| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 11 December 2022 The Third Sunday of Advent |
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| WELCOME We are with John the Baptist again this week, but in a very different context. John is in prison, having paid the price for questioning the behaviour of those in authority- another way in which he is a forerunner of Christ. But now he seems uncertain about what Jesus is up to; is he the Messiah John was expecting? What a question? What are we questioning? Yes, we are gearing up to celebrate the birth of Christ but do we really believe he is the Saviour of the World and is going to return and complete his work, and bring this world into a peaceful conclusion? What a question? Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Blessings Revd Rosie |
| COLLECT O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. All Amen |
| READINGS Isaiah 35.1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God’s people; no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lordshall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Psalm 146.4-10 Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, • whose hope is in the Lord their God; Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; • who keeps his promise for ever; Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong • and bread to those who hunger. The Lord looses those that are bound; • the Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; • the Lord loves the righteous; The Lord watches over the stranger in the land; he upholds the orphan and widow; • but the way of the wicked he turns upside down. The Lord shall reign for ever, • your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Alleluia. James 5.7-10 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord. Matthew 11.2-11 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. |
| INTERCESSIONS Everlasting God, as we continue prepare for Christmas, help us to find time in our busy lives for time to be quiet where we can, through prayer and reflection, appreciate the wonder of your love. As we revisit the story of Jesus’ birth through our Advent worship deepen our joy invigorate our prayers and our praise and help it to challenge the way that we live our lives. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Faithful God may we like Mary worship in such a way that our joy in you grows through the recognition of the countless ways we have benefitted from your blessings throughout our lives and the goodness and mercy that you show to us despite our shortcomings. Help us to pass on our faith to the next generation of our families that they too might praise with the same joy that Mary did.. Merciful God, we pray for the nations of the world especially where pride interferes with power to produce tyranny, where the divide between rich and poor is beyond imagination and where people have been hungry for so long that many have never experienced a satisfying and sustaining meal. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Father God we pray for those whose children cannot take part in Christmas celebrations because of the expense; those who put themselves seriously into debt attempting to meet expectations; those who may have to use foodbanks for a Christmas meal. Help us to do all that we can through our prayers and through our giving to the local and international charities that are helping the less fortunate. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Merciful God, we raise before you the sick and the suffering, that you would show the strength of your arm and scatter everything which prevents them from enjoying health and wholeness in body mind and spirit. We pray for Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Norman and Diane, Sylvia, Mary, and Vic. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Mighty God, we rejoice for those who now experience the joy of heaven according to the promises you made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to us his descendants, forever. We especially pray for Beryl Roche, and all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Gracious God, our hearts desire the warmth of your love and our minds are searching for the light of your Word. Increase our longing for Christ our Saviour and give us the strength to grow in love, that the dawn of his coming may find us rejoicing in his presence and welcoming the light of his truth. Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen From the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca |
| PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts; kindle in us the fire of your Spirit that when your Christ comes again we may shine as lights before his face; who is alive and reigns now and for ever. Amen |
| Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon from last Sunday Evening |
| NOTICES |
| SUNDAY EVENING The service this Sunday evening is Lessons and Carols, in Church. |
| SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS No Tue/Thu EP via Zoom during Advent Advent Study every Wednesday during Advent 7.30pm (see below for details) Church Open every Wednesday 10.00am – 12.00 Sun 11 Dec 10.30am 3rd Sunday of Advent, Eucharist 5.00pm Lessons & Carol Service, followed by … 6.00pm Switch on of Christmas Lights (Clewminations) Sun 18 Dec 10.30am 4th Sunday of Advent, Eucharist 5.00pm Carols for Loved Ones Sat 24 Dec 3.00pm Christmas Eve, Crib Service 10.30pm Carol Singing before… 11.00pm Midnight Mass Sun 25 Dec 10.30am Christmas Day, All AgeEucharist Sun 01 Jan 10.30am New YearsDay, All AgeEucharist No evening service |
| PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Norman and Diane, Sylvia, Mary, and Vic. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Beryl Roche, and all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised this month 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. We pray also for Windsor Christian Action, and the work of the Homeless Project, Street Angels, FoodShare, and The Night Shelter. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live or work in Byron Court, Mayfield Close, Kimber Close, Harrington Close, Sherbourne Drive, Woodland Avenue, and Illingworth. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Anglican Church of Kenya. Please pray also for the churches these dioceses in Nigeria: Ogori-Magongo, Ohaji / Egbema, Oji River, Okene, and these dioceses in the USA: Ohio, and Southern Ohio. Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. |
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| Our Christmas flyers are available, please take some and give to your neighbours and friends. |
| ADVENT WHATSAPP DAILY This year the Rector is offering a daily Psalm and Prayer, like opening an Advent Calendar but on your phone! Please sign up on the form in Church if you would like to receive a daily message, or email the office office@clewerparish.org including your mobile number. |
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| CHRISTMAS LIGHTS & CHURCHYARD TREE DECORATION On 11 December we’ll be lighting up the churchyard again, as we did last year. If you would like to support this popular event, by contributing towards their cost, please see Revd Rosie. Alternatively, you could provide some battery powered lights. Battery lights need to have a timer on them please so that we don’t have to keep switching them on and off every day. If you’d like to decorate a tree please see Revd Rosie. |
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| MARGARET EAST FUNERAL The funeral of Margaret East will be in church on 20th Dec at 10.00am. |
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| WINDSOR HOMELESS PROJECT NEWS View email The Big Sleep Out…a memorable evening of entertainment and sleeping out under the stars! A great time was had by all on Friday 11th November as over 70 supporters slept out for WHP and many more joined a superb evening of entertainment at Windsor FC. We were blessed with a clear sky and a mild night. The evening was hosted by MC Ginge (Mark Dewhurst) and featured many guest speakers and the fabulous Blister Sisters. More on that below! We have many thanks to give to those who contributed to a wonderful evening which has gone on to raise over £27k for our cause! This was an amazing achievement given how quickly the event was put together, so a huge thanks to volunteer WHP Debbie Hughes and her team |
| CHRISTIAN AID REPRESENTATIVE We are looking for someone to be our Christian Aid representative. This just involves liaising between Christian Aid locally and our church. Its not an onerous role. Please see Mulle for more details if you could help. |
| ADVENT PREACHING For Sunday morning preaching during Advent, Canon Brian will be leading us in a series of study/reflection on the lectionary readings as we prepare the coming of Christ at Christmas. |
| ADVENT STUDY ONLINE VIA ZOOM ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS TRAVELLING LIGHT The Bible is full of comings and goings. People travel, sometimes long distances, sometimes just locally. Some travel willingly, others reluctantly; some carry a lot of stuff with them, others take little or nothing. All these movements become times of learning for those involved, part of how they grow in relationships with each other and with God. In this Advent course, we come alongside a few of those travellers. We journey with them, reflecting with them, almost getting into conversation with them about their experiences. As we walk together with them, we notice things about where we ourselves have come from and where we are heading. We hope to find inspiration, to put a spring in our step; also guidance about the route ahead; and perhaps some warnings which may prompt us to change our own direction of travel. In all this, we move on – towards the celebration of Christmas and towards the new year that lies beyond it. As followers of Jesus Christ, we walk with him, discovering more of the light which Christ brings and finding ways to share that light with others. Email the office if you would like to join us 7.30pm on 30 Nov, 7, 14 and 21st Dec. office@clewerparish.org |
| WINDSOR FOODSHARE From their Facebook and Twittter Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ? We’re currently short of tinned meat, UHT milk,Tinned Fruit and Desserts. We are also very very low on carrier bags if you have some stashed in a cupboard please can we have them. All items can be dropped off to the church: Dedworth Green Baptist Church, Smiths Lane, Windsor, SL4 5PE 9.30am-1.30pm Wednesdays 9.30am -3.00pm Thursdays. or alternatively they can be brought from our Amazon wish list. The address they are delivered to are saved to Amazon to make your life a little easier  .https://amzn.to/3a1IMAk Thank you all for your continued support and for helping to feed local families. More information, and to donate online: https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk/food-donations Did you know that Windsor Foodshare has its own just giving page. If you are donating with just giving don’t forget to tick the gift aid box that way we get an extra 25% on top of your donation. Every single penny we get given goes to help feed local families. https://www.justgiving.com/windsorfoodshare If you would like any further information please contact manager@windsorfoodshare.org.uk |
| 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 |