A member of the Central Highlands Cluster Ministry St George s, Trentham 9.00am St Mary s, Woodend 11.00am

Transcription

1 A member of the Central Highlands Cluster Ministry St George s, Trentham 9.00am St Mary s, Woodend 11.00am 15 th January Second Sunday after Epiphany We acknowledge the Jaara Jaara people, the custodians of this land where we gather. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and pray for reconciliation.

2 GATHERING IN GOD S NAME Gathering Hymn 264 Hark! A herald voice The Lord be with you. And also with you Sentence for the day God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1.9 The Prayer of preparation (page 119 of the prayer book) Almighty God The Shema (page 120 of the prayer book) Hear, O Israel. The Confession and absolution (page 120 of the prayer book) Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, confident in God s forgiveness. Merciful God The Gloria (page 121 of the prayer book) Glory to God in the highest Let us pray our prayer for the week Almighty God, whose Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, is the light of the world: may your people, illumined by your word and sacraments, shine with the radiance of his glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

3 MINISTRY OF THE WORD A reading from the book of Isaiah chapter 49 verses 1-7 Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother s womb he named me. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. But I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the LORD, and my reward with my God. And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honoured in the sight of the LORD, and my God has become my strength he says, It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,

4 because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Psalm 40 I waited patiently for the Lord: and he inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up from the pit of roaring waters, out of the mire and clay: and set my feet upon a rock, and made firm my foothold. And he has put a new song in my mouth: even a song of thanksgiving to our God. Many shall see it and fear: and shall put their trust in the Lord. Blessed are those who have made the Lord their hope: who have not turned to the proud, or to those who wander in deceit. O Lord my God, great are the wonderful things which you have done, and your thoughts which are towards us: there is none to be compared with you; Were I to declare them and speak of them: they are more than I am able to express. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire: but my ears you have marked for obedience; Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required: then said I, Lo, I come. In the scroll of the book it is written of me, that I should do your will: O my God, I long to do it, your law delights my heart. I have declared your righteousness in the great congregation: I have not restrained my lips, O Lord, and that you know. I have not hidden your righteousness in my heart: I have spoken of your faithfulness and of your salvation.

5 I have not kept back your loving-kindness and your truth: from the great congregation. O Lord, do not withhold your mercy from me: let your loving-kindness and your truth ever preserve me. A reading from Paul s letter to the Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 9 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Gospel Hymn 557 Awake my soul Alleluia Alleluia The word of the Lord endures for ever. The word of the Lord is the good news announced to you. Alleluia The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John chapter 1 beginning at the 29 th verse Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ

6 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me. I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John testified, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God. The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, Look, here is the Lamb of God! The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, What are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying? He said to them, Come and see. They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas (which is translated Peter). For the Gospel of the Lord praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ The Sermon The affirmation of faith (page 123 of the prayer book) The Prayers of the People The Greeting of Peace We are the body of Christ His Spirit is with us. The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you.

7 Offertory Hymn 561 Who would true valour see *a collection to assist the mission of God in this parish will be taken up during this hymn we thank you for responding to God s generosity with your gift. Blessed are you..(we give thanks for the bread and wine) Blessed be God forever Blessed are you..(we give thanks for money and food offerings) Blessed be God forever THE GREAT THANKSGIVING Please turn to page 130.for ever praising you and singing Holy, holy, holy Lord God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the Highest Blessed is he who comes in the Lord s name Hosanna in the Highest Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

8 The Sending out of God s people Most loving God... you send us into the world you love. Give us grace to go thankfully and with courage in the power of your Spirit. Final Hymn 547 Be thou my vision The Blessing and Dismissal Amen Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ. The Notices ***some thoughts from Rev. Mel As I write this I am feeling a bit sniffly not because I have a cold but because I ve just watched President Obama s farewell speech and I found myself getting quite emotional. He is a wonderful speaker, and his true delight and honour in being President of the United Stated was evident. I recall watching his inauguration eight years ago and feeling inspired by him and his words, his manner and the lovely way in which he interacted with his wife and family. I felt those same things again today hearing him say goodbye, although this time, I have to admit to being not so optimistic about what is to come. The world, not just the USA, has a new leader, and he will need every prayer that we make for him. His lack of experience in public office will mean that his transition may not be easy for him, his family, or his country, and so we must pray for him. We must pray that he will indeed be a president for all Americans, that he will encourage policies of justice,

9 fairness and equality and that he will make good foreign policy decisions that allow the world to trade and talk in peace. The world has become much smaller as our technology has alloweed us to be in constant contact with people from countries all over the planet. We are indeed, all one people. Peace, Mel. Holy God, You raise up people up for public office and to lead; we pray for all those who take on roles of leadership, we pray that you will grant them wisdom. We pray that they will lead with compassion, just and peace, we pray that the least will be cared for, and those with the most will find generosity in their hearts. We make this prayer in the name of your Son, who taught us to see those who are small as well as those who are not. Amen. ************************** Pew Bulletin Every week! Conversations Tuesday evenings from 7pm in the rectory Meditation Group Wednesday evenings from 6pm in St Mary s Morning prayer schedule Monday: Woodend 9am Tuesday: Trentham 9am Wednesday: Woodend 9am Thursday: Kyneton 9am Garage clean out Thanks to everyone who helped out at yesterday s garage clean out.

10 St Mary s Guild We re restarting our 'Knit and Natter ' on Wednesday 18th January from 11am at the NRH. Bring your own lunch but tea and coffee will be supplied. Guild will be starting a new project, ie: sewing up 'Trauma Teddies'. We will also have a guest speaker Anne Dixon-Lyons, who will be speaking to us about church vestments and the fabrics and techniques used to make them. Rabbi Fred Morgan visit On February 5 th Rabbi Fred Morgan from Temple Beth Israel will come to speak to us during the 11am Mass at Woodend. He is a wonderful speaker and will offer a Jewish perspective to our scriptures that Christians often miss. There will be a morning prayer service at Trentham at 9am that morning. I encourage as many of you as possible to come along. Open House Ray and Rev. Mel welcome parishioners to their home for afternoon tea on February 12 at 2pm. Last year we had a great afternoon in the garden and I m hopeful that the weather this year will be just as kind. Please do write your name on the sheet if you re coming along for catering purposes. Parish Annual General Meeting Our AGM will be held in the Norma Richardson Hall on February 19 th straight after the 11am Mass. We are now seeking nominations for Parish Council members and Wardens. If you are interested please discuss with a current Parish Council member or Warden. The Parish Council for 2016 is Derek Shepherd (Warden), John McLaren (Warden), Anne Walker, Elizabeth McInnerney, Peter Fernon, Rosie Baker and Sylvia Matthews. This is an important role, but one that so please consider carefully and pray about how you can contribute to your church.

11 Intercessions our prayers are asked for: Penny, Keith, John, Sam, Jim, Andrea, Alison, Ethan, Kirsten, Claire, Barbara, Valrie, Carole, Wendy, Judy, Dustin, Jonathan, Susie, Lynne, Jeanette, Trevor, Helen, Rudi and Trish. Birthdays! Tomorrow we wish happy birthday to Alistair Hood and on Friday to our Maestro Neil Matthews Years Mind and those who have died recently We give thanks for the life of Beryl West and pray for Stephen as he mourns her On Friday we remember Dr Gweneth Wisewould Readings and Clergy for next week Rev. Mel will be looking after Trentham - Woodend Isaiah Ps Cor Matt *if you would like to add your name to reading roster please see Sylvia Matthews or Rosie Baker.

12 PO Box 699, Woodend, VIC Rector: Rev d. Ian Howarth / Assistant Curate: Rev d Melissa Clark Deacon: Rev d Neil Fitzgerald Hon. Assoc. Priest: Rev d Dr. Charles Sherlock Wardens: Derek ; John Friday is Rev Mel s day off. If you need a priest on Fridays please contact Rev. Ian.