Author: Revd. Karen Mitchell

Sunday

5th October 2025 The Sixteenth Sunady after Trinity

Collect
O Lord, we beseech you
mercifully to hear the prayers of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both
perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
First Reading
Lamentations 1.1 –6
A Reading from the Book of Lamentations.
How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she that was great among the nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces has become a vassal. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks;
among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies. Judah has gone into exile with suffering and hard servitude; she lives now among the nations, and finds no resting-place; her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress. The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the festivals; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan; her young girls grieve, and her lot is bitter. Her foes have become the masters, her enemies prosper,
because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe. From daughter Zion has departed all her majesty. Her princes have become like stags that find no pasture; they fled without strength before the pursuer.
Psalm Psalm 137.1-6
By the waters of Babylon we sat
down and wept, when we
remembered Zion. As for our
lyres, we hung them up on the
willows that grow in that land.
For there our captors asked for a
song, our tormentors called for
mirth: Sing us one of the songs of
Zion. How shall we sing the Lords
song in a strange land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let
my right hand forget its skill. Let
my tongue cleave to the roof of
my mouth if I do not remember
you, if I set not Jerusalem above
my highest joy.
Second Reading
2 Timothy 1.1-14
A Reading from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God-whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who
abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us. heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Gospel Luke 17.5–10
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith! The Lord replied, If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you. Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, Come here at once and take your place at the table? Would you not rather say to him, Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!
Post Communion
Almighty God, you have taught us through your Son that love is the fulfilling of the law: grant that we may love you with our whole heart and our neighbours as ourselves; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Services this week:
Sunday 5th October The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
10am Sung Mass
Refreshments are available after this service, please do stay and join us.
Tuesday 7th October
10am Said Mass
10.30am - 12pm Tea & Toast
Sunday 12th October The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
10am Sung Mass
Refreshments are available after this service, please do stay and join us.
Your prayers are asked at this time for:
All those who are sick or in any kind of need
Those who have recently Departed:
Those whose anniversary of death occurs at about this time:
Notices
Fundraising: We currently have the 50/50 Raffle on a monthly basis, £1 per ticket (you can have as many tickets as you want), the prize money being split between the roof fund and the winning ticket number, the next draw will take place on Sunday 26th October.
Porch Pantry: We are currently in desperate need of Tinned Fruit, Custard, Rice Pudding, Tuna, Pot Noodles, Treat Biscuits, Crisps, Tissues (Small Packets). Your help is greatly appreciated.
MacMillan Coffee Morning: Thank you to all who supported this worthy cause, we raised a staggering £460.
Bishops Harvest Appeal: Thank you to all who stayed, and provided culinary delights for our International Bring and Share Harvest Lunch, where the warmth of fellowship was matched by the richness of flavours from around the world, and we also managed to raise £135 for the Bishops Harvest Appeal.
Tea & Toast: We will be serving Tea (or coffee) and Toast (with jam or marmalade) from 10.30am on a Tuesday Morning, please do come and join us, and why not bring a friend as well!.
Children’s Society Collection Boxes If you have one of these at home, please can you return it by Sunday 30th November, so that they can be counted and money sent off by the end of the year.
Sunday 30th November 2025 (Advent Sunday) - we will be celebrating our 65th Anniversary, with a Celebration Praise Service at 3pm followed by Afternoon Tea. Please collect your invite from today, and make sure that you respond for catering purposes. Also do you have?: Any pictures or memorabilia from the last 65 Years of our church that you would be willing to lend us so that we can have a display of our church through the years.
Save the Date for our 3 Day Christmas Tree Festival 5th - 7th December: This year we will once again be holding a 3 day Christmas Tree Festival. In the next couple of weeks there will be sign up sheets on the boards at the back of church for us all to take our part and to help serve refreshments, work on stalls etc. Please do consider seriously how you can help at some stage over these three days so that we can encourage members of the community to come and join us.
Stewardship: As we journey together in faith, we are reminded that Christian stewardship is not just about giving, it is about gratitude, responsibility, and trust. Our time, talents, and treasures are all blessings to be shared, therefore each one of us is asked to prayerfully consider how we can support the life and mission of our parish. Below are some of the ways that we could do this, and during the next few weeks each of you will receive a personal letter regarding stewardship, which I ask you to respond to, but for now please think and pray about what you can offer.
Time: Can you offer a couple of hours each week to help with Serving at the Altar, Reading or Interceding at services, Porch Pantry, Tea & Toast or Parish Events?
Talent: Do you have skills, administrative, musical, technical, creative, that could bless our outreach and community?
Treasure: Your financial contributions make a real difference. Even a small regular offering helps sustain our worship, outreach, and community programs.
Let each one of us and not just a few be generous stewards of all that God has entrusted to us.
Generosity Week 28th September - 5th October: Generosity Week takes place in the Harvest season, so that as we thank God for his generosity to us, we also have the opportunity to think about how we might respond to that generosity. Please take your letter from the back of Church to see how you can help with this.
Dates For Your Diary 2025:
Sunday 5th October The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity
10.00am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Tuesday 7th October 10am Said Mass
10.30am Tea & Toast
Sunday 12th October The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
10.00am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Tuesday 14th October 10am Said Mass
10.30am Tea & Toast
Sunday 19th October The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
10.00am Sung Mass followed by refreshments
Contact Us
Rector: Reverend Karen Mitchell Email: revd.karenmitchell@btinternet.com Tel: 07596 374372
Churchwardens: Mr Mike Wilson Email: mikw505050@gmail.com Mr Eric Walton Email: enricowalton@gmail.com
Treasurer: Ms Jennifer Higgins Email: jah039@gmail.com