Passion Sunday – A Theological Reflection

Today is Passion Sunday – the beginning of the two most holy weeks of the Christian calendar. It is, under normal circumstances, our habit at St Oswald’s to read the Passion Gospel on this Sunday rather than on Palm Sunday. Doing so is always a powerfully moving experience – Jesus moving inevitably towards crucifixion and…

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A year on … a National Day of Reflection

March 23rd marks the first anniversary of the national lockdown. In that time over 125,000 people have died in the UK after testing positive, many more have been seriously ill (some with the distressing symptoms of long Covid), education has been disrupted and numerous jobs have been lost. It is to remember the cost of…

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Sunday Worship – Passion Sunday

This Sunday, we shall be marking Passion Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Lent. Join in worship with Rev’d Philippa White of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The service begins Sunday 9am and will be available thereafter. At 2pm the Vicar’s afternoon sermon, titled ‘Passion Sunday – A Theological Reflection’,  will be uploaded to the blog…

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God our Mother

Mothering Sunday, the day of thanksgiving for our mother, the Church, as well as our earthly mothers, is a good time to reflect on the idea of ‘God our Mother’. Thirty years ago this image of God was shocking to many people – these days I think we mostly take it in our stride. But…

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Sunday Worship – Mothering Sunday

Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, the Bishop of Gloucester, will lead the online Mothering Sunday service which starts at 9am and will be available thereafter. There will be a sermon from Pam Rhodes and the worship will include real-life stories of mothering. The Vicar’s afternoon sermon, God our Mother, will be uploaded to the blog at…

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Frameworks for Life

Exodus 20:1-17 Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 John 2:13-22 Do you remember the art made in the ‘60s and ‘70s made with a framework of nails on a board or frame, and thread wound around to make geometric patterns and shapes? These days it’s called ‘string art’. Or Spirograph – patterns made by cogged wheels…

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Hope that there can be healing

Today’s Bible Readings Genesis 9:8-17 Psalm 25:1-9 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15 We’ve had a rash of rainbows over the past few months – everywhere you go they’re there. They have stood for hope, even when there was very little of it about. Perhaps there is hope on the horizon now: hope for NHS and…

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