| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 12 January 2025 The Baptism of Christ |
 Romanesque Baptism Icon for Hereford CathedralWelcome The Baptism of Christ We think today about the encouragement that Jesus received from God at his baptism, and how we too can hear that God is pleased with us. The first reading is Isaiah 43, 1-7. God tells Israel not to fear. Even when passing through waters and fire, God will be with them. The second reading is Acts 8, 14-17. Peter and John pray that those in Samaria who have accepted Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit. And the Gospel is Luke 3, 15-17 and 21-22. The people who encountered John the Baptist wonder whether he is the Messiah. But when Jesus comes to him for baptism, a voice from heaven declares, “You are my son, the beloved.” God is to be found in the midst of the hubbub and chaos in which we sometimes live our lives. Perhaps if we pay attention, we are more likely to find God in the places where conflict and trouble exist. And, listening carefully, we might hear God say: – Yes, it is good that you are here. – You are my beloved child. – You are exactly where you need to be, to show people how much I care about them. Jesus went off into the desert to prepare himself for what was to come, and sent them by God’s words. And we too can hear the affirmation we need if we listen carefully and follow the path God has set before us. Canon Brian COLLECT Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; 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 Isaiah 43.1-7 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lordyour God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’, and to the south, ‘Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Acts 8.14-17 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Luke 3.15-17, 21-22 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. 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.’ Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Mighty God, Lord of life, we thank you for the moments in history which have pointed towards the mystery of baptism: especially Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, when you opened the door of heaven to proclaim him to be your beloved son and sent the Holy Spirit down upon him. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Ever-loving God, we pray for peace and integrity in all negotiations in international conflicts. Hear the cries of the people of the world who have never known peace; bring healing to those suffering from the violence of terrorism and comfort those mourning the dead. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Creator God, and Holy Spirit who in the beginning hovered over the waters and at Jesus’ baptism descended in the form of a dove, come to us, open our hearts and minds, so that we too may hear your life-giving word and be renewed by the power of the spirit. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Father God, your Son shared the life of his home and family at Nazareth: we give thanks for his presence with us in our homes and in our lives. Guide us in our relationships with family and neighbours, especially those in trouble or need and bless those who have guided and enriched our own lives. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Gracious God, we pray for the sick who because of their weariness or pain find it difficult to pray; may they be aware of our prayers on their behalf and graciously accept the support and love of their families and friends within the Church and the wider community. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful God, we pray for those who are dying and those who have already completed their life here on earth; may they rest in peace and rise in glory. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Holy God, we, thank you for helping us to pray; deepen our appreciation of your creation so that as we go about our busy lives through this coming week we may do it with eyes wide open to the richness and colour of our surroundings and the vibrant variety of the people we live amongst. 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 Lord of all time and eternity, you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son: by the power of your Spirit complete the heavenly work of our rebirth through the waters of the new creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon last Sunday LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY The Sunday evening service is Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 46, Isaiah 55.1-11 Romans 6.1-11 SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church open every day 10.00am until dusk. Evening Prayer Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5.00pm via Zoom Morning Prayer Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church Sun 12 Jan 10.30am Parish Eucharist for the Baptism of Christ 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 19 Jan 10.30am Parish Eucharist – Epiphany 2 3.00pm Worship Explorers – Childrens Church 5.00pm Evening Prayer Tue 21 Jan 12.00 Mass for St Agnes feast day (at St Agnes Church) Sun 26 Jan 10.30am Parish Eucharist – Epiphany 3 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 02 Feb 10.30am All Age Eucharist – Candlemas 5.00pm EucharistPLEASE 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: Gillian Bacon, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Weddings: 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 St Leonards Hill, Bridewell, Chestnut Drive, Gratton Drive, Fairlawn Park, Dower Park, Poolmans Road, Snowdon Close, Turnoak Park, and Brudenell. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church of the Province of West Africa. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Lango (Uganda), West Lango (Uganda), Langtang (Nigeria), Lebombo (Mocambique e Angola), Leeds (England), and Leicester (England).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. SOCIAL CALENDAR Any ideas for our Social Calendar are welcome. Please let Revd Rosie know, or email the office.   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 |