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 27th august 2023
twelfTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Sunday 27th No 08:00 Holy Communion this week
TRINITY 12 09:30 Parish Eucharist followed by Coffee
14:00 Sunday afternoon tea & cake
St Andrew’s Chapel until 16:00
Monday 28th 09:00 Morning Prayer
St Augustine 14:00 Sunday afternoon tea & cake
St Andrew’s Chapel until 16:00
Tuesday 29th 18:00 Evening Prayer
Beheading of John the Baptist
Wednesday 30th 18:00 Evening Prayer
John Bunyan
Thursday 31st 09:00 Morning Prayer
St Aidan 10:00 Holy Communion
Friday 1st September No public services today
Saturday 2nd No public services today
Sunday 3rd 08:00 Holy Communion
TRINITY 13 (St Richard’s Church and Pagham Church)
09:30 Parish Family Eucharist followed by Coffee
Hymns
Introit: 428 Love divine
Gradual: 447 May the mind of Christ
Offertory: 195 From heaven you came
Final: 409 Lord for the years
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 Twelfth Sunday after Trinity:
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of 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: Isaiah 51: 1- 6
Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness,
you that seek the Lord.
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
but I blessed him and made him many.
For the Lord will comfort Zion;
he will comfort all her waste places,
and will make her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Listen to me, my people,
and give heed to me, my nation;
for a teaching will go out from me,
and my justice for a light to the peoples.
I will bring near my deliverance swiftly,
my salvation has gone out
and my arms will rule the peoples;
the coastlands wait for me,
and for my arm they hope.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and those who live on it will die like gnats;
but my salvation will be for ever,
and my deliverance will never be ended.
Psalm 138 The response to the psalm is as announced.
New Testament Reading: Romans 12: 1- 8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 16: 13- 20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Prayers of Intercession
The sick and those who care for them: Barbara Crew, Karen Cox, Sheila King, Dawn Spurway Pearson, Nicola Simpson, Mike Hatzfeld, Elizabeth, Pam Browning, Emilia Hogan, Julie Green, Lucia.
Recently departed
Anniversary of death Audrey Bridge (27th); Robert Lack (28th); Eric Lock, Hilda Hughes, Peter Eden (29th); Primrose Green, William Smith (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.
For urgent prayer, contact Gillian Purvis (267597) or Pat Rush (262561) to start the Prayer Chain.
Post Communion Prayer: God of all mercy, in this eucharist you have set aside our sins
and given us your healing: grant that we who are made whole in Christ may bring that healing to this broken world, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next week’s readings: Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
Jeremiah 15: 15- 21; Psalm 26: 1- 8; Romans 12: 9- end; Matthew 16: 21- end
Sunday and Monday Afternoon Tea & Cake
Join us for refreshments this Sunday and Monday afternoon (27th and 28th August) 14:00- 16:00 in St Andrew’s Chapel and the Churchyard. The perfect stop on a sunny Sunday afternoon stroll, or a wonderful escape on a rainy afternoon. A generous slice of cake with tea of coffee – £3.50. Do share with friends as the more the merrier!
Parish Family Eucharist with blessing of back packs
Next Sunday (3rd September) is our Parish Family Eucharist with blessing of back packs for the return/ at the start of the new school year. All our young people are encouraged to bring their school back packs/ sports bag/ bookbags/ PE Kit bags for blessing at this service as we pray for God’s guidance for all of those in education at the star of the new academic year.
Tuesday@7
Tuesday@7 our family friendly mid-week eucharist returns on Tuesday 12th September at 7pm. Please do spread the word and invite a friend- a wonderful introduction to church and worship for those exploring the Christian faith.
Harvest
This year we will celebrate the Harvest with a whole weekend of events on the 16th- 17th September. On Saturday 16th we will enjoy a parish walk with picnic lunch at Lagness (the halfway point of the walk, and boundary of the parish), and on Sunday 17th following the Parish Harvest Eucharist we will share a Ploughman’s lunch at Church – £10per adult, children free. Do get the dates in your diary and sign-up on the list in church or on the Eventbrite link. All are very welcome, and we really do encourage you to invite friends along, as well. Our food collection this year will again go the Bognor Regis Foodbank- keep an eye out for the most needed items.
Harvest Flowers
We will be decorating the church in readiness to celebrate Harvest on Saturday 16th September from 09:00. Donations of greenery and produce for use in the arrangements would be welcomed. If you would like to sponsor an arrangement or contribute to the cost of the flowers please contact Trudi 263597/ 07703597353
Confirmation Courses
Dates for the adult confirmation course are as follows: Mondays 4th, 11th, 18, 25th September and 2nd, 9th October 19:30- 21:00 at the Pagham Parish Church Centre on Nyetimber Lane. This is in preparation for Confirmation with Bishop Ruth on the 17th October at St Mary’s Clymping. If you are interested in exploring this, please contact Mthr Lucy- details on the front page.
Getting to know Paul
In the autumn we will be running a study course on the writings of St Paul- the dates of these sessions are Sundays 15th & 22nd October and 12th & 19th November, at 16:30 in St Andrew’s Chapel at Pagham Church. The first session will look at the writings of Paul and provide an introduction to traditional readings of these writings, while the second and third sessions will share two 21st Century books by Paula Gooder – Pauline Scholar and Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral. These books are Phoebe A Story (Hodder & Stoughton 2018) and Lydia A Story (Hodder & Stoughton 2022) available online and from all good book sellers. You might like to get reading now!