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 14th May 2023
sixth sunday of easter
Sunday 14th 08:00 Holy Communion (St Richard’s only)
EASTER 6 09:30 Parish Eucharist followed by APCM
Monday 15th 09:00 Morning Prayer (church)
ST MATTHIAS 19:30 Being With
(Pagham Church Centre- Nyetimber Lane)
Tuesday 16th 18:00 Evening Prayer (Pagham church)
19:00 Tuesday@7
Wednesday 17th 18:00 Evening Prayer (Pagham church)
Thursday 18th 09:00 Morning Prayer
ASCENSION DAY 10:00 Said Eucharist (Pagham)
13:30 Funeral with burial – Rosemary Seaborne
19:00 Sung Eucharist (St Richard’s)
Friday 19th No public services today
St Dunstan
Saturday 20th 14:00 Holy Matrimony
St Alcuin Daniel Batchelor & Jessica Tompkins
Sunday 21st 08:00 Holy Communion (St Richard’s & Pagham)
EASTER 7 09:30 Parish Eucharist with Sunday School
Hymns
Introit: 249 Great is thy faithfulness
Gradual: 653 The Lord my pasture shall prepare
Offertory: 391 Let us talents and tongues employ
Final: 438 Make way
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 Sixth Sunday of Easter:
God our redeemer, you have delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your Son: grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life, so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy; 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.
New Testament reading: Acts 17: 22- 31
Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
Psalm 66: 7- end The response to the psalm is “Let the sound of his praise be heard.”
New Testament Reading: 1 Peter 3: 13- end
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God fora good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
Gospel Reading: John 14: 15- 21
Jesus said to his disciples ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’
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, Beatrice Tucker, Simon Grout, Carole Turner.
Anniversary of death Emily Blackman (15th); Angela Haythornthwaite, Margaret Gosney (16th); Kenneth Weeks (17th); Doris Vallerine (18th); Nora Jones (19th); Gordon Halford (20th).
Recently departed Rosemary Seaborne, Daphne Sharrad, Fran Ward.
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.
We pray for Nyewood Junior School as they seek to appoint a new Head Teacher.
For urgent prayer, contact Gillian Purvis (267597) or Pat Rush (262561) to start the Prayer Chain.
Post Communion Prayer: God our Father, whose Son Jesus Christ gives the water of eternal life: may we thirst for you, the spring of life and source of goodness, through him who is alive and reigns, now and for ever. Amen.
Next week’s readings: Seventh Sunday of Easter
Acts 1: 6- 14; Psalm 68: 1- 10; 1 Peter 4: 12- 14; 5: 6-11; John 17: 1- 11.
Being With- Course Exploring Christian Faith and Life
We will be running a course for those exploring the Christian faith after Easter, starting on Monday 15th May and running for the next 11 weeks (10 sessions in total 19:30- 21:00, no session on Monday 29th May). 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. At its heart is the idea that God’s greatest desire is to be with us in Jesus. If you would like to know more about this course please speak to Mthr Lucy.
The Coronation
A huge thank you to all of those who helped to make our local celebrations of the Coronation of King Charles III such a wonderful occasion. From those who helped prepare the church for prayer, oversaw the BBQ and catering and then turned out for the Big Help Out. A wonderful gathering of members of the community!
St Thomas à Becket Annual Parochial Church Meetings
These take place on Sunday 14th May following the 09:30am service. Please do come and join us if you are able to, as we celebrate and give thanks for the events and activities of the last year and look forward to the new one. With election of Churchwardens and PCC Members. It is still possible for eligible members of the Electoral Roll to be nominated for election to the PCC or Deanery Synod at the meeting- please speak with Mthr Lucy, a Churchwarden or someone on the PCC for more information. The accounts are available for inspection and reports will be available later this week, circulated via email with a few copies available in church.
Ascension day
Is Thursday 18th May do join us for celebrations: 10:00 for a said celebration of Holy Communion at St Thomas à Becket, Pagham, or at 19:00 for a Sung Eucharist at St Richard’s followed by refreshments and their APCM.
Since the fourth century, on the fortieth day of Easter there has been a particular celebration of Christ’s ascension. Jesus commissions his disciples to continue his work, he promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then he is no longer among them in the flesh. The ascension is therefore closely connected with the theme of mission- making this the perfect week for the Annual Meetings- looking back and giving thanks, and forward saying yes to all that we are called to in the God’s mission in this place.
Friends of Pagham Church- Cream Tea
Sunday 4th June in church. Everyone welcome. £5.00. For further details please contact Carole Druce 07732768890.
Combined Parishes Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
Mthr Lucy will be leading a pilgrimage to the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham for the parishes of Pagham and Aldwick on Friday 24th November – Sunday 26th November. More details of Pilgrimage to Walsingham can be found at www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk
The cost of accommodation which is full-board is £162 per adult/ £97.20 for 5-16yr olds. Travel arrangements to be made privately/ via car shares with sharing the cost of fuel evenly between passengers. To reserve a space on this pilgrimage please sign-up in church by Wednesday 7th June, a £30 deposit is required at this stage and can be given to Trudi in a named envelope.
SUPPORT FOR THE FOODBANK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.
Urgently needed this week: Durable plastics bags, 1ltr UHT Fruit Juice, 1ltr UHT Milk, Tinned Fruit, Pasta Sauce, Tinned Fish, Tinned Custard, Tinned Rice Pudding, Pasta, Tinned Meat, Cereal, Shampoo/ Conditioner, Nappies- size 4/5.