| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 26 January 2025 The Third Sunday of Epiphany  Welcome In this season of Epiphany we celebrate Jesus, the light of the world, whose brightness shines upon us as the grace and truth of the living God. So we come to worship with eyes ready to see and hearts willing to receive the Lord’s presence afresh. The first reading is Nehemiah chapter 8 verses 1 to 3, 5 to 6 and 8 to 10. God’s law is read and interpreted to the returned exiles gathering within Jerusalem’s rebuilt walls. Though God’s people weep in response, they are urged to rejoice in this holy occasion. The second reading is 1 Corinthians 12, 12 to 31a. Saint Paul presents the physical body with its interrelationship of each member as an image of the body of Christ, where believers’ different spiritual gifts contribute to the unity of the whole. And the gospel is Luke 4, 14 to 21. After teaching around Galilee, Jesus returns to the synagogue in his home village of Nazareth. He reads out Isaiah’s messianic prophecy and announces its fulfillment in himself. And here’s a thought for the day: Then he began to say to them, today the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Canon Brian COLLECT Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; 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 Nehemiah 8.1-3, 5-6, 8-10 All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God 1 Corinthians 12.12-31a For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body’, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those members of the body that we think less honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honour to the inferior member, that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading Luke 4.14-21 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Glory to you, O Lord. Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Everlasting God, today finds us at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian unity; help us to listen to your voice still calling us to unity in our diversity. We pray for church leaders everywhere that they may work together and promote unity among Christians Faithful God, as our Gospel shows us the preaching Christ, we pray for all who preach your word week by week in our Parish, and in the world wide church. Inspire them in their ministry as the lead and grow us as disciples, and as they reach out to those in need in our communities. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Creator, God of every land and nation you spoke your word and revealed your good news in Jesus Christ. We pray for our troubled world its peoples and their leaders. We pray for those caught up in war and violence, especially the innocent victims of evil and destructive act of terrorism. May peace be found and good sense flourish that we may see injustice and wrong vanquished. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Holy God, although we are sometimes separated by language and culture from the people we live amongst, we long to see your will done here on earth as it is in heaven. We pray for our neighbours, not only with words, but day by day, moment by moment, in the things we do and the way we do them. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Abundant God, be with those of us that desire and need your restoration and healing. As we remember the way your son Jesus Christ cast out demons, we remember today all those who live in the depths of depression and mental illness. Today, we ask for your blessing and healing touch upon them. And we pray for all whose life is saddened by the death of a loved one, be with them in their loneliness Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful God, your love reaches beyond the grave. At the end of our days on earth be with us and with those we love. May those who have gone before us rest in your eternal peace. We remember before you those who have died. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Faithful God, we pray for ourselves; as we go from your house today to start the week ahead, we ask that in all we do, we may we walk more closely with you at our side safe in the knowledge that your fatherly love and care knows no bounds. Merciful father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen Adapted from the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca POST COMMUNION Almighty Father, whose Son our Saviour Jesus Christ is the light of the world: may your people, illumined by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen NOTICES EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY The Sunday evening service is Evening Prayer at 5.00pm. Readings Psalm 33 Numbers 19.15-end 1 Corinthians 7.17-24 SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS Church open every day 10.00am until dusk. Evening Prayer Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5.00pm via Zoom Morning Prayer Wednesdays at 8.00am in Church Sun 26 Jan 10.30am Parish Eucharist – Epiphany 3 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 02 Feb 10.30am All Age Eucharist – Candlemas 5.00pm Eucharist Sun 09 Feb 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 4th Sunday before Lent 5.00pm Evening Prayer Sun 16 Feb 10.30am Parish Eucharist – 3rd Sunday before Lent 3.00pm Wild Worship 5.00pm Evening Prayer PLEASE PRAY FOR The Suffering: Sam, Matt, Al, John C, Sharon, Vivienne, Stef, John F, Joanna, Jane P, and Tom B. Refugees, Prisoners, the Homeless and those who mourn. The Departed: Gillian Bacon, Richard Shaw, Jean Downing, all those recently departed this life, and those whose anniversaries fall at this time. Baptisms: Lacey-Mai Weddings: 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. 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 St Leonards Hill, Bridewell, Chestnut Drive, Gratton Drive, Fairlawn Park, Dower Park, Poolmans Road, Snowdon Close, Turnoak Park, and Brudenell. Anglican Cycle of Prayer: please pray for the Church in the Province of Alexandria. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Liverpool (England), Liwolo (South Sudan), Llandaff (Wales), Lodwar (Kenya), Lokoja (Nigeria), and Lomega (South Sudan).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe.SOCIAL CALENDAR Any ideas for our Social Calendar are welcome. Please let Revd Rosie know, or email the office.  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 CAN YOU HELP? Can you help us with sturdy carrier bags. We encourage clients to bring their own bags but still find we need more. If you are having a sort out this January and find you have excess bags please can we have them? 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 January 2024 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 |