the Deanery Donkey ✦ No 47 Lent to Easter 2015 ✦ GOODBYE, MARK! The Deanery is bidding a sad farewell to the Area Dean the Revd Dr Mark Butcher at the end of this month, when he moves on to his new role as Archdeacon of Barnstaple (North Devon, in the Diocese of Exeter). Soon after I became Deanery Lay Chairman, several people commented that it must be a pleasure working with Mark, to which I enthusiastically assented: he is consistently efficient, fair-minded and, above all, fun. I know many in the Deanery will agree that North Devon’s gain is very much our loss. Mark will be installed (along with the new Archdeacon of Totnes and the new Bishop of Plymouth) in Exeter Cathedral at 5.30pm on Monday, 20 April during Choral Evensong, having previously been collated in Barnstaple in March. (‘Will you be stapled as well as collated, Mark?’ I asked. ‘I hope so’, he replied, ‘or I’ll just fall apart!’) Prudence Dailey It says a great deal that when Mark Butchers was appointed Area Dean in 2012, those of us in the parish of Wolvercote were scarcely aware of the difference. The same could have been said when he added the parish of Wytham to his duties in 2010. From the moment of his arrival in Wolvercote in 2005, Mark made an impact. He learned names quickly, he made himself known in the community, and he made it possible for the congregation to recognise what needed to be done and to get on and do it. Michael Daniell WELCOME WILL! The Rev. Will Donaldson is our new Area Dean of Oxford. He is currently Chaplain at St Edmund Hall in Oxford University, and also Director of Pastoral Care at St Aldates Church, Oxford. Previously, from 2007, he was Director of Christian Leadership at Wycliffe Hall where he taught Leadership Studies and had oversight of all the ministerial training. Will has had twenty-five years in parish ministry before coming to Oxford and has been Vicar of churches in Bristol and London. He has also been a Director of Ordinands in the London Diocese, and a Bishop’s Ministerial Reviewer. Will is married to Ruth and they have four older children. He loves visiting places of historical interest, reading theological and historical books, travelling cross-culturally, going to the theatre and cinema, watching sport and is a keen Manchester United fan! My vision for the Deanery is still taking shape: but I love Acts 2.42-47… ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved’. deanery news PARISH SHARE 2016 AND BEYOND The words ‘Parish Share’ are uppermost in a great many parishes. Prudence Dailey explains how the Deanery is looking to how it is worked out in the future. Our current method of allocating Share between parishes within the Deanery is designed so that each parish covers its ministry costs as a minimum, plus a reasonable proportion of other Diocesan/national church costs based on a variety of criteria. This system was brought in over the four years up to 2009, and since then we have added on the percentage increase each year with various adjustments, particularly for parishes struggling to pay. 2015 would have seen a 12% increase in Deanery Share, had this not been capped at the Diocesan maximum of a 4.5% increase, and it is likely that the Oxford Deanery will be facing 4.5% increases each year for the foreseeable future. (This situation has been brought about by the decline in church attendance overall, which has impacted less heavily on the city than on rural areas.) It has become clear that applying this increase across the board year on year will simply not be sustainable for a number of parishes in the Deanery. The Deanery Treasurer, Alan McCullough, endeavoured to adjust the formula in various ways, but every attempt produced more anomalies. We therefore decided to keep the current system for 2015, but to set up a review process to identify a new system for 2016. We have now held the first of a series of meetings for treasurers and incumbents in the Deanery, following which all parishes in the Deanery have been asked to produce a summary of financial and other information, to be shared with the group as part of a ‘transparency exercise’. The next meeting will take place in March. Reminder The next meeting of the Oxford Deanery Synod is on Thursday 26 February at 7.45 at St John the Evangalist, Vicarage Road, New Hinksey (off the Abingdon Road). St Andrew’s, Linton Road ! Opening Celebrations of The New Jubilee Building Celebration Services on Sunday March 15th Speaker: Bishop John Pritchard ~ all welcome 9.30am All Age Family service followed by drinks and cakes 10.45am Official Opening 11.15am Celebration Morning Prayer 6pm Pre-election Making Sense of Life “Should we care about politics?” with Andrew Gant, Bishop John, Nicola Blackwood MP, Tom Benyon and others christ church cathedral COMPLINE – Mondays in Lent On Mondays during Lent Compline will be sung at 8.30pm: 23 February, 2, 9, 16, 23 March. A short address will be delivered each week by members of the Cathedral Chapter and the office will be sung by members of the Cathedral Choir under the direction of Alexander Pott, the Organ Scholar. On Monday of Holy Week, 30 March, a version of the Tenebrae liturgy will be sung at 8.30pm. THREE CHOIRS EVENSONG – 7 March On Saturday 7 March the choirs of Magdalen College and New College will join forces with the cathedral Choir to sing Evensong at Christ Church. The music will include Guerrero’s Duo Seraphim and Stanford’s Lo, I raise up. AFTER EIGHT Christ Church’s After Eight services continue at 8pm on Sunday evenings in the University Term. On 15 February we begin a series of four services on the theme: ‘When I Needed a Neighbour’. Speakers will reflect on the Christian ministry they exercise on the margins of modern life: 1 March Janet Proudman, LLM and Hospital Lay Chaplain 8 March The Revd Phil Atkinson, Managing Director of ACTI, Aldate’s Community Transformation Initiatives. FRIDAY PRAYERS The Cathedral is offering brief prayers at 12noon each Friday, with a particular intention for peace between the religious traditions. St Ebbe’s Samurai Tea Samurai, Tea Ceremony and the way of Jesus St Frideswide Jo Moffatt-Levy’s Licensing On 28 January 2015 Colin, Bishop of Dorchester, licensed Jo Moffatt-Levy as a priest at the church of SS Peter and Paul, Botley. And Jo has now joined the Osney Benefice. The Benefice comprises SS Peter and Paul, St Lawrence, North Hinksey, St Margaret of Antioch, Binsey and St Frideswide, Botley Road. Jo will have particular responsibility for St Frideswide, its parish and parishioners. The licensing was a very happy occasion, attended by a large number of people from across the Benefice and beyond, many of whom stayed on after the service to raise a glass to Jo and to welcome her. In his address Bishop Colin explained that he always prays for each church he passes as he travels round the Diocese. And thanks to the slow-moving traffic on the Botley Road, he has been able to spend considerable time praying for St Frideswide, sited as it is right on the Botley Road! Could one outcome of this be the welcome appointment of Jo to the Benefice and the church? The parish is delighted that Jo has joined the Ministry Team and we are looking forward to working with her to serve the people of West Oxford. Anne James Churchwarden St Margaret’s Thursday Afternoon Singers 1.45pm–2.45pm: every Thursday in St. Margaret’s Church. Do come along if you enjoy singing or if you’ve never really tried but think you might! All very, very welcome. Coffee and cake provided. Details [email protected]. Monday 9 March 7.45pm: Exploring Practical Spirituality in Lent—II A session of Lectio Divina, led by one of our regular members, Terry Garde. Followed by silent prayer. In St Margaret’s Church. Information from [email protected]. Monday 23 March 7.45pm: Exploring Practical Spirituality in Lent— III In the lower vestry, St Margaret’s Church (reached via the drive at east end of church, door on the left). The third of three sessions on the Benedictine Way led by Jennifer Brooker ObJN. Information from [email protected]. St Michael at the North Gate Could your church use this oak (altar?) table? St Michael at the North Gate has an oak table which is no longer required, and which we would be happy to donate to another church in the Deanery that could use it. It is higher than a normal dining table height, and might be suitable for use as an altar table. The central plank of the table is loose and needs re-fixing. The dimensions are as follows: Width 90cm, Length 2m, Height 97cm If interested, please contact Sarah Jones, Parish Administrator: e-mail [email protected] or telephone 01865 255778 st michael and all angels, Summertown St Peter’s Wolvercote and All Saints’ Wytham St Peter’s Wolvercote 24 February 7pm Living a blessed life: the first of six sessions on the Bea;tudes of Christ. This series is sponsored by the Wolvercote Summertown church partnership. See poster on page 8.