| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 08 December 2024 Second Sunday of Advent |
 Detail of Zechariah writing down the name of his son(Domenico Ghirlandaio, 15th century, Tornabuoni Chapel, Italy)WELCOME Our Advent reflections this year will focus on The Songs of the Christmas story, the Benedictus, the Magnificat, the Gloria and then in the New Year, the Nunc Dimitis. These are all familiar songs we hear, read or sing during various services. The Benedictus during morning prayer, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimitis during evening prayer and the Gloria during the Eucharist. Advent gives us an opportunity to dig deeper into the story, a story which often leaves us with more questions than answers. This Sunday we will be focussing on the Benedictus, Zechariah’s Song from Luke 1.68-79 (printed below). The revelation to Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, left him speechless, how could this happen when they were both considered of old age? Speechless because he didn’t immediately believe the angel’s words. Zechariah remains dumbstruck until the baby’s circumcision at 8 days old. I wonder if you have ever experienced receiving some news that has left you speechless? Heard something you felt was impossible? Given some news that you just couldn’t quite believe would come true? In a world full of uncertainty the Benedictus reminds us that we can have hope and that dawn shall break.Blessings for your week Revd Rosie COLLECT O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever. one God, now and for ever. 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 Lordof 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 Lordas in the days of old and as in former years. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah) 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 Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen. Gospel Reading Luke 1.57-80 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, ‘No; he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘None of your relatives has this name.’ Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And all of them were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, ‘What then will this child become?’ For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Mighty God, give us faith like John the Baptist, strong enough to believe even in a desert that you and your kingdom are no further 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. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer 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. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer 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 in your sight. 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 war and terrorism. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer 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. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer 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. We pray for the bereaved; may they be comforted. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Gracious God, we pray for those who have passed from this earthly life. May they know the eternal peace of heaven. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer 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 Adapted from the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca POST 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. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon for St Andrews Day LISTEN Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY This Sunday’s evening service is Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 75 Isaiah 40.1-11 Luke 1.1-25 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 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: 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 Sudan. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Kobe (Japan), Koforidua (West Africa), Kolhapur (North India), Kollam – Kottarakkara (South India), Kondoa (Tanzania), and Kongor (South Sudan).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. WHAT’S ON December 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 CHRISTMAS FAIR Our Christmas Fair on Saturday raised over £800 by credit card. The cash will be counted and announced in Church on Sunday. Thank you to all the organisers, stallholders, and visitors. It was well attended, despite the weather.    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 |