David Eaton’s para in the latest Update (not to
mention Andrew Pritchard’s!) have highlighted the Ride and Stride in St
Mary’s. Their efforts certainly deserve the sponsorship they’ve
already had, and still hope to get (do think about it if you haven’t done
so!), but I’d like also to put in a word for the event as more than a
money-maker.
If you spend some time as a Ride and Stride ‘sitter’
in St Mary’s or St James’s, you’ll have the happy experience
of welcoming interested visitors from across the diocese. Or why not try a walk
round Oxford
(many fascinating churches, such as St Barnabas, will be open for the day), or think
about a more rural route? Take the bus over to the toll-bridge, and you can
walk the Thames Path into Oxford
– with the option of visiting Wytham and Binsey on the way. There’s
nothing nicer than walking peacefully along watching a gliding swan, or red
berries reflected in the water, with the traffic on the A40 a dull roar in the
distance. And it’s fascinating to be welcomed (always warmly) into other
churches, and see the different ways in which things can be done.
‘Ride and Stride’ is a great event, and it’s
about much more than money. (Though of course, it’s a great cause to
support, and one to which St Mary’s is particularly grateful.)
Elizabeth Knowles
