“To Have and to Hold from this Day Forward”

 Those were the words of Andy Hopper and Hattie May – members of our Church family here - as they stood before the congregation in St Peter’s on July 31^st and became husband and wife. Andy and Hattie – may you know God’s blessing on you now and in the years to come.

SPONSORED CYCLE RIDE

 The Sullivans have left for their cycle ride to Chamonix in aid of The Emma Sullivan Trust.  The Trust will offer help & support through art workshops and other activities for the mentally ill. There is a sponsorship form at the back of the church and the family would love your support.

 PARISH PICNIC

Our Parish Picnic was held after the 10.30 service on Sunday 25^th July at Barnwell Country Park.  After the food, the children disappeared on a Nature Trail.  When they returned, Dave Harding organised us in his own brand of games.  We had great fun playing hockey with 2 balls and long cylindrical pieces of foam, levelling adults and children to the same level of skill.  To cool down, there was a sort of netball game in which two water-bombs were thrown between team members and goals scored by throwing the water-bombs into bowls held by our team goalkeepers.  Jeremy would have been proud of the fast and furious game of cricket, during which it was the bowler who was out, knocked over by a ball off one young man’s bat.  All this activity was too much for some of us oldies and we settled down to a brain-straining quiz where correct answers were more by luck than knowledge!  A very enjoyable time was had by all ages and our thanks must go to Dave Harding for organising the activities.

50th Wedding Anniversary

On Saturday 17th July, John and Joyce Tompkins celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a service of thanksgiving at St. Peter's Church, Oundle.   They both spoke movingly about how they met (something to do with iced buns - ask them!) and of the part their faith has played in their life together.  The singing was led by a worship band formed by members of their family.  Afterwards, everyone celebrated with a drink and some cake before a family lunch.

 Marching in Step 

The theme of the Family Service was ‘Marching in Step with Jesus’.  To help illustrate this, during his talk Dave Harding had arranged for some air cadets to come and give marching lessons to some of the children and Steve Cunningham, who picked it up very quickly.

  The band and the children’s singing group led the worship songs with gusto.  We look forward to the next Family Service in September.

Invasion of Rainbows 

 On Wednesday 7^th July, St. Peter’s was invaded by a host of Rainbows.  They had come from the pre-school of that name to search for areas of the church – the organ, the altar, pulpit, etc.  Happily, they managed to find everything and with help completed their worksheets.  It was good to hear their voices echoing round the church.

 Congratulations to Simon Hicks from the St. Peter's Church family as he has been accepted for Reader Training.  He had begun training as a Methodist Lay Preacher but has transfered to training within the Anglican Church.  His training begins at the beginning of September.

Tim and Kat tie the Knot

 July 3^rd was suitably beautiful and sunny for the wedding of two members of our Church family.  Tim and Kat tied the knot in a service that beautifully combined British and American traditions – even including a brand new setting of the hymn ‘Jerusalem’ (Mr and Mrs Bell will explain if you ask).  Tim and Kat – we pray for God’s blessing on you and for many happy years ahead. 

Ross is accepted for Ordination Training

Morning all!
Just to let you know that we received the outcome of the selection panel today and that Ross has been recommended for training. We’ve attached a vision of the future to inspire your prayers.
And so – at the beginning of August, we will all move to Bristol and in September Ross will kick-off 2 years of Ordination training (or vicar factory as my friend likes to call it) at Trinity College.

This gives us 3 weeks to sort out suitable housing and schooling in Bristol, before we have a week at New Wine (see http://www.new-wine.org/summer) and then return to Oxford and move the next week (August 2-4).

THANK GOD

· For guiding us and opening up this new direction

· For the faithful prayer and support of family and friends – through this whole process, we have had a real sense of peace, your prayers have really held us.

PLEASE PRAY

· We are going down to Bristol on Wednesday (7th) to look at houses and schools. Please pray with us that something suitable becomes available...and quickly!

· This is another move for the girls – please pray that God will be close to them and that they will not be anxious about uprooting and building new friendships again.

· We are keen that Sonia does as much study as possible over the next 2 years (because as you know, our style is to work very closely together). The Diocese is keen for Sonia to get a paid job instead. Please pray for our discussions with the Bishop on Tuesday (6th) about this.

 
Thanks for all your love and encouragement over recent months. Your prayers are HUGE!

Lots of love,
Ross & Sonia

(Ross and Sonia were our CMS Mission Partners serving in Thailand until they returned home in December.  They visited us and preached during the 10.30 service on 27th June.  Their sermon can be found in the "Sermons" section of this website.)