Sunday 11th December - Advent 3
Quick Links: Collect & Readings | This Sunday | New Website | Sustainable Christmas | Prayer Breakfast | Care Bus Outing | Oxford Waits | Pick-a-Flick | Wild Church | Bereavement Course | Diary | Readings
We continue to prepare
our lives for Jesus’ coming again...
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The Collect
The prayer for the week
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Readings for this Sunday: Isaiah 35: 1-10, Ps. 146: 4-10 and Matt. 11: 2-11.
This Sunday:
8:00am BCP Holy Communion in the Morrell Room
9:30am Holy Communion at St Thomas’
11:15am Christingle service in the Morrell Room
11:15am BCP Holy Communion at St Andrew’s
5:00pm Discoverers
Website & Office Email Address
In addition to the new website there is now a new e-mail address if you need to contact Jill, the Benefice administrator, directly. This is
Check out our advent calendar. If you navigate with a web browser to the new website home page:
then scroll down, you’ll find a link to the advent calendar.
Plan for a more Sustainable Christmas
What costly steps will you take to enable other life to flourish and survive?
Pray for the COP15 on Biodiversity as an individual and with your church community.
COP15 on Biodiversity is this year’s other big international environmental summit and it is being held in Canada now between 7th and 19th December.
The four key discussion areas on the agenda are shared in
A Rocha's COP15 blog. The following prayer is taken from their prayer diary:
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Lord, as COP15 begins in Montreal, may your hand be over the delegates and world leaders. Give them strength and lead them by your wisdom to respond in a way which is guided by science and responds appropriately to the scale of the biodiversity crisis. We pray for the state of nature, we grieve for the habitats and species we have already lost and we pray for agreements which protect and restore our precious natural habitats and species. Please help us Lord, to have joined up thinking on biodiversity and climate change. |
Prayer Breakfast
Prayer changes things and us. Join us to pray for the life and witness of our church.
This
Saturday,10th December, 8.30-9.30am starting at 8.15am with coffee and croissants.
Care Bus Outing to Savages, Blewbury
A minibus full of church members and residents of Coombe House successfully ventured out to the tea tent and fruit and veg filled aisles and bought Christmas presents. Thank you to John Rogers and Richard the driver for making this possible.
Early Music Christmas Candlelit Evening with Oxford Waits
Wednesday 14th December, 7pm at St Andrew’s Church
The evening will start with ringing of St Andrew’s four early bells taking us back in time to the 17th century at 6.45 pm. The performance will start at 7 pm. Mince pies and wine with be served during the interval for a donation.
The Oxford Waits take their name from a real-life band of city musicians, known as 'Waits,' who flourished in Oxford during the 17th century. Performers appear in period costume, and concerts are enlivened by street ballads, dance tunes, airs and rounds as well as readings from diarists and poets. Superb singing voices are matched by specialist skills in an array of period instruments.
Any profit will be donated to a local charity. Tickets are £10 from the South Stoke Village Shop or Inspirations in Goring. Please let Lou Verrill know if you need a ticket and can’t get to the Shop or Inspirations.
Pick-a-Flick, Thursday 15th December, 10:30am
Pick-a-Flick takes place next week with the film “Billy Elliot”. As usual, there will be coffee before the film and a light lunch afterwards and we ask for a contribution of £5 towards this.
Pre-booking is required so please contact
Jenny Boyd or
Sarah Fraser to book in and to ask for transport if you require it.
Christmas Wild Church
18th December, 3pm in the Canterbury Room
Football finals and Christmas crafts will be the arena for faith conversations next Sunday afternoon. Contact Jo for details.
Bereavement Course
Please think who you could invite to join this very supportive group, a 4 week small group course, on Sunday afternoons beginning in
January 2023 in the Canterbury Room at St Thomas’ Church.
We are so fortunate to be able to offer this, but need people committed and signed up in time for it to be prepared. In order to register or for more information please contact the church office (
vicarofgsandss@yahoo.com or 01491 875651).
Diary for the coming week
Wednesday 14th December
10:30am Little Lights at St Mary’s
10:30am South Stoke coffee morning in St Andrew’s
10:30am BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
The readings will be Isa. 45. 6b-8, 18, 21b-end, Ps. 85. 7-end and Luke 7, 18b-23.
1:45pm Streatley Primary School Christmas service at St Mary’s
7:00pm Oxford Waits Evening in St Andrew’s
Thursday 15th December
10:30am Pick-a-flick in the Canterbury Room
2:30pm Funeral at St Andrew’s
7:00pm Goring Primary School Carol service at St Thomas’
Saturday 17th December
4.00pm Traditional Carol service at St Thomas’
Sunday 18th December
8:00am BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
9:30am Good News service at St Thomas’
11:15am Traditional Carol service at St Mary’s
11:15am Good News service with Carols at St Andrew’s
3:00pm Wild Church Christmas in the Canterbury Room
n.b. The monthly Calendar for December is now available.
Daily readings for the coming week
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Monday am: |
Ps 40 |
Isa. 49. 14-25 |
1 Thess. 5. 1-11 |
pm: Ps 26 |
Matt. 16. 13-end |
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Tuesday am: |
Ps 70 |
Isa. ch. 50 |
1 Thess. 5. 12-end |
pm: Ps 50 |
Matt. 17. 1-13 |
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Wednesday am: |
Ps 75 |
Isa. 51. 1-8 |
2 Thess. ch. 1 |
pm: Ps 82 |
Matt. 17. 14-21 |
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Thursday am: |
Ps 76 |
Isa. 51. 9-16 |
2 Thess. ch. 2 |
pm: Ps 44 |
Matt. 17. 22-end |
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Friday am: |
Ps 98 |
Isa. 51. 17-end |
2 Thess. ch. 3 |
pm: Ps 49 |
Matt. 18. 1-20 |
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Saturday am: |
Ps 71 |
Isa. 52. 1-12 |
Jude |
pm: Ps 43 |
Matt. 18. 21-end |