‘Sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven’ (Mark 10: 21) … a collection of old Greek banknotes (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
Christmas is not a season of 12 days, despite the popular Christmas song. Christmas is a 40-day season that lasts from Christmas Day (25 December) to Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February).
Throughout the 40 days of this Christmas Season, I have been reflecting in these ways:
1, Reflecting on a seasonal or appropriate poem;
2, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary, ‘Pray with the World Church.’
However, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began two days ago (18 January 2023), and between now and next Wednesday my morning reflections look at this year’s readings and prayers.
Churches Together in Milton Keynes continues to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this evening with ‘We Sing!’ at 7:30 in Saint Edward the Confessor Roman Catholic Church in Shenley Church End.
The Catholic community in Milton Keynes is rich in diversity with members from every corner of the World. This is planned as an evening of words and music reflecting the multicultural nature of the parishioners. With refreshments celebrating the breadth and depth of this community, it is expected to be an engaging and reflective evening.
Seeking justice … a painting by Una Heaton in a pub in Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Day 3: Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly
Readings:
Micah 6: 6-8
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Mark 10: 17-31
Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Reflection:
We – not me. The prophet warns the people what faithfulness to God’s covenant means: “…and what does the Lord require of you? To do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” In Biblical Hebrew justice and kindness (mercy) are not different or opposite from each other. They are in fact bonded together in a single word, mishpat. God has shown us what is good, asking us to do justice by loving kindness and walking humbly with God. Walking humbly with God means walking alongside others and therefore it is not just about the individual: my walk, my love.
The love that God invites us into is always a love which gathers us into communion: we – not me. This insight makes all the difference in how we “do justice”. As Christians we act justly to manifest something of God’s kingdom in the world, and therefore to invite others into this place of God’s loving kindness. Within God’s kingdom we are all loved equally as God’s children, and as God’s Church we are called to love one another as brothers and sisters and to invite others into that love.
To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God, calls Christians to act together in bearing a united witness to God’s kingdom within our communities: we – not me.
Christian Unity:
“Walking humbly” was challenging for the rich young man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He had obeyed all the commandments from his youth, but he could not take the further step to join Jesus’ disciples because of his wealth; he was beholden to his possessions. How difficult it is for Christians to let go of that which we perceive as riches, but which keep us from the greater wealth on joining Jesus’s disciples in Christian unity.
Challenge:
How can our churches better respond to the needs of our most vulnerable neighbours? How can we honour every voice in our communities?
Prayer:
Gracious and loving God,
Expand our vision that we might see the mission we share with all of our Christian brothers and sisters, to show forth the justice and loving kindness of your kingdom.
Help us to welcome our neighbours as your Son welcomed us.
Help us to be more generous as we witness to the grace that you freely give us. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
The statue of Justice by John Van Nost (1721) in Dublin Castle (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
USPG Prayer Diary:
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began two days ago (18 January), and the theme in the USPG Prayer Diary this week is the ‘Week of Prayer For Christian Unity.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a reflection from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today in these words:
Let us pray for the grace to live with difference. May we seek right relationships in our desire to do good and our search for justice.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued Tomorrow
The Prophet Micah portrays God’s people on trial for oppression and injustice (see Micah 6: 6-8) … a courtroom scene in a tableau in Adare, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
20 January 2023
Searching for the Oxford
college and church links in
street names in Wolverton
Christchurch Grove and Oriel Close … linked to the names of Oxford colleges (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Patrick Comerford
In recent weeks I have enjoyed walking around Wolverton, photographing the churches and other architectural features, searching for snippets and nuggets of local history and enjoying the contrast between Wolverton and Stony Stratford as neighbouring towns.
I was writing yesterday (18 January 2023) how the name of Anson Road sent me on a false trail in search of a possible link in the past between Lichfield and Wolverton. In a similar vein, the name of Christchurch Grove sent me in search of a church I may have missed as I continued to photograph the churches of Wolverton.
I ought to have known better. Of course, the Radcliffe Trustees of Oxford University owned large parts of Wolverton until the 1970s, and many of the street names in Wolverton are derived from the names of past trustees or from Oxford colleges linked to the Radcliffe Trust.
The Radcliffe Trust is one of Britain’s oldest charities and was founded in 1714 by the will of Dr John Radcliffe. Dr John Radcliffe (1650-1714) bought the Wolverton Estate from Sir Edward Longueville in the early 18th century, and so acquired large tracts of land in Wolverton, Old Wolverton and neighbouring Stony Stratford.
Radcliffe was elected MP for Buckingham in 1713, but died a year later he died and left his estate in trust for the endowment of educational and medical foundations. In his will, he directed his Trustees to spend £40,000 on building a library, and today the Radcliffe Camera is one of Oxford’s architectural glories.
The Trustees also built two other important Oxford landmarks, the Radcliffe Observatory and the Radcliffe Infirmary, the predecessor of the modern John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The Radcliffe endowments also gave the name to Radcliffe School in Wolverton.
By the mid-20th century, the Radcliffe Trust had become limited in its ability to support other charitable projects. However, in the 1960s, with the selection of the location for a new town, the Trust’s Wolverton estate became the subject of negotiations for purchase by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, and the sale was concluded on 29 September 1970.
The proceeds gave the Trust a substantial endowment and increased income. It was felt that this income was insufficient to support significant science projects, and instead new fellowships and grant schemes were developed to support projects in the arts, particularly music and crafts.
By the time of the sale, the Radcliffe Trust and the trustees had left their mark on the names of the streets of Wolverton.
Christchurch Grove at the western end of Wolverton leads into the Radcliffe School (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Christchurch Grove is a recent housing development at the western end of Wolverton, leading into the Radcliffe School. The Radcliffe School only took its name in 1956, and Christchurch Grove takes its name not from church I have yet to find in Wolverton but from Christ Church College, Oxford.
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, is both the college chapel of Christ Church College and the cathedral church of the Diocese of Oxford, which extends across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and beyond, including Wolverton, Stony Stratford and Milton Keynes.
Christ Church is one of the smallest cathedrals in the Church of England, and its dual role as cathedral and college chapel is unique. Saint Frideswide’s Priory in Oxford was surrendered in 1522 to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who planned Cardinal College. Instead, however, Christ Church became the see of the Diocese of Oxford in 1546, when Christ Church College was founded as a constituent college of the University of Oxford.
WB Yeats refers to Christ Church in his poem ‘All Souls’ Night, Oxford’:
Midnight has come and the great Christ Church bell
And many a lesser bell sound through the room;
And it is All Souls’ Night …
Oriel Close, Wolverton, takes its name from Oriel College, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Christchurch Grove in Wolverton is spelled as one word. It leads into Oriel Close, which also takes its name from an Oxford college. Oriel College was founded in 1324 by Adam de Brome under the patronage of Edward II.
John Henry Newman is among the most renowned figures associated with Oriel. He was a fellow of Oriel from 1822 to 1845. During these years he was also the college chaplain (1826-1831, 1833-1835) and Vicar of the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (1828-1843).
Newman was the driving force behind the Oxford Movement, alongside John Keble (1792-1866) and Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882), and Oriel is pre-eminently the college of the Oxford Movement, the first phase of which lasted from 1833-1845. Its proponents produced the Tracts for the Times, a series of 90 tracts that gave them the name ‘Tractarians’.
Besides Newman, Keble and Pusey, other figures of the movement associated with Oriel included Robert Wilberforce (1802-1857), Richard Hurrell Froude (1803-36), GA Denison (1805-1896), Thomas Mozley (1806-1893), Charles Marriott (1811-1858) and RW Church (1815-1890). Richard Whately (1787-1863) was a fellow of Oriel (1811-1821) and Drummond Professor of Political Economy in Oxford (1830-1831) before becoming Archbishop of Dublin (1831-1863).
Oriel College, Oxford, gives its name to Oriel Close in Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
In a similar vein, St John’s Crescent in Wolverton may have been named after St John’s College, Oxford, although local historians also suggest its name honour the Wolverton Corps of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Saint John’s College on Saint Giles’, Oxford, was founded as a men’s college in 1555 by Sir Thomas White to provide a source of educated Roman Catholic clergy to support the Counter-Reformation under Queen Mary. Saint John’s is the wealthiest college in Oxford, with a financial endowment of £600 million, largely due to 19th century suburban development of land in the city of Oxford.
These street names show how the Radcliffe Trustees were intent on making links between their Oxford colleges and the streets of Wolverton as the town grew and expanded from the mid-19th century on, and how this practice continued into the late 20th century, even as their Wolverton estates were being incorporated into the development of Milton Keynes.
However, local historians suggest Cambridge Street in Wolverton is not called after Cambridge University. Instead, they suggest it was so named, like Bedford Street, because of the Bedford and Cambridge Railway, which opened in 1862.
Christ Church, Oxford, gives its name to Christchurch Grove, Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
In recent weeks I have enjoyed walking around Wolverton, photographing the churches and other architectural features, searching for snippets and nuggets of local history and enjoying the contrast between Wolverton and Stony Stratford as neighbouring towns.
I was writing yesterday (18 January 2023) how the name of Anson Road sent me on a false trail in search of a possible link in the past between Lichfield and Wolverton. In a similar vein, the name of Christchurch Grove sent me in search of a church I may have missed as I continued to photograph the churches of Wolverton.
I ought to have known better. Of course, the Radcliffe Trustees of Oxford University owned large parts of Wolverton until the 1970s, and many of the street names in Wolverton are derived from the names of past trustees or from Oxford colleges linked to the Radcliffe Trust.
The Radcliffe Trust is one of Britain’s oldest charities and was founded in 1714 by the will of Dr John Radcliffe. Dr John Radcliffe (1650-1714) bought the Wolverton Estate from Sir Edward Longueville in the early 18th century, and so acquired large tracts of land in Wolverton, Old Wolverton and neighbouring Stony Stratford.
Radcliffe was elected MP for Buckingham in 1713, but died a year later he died and left his estate in trust for the endowment of educational and medical foundations. In his will, he directed his Trustees to spend £40,000 on building a library, and today the Radcliffe Camera is one of Oxford’s architectural glories.
The Trustees also built two other important Oxford landmarks, the Radcliffe Observatory and the Radcliffe Infirmary, the predecessor of the modern John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The Radcliffe endowments also gave the name to Radcliffe School in Wolverton.
By the mid-20th century, the Radcliffe Trust had become limited in its ability to support other charitable projects. However, in the 1960s, with the selection of the location for a new town, the Trust’s Wolverton estate became the subject of negotiations for purchase by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, and the sale was concluded on 29 September 1970.
The proceeds gave the Trust a substantial endowment and increased income. It was felt that this income was insufficient to support significant science projects, and instead new fellowships and grant schemes were developed to support projects in the arts, particularly music and crafts.
By the time of the sale, the Radcliffe Trust and the trustees had left their mark on the names of the streets of Wolverton.
Christchurch Grove at the western end of Wolverton leads into the Radcliffe School (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Christchurch Grove is a recent housing development at the western end of Wolverton, leading into the Radcliffe School. The Radcliffe School only took its name in 1956, and Christchurch Grove takes its name not from church I have yet to find in Wolverton but from Christ Church College, Oxford.
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, is both the college chapel of Christ Church College and the cathedral church of the Diocese of Oxford, which extends across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and beyond, including Wolverton, Stony Stratford and Milton Keynes.
Christ Church is one of the smallest cathedrals in the Church of England, and its dual role as cathedral and college chapel is unique. Saint Frideswide’s Priory in Oxford was surrendered in 1522 to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who planned Cardinal College. Instead, however, Christ Church became the see of the Diocese of Oxford in 1546, when Christ Church College was founded as a constituent college of the University of Oxford.
WB Yeats refers to Christ Church in his poem ‘All Souls’ Night, Oxford’:
Midnight has come and the great Christ Church bell
And many a lesser bell sound through the room;
And it is All Souls’ Night …
Oriel Close, Wolverton, takes its name from Oriel College, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Christchurch Grove in Wolverton is spelled as one word. It leads into Oriel Close, which also takes its name from an Oxford college. Oriel College was founded in 1324 by Adam de Brome under the patronage of Edward II.
John Henry Newman is among the most renowned figures associated with Oriel. He was a fellow of Oriel from 1822 to 1845. During these years he was also the college chaplain (1826-1831, 1833-1835) and Vicar of the University Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (1828-1843).
Newman was the driving force behind the Oxford Movement, alongside John Keble (1792-1866) and Edward Bouverie Pusey (1800-1882), and Oriel is pre-eminently the college of the Oxford Movement, the first phase of which lasted from 1833-1845. Its proponents produced the Tracts for the Times, a series of 90 tracts that gave them the name ‘Tractarians’.
Besides Newman, Keble and Pusey, other figures of the movement associated with Oriel included Robert Wilberforce (1802-1857), Richard Hurrell Froude (1803-36), GA Denison (1805-1896), Thomas Mozley (1806-1893), Charles Marriott (1811-1858) and RW Church (1815-1890). Richard Whately (1787-1863) was a fellow of Oriel (1811-1821) and Drummond Professor of Political Economy in Oxford (1830-1831) before becoming Archbishop of Dublin (1831-1863).
Oriel College, Oxford, gives its name to Oriel Close in Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
In a similar vein, St John’s Crescent in Wolverton may have been named after St John’s College, Oxford, although local historians also suggest its name honour the Wolverton Corps of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Saint John’s College on Saint Giles’, Oxford, was founded as a men’s college in 1555 by Sir Thomas White to provide a source of educated Roman Catholic clergy to support the Counter-Reformation under Queen Mary. Saint John’s is the wealthiest college in Oxford, with a financial endowment of £600 million, largely due to 19th century suburban development of land in the city of Oxford.
These street names show how the Radcliffe Trustees were intent on making links between their Oxford colleges and the streets of Wolverton as the town grew and expanded from the mid-19th century on, and how this practice continued into the late 20th century, even as their Wolverton estates were being incorporated into the development of Milton Keynes.
However, local historians suggest Cambridge Street in Wolverton is not called after Cambridge University. Instead, they suggest it was so named, like Bedford Street, because of the Bedford and Cambridge Railway, which opened in 1862.
Christ Church, Oxford, gives its name to Christchurch Grove, Wolverton (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
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