Welcome to everyone moving to Oxford!
The John Wesley Society (JWS) is a Christian society for students at Oxford and Oxford Brookes Universities.
A large number of students and young adults attend Wesley Memorial Methodist Church each week and are an integral part of the Church family. If you are a student or young adult you are very welcome to join us for Sunday lunch after the morning service during Oxford University term time.
A wide range of activities happen for students every week during term time; Bible Study (with food) Thursdays at 6pm and Prayer Breakfast on Fridays at 8am. There is also a contemporary and creative service on the first Thursday of each month at 7.30pm. For information about our other events please check out our termcard or sign up to our mailing list to receive our weekly emails
Wesley Memorial Methodist Church can be found next to St Peter's College, OX1 2DH
Events
- Weekly
- Sunday Lunches
- Evening Worship
- Bible Study
- Prayer Breakfast
- Other Social Events
- Termly
- Group Services & Families
- Termly Communion
- Yearly
- Day Retreat
- Advent Dinner
- Easter Retreat
- Rounders, Frisbee & Football
- Summer Retreat
- Summer Activities
Sunday Lunch
Many JWS members choose to go to Wesley Memorial Church, but wherever you go to Church, you're always welcome to come for Sunday Lunch.
Each Sunday following the morning service, we stay to share in a sociable lunch prepared by various volunteers from within the congregation. Afterwards people are welcome to stay around and chat, or perhaps play a board game.
Evening Worship
Cowley Road Evening Worship takes place on Sunday evenings at 8pm at Cowley Road Methodist Church. (Up Cowley Road, just beyond Magdalen roundabout). This is a relaxed contemporary service, with prayer stations and modern worship (and nibbles at the start!) Everyone is very welcome.
Bible Study
Every Thursday evening at 6pm we meet in the student room upstairs in Wesley Memorial for Bible Study. (If you go into the church office they'll point you in the right direction)! We all share a (free!) hot meal together during the evening. No previous experience of attending bible studies or previous knowledge of the topic is required at all. Everyone is very welcome.
Thursdays, 6pm at Wesley Memorial Church.
Prayer Breakfast
We start each Friday morning with food for thought, in the form of breakfast and prayer. We meet in the kitchen of Wesley Memorial and wrap up in time for nine o'clock lectures. Sometimes it's full English, sometimes it's continental, but always it's prayer. What better way to start the day?
Fridays, 8am at Wesley Memorial Church.
Group Services & Group Families
Once a term we divide into three groups and venture out into the wilds of the Oxford Methodist Circuit. Each group organises a service for one of the churches in the circuit; a great opportunity to play a leading role in worship but in a group situation—so much less scary! Budding preachers wanting to hone their sermon skills are always welcome, but just as welcome are those who’d prefer to read a reading or a prayer.
Following this we are lucky to be invited to a family within the church for Sunday lunch. This is a great opportunity not only for a home–cooked meal but also to get to know members of the church and other members of your group through the lunch, coffee and short walks—which often extend until the mid–afternoon.
Start & End of Term Communion
Each term one evening early in the term, and one morning late in the term we hold Start and End of Term Communions. These are short services for members of JWS, and led and written by a different member each time. They usually consist of a couple of hymns chosen by the leader, some prayers and a short talk. Rev Dr Martin Wellings, the minister at Wesley Memorial, attends to lead us during the communion section of the service.
After the Start of Term Communion, we often adjourn to a nearby pub for social relaxation, before returning to essay crises! After the End of Term Communion, we usually share in breakfast, before rushing to our final lectures and tutorials of term.
Day Retreat
Each Michaelmas term we take a day of retreat, to get away from the busyness of Oxford and to spend a day getting to know each other better. Recent destinations have included London to visit Wesley's chapel and do some sightseeing of our capital, and last year to Coventry to visit the Cathedral and a Doctor Who exhibition!
Advent Dinner
For many the highlight of the JWS year is Advent Dinner. This is our one black tie event and features a full Christmas Dinner, kindly prepared for us by a member of the church, and available at perhaps the lowest price for which it can be found in Oxford.
Post-dinner entertainment is also provided, featuring the infamous committee pantomime. This generally features various people in drag, and generally making a fool of themselves, including the president being pelted with custard.
Easter Retreat
Each Easter vacation, we go on retreat for a few days at the end of term. Recent locations have included Brighton and Bath. We spend a long weekend staying at the church of one of our members. The retreat offers a time for periods of Bible Study and reflection, as well as relaxation, time to socialise with other members of the society, sightseeing and fun activities.
Rounders, Frisbee & Football
Every summer the JWS organises some sporting socials, including the annual JWS vs Wesley Memorial football match. This ferociously–contested match is always great fun, and the sports are usually followed by refreshments. These are a great opportunity for students to get out in the sunshine for a little during the exam season.
Summer Retreat
The JWS organises a retreat each summer, to celebrate the end of the academic year and the start of the summer. Recent summer retreats have including camping in Cumbria, and a trip to Northern Ireland. The retreats are a lovely way to bring the term to a close and lots of fun is always had.
Summer Events
After our annual summer retreat, most summers, we utilise the many talents of our members to do something useful. For the last few years, Wesley Memorial has run a holiday club, and a number of our members have volunteered to lend a helping hand with this.
A number of us also attend Greenbelt festival later on in the summer.
Wesley Memorial Church
Wesley Memorial is a Methodist church, with a congregation involving people who come from a wide range of backgrounds. It is enriched by the many visitors and members we welcome from other parts of the country and from overseas.
More information about the church can be found on the Wesley Memorial Church website.
How To Find Us
Many of our events are held at Wesley Memorial Church, which is on New Inn Hall Street, opposite St. Michael’s Street, next to St Peter’s College.More detailed map.
Occasionally events will be held elsewhere, as detailed in the weekly JWS News newsletter. If you would like to be added to this, simply contact us, as detailed below.
Contact Us
(Note the email addresses below cannot be copy and pasted)
- President
- president
johnwesleysociety.org.uk - Committee
- committeejohnwesleysociety.org.uk
- Webmaster
- webmasterjohnwesleysociety.org.uk
- Postal address
- John Wesley Society, Wesley Memorial Church, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DH, UK
Other Social Events
Throughout the term we organise several social/fun events, such as trips to the theatre, pubs, G&Ds (a local ice–cream shop) and punting trips.
For more information about these events, please see the term card, or check your weekly newsletter. To be added to the mailing list, please email secretary![[at sign]](atsign.png)
johnwesleysociety.org.uk