Benefice of Goring and Streatley with South Stoke : Sunday 24th September

Sunday 24th September Trinity 16

Welcome to our weekly newsletter

This week sees the closing date for applicants for our Children and Families worker. As yet we have no applications.
Please can we all pray as this is all of our business.

The Collect, the prayer for the week
O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers
of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them;
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.

Readings for this Sunday: Phil. 1: 21-end, Ps. 145: 1-8 and Matt. 20: 1-16.

This Sunday:
8:00am      BCP Holy Communion at St Mary’s
9:30am      Holy Communion at St Thomas’
11:15am    Mattins at St Mary’s
11:15am    Holy Communion at St Andrew’s
5:00pm      Discoverers

A chance to learn and grow?
Digging Deeper - Exploring God together
We started this week. And had good meetings on honesty with God. Each session stands alone so why not sign up and come to the next one… Tuesday 3rd October, 10.30am for 10.45am-12 noon in the Canterbury Room.
Or the evening group next also on Tuesday 3rd October in the Vicarage, 7.30pm for 7.45-9pm.

For more information please ask Ben or Jo and sign up.
Session 2 will be on humility and intimacy with God in the Psalms, with Eugene Peterson the theologian and writer of “The Message”.

Jo’s future job
Jo Allen, our wonderful curate, has now been offered and accepted to become House for duty priest in the parishes of Long and Little Wittenham, Culham and Clifton Hampden in the Dorchester Team.
This is an exciting post where she will be in charge of the four churches with a priority of being in the community and leading mission, releasing her into her pioneering call.
She is likely to move sometime in the New Year.
She is continuing her 3 days a week with Rural Ministry, their South West England Director.
We give thanks and pray for her, her family and all involved in this.

A new face in the Benefice
My name is Clare and I am delighted to be worshipping with the Goring, Streatley and South Stoke congregations over the coming few months. I know the locality fairly well from being a close neighbour; I will be travelling in from Cholsey where I have lived for over 25 years.

I am an ordinand which means that I am training for ministry in the Church of England. I am in my final year of a part-time training at Ripon College, in Cuddesdon village, only a few miles away, near Wheatley. I will be here on placement for 1 month, where I will pop up fairly regularly, and then be here worshipping with you for 7 more months until June. I do not yet know where my curacy will be.
I have really appreciated the welcome I have received in attending services so far in the benefice and look forward very much to meeting some of you over the coming months.

St Andrew’s coffee morning
The monthly coffee morning with cakes will take place in St Andrew’s on Wednesday 27th September from 10:30am.
All welcome!

St Andrew’s Harvest Service and Supper
This year there will be a harvest supper in St Andrew’s on Saturday 30th September at 6:30pm. Tickets (available at the village shop) will cost £10 with the food including “South Stoke sausages”. There will also be a showing of historic village films.
There will then be an all age Harvest service on Sunday 1st October at 11:15am.

Come and Sing Harvest Festival Evensong
In addition to the all age Harvest service at 9:30am on 1st October in St Thomas’ we will be celebrating the Harvest Festival in song at the Evensong service at 4pm on 1st October. Music will include:
Greene - Thou Visitest the Earth
Smith - Responses
Stanford in Bb - Canticles
Rutter - For the Beauty of the Earth
There will be tea, coffee and cakes following the service.
We welcome singers to join us for this service. There will be a rehearsal at 2pm on the afternoon of the service and you would be welcome to join us at choir practice (6:45 - 7:30pm) on the two preceding Fridays.

Harvest at St Mary’s
There will be a Bring and Share Lunch in the Morrell Room on Sunday 8th October, following the all age Harvest Service at St. Mary's at 11:15am.
Please bring a plate of food along on the day (either sweet or savoury or both, if possible).
Most importantly, this will be an opportunity to invite family, friends, and non-regulars from the village to join us for our Harvest Service, and for fellowship afterwards.
Please let us know in advance as to what you are bringing along to help in planning; there will be a sign-up sheet at the back of the Church.
Thank you very much. John Rogers

Children and Families Worker
There is much to be done to reach out to and support, and a chance for this to be done well.
The advert is out. Please pray about this, spread the word and think about who to encourage to apply.

For further information, job description and application form
please visit www.thomandmary.org.uk
This part time, mainly school term-based job is an exciting, costly but we pray worthwhile, new venture. Do be in touch if you would like to know more.
Closing date: 29 September, interviews: 11 October

Review of the Organ Recital by Glynne Stackhouse
Glynne gave a wonderful organ recital last Sunday. He made the bold move of combining little known pieces by well-known composers with those by not so well-known composers, and what a musical treat this turned out to be. He began with an explanation of six of St Mary’s Organ’s types of organ pipes. I am hoping he is going to continue through the other seven at a future concert.

Glynne then played pieces by composers from the 17th century (Pachelbel’s Toccata in C ) up to the present day (Chuckerbutty’s Paean). These were all played with great accomplishment and skill and finished with an encore from 'The Boy Friend', arranged by Glynne, that included percussion.
My own favourite pieces were “Voluntary in D Minor” by John Stanley which was a sparklingly magical piece of music, Haydn’s delightful pieces for mechanical organ clock, which was an 18th century combination of a clock and small mechanized organ and whose inner workings must have been quite amazing to produce these complex tunes, and Chuckerbutty’s Paean which was a very uplifting and joyful piece.
We were then treated, as always, to tea and cakes in the Morrell Rooms from our amazing and ever-willing volunteers. Thank you to John Rogers for organizing the concert and tea and, of course, to Glynne Stackhouse for both performing and introducing the pieces. Stella

Daily Prayer continues its usual pattern. Why not join in one day? We listen to the Bible and pray for our world and church.
Monday: 8.30am Goring, Tuesday and Thursday: 8.30am Streatley.
Friday: 9am Goring.

This week we are asked to pray for

For the right person to apply for our children and families worker.
For honesty of the real problems and costs and opportunities in decisions leaders make.
For the people of Libya and Morocco and those offering help.
Harvest preparations.

Diary for next week

Wednesday 27th September
10:30am    Little Lights at St Mary’s
10:30am    Coffee morning at St Andrew’s
10:30am    BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
The readings will be Ezra 9. 5-9, Ps. 103. 1-6, & Luke 9. 1-6.

Saturday 30th September
2:00pm      Marriage of Oliver and Greer at St Mary’s
6:30pm      Harvest supper and historic village films at St Andrew’s

Sunday 1st October
8:00am      BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
9:30am      All age Harvest service at St Thomas’
11:15am    Holy Communion at St Mary’s
11:15am    All age Harvest service at St Andrew’s
4:00pm      Come and Sing Evensong at St Thomas’

Prayers for this week

Thank you to Clare for this week’s prayers.

In the presence of Jesus Christ and in fellowship all the hosts of Heaven, let us pray to our Holy God, the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of our world.

Holy God, we ask that you guide us day by day to be disciples of Jesus. Help us know that you always reach out to us in love; that the unique life to which each of us has been called is cherished by you.
We pray for leaders of the church across the world, for Archbishop Justin, and our local bishops Steven, of Oxford, and Gavin, of Dorchester. May all leaders be true to their calling as disciples and inspired by the Holy Spirit in their leadership.
We give thanks for the wisdom of people who have been part of our church community for years, and for the joy and hope offered by the very newest members, and especially our children and young people.
Lord in Your Mercy

Creator God hear our prayers for all parts of our world in which there is suffering.
Give us wisdom in tending and using the world’s resources. We pray for renewal of places affected by drought, and protection of lands, crops, animals and people who need water or food. We pray for the people in Morocco and Libya whose lives have been devastated by earthquake and storms.
We pray for Rishi Sunak, our government, and all governments across the world; for wisdom and integrity as they make crucial decisions which will affect lands and populations.
We pray for the King and give thanks for his steadfast loyalty.
Lord in your mercy

O God, sustainer of the world, we pray for peace wherever there is violence. May those who have been caught up in war know your peace in times of chaos and destruction.
We pray for all those situations of conflict which we hear about in our news, and for the many more which we do not hear about. We pray for those who are wounded, those who are grieving, for all for whom routine life has been torn apart.
Please heal and comfort those individuals who are targets of hatred, and those who have experienced sexual violence. May those who live in fear find courage to seek the help and protection they need.
We remember with sorrow that each one of us is capable of hatred and pray that we will never be the cause of harm to others.
Lord in your mercy

God the redeemer of the world, we pray for all those who need healing and comfort today.
We remember those from our own community and families.
We pray for our health service and for its doctors, nurses, and administrators, particularly at this time of industrial dispute. May our health care workers come to experience the wellbeing in their work settings which they so need to look after others well.
Lord in your mercy

Lord, we commend to your eternal love and keeping those who have died, and those who will die today.
And we pray for all who mourn.
Lord in your mercy.

Lord Jesus, unite our prayers with yours, that in your heart they may be carried into the heart of God.

And Merciful Father, Accept our prayers for the sake of your Son, our saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.

Daily readings for the week beginning 25th September

Monday am:	Ps 44	Ezek. 1. 1-14	Mark 12. 28-34	pm: Ps 47	Acts 19. 8-20
Tuesday am:	Ps 48	Ezek. 1. 11-end	Mark 12. 35-end	pm: Ps 50	Acts 19. 21-end
Wednesday am:	Ps 119. 57-80	Ezek. 2.3-3.11	Mark 13. 1-13	pm: Ps 59	Acts 20. 1-16
Thursday am:	Ps 57	Ezek. 3. 12-end	Mark 13. 14-23	pm: 62	Acts 20. 17-end
Friday am:	Ps 34	Dan 12. 1-4	Acts 12. 1-11	pm: Ps 138	Rev. ch. 5
Saturday am:	Ps 68	Ezek. ch. 9	Mark 13. 32-end	pm: Ps 66	Acts 21. 17-36

Please send any notices or articles for the next news sheet by noon on Thursdays to vicarofgsandss@yahoo.com.

The Benefice of Goring and Streatley with South Stoke

The Vicarage

Manor Road

Goring, Berkshire RG8 9DR

United Kingdom