Our wonderful church at All Saints, Oving has a compelling history summed up beautifully by the timeline put together for us by the Oxford Heritage Partnership:
12th century Small, possibly two cell church thought to exist on site
1222 First surviving record of a rector at Oving; the church is in the gift of the Priory of St
John of Jerusalem (also known informally as the Hospitallers)
Early-13th century Building or rebuilding of chancel
Late-13th century North and south aisles added
Early-14th century South aisle extended eastwards to create a chantry chapel; south porch
added
Late-15th century/ Nave clerestory added, nave reroofed, current tower erected early-16th century
17th century North aisle demolished and arcade blocked up
1657 Nave roof restored
1674 Moulded tower parapet added (date on parapet)
1717 South porch restored
1788 & 1800 South aisle roof restored
1867 Church restored and re-seated by G E Street; east end of north arcade unblocked and vestry added
13 Dec 1867 Church reopened on completion of Street restoration
1893 Tower screen installed and chancel screen augmented
1897 Tower restored
1922 Nave roof restored
Now, all this is very interesting but we should not forget that the church was consecrated for the worship and to the glory of God and to take part in God’s mission in the world – to preach the good news of the Gospel to all in the village. That was the focus and intention of those who built the church in the first place and it continues to be our focus today.
Now, in the 21st century, we have an opportunity to recapture this vision for our villages as we continue to develop our plans to reorder the church to make it fit for purpose for the 21st century and beyond. Our ambitious project to build into our church a toilet block and servery was put on hold for some time because of covid lockdowns and restrictions, but now we are getting back on track and moving forward with our plans. We are currently at the stage of seeking the required permissions from the Diocese to progress our plans and various reports are being put together. Our architect has come up with an ingenious plan to rearrange the interior of our church into a sacred space, a safe space for all and a social space, where we can offer hospitality and community support.
But here is the crunch! All Saints is your local parish church but it’s not just a place where “hatchems, matchems and dispatchems” take place! We need your help to make all of this happen. So how about coming along to one of our services, currently twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 10.30am. Please note that from September we will be returning to pre-covid service times and meeting EVERY SUNDAY at 11.00am.
This is our “carpe diem” moment – it’s time to seize the day!
May God bless you and all those you care for. Rev Steve
