| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 18 June 2023 The Second Sunday after Trinity |
 Ruins of the Temple of Jerusalem WELCOME I wonder what your most treasured possession is? If something happened to your home, what would you try and save? My guess is when it comes to the crunch, it wouldn’t be a possession at all but a person or group of people. In the reading from Exodus, the Israelites have reached Mount Sinai, God has rescued them from the Egyptians in a very dramatic way. The people of Israel are God’s treasured possessions. The love of God, through Jesus Christ, shows us clearly that love breaks down every barrier, even death. In the Gospel, Jesus looks at the people and is filled with compassion, they are like lost sheep, going round in circles, with no direction or guidance. There are far more people needing rescue than rescuers. So Jesus appoints 12 apostles to help him in leadership, he calls them by name. Their task is to bring to God all those lost and helpless. First to the Israelites and then at Pentecost – everyone else. We too are God’s treasured possession, not just us, all people everywhere are loved and treasured by God. Sadly we see all too frequently many in our community who are going round in circles and need to be rescued. We are all called by name to go out and give the message of hope, the good news of God, and as I said last week, it’s not easy being a Christian! You may think there’s little you can do to make a difference, but you’d be wrong. Helping people see that they are loved and treasured makes a whole world of difference. Carry the message of hope…all are God’s treasured possessions, loved beyond measure. Who will you tell? Blessings for your week Revd Rosie COLLECT Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth: send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love, the true bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whoever lives is counted dead before you. Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. All Amen READINGS Exodus 19.2-8a They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. Then Moses went up to God; the Lordcalled to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.’ So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lordhad commanded him. The people all answered as one: ‘Everything that the Lordhas spoken we will do.’ Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Romans 5.1-8 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. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 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 9.35-10.8 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’ Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Holy God, St. Matthew reminds us of the privilege of suffering for Christ. We know that to share the work of Christ, we have to share the sacrifice of Christ. Help us when Christianity is hard, and teach us to say to ourselves that when we suffer, we are following in the footsteps of Jesus. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Everlasting God, look down with love upon our Church here in Clewer as day by day we struggle to be a body worthy of Jesus’ name. We pray especially for the Christian churches who face daily persecution. Strengthen, comfort and encourage all those who suffer harassment, violence, imprisonment and even death for being followers of Jesus Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Creator God, we live in a world becoming more secular and less religious every day, help us as Christians to stand up for Jesus against world opinion in the sure knowledge that he stands up for us before you, our Father in heaven. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Father God, at times your son offers us hard choices; to choose sometimes between the closest ties of earth and loyalty to him. Free us from making decisions that are for our comfort or for the approval of others. Help us to understand that good choices don’t always lead to the easiest outcomes. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Gracious God, we pray for the sick and the suffering. For those undergoing treatments and surgery, for those convalescing and those who are recovered, that through our intercessions they may all experience a full recovery. As we also pray for those who will not recover, we remember the words of Jesus that “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Merciful God, through the death of your son Jesus Christ you have freed us from the grip of the tomb. We pray for those who have departed this life and ask you, through your loving kindness, to have mercy on their souls and uphold and sustain those bereaved by their passing. Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer Faithful God in the week that lies before us may we reflect your love in our families, our church and our community and in doing so, show everyone we meet that we are followers of Christ with a true desire to draw them into our Christian faith. 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 PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Loving Father, we thank you for feeding us at the supper of your Son: sustain us with your Spirit, that we may serve you here on earth until our joy is complete in heaven, and we share in the eternal banquet with Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Revd Rosie’s Sermon last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Every Tue & Thu, 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Church Open every day 10.00am – 6.00pm Sun 18 Jun 10.30am Parish Eucharist 3.00pm Wild Worship Sun 25 Jun 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom Sun 02 Jul 10.30am Family Eucharist 5.00pm Parish Eucharist in Church Sun 09 Jul 10.30am Parish Eucharist 5.00pm Evening Prayer on Zoom EVENING PRAYER ON SUNDAY There will not be a Zoom Evening Prayer Service this Sunday. Please accept our apologies. EP during the week will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as next Sunday. PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Blake, Sam, Don, Karl, Sarah, Joanna, Holly, Hugo, Frank and Barbara, Bill, Suzanne, Christopher, Jackie, Diane, Sylvia, Mary, Gracie and, Carmel. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Tom Hinds, Austin’s grandfather, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Those recently baptised: Those preparing for marriage: Scott and Annette, Katie and Peter 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 in Clarence Road, Trevelyan Estate, Helston Lane, Green Lane, Clewer Avenue, Clewer New Town, and Birchington Road. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church in Australia. Please pray also for the churches in these dioceses: Tohoku (Japan), Tokyo (Japan), Toliara (Indian Ocean), Tonj (South Sudan), Torit (South Sudan) and Toronto (Canada).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. WILD WORSHIP – SUNDAY 18 JUN 2023 This month’s Wild Worship is on Sunday 18th Jun at 3.00pm.   Rory’s fundraiser for Windsor Homeless Project https://www.justgiving.com/page/liza-macrobert-1683047618888 Rory loves drawing and was recently inspired by a homeless man that we met in Windsor. Every time we go into town he wants to do something to help. We came up with the idea that he could draw a picture and sell copies. So for a donation to his chosen charity you could own a magnificent piece of artwork! Thank you for supporting him to help Windsor Homeless.Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. WINDSOR FOODSHARE https://www.windsorfoodshare.org.uk From their Facebook and Twittter Pages: https://www.facebook.com/windsorfoodshare https://twitter.com/WindsrFoodshare 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. email: office@clewerparish.org Revd Rosie 01753 852334 email rector@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 |