| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 16 Jan 2022 – Second Sunday of Epiphany  THE PARISH EUCHARIST SERVICE WILL BE HELD IN PERSONAT ST ANDREWS CHURCH AT 10.30AM Dear friends, Today, the second Sunday of Epiphany. And in the midst of our difficulties and joys, we are called to hear the voice of Jesus. So let us celebrate God’s saving love for us and all creation. Some comments on today’s readings: the first reading from Isaiah, chapter 62 verses 1-5. And we read ‘as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you’. Creation, like the bridegroom, looks forward to the fulfilment of God’s covenant promise. The second reading from the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 1-11. We read ‘No-one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit’. So the spirit within each of us is given for the common good. Each of us has our own unique attributes to enable us to serve. And the Gospel reading from St John chapter 2 verses 1-11. Events at the wedding at Cana, when Jesus performed his first recorded public miracle, turning the water held in stone jars into wine, revealing his glory, and leading his disciples to believe in him. The wedding at Cana also foreshadows the Eucharist, our own celebration of God working miracles in our lives. So here today, as we prepare to share the wine of the Eucharist, poured out for us, we are reminded that we are all, regardless of social status, invited into communion with God and one another. With every good wish, Canon Brian |
| COLLECT Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. or Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord. All AmenREADINGS Isaiah 62.1-5 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. Psalm 36.5-10 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens • and your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness stands like the strong mountains, your justice like the great deep; • you, Lord, shall save both man and beast. How precious is your loving mercy, O God! • All mortal flesh shall take refuge under the shadow of your wings. They shall be satisfied with the abundance of your house; • they shall drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the well of life • and in your light shall we see light. O continue your loving-kindness to those who know you • and your righteousness to those who are true of heart. 1 Corinthians 12.1-11 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says ‘Let Jesus be cursed!’ and no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. All Glory to you, O Lord. John 2.1-11 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. This is the Gospel of the Lord. All Praise to you, O Christ. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – JOHN BRUCE Father God, we bring before you your worldwide Church, all denominations from all places and we pray for unity and healing. Help us to remember that we are brought together as one body of believers through your son Jesus Christ. We pray that divisions may be healed and that where there are difficulties we can learn to disagree well. Help your church be a bright beacon of hope, peace and justice that glorifies you throughout the world. Lord, we bring before you those Christians throughout the world, who face persecution for their faith in you. We pray for a time that they may be able to speak your name boldly, without fear. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Lord of hope, we pray for a time when peace will descend upon the earth. We ask boldly for an end to all wars and the greed that drives so much fear and hatred among your people. We ask that the hungry will be fed and those that live in fear and poverty will know only your peace and love. We pray for an end to the famine in Afghanistan, and especially for the millions of suffering children. We pray for the people of Syria, and Kazakhstan with its current unrest. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Healing God, we bring before you all that are sick and suffering. We pray especially for all of those who are struggling due to the ongoing global pandemic. Give wisdom to those in power, to make the decisions that will be for the good of all and help your people discern how best to keep each other safe, whilst striking the balance to enable lives to be lived too. We pray for those who are waiting for hospital treatment, or for the results of tests, give peace in the midst of the storm. Lord, we bring before you all of those who we have been praying for as a parish, and those know personally to us. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Lord of all light, we pray for those who do not yet know you, we ask that you use us to shine brightly so that your glory may be known in all places. We pray for our community and parish, help us to reach the places of darkness and those people from whom your glory is hidden. We ask that barriers be broken down, cracks appear so that little by little your good and perfect plan will come to fruition in this place. In a moment of silence, we will each pray for someone who we know, who does not yet know you. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Heavenly Father, we bring before you those people who have been unable to travel to see family and loved ones for such a long time, so many moments have been missed and we know that that brings hurt, anger and upset and grief. We pray for those who travel and those who put the arrangements in place to ensure safety and wellbeing. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Father of comfort and hope, we remember those who have died recently or who may have anniversaries around this time. We especially thank you for the life and ministry of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, may he rest in peace and rise in glory. Lord we lift to you those who are grieving or preparing for the loss of someone they love, we ask for you to bring healing, comfort, and peace in those difficult times. Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer. In a moment of silence, we will each pray for a person, situation or place that is laying heavy in our hearts. Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Risen Saviour Jesus Christ. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord of all time and eternity, God of glory, you nourish us with your Word who is the bread of life: fill us with your Holy Spirit that through us the light of your glory may shine in all the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. All Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon for The Baptism of Christ NOTICES SUNDAY 5.00PM EVENING PRAYER (ZOOM) BCP Evening Prayer is on Sunday at 5pm via a Zoom link. We will send out the order of service later. Readings Psalm 96 1 Samuel 3.1-20 Ephesians 4.1-6 SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Evening Prayer on Zoom every Tuesday and Thursday at 5.00pm Church open for Private Prayer, Wednesdays 10.00am-12.00 Prayers & Bears at St Agnes every Friday Sun 16 Jan 10.30am Epiphany 2 – Parish Eucharist in Church 5.00pm Evening Prayer – Zoom Fri 21 Jan 12.00 Feast of St Agnes – Eucharist – at St Agnes Sun 23 Jan 10.30am Epiphany 3 – Parish Eucharist in Church 5.00pm Evening Prayer – Zoom Sun 30 Jan 10.30am Candlemas – Parish Eucharist in Church 5th Sunday – no Evening Prayer Sun 06 Feb 10.30am 4th Sunday Before Lent – All Age Eucharist 5.00pm Eucharist in ChurchST AGNES DAY Please note that there will be a Eucharist service on Fri 21 Jan at 12.00 to celebrate the Feast of St Agnes, at St Agnes Church. VOCATIONS EVENTS Please note these forthcoming vocations events – especially if you are beginning to explore your own calling. As you will see two of the events are aimed at young people and one for those of UKME heritage Maybe Me? Saturday 5th February, St Frideswide’s, Oxford. A Young Vocations event considering vocation in the broadest sense. This would be useful for anyone aged 16-30 wondering what God might be calling them to. Please register via the link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/young-person-vocations-event-tickets-212407194637 All are Called Saturday 5th March, St Paul’s, Slough. A Vocations event for people of UKME heritage to explore how they can respond to God’s call on their lives. Details of how to book will be out soon. Step Forward: Saturday 5th March. Online event for those aged 18-30 considering ordained ministry. The Archbishop of York will be speaking. http://www.stepforwardanglican.org.uk LENT LUNCHES Lent is not far away! It begins on 2nd March. As in previous years we want to provide Lent Lunches at St Agnes on Saturdays in Lent. If you have previously been involved in preparing or serving these please have a think about whether your group could do so again. Signing up forms will be available next Sunday. The dates are:05 March12 March19 March26 March02 April There won’t be a Lent Lunch on 09 Apr, as there is the Clewer Pilgrimage and Pilgrims’ Lunch at St Andrews. Details to follow. RECTOR’S SABBATICAL RAMBLINGS: 1 Part of my sabbatical is to reconnect with the Psalms. So each week I will share with you some of my ramblings. At the end of my first week away in California, I have been struck by the awesomeness of creation. The Psalms are full of praise for God’s creation. Did you know that the Psalms are really five books in one and reflect the five books of the Law, called the Pentateuch? Psalms 1-41 – Genesis Psalms 42-72 Exodus Psalms 73-89 Leviticus Psalms 90-106 Numbers Psalms 107-150 Deuteronomy With Creation in mind, have a look at Psalm 104. In the Passion translation verse 1 goes straight in with ‘ Everything I am will praise and bless the Lord! O Lord, my God, your greatness takes my breath away, overwhelming me by your majesty, beauty and splendour!’ This Psalm can be seen as an exposition of the days of creation: 1st day – v1-2 2nd day- v3-4 3rd day – v5-17 4th day – v18-23 5th day – v24-26 6th day – v21-30 My favourite verse is 2b – 4 (NRSV) You stretch out the heavens like a tent, you set beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind, you make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers. So this week I invite you to look with intention at God’s creation around you, or look at my photos, and read Psalm 104. Facebook photos https://www.facebook.com/standrewsclewer/posts/5107863425914420 Psalm 104 https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/daily-prayer/psalter/psalm-104 Blessings Revd Rosie PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Reuben, Don, Karl, Hugh and Sarah, Joanna, Pam, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Alan, Norman and Diane, and Patricia. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those being Baptised: Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, the head teacher Martin Tinsley and all the pupils, staff and governors. For all our Care Homes, for the safety of residents and staff. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live in St Leonards Hill, Bridewell, Chestnut Drive, Gratton Drive, Fairlawn Park, Dower Park, Poolmans Road, Snowdon Close, Turnoak Park, and Brudenell. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for The Church of England. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Johannesburg (Southern Africa), Jos (Nigeria), Juba (South Sudan), Kabba (Nigeria), Kadugli & Nuba Mountains, (Sudan), and Kaduna (Nigeria). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. CHURCH FINANCES – MESSAGE FROM ANDREW Thank you to everyone for all you have been able to give in this difficult time. Please consider continuing your regular giving by paying directly to our bank account, the details of which are: HSBC Bank, High Street, Windsor Sort Code: 40-47-37 Account number: 11373366 Account name: PCC St Andrews Church or if your bank doesn’t like this Parochial Church Council St Andrews Clewer Parish You may wish to consider transferring to the Parish Giving Scheme, which we promoted in previous years. Details are on our page on their web site: https://bit.ly/2XCLuCr [https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/clewer-st-andrew-windsor/] We also have the printed application forms available, please contact the Parish Office by email.CONTACTS The Parish Office is now closed. The Office Number is: 07490 094261 Email: office@clewerparish.org Parish Website: www.standrewsclewer.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/standrewsclewer Churchwarden: Stuart Cockman Safeguarding Policy: www.standrewsclewer.org/safeguarding-policy Safeguarding Officer: clewerparishsafeguarding@gmail.com |