Welcome to
St Mary Magdalen

Sabbatical Thanks
It really is good to be back! After four months on sabbatical, I have felt such a wave of love that I have been quite overwhelmed. I am sure that lots has happened and I am already hearing wonderful stories of Christian love and service that have gone on at both St George’s and St Mary Magdalen’s in my absence.

Thank you to the staff team, the churchwardens and other parish officers and volunteers who have stepped up to the work. It really means a lot.

I won’t bore you with a detailed rundown of my activities, but here is a brief summary of what has happened. On the family front, Gill and I are now home alone, with both offspring off at university. We miss them hugely but are enjoying rediscovering each other again. Spiritually I have learned things about myself and about God that I didn’t know before. I hope to share some of that with you over the coming months. Finally, I have had a rest. It is good to stop doing things for a while so that you can experience life on the other side, and I have certainly done that!

All in all, I am grateful to you for all you have done, the Church of England for permitting me this generous time, and above all to God, for meeting me in the wilderness and giving me a glimpse of the infinite depths of pure divine love, more of which in due course…

Christmas Community Choir and Carol Service
Following on from last year’s hugely enjoyable and uplifting Christmas Community Choir and Carol Service at St George’s, I am delighted to say that this will happen again this year. Choir rehearsals will be at St George’s again on Sundays between 2pm and 4pm. These are on 26th November, 3rd and 10th December. The Carol Service itself will be at St Mary Magdalen’s at 4pm on Sunday 17th December. I am grateful to Helen Dibley for once again taking on this task.

The Story of Scripture
As you may know, over the years I have been a Bible and Old Testament Tutor for the Diocese. I am very excited about the new Bible couse, The Story of Scripture, which is being launched by the Diocese this month. This is the fruit of months of work by a small team. Here’s what the team have to say about it and about the introductory video here.

“The story of the Bible is fundamentally about how God created us, how things have gone wrong, and how God faithfully throughout human history has called people back into relationship with him. This going deeper course is designed to help you get a firmer handle on that big story through the use of videos, questions, and quizzes. This course can be completed on your own, or as part of a small group. Over six modules, you'll open your Bible, gain a deeper understanding of what God was doing throughout the pages of Scripture and how God is calling you to join in that same story. In this film Dr Andy Angel introduces our new 'Going Deeper' course on learn.oxford.anglican.org. Courses at this level take around 15 hours to complete and can be started at any time during the year. You’ll learn online at your own pace, or as part of a local group exploring six sessions together.

 

https://learn.oxford.anglican.org is free to use and available to people living or worshipping in the Diocese of Oxford (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes).

Please do talk to me about this if you have any questions or would like to register.

With love and best wishes,
Adam