| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 09 March 2025 The First Sunday of Lent |
 The Sinai Desert Welcome The first reading is Deuteronomy chapter 26, verses 1 to 11. God’s people are commanded always to express their thankfulness for God’s great act of salvation. The second reading is Romans 10, 8b to 13. God’s salvation in Jesus is freely available to all. The Gospel reading is St Luke 4, 1 to 13. At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus makes decisions about the nature of the path ahead. There are no quick miracles for Jesus. There are none for us. Jesus has shown us the way, and we’re called to live our human lives following in his footsteps, taking the long road from birth to death, trusting in what lies beyond. Canon Brian COLLECT Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen READINGS Deuteronomy 26.1-11 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us,we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Romans 10.8b-13 But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Luke 4.1-13 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’ Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”’ Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you”, and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Grant that the Church, always confessing the faith of the Lord Jesus, shall praise you for your mercies. Give to your people strength to resist temptation and to acknowledge you, the only God. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Bless the earth to bring food for our needs. Prosper the work of those who produce and distribute food. Bring relief to those who live in barren places and struggle for existence. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Bless our families and friends, giving stability to our homes and sufficiency for our needs. Give us harmony with our neighbours and those with whom we work, making us free from all that seems to divide us. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Have mercy on the starving and underfed. Deliver all who are tempted and show them the way of righteousness. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer We give thanks for the faithful departed, who in their lives confessed Jesus as Lord. By his rising from the dead, grant them eternal life. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen From Leading Intercessions by Raymond Chapman POST COMMUNION Lord God, you have renewed us with the living bread from heaven; by it you nourish our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love: teach us always to hunger for him who is the true and living bread, and enable us to live by every word that proceeds from out of your mouth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon from last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY The Sunday evening service is Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 119.73-88 Jonah 3 Luke 18.9-14 SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church open every day 10.00am until dusk. Morning Prayer on Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church Contemplative Eucharist on Wednesdays at 12.00 during Lent, followed by Lent Lunch Sun 09 Mar 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 1st Sunday of Lent 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 16 Mar 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 2nd Sunday of Lent 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 23 Mar 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 3rd Sunday of Lent 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 30 Mar 10.30am All Age Eucharist – Mothering Sunday No evening service (5th Sunday) PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Sam, Matt, Al, John C, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, and Tom B. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Mary Brown, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Felix, and Willow. Weddings: Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, Mrs Branch, Mr Seymour, and all the staff, pupils, staff and governors. The new Bible Explorers Group. 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 All Retail Premises, Mill Stream Houseboats, the Boatyard, Windsor Race Course, Forest House Veterinary Group, Petworth Court, Care Homes: Sandown Park, Queens Court, Mountbatten Grange and Winton House. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church in Canada. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Malakal (South Sudan), Lake Malawi (Central Africa), Northern Malawi (Central Africa), Southern Malawi (Central Africa), West Malaysia (South East Asia), and Malek (South Sudan).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. EVENTS Please pray for the services in our Care Homes this week Fundraising team meeting 11th March 7.30pm at the Swan Chatty Cafe Fundraising 5K 15th March, starts from church at 10.30am The next Wild Worship will be held on the 16th March at 3.00pm Pudding Club 17th March 7.30pm at 3A Peel Close Mary Brown’s Funeral is at 12.00 at Slough Crematorium, and a Memorial Service at 2.30pm at Windsor Methodist church. The next Pop Up Cafe will be held on the 28th March at 3.45pm  CHURCHES TOGETHER IN WINDSOR SPRING NEWSLETTER The link below goes to the Churches Together in Windsor Spring Newsletter, which has information about lots of events coming soon. https://churchestogetherinwindsor.org.uk/2025/03/ctw-spring-2025-newsletter/ COFFEE AFTER CHURCH ON SUNDAYS Could we ask you to consider bringing your own mug/cup for tea/coffee? And take it home after church to wash up at home. Washing up in church is difficult, and this will reduce use of paper cups. Thank you. VOLUNTEER ROLES IN CHURCH There are several roles within the church community which we are looking for volunteers for: welcomers, hospitality, music, reading lessons, leading prayers, chalice assistant etc. Sign up forms for these are at the back of church. Please think about how you could help. LENT READING Lent is traditionally a time for study. To help with this there are a number of publications for you to borrow at the back of the church. The booklet Living Hope is our main one during Lent. We have some copies left, please leave £2 in the collection, or use the SumUp card reader. The Android and iPhone app Everyday Faith has the same text as Living Hope, and it can read it to you. For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livelent&hl=en For iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/everyday-faith/id1336487241    Board Trustee – Human Resources (HR) An exciting opportunity has arisen at Alma Beacon for a Trustee position to support the charity on key Human Resources matters that are intrinsic to its smooth running. If interested please download the full job description here Alma Beacon is also looking for some additional volunteer support roles.We want to take a moment to invite you to consider two exciting opportunities to further enhance our charity’s impact and smooth running. 1. Room Booking System Coordinator for Alma Beacon 2. Volunteer Champion If you think that you could help with either of these, please click here for more information  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 |