| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 15 October 2023 The 19th Sunday after Trinity |
 WELCOME The first reading is from Isaiah 25, vv 1 – 9 The prophet celebrates the faithful deliverance of God’s people from their earthly oppressors, and anticipates the day of the Lord that will hold ultimate judgement and blessing. The second reading is from Philippians chapter 4, vv 1 – 9 St Paul urges Christians to direct their hearts and minds in maintaining an active faith in Jesus by every means. Resolving quarrels, praying, expressing trust and focussing on all that is good. The gospel reading is from St Matthew, chapter 22, vv 1 -14 Here Jesus presents God’s response to Israel’s refusal to honour the Son. He extends an invitation. All are now welcome at the kingdom’s celebrations. Today’s readings remind us that coming through the doors of God’s kingdom is just the start. God has bigger plans. We are on a journey, a journey of transformation by the Spirit’s power. We are called. We are not asked to do what we cannot. Both the rejecting friends and the robeless guests miss out on the celebrations because they choose to say no to the king. Jesus urges us to say yes to him, not just once but as the way of life in his kingdom. Whatever our starting point, as we respond to God’s kingdom invitation we need to take on kingdom ways. With all our sins covered by the sacrifice of Jesus we are called to live clothed in the practice of love, truth and justice. Blessings Canon Brian COLLECT O God, forasmuch as without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; 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 25.1-9 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you. For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lordhas spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lordfor whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Philippians 4.1-9 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. 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. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. THE GOSPEL READING Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew . Glory to you, O Lord. Matthew 22.1-14 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Everlasting God, you promised that your presence would always go with your chosen people, the Jews, so we pray that we too may always find you accompanying us on our life journey and that ultimately we would find your deep peace in our lives Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Loving God we hold the needs of our sisters and brothers as dearly as our own needs. Help us to love you with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds and to love our neighbours as ourselves. With these commandments before us we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions on behalf of the church here in Clewer, and throughout the world. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Creator God, we pray for the peoples of the world that they may enjoy un-perverted justice whether they be poor or rich, great or small. We pray that those who use violence and terror to bring about their desires and those who then so readily seek revenge following acts of terrorism may instead pursue all that makes for peace. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Father God, we thank you for our families and friends. We thank you for modern technology which enables us to hear and see them so easily and to keep in touch even though separated by great distances. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Loving God, friend of those in need, your Son Jesus has loosened our burdens and healed our spirits. We lift before you for those still burdened, those seeking healing, those in need within the church and the world. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Merciful God, your Son Jesus was moved to tears at the grave of Lazarus his friend. Look with compassion on those bereaved and grieving at the loss of a loved one; give to their troubled hearts the light of hope and strengthen in all of us the gift of faith, in Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord in your mercy: hear our prayer. Faithful God, at the start of this new week and recognising your trust in us to live and preach the Gospel make us always more ready to please you rather than to seek the praise of the secular world Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. From the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca  POST COMMUNION Holy and blessed God, you have fed us with the body and blood of your Son and filled us with your Holy Spirit: may we honour you, not only with our lips but in lives dedicated to the service of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS Tuesday and Thursday 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Church Open every day 10.00am – 6.00pm Sun 15 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer – Zoom Sun 22 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 29 Oct 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 05 Nov 10.30am All Age Eucharist 5.00pm Parish Eucharist EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY Sunday’s evening serice at 5.00pm is Evening Prayer via Zoom. Readings Psalm 139.1-18 Proverbs 3.1-18 1 John 3.1-15 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, and Vivienne. 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: Weddings: David & Jennifer. 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 or work in Nelson Road, Bridgeman Drive, St Johns Drive, Clewer Green School, St Edwards First School, St Edwards Middle School, and Windsor Girls School. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church of Kenya. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Amritsar (North India), Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands (North India), Saint Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane (Scotland), Central and South Angola, Ankole (Uganda), and North Ankole (Uganda). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe.  REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE – 12 NOV 2023 Our Remembrance Day Service will be at the Clewer Memorial Park, not in Church, our Eucharist service will be at 5pm in Church. MY TIME COFFEE MORNING – 14 NOV 2023 The next My Time event is Tues 14th Nov and the Thames Valley Hospice or Oaktrees. TBC. CHRISTMAS MARKET – 09 DEC 2023 This Year the Christmas Fair/Market will be on Saturday 9th December from 12.00 until 3.00pm. Note change of start time. Donations of plants, home-made jams etc appreciated, also chocolate for the tombola.  COMMUNITY FRIDGE Windsor’s Community Fridge is a simple way of enabling people to share good food that would otherwise have gone to waste. Opened during Covid, it is now an essential part of community life in Windsor. 61% of the food wasted in the UK (4.1 million tonnes) is avoidable! Food is rescued 7 days a week from local retailers by a team of 20 + volunteers. Windsor’s Community Fridge is at 181 Oxford Road, Windsor. SL4 5DX in what used to be Duffy’s bakery shop. We’re open 11am – 12:30pm, Tuesday to Friday. https://www.facebook.com/groups/320778092672886 driven.forward@outlook.com WINDSOR FOODSHARE  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 currently very short of Cooking Sauces UHT Milk Biscuits Tinned Fruit Tea bags We get less food donations in the spring and summer, even though we are still feeding the same amount of people. 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. 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, 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 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 |