| † St Andrews Proclaiming Christ in Clewer 30 March 2025 Lent 4 / Mothering Sunday |
 Welcome In the church calendar, today is Mothering Sunday, a refreshment day in the middle of Lent. A day to return to mother church, a day to reflect and give thanks to those who mother us. Women of a gentle persistent nature, the encouragers, the courageous, the listeners, the ones who ground us and remind us of who we are, as well as those who seem to get cross easily, but it is only because they love and want what’s best for us. The reading selection for today usually include the story of Moses, Hannah and Samuel and Mary and Jesus, but there are so many incredible women in the bible! The picture today is of Shiphrah (“splendid”) and Puah (“beautiful”), who were the two Hebrew midwives who covertly defied Pharoah and prevented the genocide of Israel’s baby boys born during their watch, including one very important baby boy: the prophet and Israelite leader, Moses. Their story is found in Exodus 1. Whilst you reflect on who has ‘mothered’ you in your life, here is a Litany for Mothers for your prayer time this week. A Litany for Mothers Eve our first mother – thank you for stepping out and being the first to understand the complexities of life. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth – thank you for your patience and courage in waiting for a miracle. May all people longing for children be strengthened by your stories and comforted in their pain. Hagar – thank you for your resolve in the face of exile. May all mothers who are forced to flee or are forgotten be given hope in you. Rebecca – thank you for your flexibility. Let us remember all mothers who have to raise their children in a different country or far from their relatives and who feel isolated. Rachel – you carried the burden of grief and wept for your children. Hold the hands of all those mothers who weep for their children – children who have gone missing, who have died or are lost to them in other ways. Jochebed – you used wisdom and insight to protect your children. Give to all mothers this wisdom and insight in the bringing up of their children, especially in vulnerable times. Naomi and Ruth – you showed that love can conquer all trials. Help all mothers to love constantly when life seems impossible and despair weighs hard upon their souls. Mary – the new Eve whose ‘yes’ to God changed our world forever. Thank you for sheltering the Holy One all those years ago, for your faithful love and tender care of God’s most precious Son. Blessings for your week Revd Rosie COLLECT God of compassion, whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary, shared the life of a home in Nazareth, and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself: strengthen us in our daily living that in joy and in sorrow we may know the power of your presence to bind together and to heal; 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 Exodus 2.1-10 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’ This is the word of the Lord Thanks be to God Gospel Reading John 19.25b-27 Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Glory to you, O Lord. 25And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ. INTERCESSIONS Holy God, during Lent we come to you aware that we are not prepared for the awesome Easter message of Christ’s suffering and death and his glorious victory of resurrection. So help us as we offer our intercession and thanksgiving to truly understand the tremendous gift of Easter. Today on Mothering Sunday we give thanks for our Church and earthly families, and especially pray for our Mother churches where we first got to know you and our saviour Jesus Christ. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Loving God, we come before you today aware of how you call us to be like you. We remember that you made us in your own image and that you gave to us mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, people to love, enjoy and work for and people to pray for and we are thankful . As we think about our family, help us to remember our own sinfulness before you and how you forgive it and so make us, within our families and the wider world, to be messengers of your reconciling love. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Merciful God, we pray for those who are in need of a healing touch today; for children who are hungry ; for families threatened by war or insurrection; for the sister who is very ill; for the father who soon will be dwelling in your kingdom; for the prodigal who left home in haste leaving behind uncertain parents; for the mother who is living in a house of fear especially as war continues in Ukraine and Gaza. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Everlasting God, we remember before you those who brought us into this world, raised and cherished us and made us what we are today especially those who we love but see no longer and we ask that you be close to all those who are grieving today over the loss of a loved one. Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer Father God, our heart-felt prayer today is but this: bless our family, and help us be a blessing to it. Touch all those who are mothers to us or to others. Anoint with your healing goodness our brothers and our sisters, smile upon our children and help them to grow. 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 Loving God, as a mother feeds her children at the breast you feed us in this sacrament with the food and drink of eternal life: help us who have tasted your goodness to grow in grace within the household of faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Listen to Canon Brian’s Sermon from last Sunday LISTEN NOTICES NO EVENING SERVICE ON SUNDAY This Sunday is the fifth of the month, so there is no evening service 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 (including during Holy Week) 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, followed by Bake Off 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 HOLY WEEK Mon 14 Apr 7.30pm Eucharist, followed by Compline Tue 15 Apr 7.30pm Eucharist, followed by Compline Wed 16 Apr 8.00am Morning Prayer 12.00 Midday Eucharist followed by Lent Lunch 7.30pm Eucharist, followed by Compline Thu 17 Apr 7.30pm Liturgy of the Upper Room (including foot washing) Fri 18 Apr Good Friday 9.30am Wild Worship, Family Activities 10.30am CTW Walk of Witness 1.00pm Hour of Silence 2.00pm Liturgy of the Cross 3.00-5.00pm Veneration of the Cross church open for silent prayer Sun 20 Apr Easter Day 6.00am Dawn Liturgy 7.00am River Baptisms, followed by breakfast in the Lodge 10.30am Eucharist, with renewal of Baptism vows, followed by Easter Egg Hunt No Evening Service 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 Congo. Please pray also for the Churches in these Dioceses: Maryland (USA), Masasi (Tanzania), Maseno East, Maseno North, Maseno South, and Maseno West (Kenya).Please continue to pray for and support your neighbours and families in any way you can whilst keeping yourself safe. EVENTS 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. Andrew Morley’s funeral is on Fri 11 Apr at 1200 Concert of reflective music given by Voci Chamber Choir and visiting Choir Subito Koral, Tuesday 15 April, 7.30pm at St Edward’s Catholic Church, Alma Road SL4 3HJ. Concert is free with a retiring collection for Windsor Foodshare. See poster below. The next Wild Worship will be held on Good Friday 18th April The Easter Flyer is available, with all the details of the services from 30th March Mothering Sunday to Easter day. See below.   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.     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 Bags 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 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.comFacebookWebsite |