| 08:00 | Buckland
Holy Communion (Said 1662) | | 09:00 | Hinton Waldrist
Holy Communion (Said 1662) | | 10:00 | Buckland
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | 10:00 | Charney Bassett
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | 09:15 | Charney Bassett
Ash Wednesday Holy Communion (CW) | | 19:30 | Hinton Waldrist
Ash Wednesday Holy Communion (CW) | | 08:00 | Buckland
Holy Communion (Said 1662) | | 10:00 | Longworth
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | 10:00 | Pusey
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | 11:15 | Lyford
Holy Communion (1662 sung) | | 18:00 | Littleworth
Evening Worship CW | | 08:00 | Buckland
Holy Communion (Said 1662) | | 09:00 | Longworth
Holy Communion (Said 1662) | | 10:00 | Buckland
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | 10:00 | Charney Bassett
All Age Worship | | 10:00 | Hinton Waldrist
Holy Communion (Common Worship) | | | |
| » | Buckland
St Mary the Virgin
| | » | Charney Bassett
St Peter
| | » | Faringdon
All Saints'
| | » | Hinton Waldrist
St Margaret of Antioch
| | » | Littleworth
Church of the Holy Ascension
| | » | Longworth
St Mary's
| | » | Lyford
Grange Barn
| | » | Lyford
St Mary's
| | » | Pusey
All Saints' Church
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The United Benefice of Cherbury with Gainfield was set up in late 2003. It is part of the Deanery of The Vale of the White Horse, in the Achdeanery of Berkshire within the Diocese of Oxford. The Benefice consists of seven churches: Longworth, Hinton Waldrist, Buckland and Littleworth situated along the A420 from Oxford to Faringdon and Charney Bassett, Lyford and Pusey lying to the south of the A420.
The Benefice is currently in an Interregnum awaiting the post of Rector to be filled. The Associate Priest is the Revd Joy Hance living with her husband Nick in the Vicarage at Buckland. Services are also taken by Meg Terry, the Licenced Lay Minister and Tony and Sue Wales who are also licenced to distribute Communion by Extension (Sue) and preacher (Tony).
Daily Prayer may be found on:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/dailyprayer
| | |  The Church of the Holy Ascension on Sunday 31st. played host to the Benefice Service. A cold and frosty but sunny morning, greeted parishioners at Littleworth. Led by Revd. Joy Hance, assisted by Meg Terry who had just returned from Australia, the service proved to be an excellent and special service. Joy, utilising one of her many talents, unusually led the congregation by singing a solo 'cantor' in the 'Peruvian Gloria'.
Featured in the photograph, Meg Greenwood, Warden at St Mary's Longworth and member of the Faringdon Singers, joined forces with the Buckland choir to help create a Benefice Choir. They sang the anthem "O nata Lux" by Tallis. Choir master and organist Bernard Martin, urges anyone living in the Benefice, who would like to sing with the Choir, to join this group throughout the year and especially on memorable occasions such as this. See website for further details. |  THE BEAUTY OF CREATION
Whatever we think about the impracticalities of snow it's difficult to ignore how beautiful the countryside looks when it's first fallen. In particular the way it lands on every horizontal surface, giving the scenery an extra-dimensional look. And now it's gone we can see signs of Spring - there are catkins in our garden!
The visually stunning 3D film Avatar portrays creation on another planet where the inhabitants are intimately connected with their world in a way that may be lost in our urban surroundings but we can still appreciate in the countryside. The Na'vi people's deity resides in the vegetation, in particular the trees, and so they treat it with great reverence because they know their existence depends on doing this. How does this resonate with you?
The Bible also talks about God being present in our world through his creation. Psalm 19 says 'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.' Few words have spoken more powerfully of God's presence than the wonder of nature. Many poets, such as William Wordsworth, have also expressed the wonder of creation. This is not to idealise nature, for there is much within it that is harsh, and to our minds, cruel. Yet this can never detract from the loveliness of so much around us: the awesomeness of the stars at night which we can see so clearly from our villages, the simple song of a bird as we walk, the buds forming on the trees. These speak not just of the wonder of this world but also of the splendour of God. We need to thank him for such treasure and also to recognise, as the Na'vi people in the film, our duty to safeguard our world. Ecological responsibility in an age of global warming and unprecedented environmental exploitation is not an optional extra - it should be central to our way of living. The cinema advertisements preceding Avatar were about this very issue.
What aspects of creation speak most powerfully to you of God? And in what ways are you helping to preserve the environment, and in what ways are you guilty of exploiting it? Lent begins at the end of February and the Church uses this time of the year for penitence and reflection. I invite you to reflect on your attitude to creation and use this prayer written by Nick Fawcett as one of your Lenten prayers.
Loving God, I thank you for the wonder of the universe and the infinite beauty of this world. I praise you for the loveliness that surrounds me, the inexhaustible splendour of creation. Forgive me from becoming over familiar with it all, exploiting and squandering your many gifts. Help me to rejoice in all you have given and to act as a faithful steward of creation, to the glory of your name. Amen.
With best wishes, Joy Hance
| Following the advice of the Church of England, Communion services in the Benefice and in particular, the receiving of the Bread and Wine, will return to normal practice as of Sunday 24th January 2010.
|  UNITED BENEFICE OF CHERBURY WITH GAINFIELD
In addition to the Lent Course on Prayer which Bishop John Pritchard is leading on Thursday evenings in Faringdon there will also be a Set of Five Bible Studies on St John's Gospel by Paula Clifford and Bishop John Pritchard SCHEDULED ON DIFFERENT DAYS AND TIMES. See Diary page for details.
The studies are designed to explore the five components of the Oxford Diocese's Living Faith vision. They are based on Sustaining the Sacred Centre, Making Disciples, Making a Difference in Society, Creating Vibrant Christian Communities and Shaping Confident, Collaborative Leadership.
You are invited to either or both of these two courses during Lent.
More information from Joy Hance 01367 870618.
|  Often we think about Lent as a time for giving things up - but that's not really its primary purpose. I like to think of Lent as a time for growth - growth in faith, growth in depth, growth in understanding.
Lent can be a good time to think about our priorities - what are the things that really matter - and giving our attention to these things. I wonder what our priorities would be?
Our new Bishop of Oxford, Bishop John Pritchard, has set a very clear priority at present, and that is the priority of PRAYER - or as he puts it - "Sustaining the sacred centre". He wants to encourage us to "deepen our enjoyment of God, and to recognise God's presence in everyday life".
Is he right - is this really a priority, when we are all so busy and have so much to get done?
I think he is. Prayer is not about achieving something, getting something done - or persuading God to do something! It is above all about altering the whole way we look at life. It transforms our attitude to life, and makes us see the whole of life differently - a bit like the change from an overcast day to a day full of sunlight.
Bishop John is coming to All Saints Faringdon in March to lead four evenings on "Making Prayer Real":'
Thurs 4th March - 19.45 - The Great Leveller
Thurs 11th March - 19.45 -Praying through the day
Thurs 18th March - 19.45 - Stretching out prayers
Thurs 25th March - 19.45 - When the well runs dry
Plenty of Parking available in local Car Parks only. To assist with transport, most local Churches will be providing transport - apply to your Wardens for further information. All the churches in Faringdon and in the nearby villages in the Vale are involved and are supporting this - and members of any church - or none! - are very welcome to join us.
It would be helpful to on behalf of Churches together in Faringdon & Deanery of the Vale of White Horse have a rough idea of numbers, so if you are expecting to come, could you please either phone our Church Administrator on 07824-757757, or sign a list if one is provided in your church. But do come anyway, whether you've done so or not! |  The Parish Profile is now available to download.
To read this document via a large PDF file, click on 'Parish Profile'. It covers concise and up to date information on the Benefice of Cherbury with Gainfield and each of the seven parishes within the Benefice.
WARNING - the download file is just over 5mb and may take a few minutes to download! |  Following the approval of the Parish Profile by the PCCs, (see above for a free download) there was a meeting in Jesus College Oxford in November with the Patrons and the Parish Reps. We have been able to put together the following timetable for advertising, followed hopefully by short-listing suitable candidates, inviting them to the Benefice, and then finally an interview date.
Here is the timetable:
8th & 15th Jan Advertising in the Church Times
3rd Feb Closing date for applications
4th Feb Short-listing of candidates. Parish Reps to meet the Patrons
5th Feb - 25th Feb Parish visits for short-listed candidates
26th Feb Interview day
If anyone has any questions or queries, they should get in touch with their Parish Rep - just to remind everyone who they are:
Longworth - Meg Greenwood on 01865 821503
Charney Bassett - Sue Wales on 01235 868182
Littleworth - Jill Woodward on 01367 241328
Pusey - Hugh Buchanan on 01367 870497
Buckland - Peter Bagnall on 01367 870873
Hinton Waldrist - Andrew Bloomfield 01865 820595
Lyford - Christoff Lewis (Chairman) 01235 868536 | | | Deanery Synod Mission & Outreach Grants.
GIVING IS ALSO WHAT WE DO
CHURCH TREASURER URGENTLY NEEDED
RWMT Minibus
Church Choir, Gainfield
Tesco Free Bus from Buckland
The Village Diner
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| 10:00 | Pancake Morning
1 Barnfield, Charney Bassett | | 09:15 | ASH WEDNESDAY 2010
St Peter's Church, Charney Bassett | | 12:15 | The VILLAGE DINER
The Memorial Hall, Buckland | | 19:30 | ASH WEDNESDAY 2010
Church of St Margaret of Antioch, Hinton Waldrist | | 19:30 | Whist Drive
Reading Room, Littleworth | | 14:00 | LENT COURSES 2010
The Vicarage in Buckland | | 19:30 | Benefice Fellowship Group Meeting
The Vicarage, Buckland. | | 14:00 | LENT COURSES 2010
The Vicarage in Buckland | | 10:30 | Coffee Morning
The Vicarage, Buckland | | 19:45 | BISHOP JOHN COMES TO Faringdon
All Saints' Church, Faringdon | | 14:00 | LENT COURSES 2010
The Vicarage in Buckland | | 19:45 | BISHOP JOHN COMES TO Faringdon
All Saints' Church, Faringdon | | 14:00 | LENT COURSES 2010
The Vicarage in Buckland | | 12:15 | The VILLAGE DINER
The Memorial Hall, Buckland | | 19:30 | Whist Drive
Reading Room, Littleworth | | 19:45 | BISHOP JOHN COMES TO Faringdon
All Saints' Church, Faringdon | | 14:00 | LENT COURSES 2010
The Vicarage in Buckland | | 19:45 | BISHOP JOHN COMES TO Faringdon
All Saints' Church, Faringdon | | 10:00 | Spring 'Bring & Buy' Sale & Coffee Morning
Charney Bassett Village Hall | | 10:30 | Coffee Morning
The Vicarage, Buckland | | | |
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