A very warm welcome to our services today. Please join us for refreshments after the 1030 service.

Transcription

1 with Junior Church and Upper Room Group A very warm welcome to our services today. Please join us for refreshments after the 1030 service. 1. Forty days and forty nights thou wast fasting in the wild; forty days and forty nights tempted, and yet undefiled: 2. Sunbeams scorching all the day; Chilly dew-drops nightly shed; Prowling beasts about thy way; Stones thy pillows, earth thy bed. 3. Shall not we thy sorrows share, and from earthly joys abstain, fasting with unceasing prayer, glad with thee to suffer pain? 4. And if Satan, vexing sore, Flesh or spirit should assail, thou, his vanquisher before, grant we may not faint nor fail. 5. So shall we have peace divine; holier gladness ours shall be; round us too shall angels shine, such as ministered to thee. 6. Keep, O keep us, Saviour dear, ever constant by thy side; that with thee we may appear at the eternal Eastertide. [G. H. Smyttan, , & Francis Pott, ] Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; 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.. A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy Moses spoke to the people, saying: When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,

2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us. When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the Lord your God: A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me. You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house. For the word of the Lord. A reading from the Letter to the Romans What does scripture say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For the word of the Lord. 1 Hear me, O Lord, in my distress, give ear to my despairing plea! In faithfulness, in righteousness, O, hear my prayer and answer me. 2 I claim no favour as of right; you are the God I serve and trust, yet judge me not: for in your sight no living soul is counted just.

3 3 Lord, answer me without delay! I perish if you hide your face; in you I trust: let this new day bring word of your unfailing grace. 4 From my pursuers save me still: in you my refuge I have found; teach me, O God, to do your will, and lead my feet on level ground. 5 For your name's sake, Lord, hear my plea: your servant's stricken life preserve! From all oppression set me free to live and love the God I serve. [David G. Preston, b. 1939] Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory. The Lord is a great God, O that today you would listen to his voice. Harden not your hearts. Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread. Jesus answered him, It is written, One does not live by bread alone. Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. Jesus answered him, It is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him. Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you, and On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, It is said, Do not put the Lord your God to the test. When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. This is the Gospel of the Lord. 1 Safe in the shadow of the Lord, beneath his hand and power, my fortress and my tower. 2 My hope is set on God alone though Satan spreads his snare; to keep me in his care.

4 3 From fears and phantoms of the night, from foes about my way, by darkness as by day. 4 His holy angels keep my feet secure from every stone; and unafraid go on. 5 Strong in the everlasting name, and in my Father's care, I trust in him who hears and answers prayer. 6 Safe in the shadow of the Lord, possessed by love divine, and meet his love with mine. Lord For Thy Tender Mercy s Sake - [Timothy Dudley-Smith, b. 1926] 1. Before I take the body of my Lord, before I share his life in bread and wine, I recognise the sorry things within: these I lay down. 3. The narrowness of vision and of mind, the need for other folk to serve my will, and every word and silence meant to hurt: these I lay down. 2. The words of hope I often failed to give, 4. Of those around in whom I meet my Lord, the prayers of kindness buried by my pride, I ask their pardon and I grant them mine The signs of care I argued out of sight: that every contradiction of Christ s peace these I lay down. might be laid down 5. Lord Jesus Christ, companion at this feast, I empty now my heart and stretch my hands and ask to meet you here in bread and wine which you lay down. [John L Bell (b & Graham Maule, 1958] Lord God, you have renewed us with the living bread from heaven; by it you nourish our faith, increase our hope, and strengthen our love: teach us always to hunger for him who is the true and living bread, and enable us to live by every word that proceeds from out of your mouth; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

5 From ashes to the living font your Church must journey, Lord, baptised in grace, in grace renewed by your most holy word. Through fasting, prayer, and charity your voice speaks deep within, returning us to ways of truth and turning us from sin. From desert to the mountaintop in Christ our way we see, so, tempered by temptation s might, we might transfigured be. For thirsting hearts let waters flow, our fainting souls revive; and at the well your waters give our everlasting life. From ashes to the living font your Church must journey still, through cross and tomb to Easter joy, in Spirit-fire fulfilled. [Alan J. Hommerding, b. 1956] Please take this service sheet and pew bulletin home with you & please leave the service booklet when you leave. Thank you.

6 Worship God Welcome All Reach out to the world Mr Bill Newman ( ) Mrs Suzanne Clarke ( ) Alveston House, 11, Broad Street, Pershore, WR10 1BB ( ) All those who are celebrating their wedding within the Pershore Benefice, those who are being baptised, those who are in need and those who have recently died. We also pray for those whose anniversary of death occurs today or in the coming week. to all the providers & helpers of both pancakes & soup, this week. Everyone has helped make a very successful start to Lent & the Lent Project; Workplace Chaplaincy & enjoyed good fellowship with Churches Together in Pershore. Thank you. (Annual Parochial Church Meeting). Please note that the APCM for 2019 will be held in St Andrew s Centre on Thursday 11th April, at Please reports if possible to office@pershoreabbey.org.uk or give a hard copy to the office as soon as possible. Thank you.

7 This is the basic list in every parish of all those entitled to vote on elections within the Church of England. Those entitled to have their names on this roll have to be 16 years of age or more and they must reside in the relevant parish or be regular worshippers in church whose roll they wish to join. The roll is completely renewed every six years, at which point all members have to re-apply for membership or else their names will be deleted. By this means, the continuing validity of the roll is maintained. The rules of the Church of England require the Electoral Roll to be redrawn every six years -! If you would like to be included on the new Electoral Roll you will need to complete another form to be included. Application forms are available at the back of the Abbey this morning. They should be returned to the Abbey & Benefice Office, Alveston House, 11 Broad Street, Pershore WR10 1BB If you wish to leave your completed form this morning, please pass it to Bill Newman, Suzanne Clarke or Claire. This is a big task to complete in time for the Abbey APCM and therefore it would be appreciated if you could let us have the returned forms as soon as possible but Thank you for your help. A huge thank you to those who have offered to help with some of the jobs that Robin Hancox has done over the years. There is always room for more offers of help, so please talk to Bill Newman or me if you d like to be involved. On March 11th in the Abbey, members of Pershore Abbey Mothers Union will be taking part in the Wave of Prayer. We shall be praying for the work of the Mothers Union in this diocese and our link diocese. South Africa: Port Elizabeth, Uganda: West Ankole, Nigeria: Nomadic mission, Episcopal Church of the Philippines. Members around the world will be praying for us and our links. Please look at the Mothers Union notice board at the back of the Abbey for information on our links. Revd Alma Organ - Branch Leader. You will find this in the St John Chapel next to the candle stand. A generous legacy has enabled this bespoke piece of furniture to be made which compliments this prayerful area. Please join with our many visitors in using this board for your own prayers. Please remember you can see all the latest news and information on our website Saturday 16th March 19:00 for 19:30 at Birlingham Village Hall. Enquiries please contact Steve Arbery. Calling all fairytale characters! Carnival time will soon be upon us all once again, therefore if you are free on May 27th (May Bank Holiday) and would like to join a walking float made up from the Abbey Congregation for a lot of laughs, please contact either Beth or Eloise Seale or the Abbey Office. They have a great idea for our float. The Vicar and Churchwardens will of course be taking part!

8 Thank you for your continued support. It is greatly appreciated. This month we would like UHT milk, fruit juice(long life), tinned cold meat, tomato ketchup, breakfast cereal and sugar. Look out for the free Christian Aid booklets available in the Abbey. Through brief, daily reflections you can learn about the courageous fisherfolk who face typhoons and environmental damage. Christian Aid is providing funding, which is enabling them to use solar powered lighting to monitor illegal, destructive fishing, replant mangrove forests, learn new skills and much more. Their struggle to live and work in an environmentally friendly way and cope with increasingly adverse weather, is humbling. They invite us to walk with them this Lent. For the sum of 108 from the recent Fish and Chip Supper and Quiz. An enjoyable evening which resulted in a small surplus to help the maintenance and development of St Andrew's. The Trustees seek to raise funds - by grants, fundraising and donations - to aid the PCC look after our wonderful building. It is the PCC who manage the building on a day-to-day basis. They have been very busy lately and last week saw 19 different functions - from small concerts to PCC meetings - Food Bank to Children's Musical Groups - Bell Ringers to Guitar and Art Classes. For the grants from Severn Waste Environmental Fund of 6000 and for All Churches Trust of 1100 towards the costs of replacing some of the gutters and repairing the roof which has been completed recently. We say a special thank you to SWEF for their support which has come from the Landfill Communities Fund - however the fund is closing. The PCC has several repairs still to carry out - including new doors, disabled exits and more gutters. The Trustees will be continuing to seek grants to enable these works to be completed. There are still a few copies of the Church of England Pilgrim Journey new title for Easter, 40 days of Reflections on The Lord s Prayer available in the Abbey. They cost 2.95 each, please enquire in the Abbey or contact the office on For many years Nigel Portman, from the Baptist Church, has taken the cross from the Baptist Church up to Woollas Hall in preparation for the service on top of Bredon Hill on Good Friday, but is now unable to do so. If you have the right sort of car that could transport the cross up to Woollas Hall could you please let me know? It is hoped that the person bringing the cross could share the carrying of the cross up the hill with others! Thank you.

9 On the Mondays during Lent there will be the opportunity to share in the quiet and peace of Compline with a short reflection. As during Advent, this service will start at 19:00 and will last no longer than half an hour. Services start on 11th March in the Apse. Lenten Lunches (soup & a roll) are being held every Thursday in Lent, 12:00-13:30 at St Andrew s Centre. We need volunteers to help and make soup on 4th April. This year our soup makers will be required to list ALL the ingredients used (including all additives) in their soup for allergy sufferers. If you can help please sign up on the form at the back of the Abbey or contact Jane Knox. If you wish to donate an offering towards the cost of the lilies to decorate the Abbey this Easter please put your gift in a marked envelope which will be available in the Abbey. If your donation is in memory of a loved one and you would like that person s name displayed in the Abbey please let us have the name to be remembered and we will include it on the list to be framed and on show in the Abbey over the Easter period. Thank you. Our Easter Service cards will be available from next week, giving full details of all our services across the Pershore Benefice. Please remember to collect one from the back of the Abbey from next Sunday onwards.

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11 14:30 Worcester Philharmonic Spring Concert 19:30 The Philomusica Chorus: Springtime in Paris 19:00 Mayor s Charity Concert featuring The Daleian Singers 19:00 Concert in aid of Worcestershire Carers 14:30 Worcester Philharmonic Summer Concert 19:30 Birmingham Bach Choir For full concert details and ticket information please visit our website at or contact the event organiser The final moments, the now far-away Doman joined by a handful of orchestral strings, were magical, and in themselves would have justified this first-ever visit to this magical venue.

12 08:00 Eucharist 10:30 Sung Eucharist with Junior Church & Upper Room Group 1700 CTIP Wholeness and Healing at St Andrew s Centre 09:15 Musical Explorers (St A) 10:30 Bells (St A) 11:00 Piano practice -AN (A) 14:30 Mothers' Union Wave of Prayer (A) 18:30 Weight Watchers (St A) 19:00 Compline (A) 19:30 Bells (St A) 09:15 Weight Watchers (St A) 09:30 Vicar & Wardens' Meeting (St A U) 11:00 Eucharist (Roland Rutter Court) 12:00 CTIP Lent Lunch (St A) 13:15 Art Club with Becca (St A Upper) 13:30 CTIP Lent Group Broken (St A) 19:00 Guitar Class (St A) 11:00 CTIP Food Bank (St A) 13:30 Foodbank Steering Group (St A) 19:00 Abbey PCC Meeting (St A Upper) 19:30 CTIP Lent Group 'Six of the Best Loved Hymns' (Baptist Church) 19:30 CTIP Lent Group Broken (A) 10:00 Birlingham PCC 20:00 Vale Harmony (St A) 09:30 Babies and Toddlers (St A) 11:00 Eucharist (A) 13:00 CTIP Food Bank (St A) 14:30 Organ Practice MP (A) 18:00 Choir Practice (A) 19:30 Friday Quarter Peal (St A) 09:30 St Andrew's Trustees (St A Upper) 10:00 Parish Coffee Morning (St A) 19:00 March Hair Charity Quiz (Birlingham Village Hall) 08:00 Eucharist (A) 10:30 Sung Eucharist with Laying on of Hands (A) 17:30 Youth Group (St A) c/o Suzanne Clarke