| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 12 December – 3rd Sunday of Advent  THE MORNING SERVICE WILL BE HELD IN PERSON AT ST ANDREWS CHURCH AT 10.30AM Welcome Things are beginning to get a bit hectic! But I have to say as yet I have not sung any carols, that’s this weeks joy! Joy is the theme of our readings this week, perhaps with the latest government guidelines for ‘Plan B’, maybe our joy is dwindling or feels in jeopardy? Traditionally we light the pink candle in our Advent wreath as it is Guadete Sunday, ‘rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice’. In all our preparations and prayers we take a break to be thankful, to be joyful as ‘the Lord is coming’. Our G&T (God and Talent) group met this week and thanks to Emilee, we spent a wonderful evening baking and decorating Christmas cookies. So this weeks big question….where is your joy? Now is the time to crack open the box of mince pies, or get baking, fill the house with the sound of carols and be thankful that God waited and fulfilled his promise that he would come! Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus! Blessings for your week Revd Rosie |
| COLLECT God for whom we watch and wait, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son: give us courage to speak the truth, to hunger for justice, and to suffer for the cause of right, with Jesus Christ our Lord. All Amen READINGS Zephaniah 3.14-end Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgements against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. All Thanks be to God. Canticle: Isaiah 12.2-end 2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Philippians 4.4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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 3.7-18 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. This is the Gospel of the Lord. All Praise to you, O Christ. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION – MULLE PRICE [From John Pritchard, recent Bishop of Oxford] The response to the bidding “Maranatha” is “Come Lord Jesus” Holy God, ever with us and ever on your way towards us, we look to you this Advent, willing your kingdom to come but knowing that it is not ours to take. So come to us in the many guises of love, meet our longing, enter our waiting; give life to our hoping. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Advent God, hope of the hopeless, you alone give us reason to go on. Give hope to those who this day all over the world are hungry for basic gifts – food to stop the children aching with hunger, a home to put pictures on the wall, education to open the door to a job, justice to give everyone a chance. We particularly pray for Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and all those smaller countries that don’t get on the front page. God of hope, give hope to the hopeless. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Advent God, love of the loveless, you are the One who never fails to love to the limit. You love without question the loveless, the unlovely and the unlovable. May we do the same. We’re aware of people or groups of people whom we instinctively reject because of what they have done to us or what they represent to us. We identify them in our hearts right now in a moment of silence. [Pause] We also pray for those known to us: 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. Give us strength to love; give them strength to respond. And give us the gentleness to love ourselves as well. God of love, give love to the loveless. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Advent God, Joy of the joyless, you are the source of inexhaustible delight. In a world of desperate pleasure and stale smiles, take us to the place where true joy is to be found. We pray for those who face Christmas and the New Year with deep apprehension, knowing it to be a time where much true poverty is revealed – poverty of love, of friends, of purpose, of spirit. In silence we pray for particular families, including even our own. [Pause] God of joy, give joy to the joyless. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Advent God, God of those who think themselves godless, you are the rock on which our lives are built. Have mercy on those who try to live without you and lead them gently to the truth that sets us free. Come afresh to the minds of those who think they’ve thought their way out of your reach. Come afresh too to those of us who think we have it all taped, for whom your mystery and power have become dulled and routine. Come afresh to the hearts of us all, whether they be full of distractions or swept clean empty. We long for you to be central to our lives and central to the life of the world Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Advent God, grant rest to those who have seen the promises fulfilled, all troubles ended, all distresses healed, especially to those recently departed this life, including Richard Chandler, and to those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Make them perfect in the peace of Christ. Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus Holy God, this Advent we set ourselves to longing again – longing and waiting and hoping. We long for your kingdom to come and for this world to be transformed, for it to be on earth as it is in heaven. But the glimmerings have also to become real in us. So come, our Advent God, with the promise of a new birth, in Jesus Christ , our Lord. Merciful Father, Accept these our prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Post Communion We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts; kindle in us the fire of your Spirit that when your Christ comes again we may shine as lights before his face; who is alive and reigns now and for ever. All Amen Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday NOTICES EVENING PRAYER 12 DECEMBER BCP evening prayer is on Sunday at 5pm via a Zoom link. We will send out the order of service later. Readings Psalm 50.1-6 Isaiah 35 Luke 1.57-66 [67-80] 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 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’s Day Parish Eucharist in Church   ADVENT & CHRISTMAS FLYERS There are still some Advent and Christmas at St Andrews Christmas flyers are still 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 decorating the trees along the churchyard path. you can do the decorating any time this week please, start from the Lodge gate end of the path and space out. 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! HELP WITH REFRESHMENTS We need help please with refreshments for 19th and 24th events, hot chocolate, mince pies and mulled wine. CAROLS FOR LOVED ONES This Thursday 16 Dec 6.30pm Carols for loved Ones, at the Pirate Park. 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 And also the poster below.  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 Richard Chandler, 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 |