Triumph on the Thames

As the slightly heavier Oxford rowing team pulled away from Cambridge and (again) won the 155th annual boat race in 17 minutes we were walking a little further up the river on the marvellous river Thames.

The stretch of the Thames which passes thorugh Oxford is named the “Isis” – which probably comes from the name given to an Eygptian Fertility goddess.  But whether it be the fast flowing very tidal area around Putney where the boat race takes place (and where we would take out our Zodiac dingy at the weekends when living in London) or the more gentile meanderings where we walked today south of Christchurch meadow in Oxford, the Thames always reminds me of the Creator God’s awsome majesty.

The power of water cutting its path through some of England’s most glorious countryside reminds me, not of a fertility god, but of the God of the Bible.  Rivers are often mentioned in the bible, particularly Jordan’s superiority even to the great Euphrates or Nile because it feeds God’s chosen city Jerusalem.

But the Bible also speaks of rivers as symbolic of God’s refreshment and never ending supply:
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. (Psalm 46:4), and  ¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. (Revelation 22).

In the meantime: ³⁷On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Rivers are refreshing places, and on a lovely sunny Spring day they renew the mind and body.  But there are rivers of living water designed to refresh the soul through the indwelling Holy Spirit and transport us to the living God.

Wycliffe Hall Press Release

Bishops’ Inspection 2008 Wycliffe Hall welcomes the Bishops’ Inspection report arising out of a thorough week of inspection in November 2008. We are encouraged that they found that ‘the Hall displays a rich mosaic of evangelical traditions,’ commend the clarity of our ‘common purpose that unites staff and students,’ and affirm our aims and purposes in ‘preaching, teaching, pastoral care and evangelism.’ We also agree with them that significant goodwill exists within the Faculty of Theology of the University of Oxford; that the academic, administrative and support staff work together well with a sense of corporate direction.

Commendation is made of the good academic results achieved by Wycliffe students and corporate and communal life in the Hall is observed to be healthy. The Inspectors point out that Wycliffe has gone through a period of major restructuring including significant staff change. Whilst they acknowledge that adjustments and rebuilding needs to continue to happen, we are pleased that they feel that the structures are in place for Wycliffe to go from strength to strength.

We rejoice in the fact that the Inspectors have stated their full confidence in Wycliffe’s ‘ministerial and spiritual formation’. We are grateful for the affirmation of our revised programme of Integrated Study Weeks and Focus Days as ‘excellent expressions of best practice and as effective means of integrating theology and practice.’ For many years Wycliffe has sought to give significant attention to the formational aspects of training alongside academic development and practical ministry skills. In the area of ‘practical and pastoral theology’, we look forward to working on the recommendations for greater theological and pastoral reflection deploying the ‘collective expertise’ recognised by the Inspectors as already present in the staff team. As new staff become established and continue with the development of this department we anticipate much progress in this area. Wycliffe is also grateful for the many additional and positive recommendations which we shall be working hard to ensure are implemented over the short and mid term.

Revd Dr Richard Turnbull (Principal)

Revd Dr Simon Vibert (Vice Principal)

Revd Dr Peter Walker (Associate Vice Principal)

 

Revd Will Donaldson (Director of Christian Leadership)

Helen Mitchell (Director of Administration)

Graham Robinson (Finance Bursar)

Dr Benno van den Toren (Dean of Faculty)

The Senior Management Team Wycliffe Hall

17th March 2009