SILENT PRAYER

On scheduled Mondays through the year those who wish to explore silence before God gather in the Lady Chapel. The time together, from 6.10 to 7.00 pm, begins and ends with a short vocal prayer together. A cross or icon or the reserved Sacrament is sometimes placed on the altar as a devotional focus. Each participant then has the time to him- or herself.To be directed to a contact person, please ring the Church Office.

Schedule: Summer/Autumn 2011

  • June 13th & 27th
  • July 11th & 25th
  • September 5th

ST. HELEN’S JUSTICE and PEACE GROUP

The St. Helen’s Justice and Peace Group are members of St. Helen’s church who share a commitment and common concern for justice and peace. They meet on the first Monday of every month in the church centre to share in fellowship and to discuss issues of local, national and international concern with the aim of widening knowledge and raising awareness.

In the past, meetings have covered matters such as:
- the homeless in our community,
- the relationship between the Anglican church and Parliament,
- the plight of Sierra Leone,
- the abolition of slavery,
- the Church’s response to climate change, and
- sex trafficking in Europe.

Earlier this year the Group helped organise a Sunday service dedicated to climate change and the protection of the environment enlisting the support of local businesses. As part of the Make Poverty History campaign the Group wrote to the Prime Minister and all the visiting heads of government from the G8 countries and some members took part in the various marches around the country.

From time to time guest speakers are invited to address the meetings. Recent speakers have included representatives from The Abingdon Bridge Project, Amnesty International and CHASTE (Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking in Europe).

Details of forthcoming meetings are publicised in the church bulletin. Anyone is most welcome to attend. If you are interested, please contact the Group’s secretary, Pam Stuart, on telephone number 01235 550179, or just come along.

DESIRING LIFE READING GROUP

If you have further practical questions please direct them to the Rector Revd Dr Charles Miller or Susan Scott 01235 522960

FAITH & PRACTICE

Purpose: This group aims to present the shape and content of mature Christian discipleship as lived within the frame-work of Anglican church life. It will be useful for those who have followed the Alpha course and now wish to deepen their understanding of life in the church, for those who seek Baptism and/or Confirmation, and for those who simply want a ‘refresher’ in aspects of the faith and Christian life.

With the richness of the Anglican tradition for orientation, topics will include: the foundations of the faith (the Apostles’ Creed), the sacraments, the spiritual disciplines, worship, the liturgical year, and the church and its structure.

More information on the current programme can be found here.

Leader: The Rector, The Revd Dr Charles Miller

Venue: Rector’s Office in the Church Centre (entrance by the door in St Helen’s Court).
The labyrinth has been used by Christians since
the fourth century as a spiritual aid and symbol of the spiritual journey. The labyrinth depicted here is found in an early eleventh-century copy of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy produced at Abingdon Abbey and now in Cambridge University Library. The design seems to date from the time of the Abbey’s abbot Siweard (1030-1044 AD) and may have been produced around the year 1048.
‘It is not too much, for the human beings that we are, to remain before God in contemplative waiting. In such prayer a veil is lifted sometimes placed from what in faith cannot be expressed, herself, and the inexpressible leads to adoration.’

--Brother Roger of Taizé From A Path of Hope
© St Helen's Church, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
The Church Office, St Helen’s Court, Abingdon OX14 5BS • 01235 520144 + administrator@sthelens-abingdon.org.uk