St Thomas à Becket
Pews News
Priest-in-Charge: The Reverend Lucy Sullivan
Tel: 01243 941 551 Email: mthrlucy.pagham@gmail.com (Rest day: Friday)
Churchwarden: Mr Alex Brockhurst
Tel: 07792 544259.; Email: churchwarden@paghamchurch.org
Churchwarden: Mr Mike Wake
Tel: 07899 705632; Email: churchwarden@paghamchurch.org
Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Jan Brockhurst
Email: safeguarding@paghamchurch.org
Find us online: www.paghamchurch.org // @StThomasPagham
Registered charity number 1134842
SUNDAY 12th march 2023
third Sunday of LENT
Sunday 12th 08:00 Holy Communion (St Richard’s)
LENT 3 09:30 Parish Eucharist
17:30 Stations of the Cross (Pagham Church)
Monday 13th 09:00 Morning Prayer (Church)
Tuesday 14th 19:00 Tuesday@7 Eucharist
17:30 Evening Prayer (Zoom)
Wednesday 15th 12:00- 14:00 Pagham Luncheon Club
(St Ninian’s Church)
17:30 Evening Prayer (Zoom)
19:30 Full PCC Meeting (St Andrew’s Chapel)
Thursday 16th 09:00 Morning Prayer (Church)
10:00 Holy Communion
12:00- 14:00 Christian Aid Lent Lunch
(Pagham Parish Church Centre, Nyetimber Lane)
Friday 17th No public services today
St Patrick
Saturday 18th 10:00 Lent Workshop (Mosse Hall Committee Rm)
Sunday 19th 08:00 Holy Communion (St Richard’s Church)
MOTHERING 09:30 Parish Eucharist
SUNDAY (followed by Simnel Cake and Coffee)
Hymns
Entrance: 572 Praise to the holiest in the height (omit vs 4)
Gradual: 69 Be Thou my guardian and my guide
Offertory: 144 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind (omit vs 3)
Final: 379 Lead us heavenly Father lead us
The Collection plate– If you would like to make an offering, please use the contactless Payaz machine or the collection plate, both can be found by the door. Thank you for your generosity.
The Collect (Opening Prayer) for the Third Sunday of Lent:
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; 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. Amen.
Old Testament reading: Exodus 17: 1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarrelled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’
Psalm 95 the response to the psalm is “O that today you would hearken to his voice! Harden not your hearts.”
New Testament reading: Romans 5: 1- 11
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Gospel reading: John 4: 5- 42
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Surely no one has brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’ Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’
Prayers of Intercession
The sick and those who care for them: Rosie Sims, Barbara Crew, Karen Cox, Jim Fowler, Sheila King, Dawn Spurway Pearson, Nicola Simpson, Betty Smith, Mike Hatzfeld, Andrew Naylor, Colin May, Tyler Rankin, Max Davey, Leslie Francis, Dickie Roots, Elizabeth, Pam Browning.
Recently departed: David Lewis-Bowen, Terry Haskell.
Anniversary of death: Stanley Holder, Harry Taylor (12th); Derek Luke, George Wise (15th); Philip Bateman (16th); William Wadlow, Thomas Hender (17th); Christopher Rathbone, Terence McCarthy (18th).
We pray for peace and especially for and with the people of Ukraine. We pray for all those caught up in conflict, and for those seeking safety and refuge on these shores.
For urgent prayer, contact Gillian Purvis (267597) or Pat Rush (262561) to start the Prayer Chain.
Post Communion Prayer Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next week’s readings: Mothering Sunday of Lent
Exodus 2: 1- 10; Psalm 127: 1- 4; 2 Corinthians 1: 3- 7; John 19: 25b- 27.
Christian Aid Lent Lunches At Pagham Parish Church Centre, Nyetimber Lane, on the Thursdays in Lent 12:00- 14:00 (March 16th, 23rd, 30th). Warming soup lunch with bread roll, teas and coffees and a warm welcome! Bring a friend. Pay what you feel… this means you might only feel able to pay £1… or you might feel able to pay £10. Knowing that you can enjoy a warm meal and company, or that you are enabling someone else to enjoy these in the difficult financial times some are facing at the moment, and adding to our offering to Christian Aid.
Lent Workshops will be on offer for the following church activities during Lent: Reading of Holy Scripture in church (11th March); Lay Ministers of Communion (18th March); Daily Prayer (25th March). All at 10-11am in the Committee Room, Mosse Hall, St Richard’s Church. These sessions are designed for those already participating in these ministries as a refresher, and also for those who are interested in knowing more, with a view to possibly starting to be involved with this in the future. Sessions are open to all, from both Pagham and Aldwick. If you would like more information or to express interest, please speak to Mthr Lucy.
Friends of Pagham Church AGM will take place on Sunday 12th March in St Andrew’s Chapel at 3pm. All are welcome. Please consider joining the committee: there is sign-up sheet on the notice board.
Sunday Morning music Mthr Lucy seeks the help of people who would be willing to help with the recorded music on a Sunday morning at 09:30 service. If you are fairly comfortable with the use of an ipad, or would like to learn, please be in touch with her. Full training will be given, and with more people able to help this, it need not be a weekly commitment.
Pagham Luncheon Club The Pagham Luncheon Club returns on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from the 15th of March open to all residents of the parish and friends. 12:00- 14:00 at St Ninians for a lunch provided by The Bear and good company, at £9 per head. The Pagham Minibus is available for lifts to this gathering. For more information and book-in please call Jean Hunt on 01243 268 818.
Being With- Course Exploring Christian Faith and Life After Easter we will be running a course for those exploring the Christian faith, devised and created by Samuel Wells and Sally Hitchiner of St Martin-in-the-Fields. The course is an introduction to Christianity with a difference. Sessions are likely to run on Monday evenings 19:30- 21:00, and at present I am seeking those who might be interested in help run the course- whether as a leader or as someone who can help with the hospitality and welcome at sessions. Could this be you? If so, please speak with Mthr Lucy. Details will follow for those who might like to participate- either for you, or for someone you know who is keen to explore the faith.
Membership, Sponsorship and Regular Giving at Pagham Church- St Thomas à Becket
If you are new to our church and are planning to become a regular worshipper with us – welcome!
Our members give generously of their time, their talents and their wealth. If you have a particular skill or interest that you might be able to offer, please speak with Mthr Lucy or the Churchwardens. After 6 months with us or if you live within the ecclesiastical parish of Pagham, you are eligible to join the church Electoral Roll to become a full member of Pagham Church. Please speak with Mthr Lucy or Margaret Sherwood (Electoral Roll Officer margaret.sherwood@outlook.com) for more information.
Please consider signing up to the Parish Giving Scheme or regular donations by Direct Debit to support our day-to-day activities: forms are available at the back of church. You can also visit this page https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/pagham-west-sussex/
Please also consider leaving a Legacy to Pagham Church when writing your Will and help to secure the building and our resources for future generations.
QR code to the Pagham PGS page.