For almost a thousand years St Marys Church has played its part at the centre of the village of Bampton in Oxfordshire, and today it continues to be a vibrant influence within our local community as well as a beautiful centrepiece to the village.

The future of the Church and its community depends on local support and hard work from a committed group of volunteers who ensure that St Marys remains a special place at the heart of our community.

Sunday 7th February 2010

Holy Communion will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10.30 a.m. in the Lady Chapel, St Mary's, Bampton.

The Prayer Group meets on Thursday, at 6.00 p.m. at 20 The Lanes. For further information ring 01993 850576.

Bampton CCC meets in Church at 7:30pm on Wednesday

Roof repairs - Phase 2
Work on the replacing the Chancel Roof has now started and will last until mid June.
Current Work
Work to create a temporary scaffolding roof over the Chancel structure to protect the church and enable work to carry on in all weathers. 

Some footpaths across the churchyard are inaccessible,but the main route across to the west of the church will be unaffected.

The Cremation plots along the east wall of the Chancel are also inaccessible for the time being and we apologise for any inconvenience or distress this may cause.

Work has also started on the internal plasterwork to the Nave ceiling and this will involve quite an amount of internal scaffolding. Church services continue as usual throughout the period, but there may be times when the church is closed for safety reasons. 

Under normal circumstances the church would be open for visitors and for prayer from 8:30am to 3:30pm each day.

Christian Aid
In the pew leaflet for 10 January we gave information about 7 different parts of the world in which Christian Aid is involved. As promised, we now add further areas to that list. 

North East Kenya where failed rains, leading to appalling drought has created a deadly nightmare for the rural population.
Central America –El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, helping communities to develop protection against emergencies.
Peru , helping to mitigate the impact of climate change.
Brazil , working with traditional people on land rights.
Bolivia , helping indigenous people to speak out about negative impacts on their communities.
Burkina Faso , helping build a solar-recharging station, providing light for schools and homes.

And there are more, but to conclude today's entry:
Haiti , where Christian Aid was already at work, helping small farmers and forest associations to set up sustainable management systems. In the earthquake, the Christian Aid office building collapsed and Christian Aid staff had to be rescued from the rubble. Together with other agencies, rescue and relief work continues. The needs are immense. The timescale cannot be predicted. Your continuing support is essential.

Used computer cartridges (not Epson) and redundant mobile phones can be left in church.

Christian Aid Week (9-15 May), House to House Collection and Coffee Morning & Sale will provide opportunities to help.
Muriel & Dennis Piper

Coffee & Co
You are invited to join us in the Bampton Coffee House any Monday morning between 10.30 & 11.30 for friendly company and fellowship. Perhaps bring a friend along with, and come and go as you please. There are usually 8 to 12 of us and we always find plenty to talk and laugh about. All are welcome.