Greetings

Welcome to our new website!

My diary for the coming week

I am normally in Oxford on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Saturday/Sunday when I am leading worship at Summertown. On Fridays I work as a prison chaplain in Holloway Prison, in London. Monday is my day off.

Working in prison

My link with Holloway Prison began whilst I was a student, when I did a placement there. Prison chaplaincy is challenging and interesting – you never know quite what to expect. Sometimes a call to the chaplain involves something quite routine, sometimes it can be a long and distressing conversation. And always there are the “statutory duties” to attend to – visiting the new prisoners, those on the segregation unit, and in the healthcare wing.

Working on a Friday brings an additional dimension, as I share the duties with a Muslim colleague, and have learnt a lot from conversations with her and her volunteers – not least what we share in terms of outlook on life and values. Multi-faith working is a requirement in the prison context, and it seems to be one area of life where an understanding between people of different faiths is developing well, perhaps because our focus in on the prisoners and how we can meet their needs, rather than on the differences between us.

Summertown URC Feasibility Study

The Wessex Synod of the URC have funded a feasibility study to look at future possibilities for our building and mission here in Summertown. We are currently considering the options presented by our architects, Ralph Allen of Allen Associates. Watch this space!

Pauline Main
Minister