Having successfully appointed our new vicar on the 10th July we are now entering an exciting time for our parish. The Rev’d Emily Hockliffe Essex will be joining us in November and plans are in hand to give her a very warm welcome when she is instituted, inducted and installed in a service in church on Wednesday, 12th November at 7.30 pm, to which all are welcome. From a strong field Emily was the stand-out candidate and we are looking forward to working with her. Please see Emily’s introduction in the inside front cover of the magazine.

Apart from the planning for this service the life of the parish continues. We were very pleased that Paul Sansom, our Treasurer, married Leanne here in church on the 6th September at a joyful ceremony led by the Rev’d Nick Fielden.

Thanks are also due to everyone who got involved with the annual Ride and Stride on the 13th September. Half of the sponsorship money comes back to the church and the remainder goes to the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust, which supports Oxfordshire churches.

Looking forward, on the last Sunday of the month our Sunday Club will resume and our Harvest Festival services will take place on the 5th October. Both services will be led by a very good friend of this church - the Rev’d Canon Glyn Evans. It is fitting that Glyn leads these services as he was, for many years, the Diocesan Rural Officer. We also look forward to welcoming Michael and Jodie who are to be married here on 10th October.

On 2nd November we shall hold our annual All Souls’ Service at 6.00 pm. This is a thoughtful service when we remember all our loved ones who have gone before us by lighting candles in their memory. A week later - 9th November - we shall hold our annual Remembrance Day service in the afternoon and a brief service round the war memorial in the churchyard at 11.00 am on Tuesday 11th November.

Other community events are planned - the usual Afternoon Teas on certain Wednesday afternoons and the popular Bingo sessions resume on the 27th September. An autumn highlight will be the Banbury Strings concert on the 4th October at 7.30 pm. Please see the posters or ask for details. On the same day our popular Family Craft Session for the Autumn will take place in Church House from 2.00 - 3.30 pm.

As always we are indebted to the PCC and the many people in the congregation who have shared their skills and talents in providing meaningful acts of worship and enjoyable activities. Last, but certainly not least, our thanks go to the visiting clergy who, Sunday by Sunday, lead our worship with such care and commitment.

Lynne Philpot and Rob Kirk

Churchwardens