Saturday 12 September 10 am to 6 pm
Love history? Love praying? Love cycling or walking? Love welcoming visitors to church? Then Ride + Stride is for you! Christians have been worshipping in our local area for hundreds of years. Some of the churches nearby date back to Norman or even Saxon times; when you go in, you can sense the centuries of prayer and worship. On Ride + Stride day – Saturday 12 September – lots of churches will be open to visitors, and we can all raise money for the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust by getting sponsorship to visit as many churches as we can, or just by making a donation. The Trust exists to help local communities repair, maintain and improve Oxfordshire’s historic churches, preserving them for future generations. Three churches in our Benefice have benefitted from grants in the last few years: St Nicholas, East Challow, for new kitchen and toilet facilities; St James, Denchworth, for repairs to the belfry: and St James, West Hanney, for the extensive reordering currently taking place. St John’s Grove is also eligible for Trust funding now that the church building is over 50 years old!
Lorna Swanton (07766 757801) is the new Ride + Stride Coordinator for St John’s. She would love to hear from you, whether you would like to Ride or Stride on the day or can spare an hour or two to welcome visitors to St John’s. She can provide sponsorship forms, guidance and other information for the day. Lorna is planning to cycle for Ride + Stride, with her husband Steve and members of Cycling UK Wantage. They hope to visit up to 19 churches in the villages along the spring-line and through the Vale west of Grove, including each church in the Benefice. Others would be most welcome to join them for part or all of their ride. They have a donation page here: www.goodhub.com/go/ohct-lorna-and-steve-ride-stride-2026, where you can support them (and St John’s). There is lots of information, including ideas for walking and cycling routes, on the Trust’s website: www.ohct.org.uk/ride-and-stride/ and on their Facebook page. Ride + Stride is a family-friendly event. Family members can either share a sponsorship form or each have their own.
You can also set-up your own online fund-raising page on Goodhub. As well as riding or striding, you could be sponsored to welcome visitors to our church. A lovely feature of the event is having people in the churches to welcome the Riders + Striders who visit. The money you raise can be split 50:50 between your local church and the Trust. So, whether you Ride, Stride or Welcome on the day, why not take part to support the Trust and help to maintain, preserve and improve our local churches for future generations. It’s a great day out!
This article originally appeared in the St John’s Messenger. If you would like to discuss contributing a future article please contact news@valebenefice.org.uk.
