Banner Image:   pen-g104861c15 1920

BeneficeLogoWithText
Sunday 15th December                                                                     Advent 3

Welcome to our weekly newsletter
4candles

Christmas is good news all year round but in Advent we explore how it might be so when we wait for Jesus’ coming again.
John the Baptist doesn’t mince words in his teaching! But the crowds came to him. Dare we listen and let it be Good News for us?

The Collect, the prayer for the week
  God for whom we watch and wait,
  you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
  give us courage to speak the truth,
  to hunger for justice,
  and to suffer for the cause of right,
  with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Readings for this Sunday: Zephaniah 3: 14-20, Canticle: Isaiah 12: 2-end and Luke 3: 7-18.

This Sunday:
8:00am        BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
9:30am        Good News service at St Thomas’
11:15am      BCP Holy Communion at St Mary’s
11:15am      Good News service at St Andrew’s
Prayer Breakfast, this Saturday, 14th December, 8:15am
CoffeeAndCroissant

Please come and pray for the life of our parishes: our children & families work, our Christmas services and plans for 2025.
This will take place in the Canterbury Room at St Thomas’. Coffee and croissants from 8:15am, followed by

prayer for the life of our churches. Finished by 9.30am. Please do join us.
Advent music
Carol Singing at Cleeve Lodge
St Thomas' Choir will be singing carols at Cleeve Lodge from 11.15am for about 30 minutes this Sunday, 15th December. If anyone would like to join us, please talk to Pauline or Elizabeth.
PAF Dec 24
Pick-a-Flick, Thursday 19th December, 10:30am
This month Pick-a-Flick will be screening the film “Mrs Doubtfire”. 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 Sarah via the church office on 875651 to book in and to ask for transport if you require it. 
Church Christmas Cards….    Delivery HELP please :)
Our villages’ Christmas cards from all the churches with details of the Christmas services need to be delivered to every house in the benefice, please.
Goring’s cards are in folders sorted by streets in St Thomas’ for delivery…. Please pick up a folder (or more!) and enjoy a walk around the village delivering these. Streatley and South Stoke volunteers are on their way.
Thank you to those who have already volunteered to do this.
Please pray for each home to receive and read them and be blessed. 
Heal the Gap colour
Heal the Gap Bereavement Café
Our Bereavement Café is a new initiative that is following on from our Bereavement Course. Grief is a natural response to a loss, and it affects everyone differently. By being able to offer a comfortable environment to discuss and share your experience of
grief with others without fear of judgement and scrutiny, regardless of how long ago your loss occurred, we felt this was a very important part of our community to be able to offer this to anyone within our benefice.
From January onwards, we will be offering a monthly meet up in the Canterbury Room for some peer-to-peer support, with the opportunity of meeting others from our villages, who are going through similar situations.  This can also offer some friendship, advice and hope.   We also will be offering tea, coffee and refreshments.  
The aims of this group, is to demystify the topic of grief and remove its status as a taboo subject and to equip everyone with the self-assurance necessary to engage in a meaningful conversation with those grappling with loss, focusing primarily on active listening.  These sessions will be managed by trained group bereavement facilitators.  The dates and times are:
  Sunday 19th January
  Sunday 16th February
  Sunday 16th March
  Sunday 13th April
  Sunday 18th May
  Sunday 15th June
These sessions are from 3pm - 4pm.  More dates will be given later in the New Year for July onwards. We look forward to seeing you there.                             Melissa 
Start your day listening to God and praying together. Why not join in one day? We listen to the Bible and pray for our world and church members in turn.
Monday: 8.30am Goring,     Tuesday and Thursday: 8.30am Streatley.
Friday: 9am Goring.

This week we are asked to pray 

  • For our preparations and celebrations to be open to God’s wonderful love and way.
  • For those working long hours away from home at this time.
  • For our Bereavement café as invitations are shared.
  • For us to be open to God’s judgement and mercy, rather than our own self-righteousness.
  • For all in prison, inmates and staff.
  • For fragile political systems that God’s way may be found through them.
  • For those with power and those in fear in Syria, for stability and peace.
Diary for the week
Tuesday 17th December
7:00pm        Goring Primary School carol service


Wednesday 18th December
10:30am      BCP Holy Communion at St Thomas’
The readings will be Jer. 23. 5-8, Ps 72. 1-2, 12-13, 18-end & Matt. 1. 18-24.


Thursday 19th December
10:30am      Pick-a-Flick in the Canterbury Room

Sunday 22nd December
8:00am        BCP Holy Communion at St Mary’s
9:30am        Holy Communion at St Thomas’
11:15am      Traditional Carol service at St Mary’s
11:15am      Holy Communion with carols at St Andrew’s
4:00pm        Traditional Carol service at St Thomas'

Prayers for the week
Thank you to Sally for this week’s prayers which are based on Glimpses of Glory by David Adam.

Good and gracious God, grant us a glimpse of your glory,
that we may rejoice in your presence and abide in your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Loving Lord, help us to know that we dwell in you and you are in us.
It is you, Lord, that seek out the straying and the lost:
you desire to deliver all who are in trouble,
you set out to rescue all who are oppressed,
you come to us now and seek to bring us home.
We rejoice in your presence and your almighty power.
May your church share in your healing and saving power.
We pray for the church working in areas of violence and rejection
and all the people suffering due to all the Wars throughout the World,
for all Christians who are persecuted for their faith.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
You are our refuge and our strength.

We pray for areas of our world where people are devalued and discarded:
for all who are outcasts and all who suffer from ethnic violence and prejudice.
We pray that the rich and those in authority may bring relief and hope to the poor.
We pray for all who are involved in tax-collecting and in the use of our taxes,
for all who are in the armed forces, and for all who maintain peace and order.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
Lord you are our refuge and our strength.

Lord, we rejoice that you are with us in our homes.
Make us sensitive in our dealings with each other,
attentive to the needs and desires of our loved ones.
We pray for all homes where there is fear and abuse.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
You are our refuge and our strength.

Lord, we rejoice that you are with us in our homes.
Make us sensitive in our dealings with each other,
attentive to the needs and desires of our loved ones.
We pray for all homes where there is fear and abuse.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
You are our refuge and our strength.

Mighty God, you are our strength.
We pray for all who are frail and fearful, all who are weary and weak,
all who are in pain or suffering hurt.
We remember all who are captives to evil and vice.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
You are our refuge and our strength.

We rejoice with all who have left the troubles of this world
and now experience the glorious liberty of the children of God.
We pray for loves ones departed.
Lord, you are our deliverer.
You are our refuge and our strength.

Daily readings for the week beginning 16th December
Monday am: Ps 40 Isa. 49. 14-25 1 Thess. 5. 1-11 pm: Ps 26 Matt. 16. 13-end
Tuesday am: Ps 70 Isa. ch. 50 1 Thess. 5. 12-end pm: Ps 50 Matt. 17. 1-13
Wednesday am: Ps 75 Isa. 51. 1-8 2 Thess. ch. 1 pm: Ps 82 Matt. 17. 14-21
Thursday am: Ps 146 Isa. 51. 9-16 2 Thess. ch. 2 pm: Ps 57 Matt. 17. 22-end
Friday am: Ps 46 Isa. 51. 17-end 2 Thess. ch. 3 pm: Ps 4 Matt. 18. 1-20
Saturday am: Ps 121 Isa. 52. 1-12 Jude pm: Ps 84 Matt. 18. 21-end
Please send any notices or articles for the next news sheet by noon on Thursdays to vicarofgsandss@yahoo.com.
DioceseOfOxford
Copyright © 2024 The Benefice of Goring and Streatley with South Stoke, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The Benefice of Goring and Streatley with South Stoke
The Vicarage
Manor Road
Goring, Berkshire RG8 9DR
United Kingdom