| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 05 December – 2nd Sunday of Advent  THE MORNING SERVICE WILL BE HELD IN PERSONAT ST ANDREWS CHURCH AT 10.30AM Welcome Advent is a time for those BIG QUESTIONS, so this week a Doctor and a Priest went into a pub! Dr Ed and I went into the Swan to spend some time with the teenagers from the GR6. Each week I have been joining them on their Epic Thursdays and enjoying their hospitality and good food, but it has also been an opportunity to get to know the youngsters so that when our visit was due, they would feel more comfortable to ask questions. What a great couple of hours together we had! How often to do you get to sit with a priest and doctor and be able to ask them absolutely anything you want? We had everything from open heart surgery to exorcism and forgiveness to sleep. Most of the questions though were related to mental health. How is your mental health? That is a big question for each of us. The bible readings this week, we are thinking about messengers, how people receive and hear the words of God, words of hope and of peace. Are those messages you need to hear? Perhaps it prompts more questions? Every Wednesday at our Advent Café, we have the opportunity to raise those big questions, please feel free to come along, the coffee is good! And a question for you … how have you been a messenger for Christ this week? Blessings for your week Revd Rosie COLLECT Almighty God, purify our hearts and minds, that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour we may be ready to receive him, who is our Lord and our God. All Amen READINGS Malachi 3.1-4 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. Benedictus 1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, who has come to his people and set them free. 2 He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour, born of the house of his servant David. 3 Through his holy prophets God promised of old to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us, 4 To show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant. 5 This was the oath God swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, 6 Free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. 7 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, 8 To give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of all their sins. 9 In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, 10 To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1.68-79 Philippians 1.3-11 I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. All Glory to you, O Lord. Luke 3.1-6 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. All Praise to you, O Christ. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Mighty God, give us faith like John the Baptist, strong enough to believe even in a dessert that you and your kingdom are no farther from us than our hands. Make our heart strong like his, not swayed by trials or snared by false pleasures. Give us courage to be faithful until your promises are fulfilled. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Holy God, as we pursue the many imaginative ways in which our Churches approach Christmas during Advent, help us to understand through them the different truths about God’s amazing love and Grace. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Creator God, we pray for those whose responsibility it is to manage the world’s economy, and for those who have difficult ethical decisions to make; we pray for wisdom and courage to do what is right especially in the light of new mutations of the Covid Virus. We pray for all who are terrorised throughout the world especially where fragile economies and international friendship and understanding are threatened as tourists no longer visit places affected by recent terrorist attacks. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Father God, we pray for those we see and talk to every day or every week; for those we often argue with or misunderstand; for those who brighten our lives and make us smile; for a greater thankfulness and appreciation of those we usually take for granted. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Loving God, all the needs of your children are already known to you and so with God-given love we bring to mind those who are suffering physically, spiritually or emotionally, that they may find you there beside them in these dark and painful times. Blake, Sam, Reuben, Don, Karl, Hugh and Sarah, Joanna, Pam, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Alan, Norman and Diane, and Patricia. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Gracious God, we pray for the dying and those who have passed from this earthly life. May they know the eternal peace of heaven, and may those who miss them be comforted. Norman Brown, Chris Smith, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Maranatha Come Lord Jesus Merciful God, who sent John the Baptist to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to take heed of his warnings and to turn away from our sinfulness so that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge: give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that, when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. All Amen Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday NOTICES EVENING SERVICE 05 DECEMBER The evening service this Sunday, as it is a 1st Sunday, is a Eucharist in Church. Readings (same as the morning service): Malachi 3.1-4 Benedictus Philippians 1.3-11 Luke 3.1-6 Sunday EP will be on Zoom on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays. 5th Sundays TBC. SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Every Wednesday – 10.30-12.00 – Church open for Advent Café. Every Tuesday & Thursday – 5.00pm Evening Prayer Zoom Every Friday – 9.00-11.00am Prayers & Bears at St Agnes Sun 05 Dec 10.30am Family Eucharist in Church 5.00pm Eucharist in Church Fri 10 Dec 6.30pm CTW Carols on the Hill, outside the Castle Sun 12 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist in Church 3.00pm Messy Church, at Clewer Green School 5.00pm Evening Prayer Zoom Thu 16 Dec 6.30pm Carols for loved Ones, at the Pirate Park Sun 19 Dec 10.30am Parish Eucharist in Church 3.00pm Switching on Christmas lights, Carol Singing Fri 24 Dec 3.00pm Nativity, outside the Church 10.30pm Carols, before Midnight Mass in Church at 11.00pm Sat 25 Dec 10.30am Christmas Day Parish Eucharist in Church Sun 26 Dec 10.30am St Stephen Parish Eucharist in Church CHRISTMAS MARKET Thanks again to everyone for their help at the Christmas Market. The amount raised for the Church is currently £1,755. ADVENT & CHRISTMAS FLYERS The Advent and Christmas at St Andrews Christmas flyers are available in Church, please take some and distribute to your neighbours. ADVENT CAFE We will have an Advent Café on Wednesday mornings in Church 10.30-12.00 for 4 weeks, from 01 – 22 Dec. Time for a coffee and a chat. CHRISTMAS COLLECTIONS Special collections over Advent and Christmas will be for Christian Aid. If you would like to donate online, you can do so here: https://www.christianaid.org.uk MESSY CHURCH Next Messy Church is on 12 December at 3.00pm at Clewer Green School. Please come along and experience a different style of church, meet the families and join in the crafts. CHURCHYARD LIGHTS AT CHRISTMAS We will be lighting up the churchyard again for Christmas, on 19 Dec at 3.00pm. Bishop Olivia will be turning on the lights. So we need lots more lights! If you want to donate please let Andrew know, money or lights. Thank you. We will also be decorating the trees along the churchyard path. If you would like to decorate a tree please let Revd Rosie know. These have to be battery lights and no tinsel please. We already have a number of trees ‘sponsored’, let’s really light up for Jesus this year! CAROLS AT THE SWAN There will be Carols at the Swan with The Broom Farm Brass Ensemble, 17 Dec, at 6.30pm. WINDSOR FOODSHARE They need basic food please, anything welcome, especially: Tinned meat · Tinned fish · Tinned vegetables· Soup · Rice · Herbs/Spices Cooking sauces · Instant mash · Tea bags/Instant coffee · Sugar Breakfast cereals · UHT milk · Tinned desserts · Cereal bars/biscuits · Jams · Fruit juice/Squash More information here: https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk/food-donations  PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Reuben, Don, Karl, Hugh and Sarah, Joanna, Pam, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Alan, Norman and Diane, and Patricia. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: those recently departed this life, including Norman Brown,Chris Smith, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those being Baptised: 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. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live in Byron Court, Mayfield Close, Kimber Close, Harrington Close, Sherbourne Drive, Woodland Avenue, and Illingworth. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for The Anglican Church of Burundi. Please also pray for the Churches in the Nigerian Dioceses of Ihiala, Ijebu, Ijebu North, Ijebu South West, Ijesa North East, and Ijesha North. Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. CHURCH FINANCES – MESSAGE FROM ANDREW Thank you to everyone for all you have been able to give in this difficult time. Please consider continuing your regular giving 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 You may wish to consider transferring to 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, please contact the Parish Office by email. We also have boxes of numbered envelopes available, if you would like to use these please contact the Parish Office office@clewerparish.org CONTACTS The Parish Office is now closed. The Office Number is: 07490 094261 Email: office@clewerparish.org Revd Rosie Webb: rector@clewerparish.org Tel: 01753 852334 Parish Website: www.standrewsclewer.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/standrewsclewer Churchwarden: Stuart Cockman Safeguarding Policy: www.standrewsclewer.org/safeguarding-policy Safeguarding Officer: clewerparishsafeguarding@gmail.com |