk to Milton in time to meet those attending the Good Friday Family Service in Milton Church (which starts at 9.30am). We then walk to Fifield where we stop to picnic at midday. Next we walk on to Idbury for our Hour at the Cross Service at 2pm before walking back again.

Please speak to Kate or Anne if you’d like more information.

We are delighted to have Michael Bochmann, the international violinist and the critically acclaimed pianist Marcel Zidani in concert in Milton Church on Friday 29 April.

There is nothing to compare with live performance in the field of entertainment and it is a great opportunity to see such talented professional musicians here on our doorstep in Milton.

Michael Bochmann has made a significant contribution to the world of classical music through performances, media and education. His passion is to speak directly through the language of music.

Over the last 30 years, Michael has produced over 50 recordings with the BBC in his work with the Bochmann Quartet, as concert master of the ESO and as a soloist. In 1990 he toured the U.S. and Canada, partnering Yehudi Menuhin in Bach’s Double Violin Concerto. More recently Michael has played a key role, as Director of Music, in setting up and running the Water City Festival which is an initiative in East London to connect those who live, work and play in the Host Boroughs to the Olympics through music and art.

Together with Marcel Zidani  they will perform a programme including Beethoven’s Spring Sonata and The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams. Michael is a great communicator which make his performances very popular and accessible. On this evening in Milton Church he will give an opportunity to children from our Wychwood school to play 2 short  pieces with him.

Tickets cost £10 per adult and are free to children. They can be bought from the Benefice Office, Milton Library or from Mike Hartley 01993 830160.

Following the inaugural Palm Sunday Lent Lunch last year, after our UB service in Milton which starts at 10am, we are going to build on that this year.  Once again, it will be great to spend time together, get to know new faces, share some food and raise money for Christian Aid in the process.  Who will you bring along? Do join us at 12 noon in Milton Village Hall.