Horspath Churches and Church Activities
| St. Giles, Horspath Parish Church Church Road, Horspath, Oxfordshire OX33 1SE Vicar: The Revd Emma Pennington, M.A., The Rectory, 17 South End, Garsington, tel: 01865 361381. Churchwarden: Mr. Brian Lowe: 873342. St. Giles Church is a listed building. For information about the Church building see the "Listed Buildings" page in the History of Horspath section. There is a selection of photos of the Church in the "Images Around Horspath" area. The 13th century church was drastically altered during the 19th century, with the chancel being rebuilt and north transept added. The church contains medieval stained glass and, amongst a number of notable details, a handsome Jacobean pulpit. The tower is 15th century, and the bells are an extremely smooth flowing ring of six, with long ropes for exceptionally short ringers. The church bells specification: 6 bells 5 cwt, 2 qr, 9 lb or 283 kg Bb. You can read an article about the bells (PDF format 170 Kb) written by Brian Lowe, Church Warden and local historian. On the east wall of the South Transept in St.Giles is the Horspath Village War Memorial Plaque, and you can read an article about the Memorial (PDF format 232 Kb), again written by Brian Lowe. Some recent church history: On 19th August 2008 our new Vicar, the Revd Emma Pennington, was Licensed at St Giles Church in Horspath. We welcome her warmly to begin her ministry among us. The St. Giles Horspath Parish Magazine for September 2010 is now available online (PDF format 386 Kb, very large) . It has information about Church services and other parochial and Village matters. You can read back numbers of the Parish Magazine in PDF format, please be very patient while these large files load:
St Giles Church is one of the partner churches in the CEF (Community Emergency Foodbank). There is a CEF box in the back of the church and it is hoped that people from the village as well as church-goers will donate food each week for the foodbank. You can read here about CEF and also check out the food list. |
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| Methodist Chapel The Green, Horspath, Oxfordshire OX33 1RT For all Methodist Chapel hall and room bookings, call Dorothy Stepney, Bookings Secretary, on 01865 243216 or 01865 862259. The Horspath contact is Sheila Dandridge. Saturday 17th October 2009 at 4 p.m. - a Service of Thanksgiving was held for 100 years of Methodist worship and witness in Horspath. Venue - Horspath Methodist Chapel. There was also an exhibition of photos and refreshments were served. This was to be the final day of Worship in the Chapel. The Minister, Rev Rosemary Davies, has made the following statement - |
 | "The chapel is closing for public worship as the regular membership is five and they feel that the responsibilities of maintaining Church life have now become too great. So existing members will be transferring to other churches from October. As regards the building itself, it will remain open for group bookings up to 2010 until the Oxford Methodist Circuit which manage and own the property decide what to do with the building. There is a small working group looking at future possibilities. Naturally this is a time of mixed emotions for the members, many of whom have been attending the Chapel for a long time but we hope that the service on October 17th was a celebration of the Methodist witness in the village and an acknowledgment of God's faithfulness to this congregation over the years." |
Bell-ringing
Every Tuesday evening at St. Giles Church - contact Brian Lowe: 873342.
Churchyard Conservation
A highly commended scheme in St. Giles' churchyard - contact Sheila Frankum: 872793.
Friends of Horspath Churches
Continuing the activities of the Horspath M.U.
Horspath Parish Church
On the First Sunday of every month - "Time Out". Half an hour of music, words and silence on the first Sunday of the month from 5.30 – 6.00 pm at the Methodist Chapel, Horspath.
On the Second Sunday of every month - "Messy Church" in Horspath Methodist Chapel, 3.00 - 4.30pm. A fun time for children and teenagers, parents, grandparents, carers, uncles, friends, whoever!, to get creative together, meet up with old and new friends, relax in a friendly informal short service and get a taste of God's generous love through sharing Sunday tea with everyone else - young and old. See the poster for this exciting family event!
Parish Council New Burial Ground
If you are interested in the aims and usage of the New Burial Ground, which is owned by Horspath Parish Council, read the Burial Ground Rules on-line, or download the PDF version (17Kb).
Parochial Charities
Chair: Barbara Lewis: 872204; Clerk: Sheila Dandridge.
Wheatley Team Ministry
Visit Wheatley Team Ministry, the web site for the team of 12 local church parishes, including Horspath, Cuddesdon and Garsington.