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)
Licensed Lay Minister: Mrs Rosemary Towse
Email: rosemarytowse@talktalk.net
Churchwarden: Mr Alex Brockhurst
Tel: 07792 544259; Email: alex.brockhurst@hotmail.co.uk
Churchwarden: Mrs Sue O’Neill
Tel: 07867 904780; Email: suesdesignservices@gmail.com
Safeguarding Officer: Mrs Jan Brockhurst
Email: safeguarding@paghamchurch.org
Find us online: www.paghamchurch.org // StThomasPagham@gmail.com// @StThomasPagham
Registered charity number 1134842
SUNDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 2023
Christ the king
SUNDAY NEXT before advent
Sunday 26th 08:00 Holy Communion (Aldwick only)
Sunday Next 09:30 Parish Eucharist followed by coffee
before Advent
Monday 27th 09:00 Morning Prayer (Pagham)
Tuesday 28th 10:00 Eucharist (Aldwick)
17:30 Evening Prayer (zoom)
19:00 Tuesday@7 (Pagham)
Wednesday 29th 17:30 Evening Prayer (zoom)
Thursday 30th 09:00 Morning Prayer (Pagham)
ST ANDREW 10:00 Holy Communion (Pagham)
17:30 Evening Prayer (Aldwick)
Friday 1st No public worship today
December
Saturday 2nd 11:00- 14:00 Christmas Fair- Church Centre
Sunday 3rd 08:00 Holy Communion (Aldwick & Pagham)
ADVENT SUNDAY 09:30 Parish Family Eucharist followed by coffee
Introit: 137 Crown him with many crowns (omit v2 )
Gradual: 649 The King of love
Offertory: 296 How shall I sing that majesty
Final: 104 Christ Triumphant
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 Christ the King:
Eternal Father, whose Son Jesus Christ ascended to the throne of heaven that he might rule over all things as Lord and King: keep the Church in the unity of the Spirit and in the bond of peace, and bring the whole created order to worship at his feet; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 34: 11- 16; 20- 24
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Psalm 95: 1- 7 The response to the psalm is as announced.
New Testament Reading: Ephesians 1: 15- end
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25: 31- end
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
Prayers of Intercession
The sick and those who care for them: Barbara & Alan Crew, Karen Cox, Sheila King, Dawn Spurway Pearson, Mike Hatzfeld, Elizabeth, Pam Browning, Lucia, Jessie Hutchins.
Recently departed: Elizabeth Kahn-Smith.
Anniversary of death: Eric Martin, William Fitzsimon (27th); Alan Harmer (30th)
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 the people of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. For the peace of the Holy Land. For those who will weep, and fear, and die this day.
For urgent prayer, contact Gillian Purvis (267597) or Pat Rush (262561) to start the Prayer Chain.
Post Communion Prayer: Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next week’s readings: Advent Sunday
Isaiah 64: 1- 9; Psalm 80: 1-8; 1 Corinthians 1: 3- 9; Mark 13: 24- end
Pilgrim’s prayers
This weekend a group of 16 pilgrims from Aldwick and Pagham are on pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. If you have a prayer intention you would like to be carried by the pilgrims and offered at the shrine, please do contact Mthr Lucy. Please pray too for our pilgrims as they make their way.
Christmas Fair
Thank you for all the donations and help for the Christmas Fair, only 1 week to go! Please can our bakers make cakes to bring to the Church Centre on the day, for 10am if possible, also any bottles of wine for the raffle.
Please take a poster with you after Church to put up locally and share with friends and family. Lookout for more information on stalls on the notice board. Many thanks, Sue.
Christmas – it’s time to spread the word!
Flyers with details of our Christmas services are now available, and it would be wonderful if you can deliver some to your neighbours and friends, and perhaps take some along to your clubs and societies. We can all play a part in sharing the invitation this Christmas.
The Bear Necessities – a conversation for women
This group got off to a fantastic start last Monday with 16 of us meeting for conversation. This is a safe space for good conversation on current affairs with no hidden agenda, a meeting of women of all ages. The next meeting is on Monday 11th December, at 19:30, at The Bear Inn – Pagham.
Church Christmas Tree 2023
This year we are asking for small donations from members of the congregation and visitors towards the cost of our Christmas tree and new decorations. The decorations we will be using this year, and in years to come invite people to write names of loved ones they are praying for or thinking of this Christmas and then to hang them on the tree. The collection jar will be available in the church at all services and at all church events until the end of November.
Church Cleaning – A plea for more help for our fantastic church cleaning team…
“Please would you come and help us to keep our Church clean and tidy. If you could spend as little as 1 hour per month and you know of someone else who could join you it would be so helpful. Any day any time (to fit in around Church activities) would be good. My contact details are: Sue Miller 07845 926766, email sue.armex@btinternet.com I can meet with you in Church to discuss further if that helps. Some of us have been doing this work for several years and it brings its own rewards (and a big `thank you’ to all of those who have gone before us). We take pride in perusing the Visitors’ Book to note the compliments regarding the obvious care that is taken in making the Church look beautiful and welcoming. You could be part of that effort. Thank you.”
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.