Ride and Stride

Saturday September 9th was the day for the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust annual fundraising event when many of Oxfordshire's (and surrounding counties') churches were opened to visitors who travelled around on foot, bicycle or horse to
raise money, through sponsorship, to be shared between their churches and the OHCT. The OHCT uses this money to support churches' refurbishment and repair, and our church has benefited from this in the past. Saturday September 9th was also
one of the hottest days of 2023 and visitors appreciated delving into, and resting in, the cool space in the churches! This year, from our church, Gill Skidmore & Alison Brown and Alison & Clive Phillips, independently took the S9 bus to Oxford and explored some of the churches there. An added attraction was that the weekend was also, coincidentally, Oxford "Open Doors", an annual event at which many colleges, the castle, and other buildings are opened to the public for free entry. Alison B & Gill
visited 16 churches in Oxford and 2 in Wantage. Alison P & Clive were less energetic and managed only 8 Oxford churches and 3 Wantage churches. However, for all four it was a great experience, exploring the beautiful interiors of Oxford churches, and also looking inside a few of the secular buildings some of which we had not visited before. We must thank our own church members who looked after our church and welcomed visitors: Sue H, Gill M, June & Alan G, Helen & John C, Rob C, Kelvin R. This year the church had 18 visitors, a similar number to last year but well down on pre-pandemic days when we usually had about 34. None of us actively sought sponsorship before the day but it is not too late to make a donation to this worthy cause. If you would like to, please speak to one of us.