Second Sunday of Advent
1 Dec 2022 • General news
Advent Wreath
The Second Sunday of Advent: Peace
Leader: Today is the second Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace.
Our Peace is found in God and in his Son Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist and all the prophets remind us that to receive peace we must be prepared for it.
We light this candle today to remind us that Christ is the Prince of Peace, the one promised from the beginning of
the world. We thank God for the hope he gives us and the peace he bestows.
The first and second candles are lit.
All: O God of Peace, Emmanuel, we pray you to send your light
into our hearts at this time. Help us to be ready for the day
and the hour of Christ’s final appearing.
Work in our hearts at this time and help us prepare ourselves
for the peace that he brings - the inner peace that tells us that
we are united with you and the outer peace which will come
when he returns to judge the world. Bless our worship that it may be pleasing to you, and bless us that we may prove to be your
faithful servants. Amen
This Week’s Readings
Isaiah 11. 1-10
1A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Romans 15. 4-13
4Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name’;
10and again he says,
‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;
11and again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him’;
12and again Isaiah says,
‘The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.’
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3. 1-12
1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.”’
4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Those Who Live in these Roads
Wimbourne Drive, Marnhull Close, Bridport Close, Beckbury Road, Frampton Walk
Clifford Bridge Rd, Warmwell Close, Fontmell Close, Blackshaw Drive, Crowmere Rd
Abbotsbury Close, Sturminster Close
Those who are sick or in need of our prayers
Iain Rees, Ken Fisher, Eden Brown, David Wall
Eileen Bees, Edna Robinson, Ken Sharman, Margaret Davoll
Roger Carradine, Kathryn Raven, Nicola Harwood, Sue Parkins, Peter Hughes, Coral Carson
Those who have died
Ron Abbott, Peggy Lynch
Ron Abbott
Many of you will have known Ron Abbott who was Tower Captain at St Mary's for a number of years. He sadly passed away on Monday 29th November, so could you hold his wife Phyllis in your prayers. No funeral details as yet.
News
Family Area
A new area has now been created in church at the back of the North aisle for families with small children.
New Envelopes
If you give through the weekly envelope scheme the new ones which start on the 4th December are on the table by the door into church for you to pick up.
Junior Church
Junior Church will meet on 4th and 11th December to rehearse their Nativity which will be performed on 18th December. We are still in need of more Junior Church leaders, so if you think that you might be able to help, please see Revd Tom or Stephen Baker.
Church Christmas Card
We will be producing a card which will be distributed to all in the congregation for Christmas which raises funds for a charity and saves lots of individual cards. In the church centre there is a basket with slips of paper for you to write your message and leave a donation, suggested minimum £2.00.
Toy Service
The toys collected today will be donated to Coventry City Mission.
Walsgrave Baptist Church
Open Door - a warm space, with a welcome and hot drink is offered at the Baptist Church from Monday to Thursday from 10.00am until 12.00pm. On Friday there is an invitation to join them at their Open House.
Christmas Lunch – on Christmas Day a lunch
Christmas Services
The following services are to be held:
18th December 10.00am – Holy Communion and Nativity
20th December 6.00pm – Carols by Candlelight
22nd December 6.00pm – Nine Lessons and Carols
24th December 3.00pm – Christingle joint service with the Baptist Church
24th December 11.00pm – Midnight Mass
25th December 10.00am – Holy Communion
Coffee Club
Christmas Services Postcard
The postcard showing our services which we produce in conjunction with Walsgrave Baptist Church has now been printed and is ready for distribution. They are in the church centre and have been divided up into roads, could you please help by delivering some, even if it’s just the ones around where you live. Thank you in anticipation of your help.
Books for Grace Academy
Recently I have had the joy of visiting Grace Academy and meeting many from the senior leadership team. The Head Teacher told me that they really need help with having enough books to give to students. The school has a passion for helping young people fall in love with reading. But to do this they need books!
We are going to start collecting books for Grace Academy. So if you see a book in a charity shop you think might be good for someone between then age of 11-16 (or even younger) then please get it and bring it in! This is a wonderful way of engaging with our young people in the community and supporting a local school. Please put you donations on the blue table by the sign.
I want to thank you in advance for all your help with this book collection.
Revd Tom
Celebrating YOUR story at St Mary's
We want to hear about your stories of St. Mary's
What sort of stories do you want?
We want to learn about what your story is that involves St. Mary's. Did you get married here? Do you picnic in the grounds? Perhaps you have been a members at St. Mary's and can tell us about exciting things that have happened in the past. We want to hear them all.
How do I submit my story?
The best way to submit your story is by email. If you cannot send emails then you could type it up and give us a physical copy of you story. Or, if you would be willing we could film you telling your story.
Would you film it?
We want to help tell peoples stories. One of the best ways to do this is to film people telling their stories. So, if you would be willing to let us film your story then please let Revd Tom know.
When will we hear all these stories?
We are planning a celebration of St. Mary's and all the stories on Sunday 29th January, 2023. We will be doing this with a party! There will be a bring and share lunch following the celebration service. Sharing our stories over food is a great way for us to get know each other more.
For more details and to keep up to date please go to www.stmaryscoventry.org/story
