THE UNITED BENEFICE OF STEEPLE ASTON WITH NORTH ASTON AND TACKLEY
Worship
As we reach May,
we re-start public worship, initially with weekly services around the Benefice. Please join us!
May 2nd
North Aston 10.30am Benefice Open Air Communion
May 9th
Tackley 10.30am Benefice Open Air Communion
May 16th
Steeple Aston 10.30am Benefice Open Air Communion
May 23rd
North Aston 10.30am Benefice Open Air Communion
May 30th
Tackley 10.30am Benefice Open Air Communion
If the weather is poor, we will offer Morning Prayer indoors instead.
Facecoverings/masks must be worn to these services, and please bring your own seat to the churchyard.
There is no need to book.
Our church buildings are also open every day. Do feel free to visit at any time. Please use the hand sanitiser when you enter and leave to keep the buildings fresh and clean for everyone, and please do wear a face mask when inside.
The rector is still sending out regular emails to those on the parish email list to help us remain a community together. If you haven't yet received an email, do go to the contact page and ask to be included.
Our website homepage will continue to feature a new Worship at Home video each week as an ongoing part of our Benefice worship life. This can also be accessed by a special phone service: just dial 929021 and you can choose to hear the whole service, the sermon or the prayers for that week.
We also offer two short videos to help with Daily Morning and Night Prayer:
UPCOMING EVENTS
This is where you can find details of extra events byond our usual Sunday Services.
Diary Updates
Church Building Projects
Steeple Aston
The Diocesan Advisory Committee on church buildings gave us a sort of amber light on the project nearly two years ago - and then we had some kick back from a couple of the national amenity societies that comment on historic buildings. That left us three basic options - 1. Do what the amenity societies want (essentially, not enough to make the building useful through the week) 2. Do what we had planned anyway (but we’d risk ending up in a long drawn out court battle to get the permissions we need, and all that would cost time and money) 3. Find a compromise that gives us enough to make it worth doing the project, while at the same time keeping the amenity societies happy. This is what we are currently working on …
Through it all, we started with six principles, and we are not letting go of them.
Access - we want anybody and everybody to have good and easy access to the whole church and across the churchyard.
Better heating - a warm church shouldn’t be rocket science in this day and age, and if we can do something to introduce renewable energy, so much the better.
Toilets - whether you are young or old or somewhere in between, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a public building to have decent toilet facilities.
Hospitality - we want simple hospitality facilities so we can foster fellowship after church, put on decent concert interval drinks, host a small cafe midweek. A church is about loving God and caring for people; hospitality somewhere near the centre of church life.
Children - we need a specific space for our children’s church within our own building so that children know they matter here.
Flexible space - much loved as our victorian pews are, the lives of people in our village today matter more. We want space so we can worship in different ways, have more concerts, welcome the school regularly, find a place where the PCC can meet or watch a midweek cafe thrive. Maybe Sustainable Steeple might make use of the building; maybe we’ll have a Heritage Corner with a permanent display about the Steeple Aston Cope bringing visitors to the village.
We hope to work with the amenity societies and reach agreement on our new plans before long. And when we do - there’ll be an exhibition so everyone can see. And then we will be able to really get moving…
We do need your help, so if you would like to donate to our project in Steeple Aston, please send a cheque made payable to "Steeple Aston Church" to The Steeple Aston Church Fund, c/o The Rectory, Fir Lane, Steeple Aston, OX25 4SF.
North Aston
One project has become three. St Mary's For Everyone is our over-all heading, with three separate aims:
1. To renovate the windows in the Anne Chapel, so our building is sound
2. To renovate the lichgate and put in a new, step-free path so that access is easy for everyone from car park to church door
3. To introduce a new servery and toilet into the church, bringing facilities which will enable the church building to be better used by the whole community - from Sunday worship and concerts through to midweek groups. Also, we are improving some liturgical furniture at the same time.
We are very grateful to all those funding bodies and to everyone locally who helped us reach our first target and successfully complete the renovation of the windows! It has been wonderful to achieve this goal. Now we progress to the second part.
If you would like to donate to the North Aston projects, then please send a cheque made payable to "St Mary's North Aston" to St Mary's For Everyone, c/o The Rectory, Fir Lane, Steeple Aston OX25 4SF.
COVID 19
Our church buildings are often open for private prayer; if you would like to visit when they are closed, please contact the churchwardens.
Even when the buildings are closed - the Church itself has always remained open. God is always with us, and His people never stop caring and loving, and trusting that the One who gave Himself for us stands with us whenever we call upon Him.
So please be aware that some in our villages may be unwell, and some will choose to self-isolate; everyone is very precious to God and to all of us. Why not ring a neighbour and chat on the phone? Check that people you know are OK. See if there's anything you can do - being very careful not to impose on anyone, and being very sensitive about washing hands and using every possible precaution.
Through the long-haul of the pandemic, weekly 'Worship At Home' videos have been posted on our website homepage so that we have continued to feel connected as we worship, whether we gathered together or stayed home.
As we work toward a more normal life, many are coming back to our services, but some still wait for safer days ahead. All are precious. 'Worship at Home' continues and we look forward to weekly parish worship re-establishing itself in the New Year.
If you are lonely or under the weather or grieving or struggling, let the rector or the churchwardens know, so we can make sure you are prayed for.
Village Life
Steeple and Tackley have their own websites with details of all sorts of community activities. North has an excellent and informative Wikipedia page. Click the relevant box for details.