St Luke's Enmore with Stanmore           Click here to reflect on the 25th sunday after Pentecost

An Anglican Parish in the Diocese of Sydney.

Second Sunday of Advent & Commissioning of Fr Philip as our Rector      6^th December 2015

 Welcome to our worship this morning!
At St Luke's we seek to share God's unconditional love and acceptance of all people, regardless of age gender, race, marital or family status, sexual orientation disability or wealth.

Gluten free hosts are now available.  Please see our Sacristan, Andy Serafin, before the service if you need to receive a gluten free host.

As we watch and wait with eager anticipation, we must also prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord. As we venture into the spiritual wilderness of our lives, we need to remind ourselves that our hearts cannot receive the Lord unless we, like John the Baptist prepare his way. This is a time for inner cleansing so that we might make room to receive Him and experience the joy of his coming.

• Pray that we might simplify our lives, curtail our appetites for things material, and open our hearts and minds to new ways of living in harmony with God’s creation.
• Pray for the Church of South India, giving thanks for the work they do to further God’s mission in the world.
• Text:  The Rev Laurette Glasgow, Special Advisor for Government Relations for the Anglican Church of Canada and the Diocese of Ottawa
  © Anglican Board of Mission, 2015

Introit Hymn: TIS  273 Lo, He comes with clouds descending  

Liturgy for Lighting the Advent Candle

                                 2nd  Sunday of Advent – Peace

The Minister greets the congregation:   The Lord be with you
All:                      And also with you

Minister:      Last Sunday we lit the first of our Advent candles, the
                      candle of hope. 
                        Let us light it again as a symbol of our desire for healing
                      and hope in the world. 

(The first candle is lit.)

Minister:      John the Baptist called on the people of his day to
                      prepare for the   coming of the Messiah.  
                        They were to repent, turn around and change direction.
                        The peace we seek grows out of a willingness to change.

All:                 We light this second candle to remind us that Jesus is
                      the Prince of Peace. His life has shown us ways to
                     share God’s peace with others.

(The second candle is lit.)

Minister:      Let us join together in a prayer for peace:

All:                  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
                        Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
                        where there is injury, pardon;
                        where there is doubt, faith;
                        where there is despair, hope,
                        where there is darkness, light;
                        and where there is sadness, joy.    AMEN

The Sentence:   By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.                                            Luke 1.78–79

The Collect:  

God of our salvation,
you straighten the winding ways of our hearts
and smooth the paths made rough by sin:
keep our hearts watchful in holiness,
and bring to perfection the good you have begun in us.
We ask this through him whose coming is certain,
whose Day draws near, your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading                                                           Malachi 3.1-14

A reading from the book of the prophet Malachi

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;  he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgement; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.  For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.  Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’  Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In your tithes and offerings!  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. You have spoken harsh words against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 1You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the Lord of hosts?

For the word of the Lord                                        Thanks be to God  

Song of Zechariah

Blessed are you, Lord, the | God of | Israel:
    you have come to your | people and | set them | free.

You have raised up for us a | mighty | Saviour:
    born of the | house of your | servant | David.

Through your holy prophets, you | promised of | old:
    to save us from our enemies, from the | hands of | all who | hate us.

To show | mercy to our | forebears:
    and to re-| member your | holy | covenant.

This was the oath you swore to our | father | Abraham:
    to set us | free from the | hands of our enemies,

Free to worship | you without | fear:
    holy and righteous be-| fore you, all the | days of our | life.

And you, child, shall be called the prophet | of the | |Most High:
    for you will go before the | Lord to pre-| pare the | way,

To give God’s people | knowledge of sal-| vation:
    by the for-| giveness | of their | sins.

 

In the tender compassion | of our | God:
    the dawn from on | high shall | break u-| pon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness   and the | shadow of | death:
    and to guide our | feet into the | way of | peace.

Glo|ry to | God; Father | Son and | Holy | Spirit.

As in the be|ginning so | now; and for | ever. | A|men.

Second Reading                                                                  Philippians 1.1-11
A reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

For the word of the Lord                                         Thanks be to God

Gospel Procession

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,
Prepare the way for the Lord, make | straight his | paths: all people shall | see the sal-| vation of | God.
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

 

The Gospel                                                                    Luke 3.1-6
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke

X Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth;  and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’

For the Gospel of the Lord                     Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

The Sermon

Hymn after Sermon:   TIS –270  On Jordan’s banks…

Commissioning Service of Fr Philip Bradford as
Rector of St Luke’s Enmore with Stanmore
The Bishop Prays:     
Philip at your ordination, you were exhorted in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to remember the dignity of the high office and charge to which you are called: that is to say, to be a messenger, watchman and steward of the Lord: to teach and forewarn, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep who are scattered abroad, and for his children who are surrounded by temptation in this world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever. Have always therefore printed in your mind how great a treasure is committed to your care. For they are the sheep of Christ, whom he bought with his death and for whom he shed his blood. The church and congregation whom you serve is his bride and his body.
Pray to God, the Father, by the mediation of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, for the assistance of the Holy Spirit: so that by daily reading and meditating on the Scriptures you may grow in your ministry and that you may so strive to sanctify the lives of you and yours and to shape them according to the teaching of Christ that you may be good examples for the people to follow.  Amen

The Bishop Prays:
Almighty God, giver of all that is good, you have appointed various orders of ministry in your church: bless your servant Philip, called to minster in this parish. So fill him with your truth and clothe him with holiness, that he may faithfully serve you to the glory of your name and to the benefit of your people. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Congregation please stand

The Bishop presents the licence from the Archbishop and says:
Be a faithful minister of God’s word and sacraments and a faithful pastor under the great Shepherd of our souls.

Amen

Congregation acclamation

 

Offertory Hymn:  TIS – 266 – Awake, awake for night is flying…

 

Hymn during Communion:   

Post Communion Solo by Katherine Oldfield  -   

"Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy)

This hymn is a favourite of Fr Philip.  It is a part of our service.
Please do not clap.

This is a hymn in German, written by Johann Franck in 1650, with a melody by Johann Crüger.  The text, written in the first person, addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemies and the vanity of existence.
There are many works which include this hymn. The work sung today comes from verses 1,2 and 6 of the cantata (BuxWV60) by Dietrich Buxtehude who was a Danish composer (1637-1707) and a contemporary of J S Bach. (In part from cpdl.org)

 

Jesus, my joy, pasture of my heart, Jesus, my desire.
Ah how long is my heart filled with anxiety and longing for you!
Lamb of God, my bridegroom, apart from you on the earth
there is nothing dearer to me.
Beneath your protection I am free from the attacks of all my enemies.
Let Satan track me down, let my enemy be exasperated
Jesus stands by me.
Even if there is thunder and lightning, even if sin and hell spread terror,
Jesus will protect me.
Go away, mournful spirits, for my joyful master, Jesus, now enters in.
For those who love God even their afflictions become pure sweetness.
Even if here I must endure shame and disgrace, even in suffering you remain,
Jesus, my joy.

Final Hymn: TIS – 232 –O the deep, deep love of Jesus   (T. Ebenezer)

The Blessing

Memorial of the Incarnation

 

Next Sunday: Third  Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3.14-20: Song of Isaiah (APBA p. 391)
Philippians 4.4-7: and
Luke 33.7-18.

Bible Readings for the Week 7th to 13th December2014

MONDAY	Isaiah 35.1-10	Psalm 85.8-13	Matthew  5.17-26
TUESDAY	Isaiah 40.1-11	Psalm 96.7-13	Matthew 18.12-14
WEDNESDAY	Isaiah 40.25-31	Psalm 103.1-5	Matthew 11.28-30
THURSDAY	Isaiah 41.13-20	Psalm 145.8-13	Matthew 11.11-15
FRIDAY	Isaiah 48.17-19	Psalm 1	Matthew 11.1`6-19
SATURDAY	Sirach48.1-4,9-11	Psalm 80.14-19	Matthew 17.10-13

New Sick List starts next week, please renew names or add to the list, which is in the Foyer.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Notices for the Second week of November:

Happy Birthday to  Ross Lehman; Pauline Newell; Edward Reddy; Jeffrey Sheather; Raboom Takham; Christine Thurley; Belinda Reddy; Kathy Drummond; Fran Morris; Neville Daniels; Jennifer Bestel; Thomas Fleming; Brian Rawnsley and anyone else whom we should have named!
Flowers in the church have been donated today by Br Noel Jeffs, on the anniversary of his Ordination (1976) in Stawell.
Christmas Market success – thank you again everyone and all things considered we can say we made more than last year with a profit, give or take a dollar or two, of $6,000!  Some left-over jams and pickles were sold at the Opshop this week.   Well done everyone!!  All the individual stall profits can be seen on the notice board.
A Letter to Parishioners was given out last week to each person; if you were not here please ask for one as you leave the church - copies are available at the Welcome Table.
Stanmore Nursing Home Gifts – this Sunday and next we collect donations towards our purchase of a gift for each patient.  Please take one of the envelopes provided and put your donation into the offertory bag.  All donations large or small are gratefully received!
Thursday 10th December 7 pm - Advent Bible Study at Metropolitan Community Church.  See Peter Seymour or the notice board for details.  Thursday 17 December is at St Luke’s.
Thursday 10 December at 7.00 p.m. – Farewell to Bp Robert Forsyth at St Andrew’s Cathedral.
Sunday 20 December – 9.30 a.m. Presentation to Children at St Luke’s and a visit to Stanmore Nursing Home with gifts and carol singing after morning tea.
Sunday 20 December at 6.30 p.m. – Children’s Nativity – Play Without Rehearsal.  All children are invited to dress-up and come and participate in the play; refreshments will be in the hall after the play.
Friday 24 December – 9.00 a.m. - working bee/Christmas preparation & Midnight Mass commences at 11.30 p.m.
Christmas Day – 9.30 a.m. Family Eucharist
New on the Bookstall ….

New books:
A New Exile: The future of Anglicanism by Muriel Porter. This is a ‘must read’; new stock in.
Flight, Nadia Wheatley’s new book.
Advent Colouring Books for adults.

Expected soon: A Man Called Johnny Mac: Selected writings of Bishop John McIntyre

Christmas Cards from various charities.
Handmade greeting cards from Indonesia.
St Luke’s greeting cards featuring Tina Fiveash’s photos of our belltower.

Don’t forget to visit the Bookstall on your way to morning tea.

Funeral Planning Form – available from the church office for those who are interested in pre-arranging details.

 

BEQUESTS
We have benefited greatly in the past from bequests left to the parish by parishioners who have included St Luke’s in their will.  Some amounts left to the Parish have been large, some very small; all have been appreciated. The Wardens have elected to retain this capital and generally only use the interest as needed for various projects.  If you would like to think about this and include St Luke’s in your will it is one way of ensuring the ongoing maintenance of this extraordinary parish.

“Is your church truly growing?”
An extremely interesting morning, run by Fr John Sanderson from CCSL, was held last Wednesday at St Paul’s Burwood, attended by a number of us from St Luke’s.  We are on fire to “grow our parish”.  Growing, we were reminded by Fr John, does not necessarily mean bigger numbers. We were asked to consider how we understand salvation and how we share our faith with others.  Following on, we, the stole parishes, were asked to consider all we heard and to share it with out parishes.  We commend too the conference in Melbourne on Anglican Mission & Evangelism next year.

 

February 2016
AN INTER-AGENCY ANGLICAN CONFERENCE - MELBOURNE
10–13 February 2016
LIFE IN ABUNDANCE
I came that they may have life  - John 10:10
An Anglican Conference on
MISSION & EVANGELISM
VENUE: Trinity College Parkville, VIictoria
SPEAKERS include: Stephen Pickard; Dorothy Lee; Justin Duckworth; Stephen Bevans
For information email: theologyevents@trinity.edu.au

 

If you are interested in attending, please speak with Fr Philip, Moya, Jennie Winton or Ruth.

St Luke’s Direct Transfer  If you want to ensure regular giving to St Luke’s, but find you never have the right amount in cash, or are sometimes unable to attend on Sundays, then St Luke’s Direct Transfer may work for you. Please put your name or the word Offertory as a reference.

 

Intercessions

Prayers for each day of the week Today:    Ron, Sheila; Nigel, Vivien, Nathan & Abigail Cross; Lyn, Eleanor, Constance Cuneen & John  MacLulich. Monday: Neville Daniels; Edi & Oscar Davis; Kathy Drummond; David Dunlop; Joan Everingham. Tuesday:  Michael, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ellenor & Nicholas Fleming; Joy Gander; Stephen Gates & Andrew. Wednesday: Peter Gilbert & Alfredo Narnola; Wayne Gillies; Kevin Green; Stuart Grigg & ‘Tricia Blombery; Neville Hack. Thursday:  Richard Hagen & Somsakdi; John, Martha & Christopher Haly; Michael, Jacqueline, Sam & Sophie Hicks. Friday: Janet, Susan & Alex Hill; Laykum Ho; Moya Holle; Diana Jefferies; Noel Jeffs; Linda Jensathit; Kenny Khoo. Saturday:   Eddy, Mint, Atom & Arty Kittirat; Joseph & Esther Kumar; Robert, Gillian, William & Benjamin Lamb.

Our Prayers for those in immediate need... Simon LoSchiavo, Leanne, Madeline, Bishop Ivan Lee; Florence Shellard, Ray Sommer, Judy Daniels. The sick – Long term Barbara, Jade & Shirley Allen; Kuna Arjunan; Beth Armstrong; Hannah Ashton; Diane Badcock; Angela Bell; Ross Black; Fatima Begum; Jason Broadbridge, Joy Gander; Paull Garrett; Rez Gee; RhiannonHenry-Edwards; Josephine Jabbour; Ann Jeffs, Kylie Laughlin; Ross Lehman; Melissa, John & Baby Gerard; Marie McGrath; Jude & Isla; Marissa; Bp Ken Mason; Eve Moggs; Fr Ron Morris, John Naidu; Pauline Newell; John O’Grady; Peter Ogilvie; Bill & Poppy Prezios; Peter Purcell; Brian Rawnsley; Edward Reddy; Alex Regos; Joy Ree; Michael Andrew & Warren Ryan; Mary Sotiriadis; Sr Fiona CSC; Trier Family and Saria Sevilla. Recent Departed   Anniversaries of Deaths. Kathleen Anderson; Mary Crowther.; Saints and Commemorations 7th: Ambrose of Milan, bishop and teacher (d.397). 8th: The Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Richard Baxter, pastor and spiritual writer (d.1691)

 

Parish Information  

ABN.78 161 584 893.
SUNDAY WORSHIP   Sung Eucharist and Children's Ministry at 9.30 am followed by hospitality in the hall.  Thai Community will meet in the Chapel after morning tea.
WEEKDAY SERVICES: Wednesday 9.30 a.m. - Morning Prayer;  10.00 a.m. Eucharist (followed by morning tea)
Friday 8.30a.m. – Morning Prayer

CONFESSIONS (Sacrament of Reconciliation) HOME COMMUNIONS, BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES by arrangement.
ACTING RECTOR. Fr Philip Bradford.

Ph 9557 4219 - 0431 655 220 (Mob)
PO Box 64. Enmore NSW 2042
Email bradford.pr@gmail.com