NOTICES FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING:
Monday 7 th December 2015
TUE 7.30pm PCC Meeting
WED 8pm Advent Reflections Group at St Helen’s
Church - Malachi 3.1-4
FRI 5pm Junior Choir Practice
6pm Senior Choir Practice
Next Sunday: Advent 3
8.30am Holy Communion (BCP)
10.00am Parish Eucharist
(Readings: Zephaniah 3.14-18, Philippians 4.4-7,
Luke 3.7-18 )
6pm Youth Group bowling trip
Friday 11 th December
7.30pm at St Mary’s Church, Ewelme
“Three Pressed Men”
A programme of the nation’s finest traditional songs and melodies including some rarely seen instruments. Tickets £10 from Derry’s Den, Ewelme
Village Store or 01491 824822
Wednesday 16 th December
8pm Advent Reflections Group at St Mary’s Church,
Ewelme
Thursday 17 th December
2.30pm Women’s House Group at 12 Chiltern Close
Sunday 20 th December
6pm Christmas Carol Service
8pm Youth Group sleep out
Christmas Eve
3pm Christingle Service
5pm Community Carols
11.15pm Midnight Communion
Parenting Teenagers Course
Starts Monday 18 th January, 7.30pm in the Canons’
Room for five Mondays. Details on the web page or see Emma Firth.
To contact the churchwardens and PCC email: sthelensbenson@gmail.com
www.achurchnearyou.com/benson-st-helen
The Parish of Benson - St Helen’s Church
Sunday 6 th December 2015
Second Sunday in Advent
Welcome to all who are worshipping with us today
8.30am Holy Communion (BCP)
The Collect, Epistle and Gospel are for the Second
Sunday in Advent
There is a retiring collection for the pupils at Tiger
Kloof School
10.00am Parish Communion
Processional Hymn: 142 Hail to the Lord’s anointed
(omit v.4)
Liturgy for the Lighting of the Advent Wreath
Collect (said together)
Almighty God, purify our hearts and minds, that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour we may be ready to receive him, who is our Lord and our God. Amen
First Reading: Malachi 3.1-4
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.
This is the Word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God

Taize Anthem – remain sitting, sing twice
In the Lord I'll be ever thankful,
In the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid.
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near,
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near.
Second Reading: Philippians 1.3-11
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.
This is the Word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
Gradual Hymn: Purify my heart
Purify My Heart
Let Me Be As Gold, And Precious Silver
Purify My Heart
Let Me Be As Gold, Pure Gold
Refiner’s Fire
My Heart’s One Desire
Is To Be Holy
Set Apart For You, Lord
I Choose To Be Holy
Set Apart For You, My Master
Ready To Do Your Will
Purify My Heart
Cleanse Me From Within, And Make Me Holy
Purify My Heart
Cleanse Me From My Sin, Deep Within
Refiner’s fire…
Gospel: Luke 3.1-6
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
All Glory to you, O Lord.
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.” ’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon and Intercessions
Offertory Hymn: 24 Hark, a thrilling voice is sounding
The anthem sung by the choir will be “Hark, the glad sound” (Thorne)
Post Communion Sentence
Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge: give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that, when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Blessing
Recessional Hymn: 484 Long ago, prophets knew
There will be retiring collections in Advent to raise funds to support our three pupils, Rudisang
Mohapanele, Sandile Mafuba & Xolani Keogatile at
Tiger Kloof School in South Africa
Prayers for the Week
In the world: For those in authority working to keep people and countries safe.
Our link: with Tiger Kloof School, South Africa
Our parish: for all those caring for the vulnerable in our community. For our growing links with the
Ewelme Benefice
Those who are sick and in hospital: John Davis and others known to us.