| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 15 December 2024 Third Sunday of Advent |
 WELCOME Advent 3 This Sunday we contemplate on the Song of the Angels- The Gloria. In Luke’s gospel we read that an angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and…suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God. God’s messenger appears to those whom others consider the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, the outcasts in their society, why them? What must it have been like to be surrounded by a multitude of heavenly host? I find it hard to imagine! For us, the Gloria is a reminder that even though we are sinners, even though we can feel oppressed, or lost and broken hearted, we are forgiven. God looks beneath the surface, behind the appearances and sees the person hidden deep within….and that brings light into our hearts and enables us to sing for joy! ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven’Blessings for your week 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 Zephaniah 3.14-end Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies.The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God The Gloria (The Song of the Angels) Gloria in Excelsis Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Adapted from Luke 2. 8-19 Gospel Reading Luke 2.8-19 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Mighty God, as we contemplate the teaching of John the Baptist on our Advent journey, Give us courage to be faithful and to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” until your promises are fulfilled. Help us to look forward in hope to the coming of our Saviour. May we live as he taught, ready to welcome him with burning love and faith. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Creator God, we pray for people in parts of the world where life is precarious, whether through terrorism, disaster, poverty, disease, drought, flooding or war. We pray that the time may be hastened when there is peace on earth and goodwill between all people. Especially as we pray for our precious world; help us all to be good stewards so that we can pass on our world in good order to the generations yet to come. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Father God, as we approach Christmas we so often fail to hear you; we are busy with so much that we go about the things we do as though trapped in household routine, hardly giving a thought to what our lives and the season of Advent are all about. Our spirits grow tired and you, Father God, can seem far away. Help us to hear your voice today and be with us with every gift we buy, every one we wrap and with those who receive and open them., Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Loving God, we thank You for the gift of life and pray for those whose lives are troubled by illness, grief, poverty or injustice. We pray that in the darkness of their suffering and pain Your Advent light will shine to bring them the assurance and hope of the coming of your son Jesus. We remember at this time those known personally to us and those who have requested our prayers. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Gracious God, we hold before you those whose memory we cherish, and those whose names we will never know. Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world, and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm. We commend the departed to your merciful love. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful God, who sent John the Baptist to proclaim the Good News help us as we go from this church to be true heralds of the coming of Christ and to proclaim the Gospel through all we do and say. Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen Adapted from the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca 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 Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon and Meditation last Sunday LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY This Sunday’s evening service is Lessons and Carols at 5.00pm. Then the Churchyard Christmas Lights will be turned on – ClewminationsS ERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS The church would normally be open every day 10.00am until dusk, but at present is not, until we finish work on the audio and video system. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Evening Prayer at 5.00pm via Zoom Sun 15 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 3rd Sunday of Advent 5.00pm Service of Lessons and Carols Wed 18 Dec 8.00am Morning Prayer Sun 22 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 4th Sunday of Advent 5.00pm Evening Prayer Tue 24 Dec 3.00pm Crib Service 11.00pm Midnight Mass Wed 25 Dec 10.30am Christmas Eucharist Sun 29 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 1st Sunday of Christmas PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Matt, Al, John C, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, and Tom B. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Robert Powell, Roger Napper, Annie Bowden, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Weddings: Jenny and Andrew, Francine and David. Births: Thanksgiving for the safe arrival of Jasmin, Jenny and David’s baby. Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, Mrs Branch, Mr Seymour, and all the staff, pupils, staff and governors. The Busy Buttons CORE Charity and for all the work that they do. 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 Alma Beacon Hub. 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 Tanzania. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Kongor (South Sudan), Kontagora (Nigeria), Kootenay (Canada), Eastern Kowloon (Hong Kong), Western Kowloon (Hong Kong), and Krishna-Godavari (South India).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. WHAT’S ON December 15th 5.00pm Service of Lessons and Carols, and switching on the Churchyard lights 18th 8.00am Morning Prayer 9.00am Advent Breakfast 21st 9.00am Creation Meditation – Winter Solstice 24th 3.00pm Crib Service – come dressed as your favourite nativity character 10.30pm Carol Singing before … 11.00pm Midnight Mass 25th 10.30am Christmas Day All Age Eucharist   CHRISTMAS FAIR Our Christmas Fair last Saturday raised £2,350.96 A big thank you to all those who helped organise and deliver the Fair. A tremendous effort! And thank you too to everyone who attended.  COMMUNITY FRIDGE POP UP We will be hosting the Community Fridge Pop Up next Saturday 21st at 11.30- 12.30. Helping to reduce food waste. There is no guarantee on what food is ‘rescued’ in the morning or how much, but our doors will be open and the kettle on to welcome anyone who visits. If you can spare a couple of hours to help with the hospitality, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.   Please consider supporting the work of the Baby Bank. You can donate your second-hand baby clothes/supplies or even volunteer your time. Alternatively, you can help us out with a cash donation to help with the day-to-day running costs of The Baby Bank. Simply click on the link below to see how you can get involved.https://thebabybank.org  WINDSOR FOODSHARE Loving our neighbours From their Facebook, Twittter and Website Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk And their new page https://taplink.cc/windsorfoodshare CAN YOU HELP? We are running very low in stock on several items. One of these is CARRIER BAGS. We need these to put the food packages together. We ask clients to bring back bags, but they don’t last forever. Also any EGG BOXES you may have. There are many ways to donate food to us – https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk/donating-food. We have a permanent donation box at Tesco Superstore, Dedworth and also at Waitrose & Partners in Windsor town centre. So if you are shopping it is easy to pop a pack or two in the donation box. Or why not try our Wishlist on Common Good and Amazon (you can click through to these from our linktree at https://taplink.cc/windsorfoodshare). You can also drop off to us on: – Wednesdays 09.00-13.30; or – Thursdays 09.00-15.00 at Dedworth Green Baptist Church (Smiths Lane, Windsor SL4 5PE). Thank you all so much for your continued support! Click here for the Windsor Foodshare July Newsletter 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 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 Rector Revd Rosie Webb 01753 852334, email: rector@clewerparish.org Parish Office email: office@clewerparish.org Parish Website: www.standrewsclewer.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/standrewsclewer Churchwarden: Vacant Contact via email: office@clewerparish.org Safeguarding Policy: www.standrewsclewer.org/safeguarding-policy Safeguarding Officer: clewerparishsafeguarding@gmail.com |