Author: Reuben

HARVEST CELEBRATIONS Sunday 23 September 2018 when you have finished with this sheet pass it on to someone unable to get to church today

COLLECT Creator God, you made the goodness of the land, the riches of the sea and the rhythm of the seasons; as we thank you for the harvest, may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING Deuteronomy 26.1–11
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy. Moses spoke to the people, saying:
1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.’ 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, 5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house. This is the word of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD
PSALM Psalm 100
R Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name. Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name.
1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song. 2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. R
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his name. 4 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age. R

SECOND READING Philippians 4.4–9
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. This is the word of the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD
Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia. Lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are ripe for harvesting. Gather the fruit for eternal life. Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 6:25-35
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John GLORY TO YOU O LORD When they found Jesus on the other side of the sea,
the crowd said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
26 Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ 28 Then they said to Jesus, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ 29 Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ 30 So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ 32 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’
34 They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ 35 Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’
This is the gospel of the Lord. PRAISE TO YOU O CHRIST
POST COMMUNION
Lord of the harvest, with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation and have shared in the bread and the wine of the kingdom: by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us and make us generous and wise stewards of the good things we enjoy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The materials used in this sheet are from the Common Worship materials of the Church of England www.churchofengland.org all Bible verses are from NRSV translation this sheet created by Fr Reuben James Preston SCP OblOSB rectorofsharnbrook@rjpmedia.co.uk www.sharnbrookcofechurches.org

The United Benefice of Sharnbrook, Felmersham and Knotting with Souldrop
St Peter’s Church, Sharnbrook MK44 1HU, St Mary’s Church, Felmersham MK43 7JP All Saints Church, Souldrop MK44 1EX www.sharnbrookcofechurches.org Welcome—we give thanks for those who provide our food for us

Worship in the Benefice today… Harvest Celebrations 0830 Souldrop Holy Communion BCP 0930 Sharnbrook Harvest Communion & RnS 1100 Felmersham Harvest Community Celebration followed by Ploughman’s Lunch in aid of Bp Alan’s Harvest Appeal
1800 Sharnbrook Benefice Evensong – Rector
Monday-feria Tuesday--Lesser Fest-Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, Spiritual Writer, 1626 Wednesday —Comm-Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop of Winchester, Spiritual Writer, 1626 0930 Sharnbrook Holy Communion 4th Wed CW 1800 Goodbye events at Sport and Social Club Thursday –-Lesser Festival-Vincent de Paul, Founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists), 1660 0930 Felmersham Holy Communion CW 1400 Sharnbrook Funeral of late Maureen Millar Friday—EMBER DAY 1145 Sharnbrook Messy Church Saturday—EMBER DAY 1145 Sharnbrook Barn Dance in Village Hall Next Sunday services— St Michael and All Angels (trans) 0830 Souldrop Holy Communion BCP 0930 Sharnbrook Parish Communion & RnS 1100 Felmersham Parish Communion 1800 Sharnbrook Taize

Christian Meditation Group meets on Mondays 2000 in SPR—all welcome!

Harvest Barn Dance Sat 29 Sept in the village hall 7.30pm tickets available from Colin & Roland £12

Goodbye events —for Reuben, Stephen & George on:- St Peters—Wed 26 Sept 6pm venue Sports and Social Club -Bring and Share finger buffet for church folk until 730pm then wider village from 7.30pm St Mary’s—Sat 6 Oct 3-5pm at JaneW’s Reuben’s final Sunday is 7 Oct 1030 Benefice Communion at St Peters & 1800 Benefice Evensong at St Peters

The Rector is leaving the Church of England ministry to join the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Fr Reuben finishes on Sun 7 Oct. He’s to be Rector of St John’s, Johnstone & St Margaret’s, Renfrew. Reuben & Stephen are planning their wedding next September. Reuben’s Licensing is on Thurs 1 Nov at 7pm at St Margaret’s, Renfrew. You are invited to attend— please let Reuben know if you can come for seating numbers. The local congregations are offering accommodation to any staying visitors—please ask.

HELP—we need someone to put together this sheet once Fr Reuben has left—skills needed in Publisher, Paint and Word. To find out more ask Reuben

Church Contacts
The Rector: Reuben Preston, The Rectory, 81 High Street, Sharnbrook MK44 1PE 01234 782000 07971 895897 rectorofsharnbrook@rjpmedia.co.uk Reader: Garry Johnson 07855 762922 Lay Leaders of Worship: Rosemary Drewery 07792926004, Jane Templeman Churchwardens:- St Peter’s Church: Roland Carpenter 01234 781551 Janet Norman 01234 781997 St Mary’s Church: Sue Whitehouse 01234 781300 All Saints Church: Nick Wells 07841 759497 Safeguarding Co-Ord: Rosemary Drewery 07792 926004 Items for inclusion should be sent to sharnbrookbenefice@gmail.com by 0900 on Wednesdays.

Intercessions The sick and in need: Ruth, Marjorie, Jo, Doreen, Isabela, Pam, David, Keri, Maureen, Matthew, Sally, Conrad & Cynthia
The Departed: Maureen Millar
Prayer requests for the week: Pray for people recovering from surgery in hospital & at home Pray for those leading our young people in Rise n Shine Pray for our Churchwardens Pray for eyes to discern new LLWs in our Benefice

To make arrangements for Weddings, Funerals, Baptisms/Christenings, Confessions, House Blessings etc. please contact the Rector

Spnsorship: in prayer for a good interregnum and that the right wo/man may offer for this Benifice’s ministry If you would like to sponsor this sheet please send you £5 donation to The Rectory along with details of the sponsorship (even if anonymous)

3 Sunday morning Readers at St Peter’s needed for the Rota—please see Roland if you would like to give this a go!

Sharnbrook extra-ordinary Annual Parochial Meeting on Wed 31 May 2017 at 7:30pm for the election of churchwardens

LAUNDE Abbey retreat programmes available—let’s go to the ADVENT Retreat Tues 21 Nov—Fri 24 Nov 2017 £245 plus travel—Pick up a leaflet in Church for details.
Book your own place & Please Add you name to the list in church so we know who has decided to sign up.

STOP PRESS– Grenfell Tower collection after each service today. If you would like to contribute to the relief help which has been offered to the Grenfell Tower survivors please put your contribution in the box/plate after the services today

Benefice Warden’s meeting Thursday 22 June 7:30pm in Souldrop

The OT Apocrapha books can be found online at http://bible.oremus.org
There are 14 books in the OT Apocrapha which the Church o England uses in the lectionary and they are used to edify the people but not derive doctrine.

THANK YOU to the flower team who have decorated church for Eastertide
And thank you to everyone who has helped make our Holy Week and Easter services take place this year—your hard work is appreciated.