This Week's News & Notices
Lockdown Response
As we have now entered another lockdown unfortunately we can no longer open for public worship on a Sunday. We will continue to worship online at 10am on Sundays as usual, with a limited number of people in church to help lead the worship.
Click or tap on the link below to access our videos. You can watch YouTube videos on all computers, phones and devices, and even on your smart TV!
We will still be open for Private Prayer on Wednesdays as usual.
This Sunday is the Festival of Christ the King: "The annual cycle of the Church’s year now ends with the Feast of Christ the King. The year that begins with the hope of the coming Messiah ends with the proclamation of his universal sovereignty."
Head to our YouTube Channel to join us Live at 10am on Sunday, and access other videos. You can do that by clicking or tapping on the link below:
Private Prayer
Church is open for Private Prayer from 9am on Wednesdays in church until midday for those who wish to visit during these times and all are welcome to attend. Face coverings must be worn.
The Parish Office
Dot and Carol continue to work from home. Phone messages or emails will be checked regularly and correspondence can be popped through the letterbox in the north door and will be responded to as soon as possible.
Christmas Cards
Please do not pop Christmas Cards into the pigeonholes in the church vestibule this year as you may have done in previous years. Due to the current virus situation this isn’t an option. If you are really struggling to deliver your cards this year then please do get in touch with the office or the staff team as we may be able to help you with this in some way.
Christingle Service
Our Christingle Service is a special service with our young people in mind, where we hear the Christmas story, and make Christingles. Each piece of the Christingle holds special symbolism to help children understand the importance of Jesus and the Gospel, and its relevance at Christmas time. You can read more about the history and meaning of the Christingle on the Children’s Society website.
This year, we are not sure whether we will be able to hold the service in person, but if you sign up now, we will let you know by 3rd December where the service will be, and if it cannot be held in church, we will make sure you get a 'pack' sent to you to join in an online service from home.
A Message to St Mary’s from Martin Cooper
Many thanks for the beautifully made scarf. Martin’s recovery is continuing, and he sends his love to all.
Sending thanks
“We would like to sincerely thank everyone who gave us cards & gifts and sent their best wishes after Zoe’s arrival. We were both really touched. She is now a very happy two month old and we are settling well into family life”. Susana & James
100 Club November winners
£50 Olivia Pratt, £30 Bryan Young, £20 William Walker.
TRAIDCRAFT
As we are unable to run the Traidcraft stall in church at present we would urge you to consider browsing the web site, particularly as Christmas approaches.
Much love, Anne and Rick
Light a Candle!
As in other years we will still be lighting candles on the church windowsills on Christmas Eve in memory of loved ones. The candles will burn continuously for 7 days. Each candle costs £5 and you can pay for a candle by Bank Transfer (BACS) as this would be the safest way during this time of pandemic.
Bank details are: HSBC - Sort code: 40 46 28 - Account no: 01444948
Please add a reference to the payment so we know that it's for the candles. You could also send payment by a cheque made payable to: St Mary’s Monkseaton, PCC and again, please put a note with the cheque to say that it's for the Christmas Memorial Candles. Do remember that the parish office isn't open at the moment so do not bring any cash or cheques into the church building.
The Bay Foodbank
Please continue to donate non-perishable items at Sainsbury’s & Morrison’s.
Charities 2021 Shortlist (National)
Last week we asked you to vote for which local charity to support next year. This week's options are for the National category. Click on a charity below to visit their website to find out more about them, then vote for the one you wish us all to support in 2021.
Women's Aid is a grassroots federation working together to provide life-saving services in England and build a future where domestic abuse is not tolerated.
Mind provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.
The Children's Society fight for the hope and happiness of young people when it's threatened by abuse, exploitation and neglect.
Please vote below
An Advent Retreat with Poetry and Music
The Church Times are hosting an Advent retreat online on 28th November 2020 between 10am and 1pm, with a number of contributors including poet Malcom Guite. The retreat costs £10 or £5 if you subscribe to the Church Times.
A Call to Prayer for the nation
During the lockdown, the Church of England has called on us all to unite as a nation in prayer every day at 6pm using the following prayer topics:
Sunday - family, friends, and loved ones.
Monday - Schools, colleges, kids and young people.
Tuesday - The elderly, the isolated, and vulnerable.
Wednesday - Businesses, workplaces, and the economic well being of all
Thursday - NHS and other key workers.
Friday - national and local government.
Saturday - the grieving, suffering and unwell.
Find out more from the Church of England website here.
For your prayers this week:
Your Prayers are requested for
Martin Cooper
Rona Lawrie
Don Emma Campbell
Michael Hampson
Pat Brown
Olya Bouchard
Rest in Peace
Norman Searle
Also pray for
Audrey Searle and all the family as they gather for Norman’s funeral on Monday 23rd November at 12noon
Don’t forget, you can add someone to the prayer list by emailing or phoning as usual, but you need to get their permission before adding them to the sick list. You can also use the form on the website here to submit a prayer request online.
This Sunday's Hymns & Readings
Introit
Hail Redeemer, King divine!
Priest and Lamb, the throne is thine;
King, whose reign shall never cease,
Prince of everlasting peace.
Angels, saints and nations sing:
“Praised be Jesus Christ our King;
Lord of life, earth, sky and sea,
King of love on Calvary!”
King most holy, King of truth,
Guide the lowly, guide the youth;
Christ the King of glory bright,
be to us eternal light.
Shepherd-king, o’er mountains steep
homeward bring the wandering sheep;
shelter in one royal fold
states and kingdoms, new and old.
King, whose name creation thrills,
rule our hearts, our minds, our wills;
till in peace, each nation rings
with thy praises, King of kings.
Sing with joy in ev’ry home:
“Christ our King, thy kingdom come!
To the King of ages, then,
honour, glory, love : Amen!”
Patrick Brennan
© Continuum International Publishing Group, Ltd.
Performed by Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Choir
© 1998 Cantoris Records
Collect
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.
A reading from the prophet Ezekiel
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.
Ezekiel 34.11-16,20-24
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward 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.
Ephesians 1.15-23
The Gospel according to Matthew
“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.”
Matthew 25.31-46
Offertory Hymn
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne;
hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own!
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.
Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds yet visible above
in beauty glorified:
no angel in the sky
can fully bear that sight,
but downward bends his burning eye
at mysteries so bright.
Crown him the Lord of years,
the Potentate of time,
creator of the rolling spheres,
ineffably sublime:
all hail, Redeemer, hail!
for thou hast died for me;
thy praise shall never, never fail
throughout eternity.
Matthew Bridges
Communion Anthem
O King all glorious, amid thy saintly company, who ever shall be praised, who overpasseth utterance. Thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy holy Name. Leave us not, O our God, that in the day of judgement it may please thee to place us in the number of they Saints and blessed ones, O King most blessed.
Healey Willan
Performed by Elora Festival Singers and Matthew Larkin
© 2011 Naxos
Post Communion
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.
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