A very warm welcome to the Parish of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Worthing Victoria Road/Clifton Road BN11 1XB
17th August 2025 -10:30 am Sung Mass - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Order of Service can be found in the white service booklet.
Please return this after Mass.
Please pray for:
the sick: Ian and Jean Grevatt, Michael Harris, Michael Tranter, Andrew Baker
the recently departed: Gretha Nichols, Michael Turner
St Andrew’s Notices
It was wonderful to welcome our friends from St John the Divine for The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Friday, 15th August. We were blessed to have Fr Tony, Deacon Rachel, Fr Ben and Fr Roger concelebrate. Our gratitude to Fr Peter for playing the organ throughout the Sung Mass.
The August issue number of St Andrew's magazine has been posted and a digital copy emailed to St Andrew's Friends. If you have articles or news you want to share with our congregation, please speak to Carole S, our magazine editor.
St Andrew's Bible Study with Fr Peter Sessions run through to the end of September every Friday after Said Mass, from 11am for about 45 minutes. Please bring your own Bible.
Dais and teapoint drawings! These are now displayed in the North Aisle for your perusal. The PCC will discuss these in the next PCC meeting on 7th September. Watch this space!
'A Christmas Carol' is coming to town! We are very excited to be hosting the performance on Friday, 21st November 2025 from 7pm. Please use the link and password below to buy tickets. http://www.thisismytheatre.com/worthing Password: CliftonVictoria
Until then, to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th anniversary of birth, check out the theatre company's website for wonderful productions of Jane Austen's 'Emma' and 'Pride and Prejudice' held in churches and public gardens across the country this summer. https://www.thisismytheatre.com/
News from Victoria Lodge Care Home! Our dear friend Gretha Nichols passed peacefully on Tuesday morning. There will be a Requiem Mass in church on Tuesday, 16th September at 11am, followed by a reception in the Church Hall. Please sign the sheet at the back of the church if you are able to attend. The family would also be grateful if you could share your memories of Gretha with them. Please add these to the sheet of condolences at the back of church. May she rest in peace!
After Mass today Please join us for tea or coffee and a friendly chat. If you are visiting, please introduce yourself to a member of the Clergy or to one of the Welcomers.
The Clergy The Venerable Tony Davies (Retired Associate Priest)
Deacon Rachel Bennett
The Rev’d Peter Kane
The Rev’d David Mumford
Lay contacts Churchwarden: Mrs Estera Emmerson
Parish Safeguarding Officer: Ms Veronica Frisby
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/5248/
email: [email protected]m
Bible study: today’s readings briefly explained
In the 1st reading we find the prophet Jeremiah in prison and his life at risk. His advice to the people - that as they look to the future they should put their trust in God rather than rely on political alliances - had brought him into conflict with the authorities who accused him of undermining the peoples’ morale. Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, speaks to the king on the prophet’s behalf, and his life is spared. We might see this event as a parable, teaching us that as Jeremiah was saved because someone spoke up for him, so the prayers we make for others are heard by God and answered.
Having told (in chapter 11) of many heroes of faith who had agreed to play a part in God’s plan of salvation, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews goes on to warn that just as they had faced difficulty and discouragement so we too, as we try to live faithful Christian lives, will find the journey hard. Look to Jesus, he says: he accepted the shame and suffering of the Cross and saw beyond it to the glory of heaven. Look to Jesus - be encouraged to persevere - for it is life with him that will be our reward at the end of the race.
The Gospel passage is difficult to understand if we look at it or read it simply from a human or earthly point of view. Jesus is at that point in his ministry when he, the Prince of Peace, would face death at the hand of his enemies (his ‘baptism’ he calls it) in order to bring the ‘fire’ of the new age. This is the choice he must make. His followers, too, must choose: for or against him. Committing ourselves to him, to following his way, may bring us into conflict, even with family and friends - just as walking in God’s way got Jeremiah thrown into a well. True discipleship is costly.