A very happy Easter to all our readers April 1999 No 101 Diocese of Oxford Reporter Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
Souvenir edition to mark the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Diocese
Encouragement. for our*_Journey
rank talk about farming problems around a kitchen table, an afternoon with homeless people in the city of Oxford, an experience of multi-cultural life in Slough, civic receptions in Reading's football stadium, and in Aylesbury's ancient Judges Lodgings, meetings with clergy and with theological students and three public lectures on mission in the new millennium - these were just some of the events that the Archbishop of Canterbury packed into their recent four-day stay in the Oxford Diocese. The Archbishop said he was coming to learn about the life and work of the church and community in the Oxford Diocese and the result was a richly varied programme which took Dr and Mrs Carey on a 300-mile journey through Berkshire, Bucks and Oxfordshire. 'There is no doubt that the Archbishop was enormously encouraged by all he saw and we felt enormously encouraged by his visit' the Bishop of Oxford told the Diocesan Synod on March 12. He said that in a letter of thanks the Archbishop had spoken of 'a purpose and confidence in ministry that crushes the tired old slogan of the Church in decline'.
CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED
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Easter message from the Bishop of Oxford
There is a story from the darkest days of Communist rule in Russia.The authorities, worried about the persistence of religious belief, sent out an atheist propagandist. He gathered people in the village square and harangued them for some hours.At the end the old village priest got up and proclaimed 'Christ is risen'.The crowd thundered back 'He is risen indeed'. Alas, the Easter proclamation would not receive that response in our society. Indeed, in some churches, the response can hardly be called thunderous. When Billy Graham was leaving the Soviet Union after a successful preaching tour the Patriarch asked him in what way he himself had been influenced by his contact with Christians in Russia. Billy Graham replied that in future he would try to make the resurrection of Christ more central to his preaching. The cross and resurrection of Christ is the foundation upon which the whole universe stands, the centre to which all history points and from which all futures flow.The whole of our life and our approaching death need to be seen in this light and shaped by it.And what a joyful light it is. May this Easter joy -permeate us through
His zest and love of the Lord In an exclusive interview with The DOOR (page 5) the Archbishop said that he had been very impressed by the Oxford Diocese especially by a sense of unity which he had not always felt elsewhere. 'My impression is that this Diocese is at peace, working well together and has got a lot to share with the rest of the Church', the Archbishop said. The Bishop of Oxford also commented on Dr Carey's extraordinary resilience, in the face of such a heavy schedule. 'He was in extremely good form and is obviously on top of his job' he said. In his interview with The DOOR, the Archbishop attributed his energy and good humour to 'zest, good health and a love of the Lord'. The Archbishop's love of the Lord was indeed apparent to all who met him. So too was his affection for people and his fervent commitment to mission and evangelism. Speaking to students in Oxford he said, 'We are all called to be missionaries'.
The Bishop of Oxford is pictured above with the Archbishop at the new Luther Street Medical Centre in Oxford. It provides medical and support services for homeless people.
It isn't often that you go for a walk with an Archbishop of Canterbury. But that is exactly what happened on March 5 to two little seven-year olds, Camilla Bishop (left) and Annie Whilby, from St Mary's Church of England Infants School,Witney, in West Oxfordshire. Chattering happily and hand-in-hand with Dr Carey, they led a crocodile of
children, teachers, parents, and clergy, including the Bishops of Oxford and Dorchester, in a unique ten-minute walk through the town centre to the surprise and delight of passers-by.Their destination was The Batt C E School to which the girls and most of their classmates will be transPhotos: Frank Blackwell ferring in September.
WhX cover up in synthetics when nature \V('iCOfll('S VUU! All our duvet covers nat ural cotton -- this one ilafl(l im:tntt'd batik in fresh yellow or blue. Cony' and see this ,.and other craft made articles for the home at. Outlet prices.
On the A44 in Woodstock
inside The DOOR This special issue celebrates the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey and Mrs Carey, to the Oxford Diocese from March 2 — 5 with six pages of reports and pictures page 2 The Archbishop - a man with a mission page 5 The DOOR's exclusive interview Four days with Dr and Mrs Carey pages 10 &1 page 20 Photographic highlights Also in this DOOR: 'The Weekend that Changed the World' Peter Walker writes on the centrality page 8 of the Resurrection