| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 8th June 2025 Pentecost |
 WELCOME Where we lived in Reading, on a summer evening before dusk, you were likely to see a hot air balloon gaining height and drifting over the houses. The park at the top of the hill was a popular place for hot air ballooners, the colours were spectacular and you could often hear the rushing sound of the burners before you saw them. We would call the children and see if we could see the people in the basket and wave to them and it was always so exciting and lifted our spirits. A hot air balloon is first of all filled with cold air using a huge fan, like a strong wind, then the air is heated with a flame. The power of the wind that fills it and the flame that lifts it transform the balloon from a flat piece of material to an extraordinary vehicle. Of course, you realise that you can’t steer a hot air balloon, the pilot takes advantage of the air streams that travel in different directions by moving the balloon higher or lower, but they have to go where the wind takes them. Perhaps the disciples were feeling rather deflated that first Pentecost. Jesus had gone, he promised he would send his Spirit, but what did that mean and when? Today we are gathering as Churches Together in Windsor in Alexandra Gardens, gathering to share the love of God, gathering for a picnic and gathering to praise God through our music and voices, all wearing something red! It’s going to be spectacular! What a witness for our town! Our prayer is that when people encounter us, they will be uplifted. Our church today need not be deflated, fearful or directionless, however small or empty we might feel, we can be transformed and lifted by the power of the Spirit. We can soar. Blessings for your week. Revd Rosie COLLECT God, who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen READINGS Acts 2.1-21 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Romans 8.14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading John 14.8-17 [25-27] Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Glory to you, O Lord. Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. [‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.] This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS (BY MULLE PRICE) God of wind and fire, bring to us today the surprises of your Spirit. As we gather again in this different way, we may be shy or sluggish, tired or timid, and without expectation of a new way of living. So come among us, burn up our fears in the heat of your love; blow through our minds with the joyous freedom of your Spirit. Make this church a crucible of love and joy, where your kingdom is coming. With wind and fire from heaven Lord, energise your Church God of foreign tongues, you have taken your message to the corners of the earth. Not just to Parthians, Medes and Elamites but to Chinese, Nepalese and Koreans. We pray for those who follow your living Word with the written word, those who translate the Bible, and interpret and teach the faith to the many different cultures in the world. May we learn afresh from them about the vitality of churches filled with your living Presence. With wind and fire from heaven Lord, energise your Church God of the church who was born this happy morning make us powerful in proclamation, as Peter was powerful that first day of Pentecost, when 3000 were baptised. As the massive fallout of that great day continues, so thousands of people start the Christian journey every day all over the world. Make us a church, here at St. Andrew’s, where people will also find new life and hope. Make us attractive as a church through the love and joy which spill out naturally from our faith and the way we live our lives. With wind and fire from heaven Lord, energise your Church God of the silence that followed the storm, we know you to be a God who adds where your people give you space and freedom to do so. We offer you that space now as we wait in silence for you to come to us, to speak to us, to be with us however you want. Merciful Father: what we know not, teach us, what we are not, make us, what we dare not, inspire us to do, as we ask you to accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen POST COMMUNION Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal: open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen NOTICES Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon for last Sunday evening LISTEN NO EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY There is no evening service at St Andrews, instead, we are all going to the CTW Pentecost Picnic and Praise in the Park, Alexandra Gardens, at 2.30pm. SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church open every day 10.00am until 6.00pmEvening Prayer via Zoom at 5.00pm Tuesdays and ThursdaysMorning Prayer on Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church Sun 01 Jun 10:30am All Age Eucharist – The 7th Sunday of Easter 5.00pm Eucharist Sun 08 Jun 10:30am Parish Eucharist – Pentecost No evening service (Praise in the Park, see below) Sun 15 Jun 10:30am Parish Eucharist – Trinity Sunday 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 22 Jun 10:30am Parish Eucharist – 1st Sunday after Trinity 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 29 Jun 10:30am Parish Eucharist – 2nd Sunday after Trinity 3.00pm Worship Explorers – Childrens’ Church No evening service (5th Sunday) PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Sam, Matt, Al, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, Tom B, Val, and Bronwyn. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: John Collins, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Lewis and Iris. Weddings: 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, FoodShare, and 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 Clarence Road, Trevelyan Estate, Helston Lane, Green Lane, Clewer Avenue, Clewer New Town, and Birchington Road.Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for The Church of Melanesia. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Multan (Pakistan), Mumbai (North India), Mumias (Kenya), Mundri (South Sudan), Mundu (South Sudan), and Murang’a South (Kenya).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe.UPCOMING EVENTSChurches Count on Nature runs from 7th June – 15 June 2025 (see below)CTW Pentecost Picnic Sun 8th Jun 2.30-4.30pm Alexandra Gardens (see below)John Collins’ Funeral is at St Andrews on Monday 9th June at 11.30am Care Home Services this week, if anyone would like to join Revd Rosie please let her know Community Fridge Pop-Up Saturday 14th June 11.00-12.00 (see below) Wild Worship 15th June at 3.00pm (see below) Coffee and More Wednesday 2nd Jul 10.00am (see below) Churchyard tidies are being organised, please keep an eye out for dates, and help when you can.   Churches Count on Nature runs from 7th June – 15 June 2025 Help us to record nature in this churchyard by taking pictures of what you see and posting them on the ‘ClewerStAndrews CountOnNature’ WhatsApp group. You can join group using this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DQmQGTdcK5jA9ev5TGsSep Or record on iNaturalist and add the sightings to the ‘Beautiful Burial Grounds’ project. Or write your sightings down on the forms in church. Let’s see what we can spot in 9 days!   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 URGENT APPEAL We’re running low on some essential items at Windsor Foodshare and need your help! If you can donate, we’d be so grateful for:  Tinned Pasta Tinned Pulses Tinned Fruit Jars of Sauces Biscuits Strong Carrier BagsThere 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 January 2025 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 |