| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 12 March 2023 The Third Sunday of Lent |
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| WELCOME I wonder if you are a water drinker? Perhaps you are someone who carries a water bottle with you, or do you always ask for a glass of tap water to go with your coffee when out in a café? A while ago I was listening to a programme on the radio, it was mainly about people who never drink water either because they don’t like it or don’t feel the need for it. Now I was brought up always to drink water and can usually be found to have a water bottle in my bag. Give me water over a fizzy drink any day! Water is a vital element in the sustenance of human life, we can survive without water for four days at the most. In ancient civilisations, dwellings would only be built around, or near, a reliable fresh water supply. Therefore the local spring or well was the place to meet people, people watering their animals, a place for the men to catch the eye of the local women! Today’s gospel reading from John is the unique story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus asks her for a drink of water. This was against all the cultural norms, an unheard of event and the woman was overwhelmed by how much Jesus knew about her. The picture today is by the artist Sieger Kőder, entitled ‘Insight’. It looks like there is only the woman at the well, but we know Jesus is sitting down beside it, and as she looks into the water, she sees the face of Jesus next to hers. The conversation between them is about physical thirst and spiritual thirst. Jesus knows this woman, the life she has led and is leading, he knows she needs more than the physical water can offer. He affirms her and empowers her! She became convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, perhaps she should be acknowledged as the first female Christian preacher and an example for all people. We are challenged to do as she did: to proclaim that Jesus really is the Saviour of the world. Blessings for your week Revd Rosie |
| COLLECT Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; 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. All Amen |
| READINGS Exodus 17.1-7 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’ This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. |
| Psalm 95 1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms. 3 For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker. 7 For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. 8 O that today you would listen to his voice: ‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, on that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 ‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works. 10 ‘Forty years long I detested that generation and said, “This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.” 11 ‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter into my rest.” ’ |
| Romans 5.1-11 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. |
| GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Glory to you, O Lord. John 4.5-42 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. |
| INTERCESSIONS – TREVOR MORGAN Heavenly Father, today we pray especially for our church of St Andrews, for all those with responsibility for the church that they may be given guidance and wisdom in their deliberations and decision making and for those whose task is to oversee the work of our church. We give you thanks for Rev Rosie, Canon Brian and all who have continued to work tirelessly in your service . A prayer of Miles Coverdale Lord Jesus Christ, draw our hearts to yours with a love that is irresistible; unite our hearts to yours with a love that is inseparable; and bind our hearts to yours with a love that is immeasurable, through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen. A Prayer from the Book of Psalms Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul to thee. Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Let thy loving spirit lead me. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious God, we pray for peace, justice and reconciliation in all those places in the world where there is strife and conflict. And we especially uphold before you all those places suffering as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, thinking today particularly of all who have suffered loss of family members. Heavenly Father, we despair at the unspeakable suffering which continues even as we lift up our voices in prayer. Lord God, inspire all who have any influence whatever to use it mightily to bring an end to the suffering of your children in those places and help us to remember that they are our brothers and sisters in Christ Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Help us, Lord, to work together for the good of one another. Give us courage to do our part worthily, to maintain unfalteringly the ideals of love and service that we have learnt of Christ; to accept no standard of honesty, purity and truth but that which he has taught; and so to work and pray that when our days here shall end we may know that we have striven not in vain to uphold what is right, to be worthy of our trust, to be of service to our fellows and you. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Father, we thank you for all those who bear illness and suffering with courage and patience. We thank you for the way their lives enlighten and inspire our own. Give them a sense of their high calling. May they find strength in knowing that they are sharing in the sufferings of their Master and following his perfect example. And in a moment of silence we name before God those we hold on our hearts: Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Norman and Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, and the Flisher family . Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. Be close to them and grant them your strength and your peace. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. O God who brought us to birth and in whose arms we die, we pray for all who have been bereaved. In their grief and pain we pray for comfort and the embrace of your love. Give them hope in their confusion and sorrow and grant them the grace to move forward into a fuller understanding of your love for all. We commend to God’s mercy the souls of all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen |
| PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen |
| Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday |
| NOTICES |
| SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Tuesdays and Thursdays, Evening Prayer at 5.00pm via Zoom Church Open every day 10.00am – 6.00pm Sun 12 Mar 10.30am 3rd Sunday of Lent, Parish Eucharist 3.00pm Wild Worship (Imperial Park) weather permitting 5.00pmEvening Prayer Sun 19 Mar 10.30am Mothering Sunday, Parish Eucharist 5.00pmEvening Prayer Sun 26 Mar 10.30am 5th Sunday of Lent, Parish Eucharist Passiontide begins 5.00pmEvening Prayer Sun 02 Apr 10.30am Palm Sunday, Parish Eucharist 5.00pmEucharist Mon 03 Apr Holy Week begins – Services TBC |
| PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Norman and Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie, and the Flisher family . Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those baptised this month Those preparing for marriage Our Bible Explorers group at Clewer Green 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. We pray also for Windsor Christian Action, and the work of the Homeless Project, Street Angels, FoodShare, and The Night Shelter. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live, work at, or take part in activities in, 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 Church of South India. Please pray also for the churches in these dioceses: Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Rio Grande (USA), Riverina (Australia), Rochester (England), Rochester (USA), and Rockhampton (Australia). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. |
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| We need a volunteer soup maker, please see Mulle if you are able to help. |
| WILD WORSHIP – WEATHER PERMITTING The next Wild Worship is this Sunday12 March at 3pm to be held at Imperial Park, all ages welcome as we explore the desert together. The weather forecast is not good, so please look out for updates. |
| EASTER EGGS Donations of Easter eggs are needed for our stall at the community Easter Fair on Palm Sunday afternoon, 02 April. Thanks to all who have donated so far, and more are needed. |
| OLD GREEN HYMN BOOKS Our old green hymn books have gone to a new home, St Mark’s Hamilton Terrace (you remember that they were on the News when their Church burned down recently). We haven’t used them for many years, so it is great to be able to help out a Church in need. See their posts on Facebook here and here. |
| PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL OXFORD CHANGE OF DATE 28th April. A chance to visit our mother church, have a personal guided tour, have tea in the Great Hall, share in worship at Choral Evensong and a tour of the gardens. If you would like to go, please sign up. The cost for tea depends on which menu we decide on, we will be the only parish tour that day and it will be a wonderful experience for us to enjoy together. Our date has had to be cancelled by the cathedral, but the new date they have given us is Friday 28 April. If you would like to go please let Revd Rosie know as we will need to arrange transport. |
| CORONATION WEEKEND IDEAS? The Coronation of The King and The Queen Consort takes place on 06 May. https://www.royal.uk/coronation The Big Help Out is just one of the nationwide activities planned for that bank holiday weekend. https://thebighelpout.org.uk If you can think of some things we could do as a Church around these times, please let Revd Rosie know. |
| TURKEY-SYRIA EARTHQUAKE APPEAL Please see details of the Oxford Diocese appeal on our web site: https://www.standrewsclewer.org/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal Or see the DEC appeal: https://donation.dec.org.uk/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal God of refuge, You are an ever present help in time of need. Please be this to the people of Turkey, Syria and Iraq today. Provide people with safe shelter and the essentials they need. Be a comfort to those who are grieving and who are traumatised. Be people’s strength and rock as they work together to rescue people, treat the injured, care for those in need and rebuild after this tragedy. In Jesus’ name, Amen. |
| CHRISTIAN AID REP We are still looking for someone to be our Christian Aid representative. This does not need to be a PCC member or other church official. Please see Revd Rosie if you can help. |
| WINDSOR FOODSHARE From their Facebook and Twittter Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare This week we have helped 228 people. The same week last year it was 82. Our numbers are going through the roof. Due to these high numbers we are finding it harder to keep up with certain items. If we feed 228 people we give out 228 cartons of milk, 228 tins of beans. In fact 228 of every item we supply. We really need the community’s help. We are very very low on milk, tinned pulses, tinned soup, tinned desserts and tinned milk. We have many ways to donate food 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 2 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… You can drop off to us on Wednesdays 9.30-1.30 or Thursdays 9.30-3.00 at Dedworth Green Baptist Church. We do not like to ask as we know times are tough for lots of people right now. Imagine if your whole street donated one tin each to us how this would help our stocks. |
| 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. |
| CONTACTS The Parish Office is now closed. The Office Number is: 07490 094261 Email: office@clewerparish.org 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 |