The mission of the benefice of Garsington, Cuddesdon and Horspath is:

To be an energetic and attractive Christian witness in our communities and encourage lay ministry.

To serve our semi-rural communities.

To have inspired worship and present the Gospel to all.

To engage with faith in a relevant and intellectually stimulating way

To reach out to age-groups under-represented in our current congregations especially to the young

To be a welcoming church to the staff and students of Ripon college Cuddesdon
Below is just some of the services and events we hold to live out and further our mission to share God’s love in Garsington in the last year.

Worship and Education

The number and times of Sunday services at St Mary’s is as follows:

• 9:30 am Parish Communion, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Sunday
• 9:30 am Breakfast Time at St Mary’s on the 4^th Sunday.
• 10:00 am Benefice Service alternating amongst the parishes on the 5th Sunday.

School & Youth Work

The ‘Children’s Corner’ is kept fresh as an area which is attractive and interesting for children.  Children enjoy using the area.

The Vicar continues to visit Garsington C.E. Primary School regularly to take assemblies and lead prayer walks.  The School comes to Church for special services including Harvest, Christmas and the Leavers’ Service, when the children are presented with Bibles on behalf of the Church and the School; individual classes visit for class work. The Vicar is a Foundation Governor.

Outreach

An uplifting film called Into the West was shown at the village hall on 16^th January ‘Blue Monday’, which lifted the spirits of all attending, thanks go to Angharad Jeffery for organising this successful event.  In September, a Harvest lunch was put on at the church with invitations being given to those who regularly attend the Lunch Club in the Village Hall.  It was a good event and attracted some folk who never otherwise enter the church.  The popular Apple Festival was held at the Rectory in October and this year was a fundraising event and thanks go to Tina Everett for organising the stalls and raffle.  Also in October some 36 parishioners and friends enjoyed a memorable “Safari Supper”, thanks to Angharad Jeffery’s organisational skills, roaming the village to eat different courses of a dinner at different homes, which raised money for Christian Aid. The church continues to support USPG and Asylum Welcome through the hard work of Tina Everett. There was a soup lunch in aid of the Good Neighbours programme and the church at Jane Kay’s house in February.

The highly popular St Mary’s Café on 3^rd Friday of each month continues, run by Eileen Frazer and Sue Leahy with helpers. The church has also encouraged the building to be used as a facility for village functions, including a folk concert given by Miranda Sykes.

The PCC under the charge of Eileen Frazer once again organised the distribution gifts of plants, biscuits and baskets to elderly, housebound and bereaved parishioners at Christmas time; these are always most gratefully received.

Our team of flower arrangers, Jenny Rothery and Carol Vincent, continue to make the church look splendid and give pleasure to all with their beautiful displays.

We are indebted and fortunate that so many give of their time, money and talents so willingly, as everything that is done in St Mary’s is done voluntarily and often at a cost to the individual.  Special thanks go to the members of the PCC who lead the church community and set the vision.  Thanks also goes to those who help prepare for services, the sidespersons, readers, those who lead the intercessions and those who make coffee and supply cakes; to Mark Chapman and all the clergy who lead our worship, and to Richard Jeffery and our bell ringers.  Special thanks goes to Roger Ovenden who draws up the rotas and lectionary of readings.  Special thanks also go to our Church Wardens, John and Robin, for all the often hidden ways in which they care for the building and ensures everything runs smoothly.

Thanks to our organists, John Buckley, Peter Lynan, and Robert Wells, and to all who help transport them.  To Jenny Rothery and all the flower arrangers who supply and regularly arrange flowers in the church and who also clean the church are very much appreciated for the unseen work that they do.  Many thanks go to Brian Hegarty, David Childs and Cliff Shuker for their continued upkeep of the churchyard.  Thanks also to Peter Cousin for his assistance with the collections, and to Sarah Waugh for her assistance with Family Communion and St Mary’s Café mornings.

The Vicar, Eric Rix and John Hall lock and unlock the church each day, and also keep a watchful eye upon it.   The open church is much appreciated by those wishing to spend time in quietness in this sacred space.  We are indebted to them for this dedication and commitment.

The generosity and goodwill of them all is appreciated and essential to the successful running of the church.

Mission Action Plan form – Garsington Jan 18