| View this email in your browser† St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 01 December 2024 Advent Sunday  WELCOME Do you feel that it’s been a busy start to all the Christmas preparations already! We are surrounded by Christmas! As we all know…we’re not there yet. This Sunday begins our Advent Journey, our journey to the incarnation, the birth of Jesus Christ, a journey of watching and waiting. On Friday we welcomed the Cubs into church to learn about Advent. We talked about the church year, about calendars and colours for seasons and what each colour represents….purple for preparation. What are we preparing for….. It is such a joy to watch and listen to children as they begin to put the pieces together, to understand why we do what we do and the impact that has on our lives. What is the point of Advent calendars, what do we do while we wait and how we can think about the journey of the Holy Family being more than a crib set that sits on the same shelf every year? At Clewer Green school, our Bible Explorers group have been reflecting on the stories of Gabriel, Joseph, the Shepherds and Mary, and the carol Silent Night, particularly the line….all is calm, all is bright. How did these characters find calm in their experience and how did their faith shine for others? Perhaps this is something for us all to reflect on this Advent, can you find a moment of calm every day, to be still in all the busyness? And how are you shining for others, perhaps there is a neighbour who could do with some company, or can you put a little extra in your shopping trolley to help the foodbanks? Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Blessings for your Advent journey this year. Revd Rosie COLLECT Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and to put on the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; that on the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen READINGS Jeremiah 33.14-16 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God 1 Thessalonians 3.9-end How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Luke 21.25-36 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. ‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud” with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Almighty God, as the new day dawns on this Advent Sunday, we give thanks for the first glimmers of the light which remind us of the coming of your Son Jesus Christ. We believe that your light has the power to overcome all our darkness and pray that throughout the Season of Advent we may we share in the mystery of your coming into the world. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Loving God, we dedicate to you all of the activities organised by our church during Advent and pray for all who will attend. Let it be that through prayer, praise and music they may make their own preparations for a Holy Christmas. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus During each Sunday of the Advent season, we focus on one of the four virtues Jesus brings us: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. Today our hopes for our troubled world are for an end to the wars still raging throughout the world, an end to terrorism, and a resolution to the migrant crisis. Come to your world as King of the Nations and before you rulers will stand in silence. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Father God, our hope for our community is to see your will done here on earth as it is in heaven. We pray for our neighbours, not only with words, but day by day, that through our actions we might demonstrate our Christian faith in a very real sense. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Gracious God, we raise before you the ill, the lonely and distressed and especially those without hope for the future. We pray for healing, wholeness and hope in their lives, and we pray for ourselves. Help us to bring life and love, joy and hope, to those who live in despair. We pray for those who are bereaved. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Merciful God, we remember those who have died. May the light of Christ which eternally shines bring hope to their dark places. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Loving God, as we go into our Advent journey in faith, we ask you in hope to minister to our needs. O come, O Come, Emmanuel and fill the hearts of your faithful people and kindle in them the fire of your love. 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 O Lord our God, make us watchful and keep us faithful as we await the coming of your Son our Lord; that, when he shall appear, he may not find us sleeping in sin but active in his service and joyful in his praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenListen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY This Sunday’s evening service is Advent Carols at 5.00pm. SERVICES 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 01 Dec 10.30am Advent Sunday Eucharist 5.00pm Advent Carol Service Wed 04 Dec 8.00am Morning Prayer Sun 08 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 2nd Sunday of Advent 3.00pm Wild Worship – St Nicholas 5.00pm Evening Prayer Wed 11 Dec 8.00am Morning Prayer 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: Al, John C, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, and Tom B. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Glen Batchelor, 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 ofJasmin, 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 South Sudan. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Kitale (Kenya), Kiteto (Tanzania), Kitgum (Uganda), Kitui (Kenya), Kivu (Rwanda), and North Kivu (Congo). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. WHAT’S ON December 1st 10.30am Advent Sunday Eucharist + blessing of cribs, sending out Posada 5.00pm Advent Carol Service 4th 8.00am Morning Prayer 9.00am Advent Breakfast 7th 11.00am-3.00pm Christmas Market 8th 3.00pm Wild Worship – St Nicholas w/c 9th Community Churchyard tree decorating 11th 8.00am Morning Prayer 9.00am Advent Breakfast 13th 6.00pm Churches Together Carols on the Hill 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      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 |