| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 15 September 2024 16th Sunday after Trinity |
 WELCOME So here we are, 16th Sunday after Trinity. We come together to worship God with joy and praise and give thanks for God’s blessing in our lives. Our first reading is from Isaiah chapter 50 verses 4-9. God’s servant speaks about his mission that with God’s help he will respond to suffering with dignity and fortitude, refrain from retaliation and sustain the weary with a word. The second reading is from St James chapter 3 verses 1-12. The human tongue has immense power and can be used both to bless and to curse. It is not just like a fire, it can in fact be a fire, and no one can tame it. The Gospel reading is St Mark chapter 8 verse 27 to the end. With many miracles already performed, Jesus has demonstrated his power and authority, and now the disciples recognise him as the Messiah. But Jesus gives them a very different definition of the sort of Messiah he will be. Peter protests strongly and in turn is strongly rebuked. COLLECT O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers of your people who call upon you; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them; 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 50.4-9a The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? All of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God James 3.1-12 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue – a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Mark 8.27-end Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. Glory to you, O Lord. Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Heavenly Father hear our prayers and listen to the words of our mouths as we lay before your throne our hopes and fears, our joys and concerns and all the things for which we give thanks. We pray for the Church, both here in Clewer and throughout the world, and all who call themselves Christians, that they may go forward in unity and strength. Help us to respect the beliefs of others even if we do not share them, to celebrate what we have in common and to accept our differences. Guide us all in our ministries as we live each day. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Creator God , drive away despair from our politics, revive our dreams of justice and truth, and restore our passion for what is good and right. Establish your just and gentle rule throughout the world especially where there is conflict; where peace seems so far away and so many have lost everything, even the faint hope of a peaceful future. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Gracious God, help us always to remember that in life we are “Third” and that you and our neighbour come first and second. Help us always to practice unselfishness as we try to live out lives where we genuinely try to be the servant of all as our Lord commanded. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Heavenly Father you gave your prophet Isaiah an “instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary” help us to comfort the weary and those who are ill with a call, a visit, or through the post with a get-well-card. Help also to be constant in our prayer for friends and family in any kind of need. We especially pray for all who we know who need our prayers. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Loving Father, we pray for those who have died alone, unnoticed and unloved. We pray for those who have committed suicide or died in accidents of their own making. We commend all the departed to your merciful love. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Faithful God as we leave this place today and return to our homes and loved ones draw near to us, strengthen our faith, deepen our love for you and for our neighbours and open our eyes to the wonder of your creation. 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 Almighty God, you have taught us through your Son that love is the fulfilling of the law: grant that we may love you with our whole heart and our neighbours as ourselves; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon for last Sunday Listen NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY Sunday evening’s service is Evening Prayer, at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 119.73–88 Exodus 18.13–26 Matthew 7.1–14S SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church Open every day 10.00am to 6.00pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, Evening Prayer at 5.00pm via Zoom Sun 15 Sep10.30am Parish Eucharist – 16th Sunday after Trinity 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 22 Sep10.30am Parish Eucharist – 17th Sunday after Trinity 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 29 Sep10.30am Parish Eucharist – St Michael and All Angels 3.00pm Worship Explorers (Childrens Church) No Evening Service (5th Sunday) Sun 06 Oct 10.30am All Age Eucharist – Harvest Festival 5.00pm Eucharist Sun 13 Oct10.30am Parish Eucharist – 15th Sunday after Trinity 5.00pm Evening Prayer PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, and Tom B. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Linda Harding, James Baxter, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms in September: Maisie and Wilfred Recently married: Val and Jeff 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 Cleves Court, Carter Close, St Johns Road, Gordon Road, Dawson Close, Convent Road, and Bailey Close. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for The Church of Nigeria. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Iowa (USA), Iran (The Middle East), Irele Ese-Odo, Isi Mbano, Isiala Ngwa, and Isiala-Ngwa South (Nigeria). Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. .Key to Events Blue- Social events Amber- Children and Families Green- Creation/Environment Black- Liturgy September 15th 3pm Wild Worship: Michaelmas 17th 10am Coffee and more in Church (Macmillan coffee Morning) 22nd Dawn Creation Meditation Autumn Equinox 27th 3.45 – 5pm Children’s Pop-Up Café 29th 3pm Children’s Church (5th Sunday of the month) – Worship Explorers MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING On the 17th of September, our 10am Coffee and more in Church is our Macmillan Coffee Morning.    We are very lucky to be supported by some amazing people who are running for us in the Windsor Half Marathon. It is only 3 weeks from today and if you can give them a boost by donating a few pounds to their JustGiving pages it would be much appreciated. This will help us continue to support the vulnerable in Windsor. www.justgiving.com/campaign/windsorhalfmarathon Windsorhalfmarathon @etonbridgepartners Alma Beacon Windsor Foodshare Windsor Street Angels   Churches Together in Windsor are hosting a (non-televised!) Songs of Praise this year on the 27th of October at 6:30 at Windsor Methodist Church. This will be preceded by the AGM at 6 o’clock to which all are welcome. God bless Revd Vicci Davidson [We have been asked to chose a Hymn for the service, there is a sheet at the back of Church for this.]  Did you know you automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment if you receive Pension Credit? If you are over State Pension age, check your eligibility now using DWP’s online calculator  https://orlo.uk/neBOUIf you need help getting online, you can seek assistance at a local library, and can get in touch with our Financial Inclusion officers if you need help making a claim https://orlo.uk/fNBmq FRIENDS OF CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL The latest booklet from the Friends of Christ Church Cathedral, and details of events during the rest of the year, are available at the back of the Church. And you can find out more here: https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral/about/cathedral-friends  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. 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 |