The Benefice of Ross with Walford

Services Today
8.00am Holy Communion - Ross
The Rev’d Prebendary Jill TalbotPonsonby
9.30am All Age Eucharist - Ross
The Rev’d Sarah Jones and Canon Freda
Davies
Setting: New English Mass - Appleford
Introit: S38 Seek ye first the Kingdom of
God
Gradual: S5 Be still for the presence of
the Lord
Offertory: S6 Bind us together Lord
Communion: Lord for thy tender mercy’s
sake - Farrant/Hilton
Post Communion: S33 Meekness and
majesty
11.15am Family Communion - Walford
The Rev’d Laurence Mathew & The Rev’d
Caroline Pascoe
867 Never let Jesus into your
heart unless you’re prepared to change
67 Be still for the presence of the Lord
332 Here I am, Lord
Post Communion Prayer
Lord God,
you have renewed us with the living
bread from heaven;
by it you nourish our faith,
increase our hope,
and strengthen our love:
teach us always to hunger for him who is
the true and living bread,
and enable us to live by every word
that proceeds from out of your mouth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Services next week
1st March 2015
8.00am
9.30am
9.30am
11.15am
Holy Communion - Ross
Sung Eucharist - Ross
Matins - Walford
Cafe Church - Brampton
Abbotts School
6.30pm Choral Evensong - Ross
The Rev’d Nick Adley
Organ: Courante - J.S.Bach
Hymn: 217 Be thou my guardian
Responses: Tomkins
Psalm: 25.1-9 - Wesley
Hymn: 129 Lord Jesus, think on me
Canticles: Morley with faux bourdon
Anthem: Almightly and everlasting God Gibbons
Hymn: 211 Through the night of doubt
Fugue on a Theme of Corelli - J.S.Bach
Do join us for coffee in
St Mary’s hall after the
9.30 Eucharist
Tel: 01989 562175 Email: administrator@rawchurch.org.uk
The Benefice
of
Ross with Walford
Newsletter
SUNDAY 22ND FEBRUARY
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
We offer a warm welcome to everyone at our services today
Last Tuesday the House of Bishops sent a
letter to all parishes reminding us that we
all have a responsibility to vote in the
General Election in May. In the Today
programme the Bishop of Buckingham,
Alan Wilson, one of the authors of the
letter was interviewed alongside MP
Nadine Dorries. He said the letter was
not telling us how to vote but just to think
carefully before we vote; and to think of
the wider picture. She said the Church
should stay out of politics and limit itself to
the ethical issues. Obviously the discussion
was a bit longer but those were the main
points.
Last week the Church Urban Fund
published “Church in Action: A national
survey of church-based social action”
which “revealed the scale and nature of
Anglican social action in England. The
opening sentence of the report states that
“ Social action is not an optional side
project for the Church; it is core to its
heart and mission.”
Throughout the Gospels Jesus involved
himself with the politics of his age. When
asked whether Jews should pay taxes
they were told to pay them (Mark 12: 1317). In the parables Jesus made it quite
clear that those who love God should
work for a just society and have a heart
for the poor and vulnerable. The windows
in St. Mary’s depict the story of the Good
Samaritan and part of the story of the
Sheep and the Goats. Our Christian
ancestors almost certainly involved
themselves with social action.
The letter from the Bishops encourages
“church members to engage in the political
process, to put aside self-interest and vote
for the “common good”, The privileges of
living in a democracy mean that we
should use our votes thoughtfully,
prayerfully and with the good of others in
mind, not just our own interests.”
Jill Talbot-Ponsonby
For our prayers this week:
We pray for those that are unwell:
Bernard Coles, Ken Burchell, Ann Rowland
and Mona Cato.
We remember those who have died:
William Davies and Betty Barnes and
pray for her family
The Rev’d Sarah Jones 01989 562175 - not Tuesday
The Rev’d Laurence Mathew 01989 769692 - not Thursday
The Rev'd Nick Adley 01989 563633 - not Friday
Today’s Collect
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3.18-22
Notices
Heavenly Father,
your Son battled with the powers of
darkness,
and grew closer to you in the desert:
help us to use these days to grow in
wisdom and prayer
that we may witness to your saving love
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 persons, 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 for a 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.
Confirmation - our new Bishop will be
confirming people in St Mary’s on Sunday
26th April. If you are not Confirmed and
would like to explore this, please let the
office know as prep sessions are starting!
Sarah
The Bereavement Cafe - is open again this
Wednesday 25th February in St. Mary's
Hall from 10.30 until midday. If you know
anyone, who has been bereaved who might
enjoy coming out for coffee and a chat
please do tell them.
APCMs - St Michaels Walford APCM will
be Monday 20th April. St Mary’s APCM
will be Wednesday 29th April. Both at
7.30pm. Please can you submit your
reports now to Lou in the office for the
year 1st January 2014 to 31st December
2014. Thank you, Sarah.
Electoral Roll - The Electoral Roll will be
closing for a period of review in early April
ahead of the St Mary’s APCM on 29
April. To have the opportunity to vote at
that meeting you need to be a member on
the Roll and so you are encouraged to get
your name added before the Roll
closes. Please speak to Peter Raddenbury
(01989 218295) if you require a form or
more information.
Today’s Readings
First Reading: Genesis 9.8-17
God said to Noah and to his sons with
him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my
covenant with you and your descendants
after you, and with every living creature
that is with you, the birds, the domestic
animals, and every animal of the earth
with you, as many as came out of the ark.
I establish my covenant with you, that
never again shall all flesh be cut off by
the waters of a flood, and never again
shall there be a flood to destroy the
earth.’ God said, ‘This is the sign of the
covenant that I make between me and
you and every living creature that is with
you, for all future generations: I have set
my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a
sign of the covenant between me and the
earth. When I bring clouds over the earth
and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will
remember my covenant that is between
me and you and every living creature of
all flesh; and the waters shall never again
become a flood to destroy all flesh. When
the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and
remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature
of all flesh that is on the earth.’ God said
to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant
that I have established between me and
all flesh that is on the earth.’
Gospel Reading: Mark 1.9-15
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee and was baptized by John in
the Jordan. And just as he was coming up
out of the water, he saw the heavens torn
apart and the Spirit descending like a
dove on him. And a voice came from
heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;
with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit
immediately drove him out into the
wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty
days, tempted by Satan; and he was with
the wild beasts; and the angels waited on
him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus
came to Galilee, proclaiming the good
news of God, and saying, ‘The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has
come near; repent, and believe in the
good news.’
The St Michael’s Walford C.O.A.T Coffee on a Tuesday this month will be at
Nicky and George Smith’s home, Mill
House, Walford
HR9 5QS - (adj.
Walford Timber) on Tuesday 24th Feb
starting at 10 45am. Please come and
invite someone to come with you.
Valentine Quiz - Many thanks to
everybody who supported the Quiz
evening so well. We raised £383 for St
Mary’s Church funds. Tina and Marilyn
Paddle and Praise is a group for
parents/grandparents with pre-school
children. All welcome
We are meeting on the following dates:
Monday 23rd March
Monday 20th April
Monday 11th May
Monday 15th June
Monday 6th July
All to be held at the home of Wendy
Alston, 9.30am-11.30am. Tel: 01989
562959
Women’s World Day of Prayer - Friday 6th
March, 11am at Christchurch. Prepared by
Christian women of The Bahamas.
Coffee Morning - Saturday 7th March
10.30am-12 noon, hosted by Open the
Book.