Open Space Oxford

We won't be having our usual service on the last Sunday of August, but we couldn't go a whole month without any Open Space goodness! We'll be meeting for a picnic at South Parks at 6pm on Sunday instead. Bring your own food, and looking at the forecast, a blanket to sit on!

Only a few hours left until tonight's Open Space!

St Mary & St John, Cowley, Oxford
6pm for a meal
7:15pm for a reflective service.

Our theme tonight is 'being'. Come and be with us.

Open Space meets again tomorrow (27th July), at St Mary & St John Cowley. 6pm for a meal, 7:15 for a reflective service. Come for either, come for both, come as you are, know you are loved.

This week we're going to be focused on 'Being'. Being ourselves, being known, being seen, being loved.

Will we see you tonight at our monthly Open Space meeting?

St Mary & St John, Cowley Road
6pm for a meal (light summer salads - appropriate for the weather!)
7:15 for a reflective service
Come for either or come for both, all welcome.

(Churches are good places to stay cool in hot weather!!)

Our next service is this Sunday, 29th June, at St Mary & St John, Cowley.

Meal at 6pm, Service at 7:15pm, come for either, come for both. Come as you are, you are loved.

Will we see you there?

Join us this Sunday 25th May for our next service in which we will be reflecting on the theme of Joy.

Meal at 6pm, Service at 7.15pm, St Mary & St John, Cowley

Come as you are, you are loved.

Volunteering with Open Space Open Space is currently seeking volunteers to help us run our monthly services. More volunteer options will be available as we continue to run Open Space. We're starting by resourcing our Sunday ser...

Are you really a church service until you have a rota?

We'd love to invite you to help us whether through Welcoming people, helping set up and clean up the service and meal, or reading during the service.

If you are interested please let us know here: forms.gle/To83vfJcvWkM...

Getting ready for this evening - hope to see you there!

“Christ has no body but yours, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.” - Teresa of Avila @ St. Mary and St. John's Church, Cowley Road Final Sunday of every month Meal at 6pm, Service at 7:15pm

Come and explore resurrection with us on this evening, Sunday 27th April. We will gather at St Mary and St John, Cowley at 6pm to eat, and at 7:15pm for our reflective service - you are welcome to join for either part, or for the whole evening.

“You are good, you are loved, you are love.” @ St. Mary and St. John's Church, Cowley Road Final Sunday of every month Meal at 6pm, Service at 7:15pm

We’re looking forward to coming together this Sunday, the 27th April, for the second gathering of Open Space.

Our theme will be ‘Resurrection’.

Join us at St Mary and St John, Cowley at 6pm for some good food, and 7:15pm for queer theology, prayer, and reflective space - all very welcome.

Give us courage to overcome our fears, and seek that unity which is your gift and your will. To stand up for those who are silenced, excluded, shut out. To walk alongside the vulnerable and hurting in their struggle. To share in our joys, our pains, and our hopes. As we move together towards justice, may your will of Love be done. Amen

As Jesus taught us, “whatever you did for one of these who are least respected of my family, you did for me.” That we may once again discover the unity that is God’s will, let us pray.

To trans allies: It is time for you to step up. Protect your trans and gender nonconforming friends where you can. Welcome them, stand beside them, advocate for them in the places you can be and they cannot. Sit with them in their grief, and hold them in their pain.

To our trans friends: You are loved, you are accepted, you are holy. You are always welcome with us, just as you are, made wholly in the image of God - whether in the euphoria of joy, or deep lamentation for the injustice of this world.

Here at Open Space we try to ‘Learn the unforced rhythms of grace’ (Matthew 11:29). Today, looking at the Supreme Court ruling, it’s hard to feel much grace about anything.

We’ve spent the last week or so recovering and reflecting from our first meeting at the end of March - and looking ahead for what’s next!

Were you at our first meeting of Open Space? Let us know how you found it!

a transgender flag with the words trans lives matter on it ALT: a transgender flag with the words trans lives matter on it

It’s Trans Day of Visibility today. Know that you are loved, valued and affirmed. #MoreThanWelcome

The service will end at 8.15 by sharing the following grace: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the love of God. And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Be with us all evermore."

There are a variety of options for seating, including chairs and beanbags, and we welcome you to bring crafts or fidget toys if you would like (We’ll be bringing our knitting and our sketch books!)

At 7.30 we begin the service of which will take us through a cycle of prayer, readings or reflection, space for contemplation and music.

At 7.15 we will begin to play some quiet music as we transition towards the reflective space, anyone who does not want to stay for the service is welcome to make their way out at this point.

At 7pm we will begin to clear up the food and tables, anyone who is able is welcome to help with this. You can also continue your conversations with other guests, or take a few minutes to yourself.

The meal will open with a welcome and grace from Martha, the Vicar of St Mary and St John Cowley, after which we will eat and get to know one another.

We will begin at 6pm with a shared dinner of curry and rice prepared by Oxford Community Kitchen. All food will be vegetarian, with a vegan and gluten free option.

We're less than a week away from our first service. We're looking forward to welcoming you Sunday 30th March at 6pm (for dinner) or 7.30 (for the service) at St Mary & St John, Cowley Road.

Here's what you can expect:

Open Space is an ecumenical Christian event, open to those of all faiths and none. We’ve had a lot of thoughts about how to approach this, and about the culture and community we want to grow.

So we’re going to:

🌈 Offer a free meal to build community together

🌈 Have a gentle service including prayer & time for reflection

🌈 Approach conversations about God & queer theology with curiosity and compassion

🌈 Creatively come together to ‘Learn the unforced rhythms of grace’ (Matthew, 11:29)

This is because:

🌈 We know many queer people have been hurt deeply by organised religion, and that we can’t heal that hurt in an evening

🌈 We want a space to explore the joys and the troubles of queer faith

🌈 We know that the intersection of faith and queerness can be hard and lonely

This means:

🌈 We don’t expect you to follow a specific creed

🌈 We won’t expect you to subscribe to a specific brand of Christianity, or to Christianity at all.

🌈 We won’t try to evangelise or convert you

Open Space is an ecumenical Christian event, open to those of all faiths and none. We’ve had a lot of thoughts about how to approach this, and about the culture and community we want to grow.

Hi, we'd love to have you both! There's a parking bay on Cowley Road just outside the church with no restrictions on Sundays and there are usually spaces. If you have particular access needs do email and we can see if we can do something in the church's limited parking. (Openspace.oxford@gmail.com)