Holy Trinity Headington vicar Laura Biron-Scott writes about her parish

Holy Trinity Headington Quarry is a hidden treasure; an oasis of calm just a stone’s throw away from a busy city.

It was founded almost one hundred and seventy years ago, but its neo-gothic design makes it feel much older. It is steeped in tradition and soaked in prayer.

Our most famous parishioner, C.S. Lewis, made this place his spiritual home throughout much of his life, and I can understand why.

I have been in post as the new vicar for just over two months.

The bulk of my work so far has involved getting to know people and hearing their stories. Much tea has been drunk.

A few Vicar of Dibley jokes have been exchanged.

One of the most amazing things about being a vicar is that people often trust you with the most precious aspects of their lives.

It’s a huge privilege to walk with people through some of their most joyful and most painful moments.

As well as getting to know people, I have started to think about the mission of our church. An important job for any leader is to call an organisation back to its core mission and vision.

Part of Holy Trinity’s mission is to be ‘an open door between heaven and earth, showing God’s love to all’. What does this mean in practice?

It means that our church building is open each day for prayer and reflection, offering people a quiet space to stop and think about life’s big questions.

In an increasingly hectic and noisy world, we often need to take a step back from life’s many demands and find stillness and sanctuary.

It means that we are looking to develop our church building to be more accessible for wheelchair users and for the very young. We want to improve our facilities so that people who walk through our open door can receive appropriate hospitality. We are actively fundraising to enable this to happen.

It means that we seek to open our doors to the wider community, serving everyone who lives in our parish—in Headington Quarry, Risinghurst and Wood Farm. If you live in our parish and are looking to hold a special life event in our church, we would love to hear from you.

It means that dedicated volunteers give their time and gifts in so many ways to keep our church open and active.

When you join a church, there are so many ways to get involved and make a big difference to the life of the local community.

It means that we hope to demonstrate God’s love in active ways, by doing more to help address some of the pressing social needs in our parish.

To do this, we need to build strong partnerships with other local organisations like schools and the city council.

It means that we open our doors to countless visitors from across the globe who come to remember C.S Lewis, the author whose books have inspired them in their own journey of faith.

Lewis is famous for communicating the Christian faith to the widest possible audience, and as a church we seek to follow in his footsteps.

Holy Trinity Church really is a hidden treasure.

If you don’t believe me, why don’t you come along and see it for yourself? I can promise you a very warm welcome.

For more information on the church and events visit hthq.uk