Diary Dates Please scroll down to see the appropriate month, but please also note that some of the details are provisional.
The Children’s Group usually
meets during the service on the third Sunday of each month: creative
activities for children aged 5–10.
JANUARY
Sunday 4 January: Preacher: Revd Peter Hewis, Emeritus Chaplain of Harris Manchester College. After the service: sandwich lunch (please bring your own), and a guided tour and talk about the history of the college, led by Peter. All welcome. Ends 2.30 pm.
Sunday 11 January: Preacher: Sue Woolley, District Facilitator of the Midland Union of Unitarian & Free Christian Churches. Committee meeting at 1.15 pm.
Sunday 18 January: Preacher: Revd Dr Richard Boeke, retired Unitarian minister and Secretary of the World Congress of Faiths. A service to mark Martin Luther King Day and the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Children’s activities during the service, led by Julie Adams.
Sunday 25 January: Preacher: Leo Bowder, a member of the Chapel Society. After the service: a sandwich lunch (please bring your own) and an illustrated talk by Leo about his recent visit to the Holy Land. Meeting ends at 2.30 pm. All welcome.
FEBRUARY
Sunday 1 February: Preacher: Revd David Usher, London and South-East District Minister.
Sunday 8 February: Preacher: Dr Howard Oliver, a member of the Chapel Society. A service to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Details on page 3. Children’s activities during the service, led by Julie Adams.
Sunday 15 February: Preacher: Revd Dr Arthur Stewart, Tutor in Ministerial Studies, Harris Manchester College. Special collection for the Ministerial Students’ Fund, contributing to the expenses of trainee Unitarian ministers. Children’s activities during the service, led by Julie Adams. Committee meeting at 1.15 pm.
Sunday 22 February: Preacher: Howard Hague, member of Kensington Unitarians, Secretary of The Foy Society, and part-time archivist at Essex Hall (Unitarian Headquarters).
MARCH 2009
Sunday 1 March: Preacher: Alison Butler,
of the Chapel Society. Followed by a sandwich lunch
(please bring your own), and a discussion about pastoral care in our
congregation. All welcome; meeting ends 2.30 pm.
Wednesday 4 March: Revd Dr Arthur Stewart invites anyone
interested in leading occasional services to attend his practical
seminar on homiletics (the conduct of public worship). 10 am to
1 pm. Meet 9.55 in the college foyer.
Thursday 5 March: Lunchtime recital:
the complete organ works of John Ireland, played by Myles Hartley, FRCO.
1.30 pm in the college chapel.
Sunday 8 March: Preacher: Dr Martin Pulbrook.
After the service: a sandwich lunch
(please bring your own) and a talk by Dr Pulbrook about the non-canonical
gospels. All welcome; meeting ends 2.30 pm.
Thursday 12 March: Lunchtime recital:
music for violin and piano by Beethoven. 1.30 pm in the college chapel;
admission free; retiring collection.
Sunday 15 March: Preacher: Dorothy Haughton,
of the Shrewsbury Unitarian Church. Children’s activities during
the service.
Saturday 21 March: Midland Union AGM at the Great
Meeting House Unitarian Church, Coventry, 10.30 am to 4 pm. Guest speaker:
Revd John Harley, GA Youth Co-ordinator.
Sunday 22 March: Preacher: Alan Ruston,
President of the Unitarian Historical Society and Chair of the Watford
Fellowship.
Sunday 29 March: Preacher: Jim Corrigall,
Golders Green Unitarians.
APRIL 2009
Sunday 5 April: Preacher: Revd Martin Whitell,
Associate Minister of the Portsmouth Unitarian Church. Special collection
for the Unitarian Peace Fellowship Lent Appeal. After the service: a
sandwich lunch (please bring your own) and a discussion of the main
motions for debate at the General Assembly annual meetings. All welcome;
ends 2.30 pm.
Sunday 12 April: Easter Sunday. Preacher:
Leo Bowder, of the Chapel Society; service ends with a short (optional)
celebration of communion. After the service: a sandwich lunch
(please bring your own), and an illustrated talk
by Leo (postponed from 25 January) about his visit to the Holy Land
last year.
Sunday 19 April: Preacher: Revd Peter Hewis,
Chaplain Emeritus, Harris Manchester College. No children’s class
today.
Sunday 26 April: Preacher: David Darling,
Kensington Unitarian Church. Committee meets
at 1.15 pm.
Wednesday 29 April: Revd Dr Arthur Stewart invites members
of our congregation to attend his practical seminar on pastoral care
(and a second session on Wednesday 6 May). 10 am to 1 pm. Meet 9.55
in college foyer.
MAY
Sunday 3 May: Preacher: David Morgan, of the Golders Green Unitarian congregation. Followed by a sandwich lunch (please bring your own), and a report back by Jacky Woodman and Alison Butler from the annual meeting of the Unitarian General Assembly. All welcome; meeting ends 2.30 pm.
Wednesday 6 May: Revd Dr Arthur Stewart invites members of our congregation to attend a seminar on pastoral care. 10 am to 1 pm. Meet 9.55 in the college foyer.
Sunday 10 May: Preacher: Martin Gienke, Lay Leader of the Bury St Edmunds Unitarian Church. Activities for children aged 5–10 during the service today — not next week.
Sunday 17 May: No morning service (streets closed for Fun Run) and no children’s activities. Evening service at 6 pm, led by Dr Howard Oliver to honour the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin; preceded at 5 pm by tea and cakes (please bring some!) in the Wellbeloved Room, with a display of books by and about Darwin.
Sunday 24 May: Preacher: Revd Frank Walker, retired minister of the Cambridge Unitarian Church.
Sunday 31 May: Preacher: Alan Ruston, President of the Unitarian Historical Society and Chair of the Watford Fellowship.
JUNE
Sunday 7 June: Preacher: Professor John Toye, Chair of the Chapel Society. After the service: a sandwich lunch and a guided tour of Oxford Castle. Bring sandwiches to eat after the service: in the college if wet, in the castle grounds if dry.
Saturday 13 June: Unitarian Women’s League Garden Party at the home of Christine Jones in Standlake at 2.30 pm. All welcome. There will be tea, a talk about the work of Meningitis UK (the League's good cause this year), and a chance to stroll round Norman Chart’s lovely garden next door.
Sunday 14 June: Preacher: Val Worthington, Portsmouth Unitarian church. Special collection for this year’s good cause adopted by the Unitarian Women’s League: Meningitis UK.
Sunday 21 June: Preacher: Revd Dr Arthur Stewart, Tutor in Ministerial Studies, Harris Manchester College, and Minister of the Leicester Unitarian church. Committee meets at 1 pm.
Saturday 27 June: Midland Unitarian Association summer outing to Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate, Cheshire. Details on the chapel notice board.
Sunday 28 June: Preacher: Martin Gienke, Lay Leader of the Bury St Edmunds Unitarian Church.
Sunday 5 July: Preacher: Dr Evelyn Taylor, MCO Chapel Society. After the service: lunch and garden party at the home of Allie Butler and Colette Edgeworth Rhatigan in east Oxford. All welcome. Please bring something to drink: fruit juice or wine, whichever you prefer. This is our chance to admire a display of Allie’s very distinctive paintings.
Saturday 22 August: Congregational retreat at St Ethelwold’s House on the bank of the Thames in Abingdon, 10 am to 4.30 pm. A series of half-hour talks by Dr Martin Pulbrook on the theme Women in the Circle of Jesus: A Radical Re-Evaluation of the Scriptural Evidence, interspersed with musical interludes, and meditations led by members of our congregation. Coffee, tea, and lunch will be provided. Join us for a day of reflection, new insights, and deepening friendship. St Ethelwold’s is a peaceful 14th-century house with a beautiful garden on the bank of the Thames in the old heart of Abingdon, easily accessible by public transport from Oxford.