Welcome to The Ridgeway Benefice

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Welcome to The Ridgeway Benefice

Welcome to the Ridgeway Benefice website, for news and events about the Church of England parishes of Holy Cross Chiseldon with Draycot Foliat, Ogbourne St Andrew with Rockley and Ogbourne St George. The Ridgeway Benefice is in the Marlborough Deanery in the Diocese of Salisbury, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Services in The Ridgeway Benefice:

Mid-week services: There is a said service of Holy Communion at Chiseldon Church Hall on Wednesdays at 10.00am.

Sunday 24^th November 2024, Christ the King:

10.30am, Café Church, St Andrew
10.30am, Parish Communion, Holy Cross
6.00pm, Evensong (BCP), St George

Readings: Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14; Psalm: 145: 93; Revelation 1: 4b-8; John 18: 33-37

Collect: Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 1^st December 2024, Advent Sunday:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
10.00am, Café Church, St George
11.00am, Parish Communion, St Andrew
4.00pm, Advent Lights Service, Holy Cross

Readings: Jeremiah 33: 14-16; Psalm 25: 1-9; 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-end; Luke 21: 25-36

Collect: Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 8^th December 2024, Advent 2:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), St George
10.30am, Parish Communion, Holy Cross

Readings: Baruch 5; Psalm 75; Philippians 1: 3-11; Luke 3: 106

Collect: O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 15^th December 2024, Advent 3:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
10.30am, Zoom Service
6.00pm, Christmas Celebration, St Andrew

Readings: Zephaniah 3: 14-end; Psalm 50: 1-6; Philippians 4: 4-7; Luke 3: 7-18

Collect: O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 22^nd December 2024, Advent 4:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
4.00pm, Carol Service, St George
6.00pm, Carol Service, Holy Cross

Readings: Micah 5: 2-5a; Psalm 80: 1-8; Hebrews 10: 5-10; Luke 1: 39-45

Collect: God our redeemer, who prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of your Son: grant that, as she looked for his coming as our saviour, so we may be ready to greet him when he comes again as our judge; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Christmas Eve 2024:

4.00pm, Christingle Service, St George
4.00pm, Christingle Service, Holy Cross
5.30pm, Christingle Service, St Andrew
9.00pm, Communion by Candlelight, St George
11.00pm, Midnight Mass, Holy Cross

Christmas Day 2024:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
10.00am, Christmas Service, St George
10.00am, Christmas Service, Holy Cross
10.00am Christmas Communion, St Andrew

Sunday 29^th December 2024, Christmas 1:

10.30am, Benefice Communion, Holy Cross

No early service today.

Readings: 1 Samuel 2: 18-20, 26; Psalm 148; Colossians 3: 12-17; Luke 2: 41-end

Collect: Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so we may share the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

No Wednesday service on 1st January.

Sunday 5^th January 2025, The Epiphany:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
10.00am, Café Church, St George
10.30am, Morning Worship, Holy Cross
11.00am, Parish Communion, St Andrew

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12

Collect: O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 12^th January 2025, The Baptism of Christ:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), St George
10.30am, Parish Communion, Holy Cross

Readings: Isaiah 43: 1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8: 14-17; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

Collect: Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 19^th January 2025, Epiphany 2:

8.30am, Holy Communion (BCP), Holy Cross
10.30am, Zoom Service

Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; Psalm 36: 5-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11; John 2: 1-11

Collect: Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sunday 26^th January 2025, Epiphany 3:

10.30am, Café Church, St Andrew
10.30am, Parish Communion, Holy Cross
5.00pm, Evensong (BCP), St George

Readings: Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a; Luke 4: 14-21

Collect: Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Mid-week services: There is a said service of Holy Communion at Chiseldon Church Hall on Wednesdays at 10.00am.

Church Access

Church opening for private/individual prayer:

·St George: Wednesdays and Sundays, 9.00am-5.00pm

·St Andrew and Holy Cross can be opened on request either to the Rector or the Churchwardens.

Giving On-Line

When on-line services available, the three churches in the Ridgeway Benefice saw a considerable reduction in income as we could take collections, therefore we created the ability for people to donate on-line. If you could donate a one off amount, or even a regular amount by standing order, please see details for each parish here: St Andrew, St George, Holy Cross

Help and Resources

‘Daily Hope’ phone line 0800 804 8044: This is a CofE initiative to provide access to worship, prayer and reflections. The line runs for 24 hours a day and is free to call.

Online church resources: https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/church-online

A prayer for all those affected by coronavirus: Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

The Ridgeway Benefice publishes a short Weekly Newsletter with information about coming services and other news.

Sign-up or cancel your subscription to our Weekly Newsletter

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Policy: The Ridgeway Benefice takes its responsibilities surrounding the safeguarding of children, young people, and adults who may be at risk very seriously, and works in partnership with the Diocese of Salisbury to ensure that we work in accordance with best practice at all times. Our Parish/Benefice Safeguarding Policy (which is that of the Diocese of Salisbury and the National Church) can be viewed and downloaded here.

If you have any Safeguarding questions or concerns you can contact our Benefice Safeguarding Officer, Linda Sutcliffe on telephone number: 07493914285 or contact her via email with this form.

Alternatively you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisers, Jem Carter on 07469 857888 or Suzy Futcher 07500 664800 and email Safeguarding Salisbury.

Our Pastoral Team

Meet our Clergy Team here.

The Friends of Holy Cross

We are a group of people – churchgoers and non-churchgoers – who wish to ensure that The Church of The Holy Cross in the village of Chiseldon is preserved and maintained for present and future generations.

Our aims are to:

Help preserve and maintain the fabric and furnishings of Holy Cross Church for the benefit of the community, and in support of the Parochial Church Council.
Raise funds to achieve those objectives.
Stimulate an interest in the building and its contents.

Find out how you can become involved and what events we have on at the Friends of Holy Cross website:www.friendsohc.org.uk

Diocesan Links

The Diocesan e-bulletin: if you would like to receive the e-bulletin please subscribe using the following here.
Diocesan Grapevine: if you would like to receive this bulletin, please subscribe here.

To contact us regarding any errata or new content that you want to be added about groups and events within the Benefice, links to other web sites etc. click here.