| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 10 March 2024 Lent 4 / Mothering Sunday |
 WELCOME Lent 4, Mothering Sunday This week we had International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. In the church calendar, today is Mothering Sunday, a day refreshment day in the middle of Lent. A day to return to mother church, a day to reflect and give thanks to those who mother us. Women of a gentle persistent nature, the encouragers, the courageous, the listeners, the ones who ground us and remind us of who we are, as well as those who seem to get cross easily but it is only because they love and want what’s best for us. The reading selection for today usually include the story of Moses, Hannah and Samuel and Mary and Jesus, but there are so many incredible women in the Bible! The picture today is of Shiphrah (“splendid”) and Puah (“beautiful”), who were the two Hebrew midwives who covertly defied Pharoah and prevented the genocide of Israel’s baby boys born during their watch, including one very important baby boy: the prophet and Israelite leader, Moses. Their story is found in Exodus 1. Whilst you reflect on who has ‘mothered’ you in your life, here is a Litany for Mothers for your prayer time this week. A Litany for Mothers Eve our first mother – thank you for stepping out and being the first to understand the complexities of life. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth – thank you for your patience and courage in waiting for a miracle. May all people longing for children be strengthened by your stories and comforted in their pain. Hagar – thank you for your resolve in the face of exile. May all mothers who are forced to flee or are forgotten be given hope in you. Rebecca – thank you for your flexibility. Let us remember all mothers who have to raise their children in a different country or far from their relatives and who feel isolated. Rachel – you carried the burden of grief and wept for your children. Hold the hands of all those mothers who weep for their children – children who have gone missing, who have died or are lost to them in other ways. Jochebed – you used wisdom and insight to protect your children. Give to all mothers this wisdom and insight in the bringing up of their children, especially in vulnerable times. Naomi and Ruth – you showed that love can conquer all trials. Help all mothers to love constantly when life seems impossible and despair weighs hard upon their souls. Mary – the new Eve whose ‘yes’ to God changed our world forever. Thank you for sheltering the Holy One all those years ago, for your faithful love and tender care of God’s most precious Son. Blessings for your week Revd Rosie COLLECT God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; 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 Exodus 2.1-10 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Colossians 3.12-17 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God THE GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Glory to you, O Lord. John 19.25b-27 Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS From the World Day of Prayer, written by women in Palestine Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, we now pray for women everywhere, for the world and for those in need. Let us pray: God of Righteousness, bless us and make us witnesses of peace and justice. Open our eyes so that we can see things as you do. Protect us from all forms of violence, hurt and revenge. We pray especially for women who are denied education and other basic rights; for women who are abused and suffer violence. We pray that our churches, as well as our governments, will create safe places for women. Help us to raise our voices and use our gifts and talents to help others. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. Refugee God, because your son, Jesus, as a child had to flee a massacre in Bethlehem, you know the plight of refugees and the displaced. Remain with them and help them in these dark and difficult times. Guide and protect them and bring them to places of safety. Open the hearts of those receiving refugees, and guide the actions of political leaders so that all needs will be met. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. God our Rock, you have taught us to build our lives on you. We pray for those who are homeless and especially for families whose homes have been destroyed through war or natural disasters. We pray for all who work tirelessly to resolve these situations. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. God of Peace, we pray for a peaceful end to the ongoing situation in Palestine. We also pray for the city of Jerusalem, sacred to the three religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Let there be equality, freedom of religion, freedom of movement and freedom of expression. Teach us as Christians to follow the way of Jesus, sharing love with those we meet. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. Healer and Sustaining Spirit, we pray for all those who are sick, who are dying and who are grieving. We give thanks for scientists and doctors who developed vaccines and treatments for the COVID-19 virus and other diseases. When we are lost and weary, strengthen us. Revive our dry branches, so that they yield good fruits again. Give us new life and the hope of the resurrection. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. God of Mercy, we have carelessly destroyed your beautiful creation. We have harmed the environment, the flora and the creatures of the air, land and water. Our destruction of the earth has caused the climate crisis. Help us to appreciate and love your creation. Help us to repair what we have destroyed. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. God of Unity, your Son, Jesus, prayed that your disciples and followers would be one, as you are one. Teach us, your servants, to treat others justly, fairly and with love even though we may speak, live and pray differently. Bless the global church and bless the faithful women everywhere who share your Good News with others. Lead us into a life worthy of our calling. All: Hear our prayer. How can we thank you, Loving God? We know that all our blessings come from you. Do not keep us far from you. Give us grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift and fill our hearts with joy. We offer these prayers and the prayers of our hearts known only to you. In the name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All: Amen. POST COMMUNION Loving God, as a mother feeds her children at the breast you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life: help us who have tasted your goodness to grow in grace within the household of faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon for last SundayListen NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY Sunday Evening’s Service is Evening Prayer, in Church, at 5.00pm. SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, INCLUDING EASTER Church Open every day 10.00am to Dusk Sun 10 Mar 10.30am Mothering Sunday 5.00pm Evening Prayer – in Church Sun 17 Mar 10.30am Parish Eucharist – The Fifth Sunday of Lent 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer – in Church Palm Sunday, Holy Week & Easter Services on the poster below  PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Hugo, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, Carmel, Christine, Vivienne, the Brocas family, Martin, and Jane. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Lisa Barrott, Betty Doughty, Doreen Hiscock, Andrew (Bill) Sinclair, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised: Weddings: Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, the head teacher Martin Tinsley, all the pupils, staff and governors, and the Bible Explorers. 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 work in, or visit, All Retail Premises, Mill Stream Houseboats, 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 Episcopal Church in the USA. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Colombo (Sri Lanka), Colorado (USA), Congo Brazzaville (Congo), Connecticut (USA), Connor (Ireland), and Cork, Cloyne and Ross (Ireland). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe.  LENT STUDY Our Lent Study this year will take place over five sessions to be held via Zoom on Wednesday evenings at 8.00pm. This will be based on the book A Christian Look at the Environment. The sessions will be held as Zoom meetings. We will send a reminder email each Wednesday.     Come and Sing Stainer’s Crucifixion Windsor Parish Church and Thames Valley Church Music invite you to come and take part in a devotional performance of Stainer’s Crucifixion in Windsor Parish Church. Details available on the posters in Church  LENT STUDY Copies of our Lent Study booklet are avilable in Church, for a suggested £3 donation. Alternatively, you can opt in to receive the section for the day by email from the Diocese of Oxford: https://oxford.anglican.org/come-and-see#register https://mailchi.mp/oxford.anglican.org/come-and-see This has the advantable of having a link to an audio version, so you can listen to the Bishop of Oxford reading it.  A Warm Hub will be running at the Alma Beacon starting on the 7th of January. Please share the poster where you can. Download here: https://www.standrewsclewer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Alma-Beacon-Warm-Hub.pdf  FUNDRAISING FOR A NEW SOUND SYSTEM We are raising money to pay for a new sound system for St Andrews, to replace the aging system we use currently.If you can help, please use either: * Our bank account (details below, please use a reference of “Sound System”). * Our Parish Giving page: https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/clewer-st-andrew-windsor/ The QR code above goes to the same page Thanks to everyone for all the donations towards the sound system so far, if anyone would like to help with fundraising and events please talk to Revd Rosie.  From their Facebook, Twittter and Website Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk CAN YOU HELP? We are very short of: UHT milkTinned FruitCooking saucesRiceTinned tomatoesTinned vegThis week we helped 212 people with the food that the community has donated to us. We have a permanent donation box at Tesco Superstore and also at Waitrose & Partners. So if you are shopping it is easy to pop a carton or two in. Or why not try our Wishlist on Common Good and Amazon. https://www.forcommongood.co.uk/…/giftr…/registry/215636 https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/23EUESGGRMAVZ… We still ask that any food donations for Windsor Foodshare are dropped into Dedworth Green Baptist church as this will still be our main base. 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 The Parish Office is now closed. email: office@clewerparish.org Revd Rosie 01753 852334 email rector@clewerparish.org Parish Website: www.standrewsclewer.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/standrewsclewer Rector: Revd Rosie Webb 01753 852334 rector@clewerparish.org Churchwarden: Stuart Cockman Contact via email: office@clewerparish.org Safeguarding Policy: www.standrewsclewer.org/safeguarding-policy Safeguarding Officer: clewerparishsafeguarding@gmail.com |