Prayer and Worship Resources
This page collects links to resources that you might find helpful whilst our regular services in church are put on hold. Many of the pages are
updated frequently, so please check for the latest information.
Service booklets
The Order of Mass for the Zoom service for Sunday 17 January, the Second Sunday of Epiphany.
The Order of Mass as it would have been celebrated on Sunday 10 January, the feast of the Baptism of Christ.
Resources accessible by telephone
- Diocesan Eucharist Recordings of most services should be available from around 11am. Simply call 01865 920930 and, once connected, dial 0 for the full service or 1 for a short version. Standard call rates apply.
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For those unable to access a church service online, please use the Church of England's
Daily Hope freephone number, dial 0800 804 8044, for daily hymns, reflections and prayers
On-line resources
- The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity runs from 18 to 25 January.
The events organised by the Church in Abingdon that would normally take place over the course of this week are not possible this year. However, materials that can be adapted for use by individuals or households,
Abiding Together in Christ, produced by the Grandchamp community in Switzerland are available from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland.
- Parish of Abingdon Resources page. Contains service recordings and other resources. Recordings of Sunday services in St Helen's Church will usually be available late morning.
- A Candle in the Window, news and views from the
parish of Abingdon-on-Thames. The tenth issue is now available.
Members of St Michael's have contributed articles.
- Silent Reflections at Home materials from:
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Diocese of Oxford Church at Home page.
The service starts at 10 am each Sunday. The page includes links to the order of service, and additional links including sermon notes.
An
archive of previous services is available.
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Oxford Cathedral on-line services
Livestream events will appear on the cathedral's
YouTube channel.
Recordings of sermons and transcripts are available from the
sermons page.
The
cathedral blog is hosting a series of 30 daily reflections on the Rule of St Augustine written by Fr Richard Peers, sub-dean of the cathedral.
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Church of England Daily Prayer
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Daily prayer for the current day
that page also has links to the CoE Daily Prayer app.
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A simple form of Daily Prayer St Peter's Church, Earley, Reading
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Community of the Resurrection: live streaming and recordings of the community's daily round of prayer and praise
See
Worship and Live Streaming on the Community's web site for details of their services.
There is a pattern and rhythm to their worship that some readers might find helpful.
For variety
- Hard Questions for Hard Times a series of talks
(delivered as YouTube videos) from St Pau's Cathedral in London.
"This is a time which raises hard questions - about how we live, about our values, about God. We asked people what was most on their minds, and then we asked a wide range of writers, thinkers and theologians to reflect on these 'hard questions'."
Questions include: where is God in this, what does hope mean in this time, what is the church when people can't be together physically?
- Mary Slessor is commemorated in the calendar on Monday 11 January.
Mary Slessor was born into a Presbyterian family in Aberdeen in 1848, moved with her family to Dundee at the age of 11 and in 1875 was accepted as a teacher for the mission in Calabar, Nigeria.
After a period of home leave 1907, she and two European helpers returned to set up a women's industrial training centre. Women were constantly exploited and her solution was to establish centres where unattached women could support themselves by farming and industrial work. She died in 1915.
For more information see, for example:
- The Steeple Church, Dundee.
On the centenary of her death in 2015 a new memorial to her was unveiled outside the church.
- The Mary Slessor Foundation is a Scottish Charity
whose vision is to emulate the social, economic and medical work of Mary Slessor. This is done through a clinic, a skills centre and an agricultural processing unit.
The web site includes a comprehensive learning resource created by teachers in Dundee.
- Mirfield Talks. Fr Nicolas CR is giving a series of talks which are available on YouTube. So far he has recorded:
- The first video in the series is on John Bradburne, who is currently on his way to being beatified and onwards to saint hood with the Catholic Church. Please click here to watch the video. From 1969 to being shot in 1979 John was warden at Mutemwa Leprosy Settlement, in Zimbabwe.
See also The John Bradburne Memorial Society
- Praying in a technological world
- Pope Francis And The Poor
- CR Growing in Christ
Fr John CR has produced a series of 3 talks on Art for Advent.
- Diocese of Oxford, Watch and Learn.
Watch and learn:
Online courses from the Diocese for 2021
Spring courses from the Diocese are out now. These courses are for those training as Licensed Lay Ministers or for ordination, and also for anyone with a passion to learn more about their faith, about God and our place in his world.
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As part of the Continuing Ministerial Development provision, the University Church in Oxford has produced a short series of podcasts,
meditations on the Gospel of Mark. While they are aimed at those who will be preaching on this gospel over the next twelve months, their approach enables everyone to reflect further on what many believe to be the first gospel.
- Sheffield Cathedral,
The Leaves of the Trees: A Reflective Coronavirus Memorial
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Living Well through the Next Six Months, a Diocesan initiative launched by Bishop Steven last week.
The web page has an introduction from Bishop Steven and links to a range of supporting materials.
- A summary of the November 2020 Diocesan Synod Meeting, including Bishop Steven's address is now available.
- An
on-line labyrinth.
-
Walsingham
- Mass will be
live-streamed from the Holy House at 9 am every Sunday, through Facebook, Vimeo and YouTube.
- There is a daily live stream of Shrine Prayers at 6.00 pm. A
guide to Shrine Prayers is available there together with recordings of previous instances.
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The Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield,
live-stream their daily services.
See Worship and Live-streaming page on their website for further details, times of services, and service booklets.
- Cathedrals are responding to the pandemic in a variety of ways and range of live-streamed worship.
- Norwich Our former Team Vicar, Peter Doll, is Canon Librarian of the Cathedral.
Of particular interest is the
Coronavirus memorial to those who have died from Corona virus in Norfolk
- Oxford
- Portsmouth Fr Paul was a priest in Portsmouth Diocese before moving to Abingdon
- Winchester
- Sheffield Our former Team Vicar, Peter Bradley, left his position of Dean of the Cathedral at the end of 2020.
- For another cathedral from the Province of York, readers might like to look at the web site of Wakefield Cathedral in the Diocese of Leeds.
- The History of Stations of the Cross
A very interesting talk by an American Roman Catholic Franciscan brother.
For information about Franciscan brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion see the
web site.
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Alone Together Reflections from monks and nuns on isolation and distancing, led by Fr Christopher Jamison, OSB.
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Thriving in Lockdown
Br Marc CR speaks about his time in lockdown in
this interview with Caleb Ellwood of York Gateway church.
- Some readers may remember The Revd Dr Joe Kennedy, a former curate at St Michael's. He is now vicar of the
Parish of Oxton St Saviour, Wirral. The church's web site includes an on-line worship section.
Archives
- Christ Church Cathedral are archiving sound recordings of sermons, services and reflections on their
SoundCloud site.
There is already an extensive collection of recordings in this archive.
- The Diocese of Oxford also has a SoundCloud archive
which includes recordings of services as well as talks given on Local Radio stations by the Bishops and clergy
of the diocese.
- Recordings of Diocesan services can be viewed from their Vimeo site.
Service Booklets
Lightly modified versions of the service booklet for the liturgies that would traditionally be used at St Michael's are available to download.