Dear Congregation and Friends of St Mary Longcot,

Please find attached the Benefice Newsletter for Sunday 13^th August and the associated readings. I would draw your attention to the update on the search for a new Associate Priest.

Next Service at St Mary Longcot.  The next service at St Mary will be a Holy Communion on Sunday 13^th August and will be led by the Revd Norma Fergusson.  It will begin at the usual time of 9.30am. 

Ride and Stride 2023.  This year’s Ride & Stride will take place on Saturday 9^th September. For those who have not heard of it before, it is an annual event held by the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) to raise money to support the churches in Oxfordshire.  (See: https://ohct.org.uk/ride-and-stride/)  Fundraising can be done in one of several ways.  Most volunteers obtain sponsorship to visit a certain number of churches either on a bicycle, on foot, on horseback or some other novel means (eg in a C5).  In the past some of our bellringers obtained sponsorship by ringing at a certain number of churches.  As many churches as possible are kept open throughout the day and refreshments are provided by teams of welcomers.  These welcomers can also be sponsored.  As one of many churches in the County that have benefitted from OHCT grants in the recent past (eg £20,000 towards the St Mary Community Hub), it would be lovely if we could do our bit to raise some funds this year.   Any funds raised are shared equally (ie 50/50) between the home church and the OHCT.  I would therefore be grateful if anybody who would like to help in some way make contact with me, and especially those prepared to ride or stride, or those who would be prepared to act as a welcomer in St Mary on the day.  Thank you in advance for your support!