| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 17 December 2023 3rd Sunday of Advent |
 WELCOME This Sunday reaches that point in Advent, where we begin to get excited about Christmas! It is Gaudete Sunday when we light the ‘rose’ candle and wear rose robes. The atmosphere is lightening, the coming of Christ is getting nearer! The tree is up in our house and the lights are twinkling outside the front door and the chocolates in the Advent train seem to be disappearing rather too quickly. We are preparing the way for the Lord! There are many ways of preparing and waiting through this season, perhaps you’ve managed to spend some time in quiet reflection each day, or receive the daily WhatsApp advent calendar, follow an app on your phone, or use daily Bible reading notes? Some of us have been meeting for Advent Together, supper and chat. We have been looking at the ‘Faces of Jesus’, a resource of 40 different images of Jesus, which one speaks to us and why? Who is this Jesus and how might we come to know him more in our lives? Many people over the centuries have tried to find the right words to describe Jesus. And one tradition is the 4th century Great ‘O’s, The Advent Antiphons. These are traditionally said or sung at evening prayer on the seven days preceding Christmas Eve, 17th-23rd. Each Antiphon addresses a title of Christ: O come Wisdom, O come Lord, O come Root of Jesse, O come Key of David, O come Morning Star, O King of the Nations, O come Emmanuel…all calling on Christ to come to us. Who is this Jesus, what difference does his love for us make in our lives? O come Root of Jesse, be our foundation, graft us into your story, come and claim us as your own children, so that our belonging to you may set our hearts free to claim our identity. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus. So go out with joy this Gaudete Sunday – Christ is coming soon!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. Amen READINGS – SUNDAY MORNING Isaiah 61.1-4, 8-end The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lordhas anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion – to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lordhas blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 1 Thessalonians 5.16-24 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. THE GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Glory to you, O Lord. John 1.6-8, 19-28 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord”’, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT Mindful of the words of the prophet Isaiah, we gather our thoughts and prayers with hope and humbly call on God to help us in our needs.Holy God, as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of Christ our Saviour we ask that you will answer our prayers and make us a holy people, fit to greet him with eager hearts. May our Church leaders be blessed with wisdom and holiness to guide us through this season of Advent to a holy, peaceful and joyful Christmas. We raise before you our Parish, and ask that with eager longing for the return of Christ, our Advent celebrations may help all who join with us to prepare a place in their hearts and homes for you and your son Jesus Christ our Lord Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer Creator God, help the leaders of nations to seek that justice and peace which come from the Word of God, may there be good news for the poor and the broken hearted; release for those illegally or wrongly imprisoned and an end to the conflicts throughout the world which are leading to so much grief and mourning. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer Father God, your son Jesus you lived an ordinary life in Nazareth, with human parents, brothers and sisters. He understands the difficulties faced in families. We pray for all of those involved in providing support for troubled families and strengthening our community life. We especially pray for our family members who have not yet heard of the coming of Christ and that this Christmas they may hear and believe the Good News and receive the gift of the Christ Child. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer Merciful God, may your blessing be upon all those who are in pain or sickness, those who are anxious or troubled. We know that you are always present with us, even when sometimes you seem far away. Help us to feel your presence when we pass through dark places, and sustain us and all who suffer through our pains and sorrows. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer Gracious God, may those who have died be granted the peace of your heavenly kingdom. Give rest to the souls of those who have gone from our lives to meet with you, and may they now, released from pain or sorrow, find life eternal at rest in your presence. Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer Faithful God, as we continue this Advent journey, teach us to turn to you in times of joy and pleasure as well as we do when faced with fear and sorrow. Help us to put our differences behind us and to unite behind the great commission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations and all people. Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen POST 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 NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY Sunday’s Evening Service will be Lessons and Carols by Candlelight. See poster below for details. SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS Church Open every day 10.00am to Dusk Sun 17 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – Advent 3 5.00pm Lessons and Carols by Candlelight Sun 24 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – Advent 4 3.00pm Crib Service 11.00pm Midnight Mass (Carols from 10.30) Mon 25 Dec10.30am Parish Eucharist – Christmas Day Sun 31 Dec10.30am Parish Eucharist – 1st Sunday of Christmas 6.00pm New Year Taize style contemplative service TBC Sun 07 Jan 10.30am All Age Eucharist – 1st Sunday of Epiphany 5.00pm Eucharist – Baptism of Christ 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: all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised: Weddings: 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 Church of Papua New Guinea. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Bentiu (South Sudan), Bermuda, Bethlehem (USA), Bhopal (North India), Bida (Nigeria), and Biharamulo (Tanzania).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. FUNDRAISING FOR A NEW SOUND SYSTEM We are raising money to pay for a new sound system for St Andrews, to replace the aging system we use currently. If you can help, please use our bank account (details in Andrew’s message below).     BRF (BIBLE READING FELLOWSHIP) NOTES FOR JAN TO END APRIL The next set of BRF notes are now available for £5, please see Mulle. CHRISTMAS FAIR – THANKS Thanks again to everyone who helped out at the Christmas Fair last Saturday, and to all those who visited. It was well attended, and a total of £2329.09 was raised. CARE HOME CHRISTMAS SERVICES Please come along and join us help make this a memorable event for the residents. * Sandown Park – 18th Dec 11am * Winton House -19th Dec 11am * Queens Court – 19th Dec 3pm  There is a Peace Light Service hosted at St Edwards Catholic Church on Friday 22 December at 6pm on behalf of Churches Together in Windsor. Above is a poster with further details It there are any singers who might like to help support the singing, we are holding a Practice at St Edwards on Tuesday 19 December at 7pm. PLease encourage anyone who would like to come to bring a Lantern or Candle with them so that they can take a flame from the Bethlehem Peacelight home with them, WINDSOR FOODSHARE  From their Facebook, Twittter and Website Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk 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. 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 |