Author: Judy French

A community lunch was held yesterday In St Mary’s Church after the 10.30am Candlemas Service. A bring and share lunch was enjoyed by all. Our warmest thanks and gratitude to all those who provided food and those whose hard work and organisation made it possible.

There will be a service of Choral Evensong at St Mary‘s Church on Sunday 2nd February at 6pm. It will be led by the Vicar, with Richard Fairhurst on the organ and St Mary’s Choir singing Magnificat and Nunc Dimmitis in B flat from C V Stanford, and Preces and Responses by William Byrd. All welcome.

The service for Candlemas (Presentation of Christ in the Temple) is on Sunday 2nd February at the time of 10.30am and will be followed by a bring and share community lunch. All welcome, and the lunch is free! Poster here.

Churches Together in Charlbury met for an act of worship in the Quaker tradition, blending some elements of other churches’ worship such as hymns and prayers with a time of silent worship. The theme was the renewal of creation. Listen to the recording of the service here.

We are excited about holding our 6th Christmas tree festival this year and hope you will participate by decorating a tree. The festival will run from 13th December – 2nd January 2025

As in previous years, there will be competitions and events to enjoy.

●      The Festival Celebration will take place on Friday, 13th December, at St Mary’s from 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM. There will be music from the Children’s School Choir, free food and drink, and we will switch on the Christmas lights!

●      Test your festive knowledge at the Christmas Quiz, which will take place on Saturday, 14 December, at 6:30 PM.

●      Enjoy a Carol Service at Shorthampton on Sunday, 15 December from 3:00 – 4:00 PM.

If you or your organisation want to participate in the festival this year, support us, or have any queries, please register through the link (https://forms.gle/QJDwZR3XYeQAGtZa8), the QR Code on the poster, or contact Anna.

The money raised will be donated to the St Mary’s appeal and will contribute to the parish’s outreach work. We would love to hear from you if you would like to be involved.

This year, we will collaborate with Cornerstone to support local families struggling to afford Christmas gifts for their children with the Giving Tree. Please consider stopping by the Community Centre, Cornerstone, or St Marys to help support a local kid in need!

Anna – charlburyctf@gmail.com

St Mary’s Church Office – parishoffice@charlburychurch.uk

A huge thank you to all those who donated their unwanted useable tools.
They were collected this week and will be taken to be refurbished, sorted
into tool kits and sent to developing communities in Africa. Last year these
included Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania and DR Congo.

St Mary’s Choir and Organist Richard Fairhurst offered Choral Evensong on Advent Sunday, 1st December at 6pm in St Mary’s Church. The service was led by our Vicar Fergus.

A recording of this service is now available here.