A member of the Central Highlands Cluster Ministry 19 th October Twenty Fourth Sunday after Pentecost We acknowledge the Jaara Jaara people, of the Woi wurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung language groups, the custodians of this land where we gather. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and pray for reconciliation.
GATHERING IN GOD S NAME Sentence for the day God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other. 1 Thessalonians 5.9, 11 Gathering Hymn 188 Where Wide Sky The Lord be with you. And also with you 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 sovereign purpose none can make void: give us faith to be steadfast amid the tumults of this world, knowing that your kingdom shall come and your will be done, to your eternal glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. MINISTRY OF THE WORD A reading from the book of Judges chapter 4 verses 1-10 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. So the LORD sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years. At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand. Barak said to her, If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Then
Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Psalm 123 To you I lift up my eyes: you who are enthroned in the heavens. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master: or as the eyes of a maid toward the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lord our God: until he show us his mercy. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have had our fill of derision. Our souls overflow with the mockery of those at ease: and with the contempt of the proud. A reading from Paul s first letter to the Thessalonians chapter 5 verses 1 11 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the
breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. For the word of the Lord thanks be to God Gradual Hymn 138 Eternal Father Alleluia Alleluia Glory to God, who was, who is and who is to come Alleluia The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Matthew chapter 25 beginning at the 14 th verse Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents. His master said to him, Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents. His master said to him, Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of
your master. Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. But his master replied, You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For the Gospel of the Lord praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ The Sermon The affirmation of faith (page 123 of the prayer book) We are the body of Christ His Spirit is with us. The Prayers of the People The Greeting of Peace The peace of the Lord be always with you. And also with you. Offertory Hymn 526 Lord Jesus Christ *a collection to assist the mission of God in this parish will be taken up during this hymn
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.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 We say together Christ has died Christ is risen Christ will come again in songs of never ending praise Blessing and honour and glory and power are yours for ever and ever. Amen With our hearts set on the kingdom and our hands open to serve, we pray as Jesus taught us Our Father in heaven
The Sending out of God s people Almighty God, giver of all good things, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the precious body and blood of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We thank you for your love and care in assuring us of your gift of eternal life and uniting us with the blessed company of all faithful people. Therefore, everliving God, keep us steadfast in your holy fellowship. And now we offer ourselves, all that we have and are, to serve you faithfully in the world, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen. Final Hymn 201 King of Glory The Notices The Blessing and Dismissal The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. In the name of Christ.
***some thoughts from Rev. Mel What a huge day last Sunday was! It was a day of celebration, community, and worship that will be in my heart for a very long time. Bishop Andrew commented to me that it was a lovely high note for his last visit with us, and his final few weeks as our Bishop. It was wonderful that our two centres came together so beautifully to celebrate together, the work of several years, to ensure that we remain a two centre parish. The last six months have been interesting (to say the least), and community building I think, as we have had to rally together to move chairs and furniture around, experimenting with different ways of setting up for worship, even having a different view of the outside as we gathered. Interesting too for the St George s side of the parish, as they have supported St Mary s in both prayer and in action. We have also had to care for each other through conversations where we decided on changes. Change, as we know, is often difficult, and especially when it involves a place that is so special to so many. We do have a slightly different set up in St Mary s now, and it will take a little bit of getting used to for some people. Hang in there though! The parish voted in the majority to make these changes and we did that in prayer and in the knowledge that some of those changes were inevitable (such as the selling of our old pews). As we worship together in the next few months we will be able to work through any hic ups and smooth out any creases, and we will do this as we have faced the last six months together and in prayer. Do come and see me if you have real concerns. One thing did occur to me as I was reflecting on the celebrations of last Sunday, and that was that I had missed one very vital thank you. So, if you will allow me, I d like to say a massive thankyou to our warden Derek Shepherd. As a new priest, I had limited knowledge of the processes that we had to go through in order to get our restoration work done he has guided (and lead) that, and listened to me worry about it all, with kindness and calm. You are a treasure Derek.
Now as we settle into the last two weeks before the church s new year we do so with our hearts sure that this vibrant parish has two sound buildings for worship that will be a presence in our communities for years to come. Mel ************************** Pew Bulletin Every Week Tuesday Conversations at the rectory from 7pm Christian Meditation at St Mary s from 5:30pm Parish Council Your Parish Council will meet on Wednesday night in Trentham at 7:30pm. Please pray for them as they gather to make decisions for the parish. Geomorphic Moods An exhibition of photography, paintings and prints by our own Robyn Leeder and colleagues, opens on December 2 nd at 2pm in the Norma Richardson Hall. The exhibition will run until the 10 th of December contact robynleedersart@gamil.com for more details. News from the Guilds St Mary s Guild: The final meeting for 2017 will be on November 22 nd from 10am. Karen Dunstall from MRSC will be with us to discuss fire safety. St George s Guild: The Cottage Garden and Flower Show is on November 25 from 1-5pm at the Trentham Neighbourhood Centre. If you have items to sell on the bric-a-brac table please let Anne know.
Parish Diary Dates: Date Event 25.11.17 Trentham flower show 3.12.17 Beginning of Advent 17.12.17 TCCC carols in Trentham 22.12.17 Carols at St Mary's Intercessions our prayers are asked for: John, Sam, Jim, Andrea, Alison, Ethan, Kirsten, Carole, Wendy, Judy, Jonathan, Jeanette, Susie, Trevor, Rudi, Trish, Sheila, Hugh, Tim, Joshua and family, Alan, Aldyth, Benjamin, Faye and Lynne. Bishop Andrew s Final Service Please pray for Bishop Andrew and Jan as they prepare for the service where Bishop Andrew will lay up his staff on December 2 nd. Please continue to pray for the Bishopric Electoral Board as they continue their work to find us a new Bishop. Birthdays! On Friday we celebrate Shane Sholtz and on Saturday Stephen Dye. God s blessings on you both for the year ahead. Years Mind and those who have died recently Please let us know if there is someone you would like to remember this week. Next week s readings Christ The King Ezekiel 34.11-16, 20-24 Ps 100 Ephesians 1.15-23 Matthew 25.31-46
PO Box 699, Woodend, VIC 3442 www.woodendanglican.org.au Priest: Rev d Melissa Clark 0411 722 718 Wardens: Derek 0417 252 222; John 5424 1127 Hon Priests: Rev d Charles Sherlock 0423 020 699 and Rev d Wendy Hudson 0419 570 740 www.facebook.com/woodendanglican/