'Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.' Ecclesiastes 4.9,10a

The times in which we live feel deeply uncertain and it is entirely understandable to feel overwhelmed by the scale of it all; or to feel helpless at times in the face of such injustice. 
It is true that we cannot 'fix' the world, and we live with the tension of knowing that God has brought salvation, whilst also acknowledging that our own free-will means that we often do not chose the path offered to us which leads to the fullness of life Jesus promises. NT Wright speaks of the 'now and not yet' of the Kingdom; that one day all will be well, because that is the reality that Christ has won for us, but as the church, we must share in the work of bringing that reality into being in our own lives, relationships and communities day-by-day through our intercession, witness, and service.

I have little doubt that the Disciples felt overwhelmed as they were sent out to get on with the task of putting into practice what they had witnessed. And they were also not sent out alone, but in pairs, because we need one another in this task: to encourage each other, to focus our attention on what we can usefully do, and to help us each to recognise and nurture God's Kingdom in our own time and place. This is why, in November last year we launched the 'Community of Justice' hosted here at St Mary's but open to all across Oxford. It is a small community seeking to make a big difference in the city through prayer and practical action and we are not alone in this task either. Following an inspiring presentation on their poverty relief work in East Oxford, we are delighted to be building on our historic and ongoing partnership with Littlemore Church  (founded by St John Henry Newman whilst he was Vicar of the University Church) by joining with them to explore opportunities to get involved with and work together to make a difference. Naomi will also be spending some time on placement with Littlemore Church over the summer.

On Tuesday 8th July at 6pm we will visit St Mary and St Nicholas Church for our next meting of the Community of Justice to which all are very warmly invited. We will share a simple meal together and speak about how we can partner more closely to tackle some of the most pressing issues in our City including planning a harvest action to highlight the issue of food poverty in our own city, volunteering opportunities with local schools and other projects in the area.  All are very welcome to join us for this one-off session or on an ongoing basis. Email hannah.cartwright@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk for more details.