| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 23 March 2025 The Third Sunday of Lent |
 Welcome Today we give thanks for the opportunities God gives us to change and learn. Despite our many failures, we can always make a new start thanks to the work of Jesus. First reading is Isaiah 55, 1-9. We are invited to live an abundant life. The prophet tells us not to spend our money on that which is not bread, but instead to listen and eat what is good. God will make an everlasting covenant with Israel. The second reading is 1 Corinthians 10, 1-13. St. Paul warns the Corinthians not to be like the Israelites in the wilderness, some of whom became idolaters. They are an example for us. We are all tested in the same way, but testing will never be beyond our strength. And the Gospel reading is Luke 13, 1-9. Jesus responds to two stories about Galileans who have been killed, explaining that they were not worse sinners than others, and that everyone needs to repent. A man who has a barren fig tree is encouraged to let it live for another year, to see if it will fruit. Canon Brian 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. Amen READINGS Isaiah 55.1-9 Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God 1 Corinthians 10.1-13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.’ We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Luke 13.1-9 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONSAlmighty God, help us to thirst for you, first and foremost in our lives, and recognise that your loving-kindness is better than life itself. Bearing this amazing love in mind we raise our hearts and voices to proclaim and sing your praise. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Faithful God, we pray for the Church, that through its prayers, actions and public statements it may continue to work towards a world where all are free from the pain of hunger and the terror of war. Help us to be true disciples of Jesus, living the gospel and bringing social change in an unjust world. Give us courage to challenge unfair trade systems and pray for those who have the power to make far-reaching decisions affecting the world’s poor. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Creator God, we pray for world leaders, that they may be inspired to work together to tackle the causes of poverty, injustice and ignorance that lead to such horrendous violence as seen in Ukraine and Gaza, and to use their power, not for their own glory but for the good of all, and peace for all, whatever the creed, colour or gender. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Father God, we pray for ourselves, that we may have the courage to be witnesses to the power of sharing and to the values of global community. As we eat and drink, help us to pray for those who have laboured to bring the food to our table. Fill our hearts with compassion for our brothers and sisters around the world, so that we acknowledge our common humanity and dignity. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Loving, God help us to love more generously and speak up more loudly for those who are treated unjustly. We pray for people in our own community – those who live on very little, children who are vulnerable and older people who are lonely. We pray for those who are in unwell and for those who are of special concern to us at this time Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful Lord, your son Jesus Christ wept at the grave of Lazarus his friend. Be with us in our mourning as we pray for all who are coming to the end of their journey here on earth and for all those who have died and now rejoice in the fullness of eternal life. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer As we go out into the world help us to live in the warmth of God’s love, to listen to the cries of hurt, to speak words of compassion and to know that we are surrounded by the eternal God. Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen Adapted from the website of The Anglican Chaplaincy of the Costa Blanca POST COMMUNION Almighty God, 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 Canon Brian’s Sermon from last Sunday evening LISTEN NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY The Sunday evening service is Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 12 Genesis 28.10-19a John 1.35-end SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church open every day 10.00am until 6.00pm. Morning Prayer on Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church Contemplative Eucharist on Wednesdays at 12.00 during Lent, followed by Lent Lunch Sun 23 Mar 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 3rd Sunday of Lent 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 30 Mar 10.30am All Age Eucharist – Mothering Sunday No evening service (5th Sunday) Sun 06 Apr 10.30am All Age Eucharist – 5th Sunday of Lent Passiontide begins 5.00pm Eucharist Sun 13 Apr 10.30am Palm Sunday – Liturgy of the Palms, and Liturgy of the Passion and procession around the community 5.00pm Evening Prayer PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Sam, Matt, Al, John C, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, Tom B, and Val. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Andrew Morley, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Felix, and Willow. Weddings: Community Prayers: Clewer Green School, Mrs Branch, Mr Seymour, and all the staff, pupils, staff and governors. The new Bible Explorers Group. 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. Please pray for the PCC as they work through the Mission Action Plan and discern God’s mission in Clewer. Parish Cycle of Prayer: Please pray for all who live or work in All Retail Premises, Mill Stream Houseboats, the 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 in Central America. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Maper (South Sudan), Mara (Tanzania), Maralal (Kenya), Marathwada (North India), Maridi (South Sudan), and Marsabit (Kenya).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. EVENTS The next Children’s Pop Up Cafe will be held on the 28th March at 3.45pm The next Pop Up Community Fridge at St Andrews is on 5th April, 11.00-12.00. For other locations please see the poster below. The next Wild Worship will be held on Good Friday 18th April The Easter Flyer will be available next week with all the details of the services from 30th March Mothering Sunday to Easter day.  COFFEE AFTER CHURCH ON SUNDAYS Could we ask you to consider bringing your own mug/cup for tea/coffee? And take it home after church to wash up at home. Washing up in church is difficult, and this will reduce use of paper cups. Thank you. EASTER EGGS As well as Windsor Town Funnrunners (WTF) asking for Easter egg donations for the care home and hospice run, we also need Easter egg donations please for church, ready for the hunt on Easter day. VOLUNTEER ROLES IN CHURCH There are several roles within the church community which we are looking for volunteers for: welcomers, hospitality, music, reading lessons, leading prayers, chalice assistant etc. Sign up forms for these are at the back of church. Please think about how you could help. LENT READING Lent is traditionally a time for study. To help with this there are a number of publications for you to borrow at the back of the church. The booklet Living Hope is our main one during Lent. The Android and iPhone app Everyday Faith has the same text as Living Hope, and it can read it to you. For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livelent&hl=en For iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/everyday-faith/id1336487241 CLEWER GREEN GOVENOR POSITION Clewer Green School are looking for a new Foundation Governor, if anyone is interested in becoming a school governor please see Rector.     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 URGENT APPEAL We’re running low on some essential items at Windsor Foodshare and need your help! If you can donate, we’d be so grateful for:  Tinned Pasta Tinned Pulses Tinned Fruit Jars of Sauces Biscuits Strong Carrier BagsThere 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 January 2025 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 |