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Welcome to
our website
We hope that
you will enjoy looking around, and will come back often, as
the site is updated every week. Our aim is to capture the spirit
of St. Andrew's Church online - our faith, our worship, our people, and
our community.
Our church is
first of all a spiritual centre, a place where people can find God, be
nourished in their spiritual journey, and grow in their life of faith.
If you could come along to one of our services your presence would be a
joy to us and to God.
If you have any
questions or suggestions please do contact us using the 'Get in Touch' button.
You will find all of our contact details there, including access to a
location map. We also love to know a little more about our web guests,
and would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign our
Visitors' Book.
Again,
welcome and thank you for visiting our site.
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Worship this week at
St. Andrew's Church Taunton |
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Wednesday 13 December
10.00am: Holy Communion
(said)
Friday 15 December
10.30am: School play in church
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Sunday 17 December
Advent 3
8.00am: Holy Communion
(said) -
a quiet and reflective
start to Sunday
10.00am: Parish Communion -
this is an opportunity to
offer the events of the past week to God, and to be renewed and nurtured
in preparation for the week to come. A warm welcome awaits you at this
sung Eucharist, which is at the heart of our weekly pattern of worship
at St. Andrew's.
3pm: Holy Baptism |
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For the readings at our Sunday services please click
here
and to see all of our
events in December please look at our
calendar. |
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Christmas at St. Andrew's Church
Taunton
Click the picture for more
information
or
click here to download a .pdf
of our Christmas leaflet. |
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What then should we do?
A reflection by Katharine Smith
for
the third Sunday of Advent - 17 December 2006 |
Gospel: Luke 3: 7 - 18
John said
to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You
brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath
to come? Bear fruits worthy of
repentance. Do not begin 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.
Even 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.’
And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’
In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must
share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food
must do likewise.’ Even
tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him,
‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He
said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount
prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also
asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them,
‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false
accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were
questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he
might be the Messiah,
John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with
water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I
am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will
baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his
threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his
granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
fire.’
So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good
news to the people.
We’ve
heard John’s call for repentance in preparation for the coming of the
Lord. We’ve been excited by the prophetic words of Isaiah promising
justice, peace and freedom. We’ve been warned about wars, earthquakes
and other “natural” disasters. These are all big ideas encompassing
nations, governments and creation itself. How do we relate those things
to our every day life?
In
today’s Gospel reading John addresses smaller groups of people and
individuals who ask what they should do, specifically, to prepare the
way of the Lord. They speak for us who also wait and wonder. John
could just as well be talking directly to us, his voice fresh, clear and
resounding across the centuries.
He
calls us to be generous – to give from what we have in plenty to those
who lack the basics.
He
calls us to be honest and to act with integrity in our employment and
business affairs. We’re not to take advantage of those weaker than
ourselves and to accept with thanksgiving the riches that we do have.
When
his message gets personal like this, John is not a comforting and
reassuring presence. He’s challenging, speaking out against the values
of too many of us in this world. If John demands so much of us what
will be required by the One who is more powerful than him?
John
speaks with “many other exhortations” and in doing so proclaims the good
news to the people. It seems you can’t have the one without the other.
Prayer:
Lord
Jesus, you call us to lives of loving generosity, honesty, integrity and
humility. With the baptism of your Holy Spirit we pray that you will
walk alongside us to protect and guide us as we seek to obey that call
and to live in fellowship with you.
Katharine Smith is a
Reader at St. Andrew's Church Taunton. She is a regular contributor to
Sunday Link and Common Worship, Living Word.
Katharine's first book "The Way of the Cross", with
original artworks by her brother George Boxley, will be published by
Redemptorist Publications in December.
During our interregnum please
join with all of us at St. Andrew's in praying this 'Vacancy Prayer':
Lord
Jesus Christ, our friend and saviour, you promised to be with us always,
until the end of time.
We
thank you for being with those whose vision led to the founding of St
Andrew’s Church.
We
thank you for being with the men, women and children who, since then,
have filled the church with prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
Be with
us now as we live out today’s chapter in the story of your people at St
Andrew’s.
Be with all those who carry the responsibility of leadership in our
parish life, especially Stephen and June, our Wardens, and all members
of our PCC. Help each of us
to play our part; to love and serve each other and, above all, to serve
you in the heart of this community.
We pray
for all involved in the process of appointing a new incumbent and for
the person you are calling to join us.
Help us
to face the future with faith and courage; to keep alive the vision that
brought this church into being and to become the people you want us to
be.
Lord
Jesus Christ, help us to trust in your love and faithfulness and to
serve you with joy and thanksgiving now and always. Amen.
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