| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 08 October 2023 The 18th Sunday after Trinity |
 WELCOME Many years ago we had some friends who had a vineyard in a village in Berkshire and October was the month for picking the grapes. It was wonderful to see the branches laden with fruit and everyone would turn up to help with the harvest. There are many stories in the bible using the image of the vineyard, and so of course, Jesus uses it as his way of trying to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. The Jesus we hear about in today’s gospel is not a ‘gentle Jesus meek and mild’, but a ‘provoking and disruptive’ Jesus. God had sent various prophets to his people over the years, they had lost their way so many times, wanting the power for themselves. The image of the vineyard was used by the prophet Isaiah to warn Israel what God would do. By the time of Jesus, the religious authorities were still not being the people that God wanted them to be, they enjoyed the power of status, they knew what Jesus was saying but chose to ignore it. In the New Testament reading, Paul, lists a whole load of things he’s proud of but, none of these are worth anything compared to knowing Jesus as his friend and saviour. There is a lovely hymn we sing – All I once held dear, built my life upon, all this world reveres, and wars to own, all I once thought gain I have counted loss; spent and worthless now, compared to this. Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you, there is no greater thing. You’re my all, you’re the best, you’re my joy. My righteousness, and I love you, Lord. When we look into this parable, do we see something of ourselves reflected back? When we are shown our shortcomings, we have a choice. Will we deny and avoid the truth or repent and make the changes… it’s not comfortable. In my corner of the kingdom, am I producing fruit or am I working with and for the vineyard owner, or am I more focussed on myself? These are provoking and disruptive questions Jesus asks of us today. Blessings Revd Rosie COLLECT Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us your gift of faith that, forsaking what lies behind and reaching out to that which is before, we may run the way of your commandments and win the crown of everlasting joy; 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. Amen READINGS Isaiah 5.1-7 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watch-tower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lordof hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry! This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Philippians 3.4b-14 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. 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 21.33-end ‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watch-tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my son.” But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONSEverlasting God, you want us to be a generous people offering our time, talents and money to your service. Guard us, Lord, from holding back when we should be letting go and honouring you as Lord of all we have. We pray for the work of our Parish and its ministers and officials, especially for those who deal with the day to day finances of its work and deal with all the problems of balancing the books. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Holy God, we thank you for your creation and remember that you entrusted it to our care as stewards. Give us wisdom to manage our money and personal finances well and to practice heartfelt generosity. As we live each day, help us to treat our world fairly whilst receiving its goodness gratefully. Help us to remember that you are the giver of all we have and to put aside pride of ownership. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Creator God, we pray especially for the world’s politicians and business leaders, those who manage economies and have responsibility to care for the environment. We also pray that all businesses, large and small pay their taxes in a fair and honest way rather than seeking to dodge their responsibilities Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Father God, your word promises all the material things that we need to live but we find it hard to trust. We pray now for all those who struggle with the burden of personal debt: for those too frightened to face the problem, for couples who cannot talk about it, for children who cannot understand but live with the worry. We pray also for those who are consumed by money worries, anxious about jobs or homes or the future; those who feel they have lost control of money and cannot cope. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Loving God, we pray for all who bear the burdens of pain, bereavement, anxiety and depression. We pray for those whose illness stems from financial problems. We pray that they may have an awareness of your presence and an understanding that you are bearing those burdens with them and always working towards their healing and wholeness. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Merciful God, we remember with thankfulness and gratitude all those who have left their mark on our lives by giving us love and laughter, but who have now gone before us to be with Christ. We hold them in our hearts, knowing that you, Lord, hold them in yours. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Gracious God, you have called and chosen us to spread the Good News of your son to the world. As we go out to another week help us to give the message to all we meet, at home, at work, in our leisure time and in our community. 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 POST COMMUNION We praise and thank you, O Christ, for this sacred feast: for here we receive you, here the memory of your passion is renewed, here our minds are filled with grace, and here a pledge of future glory is given, when we shall feast at that table where you reign with all your saints for ever. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS Tuesday and Thursday 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Church Open every day 10.00am – 6.00pm Sun 08 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist Joint Harvest Evensong at All Saints Frances Rd Sun 15 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 22 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 29 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist No Evening Service HARVEST EVENSONG – SUNDAY 08 OCT AT 5PM This Sunday we are joining together with New Windsor Parish for a Harvest Thanksgiving Evensong. If you’d like to join the choir, there is an open invitation. Revd Rosie will be leading the service with Fr Richard preaching. This a wonderful opportunity to worship together with our neighbours in Christ. So we won’t be at St Andrews. The service starts at 5 at All Saints Frances Rd, if you need a lift let the Rector know. Tea beforehand is good! PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Hugo, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, Carmel, Christine, and Vivienne. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Elizabetta, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised: Weddings: David & Jennifer. 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 Nelson Road, Bridgeman Drive, St Johns Drive, Clewer Green School, St Edwards First School, St Edwards Middle School, and Windsor Girls School. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & The Middle East. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Albany (USA), Algoma (Canada), All Saints (Kenya), Aluakluak (South Sudan), Amazônia (Brasil), and Amichi (Nigeria).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe.  Thanks to everyone for their harvest contributions, Foodshare are very grateful. This is from their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare Lots of thank you this week for donations from companies and collections from Harvest Festivals. Thank you to Clewer Green First School for your very genorous Harvest festival donation. Centrica for coming in to help volunteer and bringing a donation of food with you. Reverend Rosie for bringing in your Harvest festival donation from St Andrews Clewer. Alison Hayward for your donation brought in from Windsor Fellowship Church. Olivia for your donation from Etonbridge. Eton Wick C of E First School and Church Community of Eton with Eton Wick, Dorney and Boveney for your harvest festival donation. And finally to Sarah for your donation from IHG Hotels & Resorts. We would love to thank every single person that has made a contribution. It will all go to help local families in need. REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE – 12 NOV 2023 Our Remembrance Day Service will be at the Clewer Memorial Park, not in Church, our Eucharist service will be at 5pm in Church. CHRISTMAS MARKET – 09 DEC 2023 This Year the Christmas Fair/Market will be on Saturday 9th December from 11am until 3pm. Donations of plants, home-made jams etc appreciated.  COMMUNITY FRIDGE Windsor’s Community Fridge is a simple way of enabling people to share good food that would otherwise have gone to waste. Opened during Covid, it is now an essential part of community life in Windsor. 61% of the food wasted in the UK (4.1 million tonnes) is avoidable! Food is rescued 7 days a week from local retailers by a team of 20 + volunteers. Windsor’s Community Fridge is at 181 Oxford Road, Windsor. SL4 5DX in what used to be Duffy’s bakery shop. We’re open 11am – 12:30pm, Tuesday to Friday. https://www.facebook.com/groups/320778092672886 driven.forward@outlook.com WINDSOR FOODSHARE From their Facebook and Twittter Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare CAN YOU HELP? We are currently very short ofCooking SaucesUHT MilkBiscuitsTinned FruitTea bagsWe get less food donations in the spring and summer, even though we are still feeding the same amount of people. 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.WINDSOR FOODSHARE ASSISTANT Windsor Foodshare are looking for a FoodShare Assistant. Up to 10 hours/week at £15 per hour, subject to review after 6 months. To download the job description, please click here. CHURCH FINANCES – MESSAGE FROM ANDREW Thank you to everyone for all you have been able to give in this difficult time. We prefer 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 in Church, or contact the Parish Office by email office@clewerparish.org Alternatively, 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 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 Rector: Revd Rosie Webb 01753 852334 rector@clewerparish.org Churchwarden: Stuart Cockman Contact via email: office@clewerparish.org Safeguarding Policy: www.standrewsclewer.org/safeguarding-policy Safeguarding Officer: clewerparishsafeguarding@gmail.com |