| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 21 December 2025 4th Sunday of Advent |
 WELCOME Forth Sunday in Advent As we stand on the threshold of Christmas we give thanks to God for the precious gift of Jesus Christ. Let us come before God with praise and gratitude. The first reading is Isaiah 7.10-16, the Lord tells Ahaz, the King of Judah, to ask for a sign but Ahaz is unwilling to put the Lord to the test so the Lord promises a sign that a young women will bear a son and name him Emmanuel. The second reading is Romans 1.1-7, St Paul introduces himself to the church in Rome and offers his credentials. He states that he has been “called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God concerning his son”. The gospel is Matthew 1.18-end, the gospel writer tells how the birth of Jesus came about and how an angel of the Lord persuaded Joseph that he should take Mary to be his wife despite her early pregnancy. Blessings for your week. Canon Brian SUNDAY SERVICES 21ST DEC FORTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 10:30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer COLLECT Eternal God, as Mary waited for the birth of your Son, so we wait for his coming in glory; bring us through the birth pangs of this present age to see, with her, our great salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen READINGS Isaiah 7.10-16 10Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test. 13Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. 15He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted Romans 1.1-7 1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, 6including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,7To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 1.18-end 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; 21for though they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools; 23and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.26For this reason God gave them up to degrading passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error.28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious towards parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32They know God’s decree, that those who practise such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practise them. LAST SUNDAY MORNING SERMON RECORDING Revd Rosie’s Sermon for 14 Dec 2025 LISTEN NOTICES PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Paul, Diana, Norman, Hilary, Matt, Al,Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Tom B and Val. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: All those recently departed this life and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Sebastian Weddings: Sarah and Nick Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, Mrs Branch, Mr Seymour, and all the staff, pupils, staff and governors. 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, and FoodShare, under the umbrella of the Alma Beacon Hub. Please pray for the PCC as they work through the Mission Action Plan and discern God’s mission in Clewer. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live or work in Little Buntings, Tyrell Gardens, Duncroft, Perrycroft, Ryecroft, Rydings, Ellison Close and Addington Close. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for The Anglican Church of Burundi. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Santiago (Chile), Santiago (Philippines), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Sapele (Nigeria), Saskatchewan (Canada), and Saskatoon (Canada). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families. SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Morning Prayer on Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church (Restarts in the New Year) Prayers & Bears – Early Years Liturgy on Fridays at 9.30am in Church (Restarts in the New Year) The church is open for private prayer 10.00am-dusk daily Sun 21 Dec – 4th Sunday of Advent 10:30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer Wed 24 Dec – Christmas Eve 3:00pm Crib Service 11.00pm Midnight Mass – carol singing from 10.30pm Thu 25 Dec – Christmas Day 10:30am Christmas Day Eucharist Sun 28 Dec – Christmas 1 / Holy Innocents Day 10:30am Parish Eucharist Sun 04 Jan – Feast of Epiphany 10:30am All Age Eucharist 5.00pm Eucharist Sun 11 Jan – Baptism of Christ 10:30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer  THANK YOU to everyone who has helped decorate the churchyard and make it look so spectacular this year! A special thanks to the Woody’s cafe family for putting up the lights. Also, a big THANK YOU to all the readers and the broom farm band for making our carol service so special. UPCOMING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES The Alma Beacon Cold Weather Night Shelter 2025/2026 run by the Windsor Homeless Project are looking for volunteers from Monday 15th December 2025 to Sunday 29th March 2026 to help run the shelter. More details and information can be found here. Christmas Eve Crib Service 3pm 24th Decemeber Midnight Mass 11pm – carol singing from 10.30pm 24th December Christmas Day Eucharist 10.30am 25th December  THANK YOU to those who have come and helped with Care Home Carol Services this week. They’ve bought great joy to the residents. NIGHT SHELTER MEALS A request has come from the Night Shelter for meals for 30 people per night Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the weeks that the shelter is open from 19th December. There is a budget that can be reimbursed by Alman Beacon of up to £60 per night. Please let us know if you can help. CHURCH GIVING Thank you to everyone who continues to contribute to our church financially as well as through their time and skills. As we see our congregation grow and our community events increase we invite you to prayerfully consider how you might support this ongoing growth. Every contribution helps us serve our parish here in Clewer. Finance Details Parish Giving Scheme – where one off payments or regular giving can be set up. Alternatively, financial contributions can be paid 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     Please download the Church of Englands EverydayFaith app ahead of Advent this year. This will be a unique Advent resource exploring the symbolism behind the hymn ‘O Come Emmanuel’ that’ll be great to follow along with together. This will replace our previous WhatsApp Advent daily messages. 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 |