| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 23 July 2023 The Seventh Sunday after Trinity |
 WELCOME The first reading for the 7th Sunday after Trinity comes from the Wisdom of Solomon, chapter 12 vv 13, 16-19. It’s a reading about God’s forbearance. There’s only one God, a God who is strong and lenient and all powerful. The second reading comes from the Letter to the Romans, chapter 8 vv 12-25 We are the children of God and co-heirs with Jesus Christ. And we suffer like Jesus so that we can also be glorified with him. And the gospel reading is from St Matthew, chapter 13 vv 24-30, 36-43 The parable of the weeds amongst the wheat. The kingdom of Heaven is compared to a good farmer. When the plants came up and bore grain then the weeds appeared as well. (St Matthew chapter 13 v 26). God’s hand at work in our lives and in the world is the thread running through our readings today. Parables were not meant to bring instant answers, rather to be windows into God’s activity and purpose within our times and in the midst of our lives. In Matthew’s parable God is the hand that sows the seed, but then, where do the weeds come from? Why is there both good and evil in God’s world? St Matthew describes the field in which the Son of man is working which contains both good and evil. Whether this field represents the world of the church is something to ponder. We do not stand outside this story, but our call to be part of God’s work, putting our hands our hearts and lives at God’s service. Just as there is a pause between the parable’s story and the explanation so we also see how Jesus wants us to take some time, be drawn in, become part of the crowd listening to Jesus. In discerning his open hand and his loving voice, where we stand today, we find our own possibilities, expressions and responses. Canon Brian COLLECT Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: graft in our hearts the love of your name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of your great mercy keep us in the same; 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. All Amen READINGS – ONLY THE GOSPEL WILL BE READ DURING THE SERVICE Wisdom of Solomon 12.13, 16-19 For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people,to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly; For your strength is the source of righteousness,and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all. For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power,and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it. Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness,and with great forbearance you govern us;for you have power to act whenever you choose. Through such works you have taught your peoplethat the righteous must be kind,and you have filled your children with good hope,because you give repentance for sins. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Romans 8.12-25 So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh – for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. THE GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord. Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Almighty God, as a church we daily pray that “Your Kingdom Come” but most of the time we so often live in ways that prevent its coming. We spend too much of our time trying to build our own human kingdom, putting ourselves, rather than you, the centre our lives. Send your spirit to remind us that you are “First” and others are “Second” and we are “Third”. Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer Holy God, we pray for your church especially in our parish, the clergy, and all those who serve on church committees. Thank you too for those who provide music, hospitality and flowers; those who assist, serve read and pray. Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer Creator God, we thank you for the example of leadership given to us by your Son, Jesus Christ, in his life on earth. We pray for the renewal of a spirit of humility and a sense of responsibility among leaders of this world that the hungry might be fed and the oppressed might be freed to live in peace. Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer Father God, we worship you as the one who has given us this life and we ask that you will help us to live it to the full. At home may we be the friends and neighbours that we really want to be. Help us to spread the warmth of your love to everyone we meet. Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer Mighty God, we thank you for your love and compassion for all who suffer in body, mind and spirit. We pray that your healing presence will calm their fears, ease their pain and bring light into the darkness of all who are sick. We ask that you be with us, and all who need your loving touch at this time. Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, Carmel, and Christine. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. Lord, in your Mercy: hear our Prayer Merciful God,, through the ministry of your son Jesus Christ you have freed us from the grip of the tomb. We pray for those who have departed this life and ask you, through your loving kindness, to have mercy on their souls. We especially pray for any we know who have recently died and are on that journey to you, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Lord, in your mercy; hear our prayer Gracious God, hear these prayers we offer you in his name. By the power of your Holy Spirit work within us and among us to bring your kingdom into this world. Let your will be done so that all people may live only for your praise and glory. Lord, in your Mercy: hear our Prayer And finally, a prayer for Ukraine: God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your pr ecious children, at risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. 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 Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life, ever giving himself that the world may live: may we so receive within ourselves the power of his death and passion that, in his saving cup, we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love; for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Every Tue & Thu, 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Church Open every day 10.00am – 6.00pm Sun 23 Jul 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Sun 30 Jul 10.30am Parish Eucharist No Evening Service (5th Sunday) Sun 06 Aug 10.30am All Age Eucharist (Transfiguration) 5.00pm Parish Eucharist Sun 13 Jul 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER Sunday evening’s service is Evening Prayer, via Zoom. Readings Psalm 67 1 Kings 2.10-12, 3.16-28 Acts 4.1-22 PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, Carmel, and Christine. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised this month: Poppy. Weddings in July: Wills and Chloe, Katie and Peter, Scott and Annette. 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 in Hermitage Lane, Longbourn, Maidenhead Road, Rays Avenue, Wells Close, Vale Road, and Buckland Crescent. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church of Central Africa. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Southwestern Virginia, and West Virginia (USA), Waiapu, and Waikato and Taranaki (Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia), Wandi, and Wang Lei (South Sudan).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. CENTRICA VOLUNTEERS – 25 JUL The volunteers from Centrica will be in the churchyard on the 25th at 12.30, if anyone can come along and be with them, make refreshments and generally keep an eye out, that would be really helpful please.  On Saturday 12th August Kerith Church will be hosting a Charity Family Fun Day at Kerith Windsor (Fairacres Industrial Estate, Dedworth Rd, Windsor SL4 4LE) between 12-3pm. The main focus for raising the money will be for Windsor Foodshare. To raise the money they will be holding a jumble sale, people will have to pay a pitch fee and anyone that wants to look around the stalls will have to pay an entrance fee, all that money will go towards Foodshare. Any money the sellers make will be theirs or they can choose to donate that too. Spaces to sell at the jumble sale are limited and anyone wanting to have a pitch will have to get in touch socialmedia@kerith.church On top of raising money for Foodshare, they’re hoping that other charities/ministries might want to get involved and raise money for their causes through different means such as tombolas, tuck shops, and more.   WINDSOR BABY BANK The Windsor Baby Bank are looking for new or clean reusable school uniform. Also they still need new pants and socks all ages please. Please give your donations to Revd Rosie. WINDSOR FOODSHARE From their Facebook and Twittter Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare CAN YOU HELP? We get less food donations in the spring and summer, even though we are still feeding the same amount of people. We are extremely low on :Tinned PulsesTinned tomatoes Tinned VegetablesTinned Fruit Tinned spaghetti.We have a permanent donation box at Tesco Superstore and also at Waitrose & Partners. So if you are shopping it is easy to pop a carton or 2 in. Or why not try our Wishlist on Common Good and Amazon. https://www.forcommongood.co.uk/…/giftr…/registry/215636 https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/23EUESGGRMAVZ… You can drop off to us on Wednesdays 9.30-1.30 or Thursdays 9.30-3.00 at Dedworth Green Baptist Church. We do not like to ask as we know times are tough for lots of people right now. Imagine if your whole street donated one tin each to us how this would help our stocks. 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. email: office@clewerparish.org Revd Rosie 01753 852334 email rector@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 |