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8th March 2026

The Third Sunday of Lent

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The Collect
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; 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. Amen.

Post Communion
Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lectionary Readings for Sunday:

Old Testament Reading:  Exodus 17: 1 – 7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do for this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

NewTestament Reading:  Romans 5: 1 – 11
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely, therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Gospel:  John 4: 5 – 42
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

Please click here (or on the image) for This Weeks Daily Readings
 

Benefice Prayers 

We pray for those who are sick at this time and remember those who have recently died and pray for their families:

Continuing Prayers for
Linda Wibley
William Ironmonger

Sick
Tilly
Connie Cowley
Barbara Townsend
Caroline Hunt
Richard Watts
John Smith
Roger Howe
Dave Riecken   

Rest In Peace
Peter Curtis
Stanley Judd
Brian Manning

Baptism  
Holly Lloyd-Davies at St Lawrence, Towcester

Banns  
Benjamin Preece and Lucy Hoey at St Lawrence, Towcester

Benefice Notices

Changes to times of services
Please note from March the zoom Morning Prayer will move from 9:00 am Monday to Thursday to 8:15 am, (the Saturday Morning Prayer will remain at 9:00 am) and Holy Communion on the first Tuesday of the month will move from 9:00 am to 8:15 am.

Vergers for Baptisms
We are always looking for vergers for baptisms. If you or anyone you know would like to become a verger please contact the office on 01327 350459.

St Bartholomew’s, Greens Norton - Wednesdays during Lent 
Holy Communion service at 12:00 noon, followed by a soup lunch. All are welcome.

Soup, Sandwich and a Social Chat 
The last one before the summer break will take place on Tuesday 24th March. Please come to join us for lunch in the Chantry House from 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm. A small donation would be appreciated. Please speak to Gail or Eileen for more details.

Bradden 
There will be a tea and cake afternoon in aid of Parkinsons UK on Wednesday 25th March 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Bradden Village Hall. Soft drinks and cake will be served along with a raffle and a showing of Margaret and Emma’s TV adventure as they step into The Yorkshire Auction House.
In aid of Parkinsons UK. We do hope you will be able to join us.

Experience Easter
This March, we’re excited to be welcoming local Key Stage 2 children from primary schools in Greens Norton and Towcester into church for Experience Easter. Through interactive prayer spaces, the children will explore the Easter story. There are up to three sessions each day (two in the morning and one in the afternoon), each just over an hour long, running on 2nd and 3rd March in Greens Norton, 9th to 13th March in Towcester, and 16th to 19th March in Towcester. If you can offer any help please get in touch with Sarah Barnett: tovefamilies@gmail.com

Renew169 are looking to run a Wellbeing group in collaboration with Sponne School on Friday afternoons. They are arranging a volunteer information evening at Renew169 on Thursday 19th March from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm where there will be drinks and nibbles to find out more about this proposed project and volunteering for Renew169 in general.

Sara
Sara from the Benefice Office is leaving at the end of March. I am sure you will all join me in wishing her well and thanking her. We will therefore be advertising for a new Admin Assistant, 12 hours per week, Monday to Wednesday, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. We are particularly looking for someone with knowledge of how the Church of England works and with some finance experience. If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact the Benefice Office for details.

Communion
Please can we ask and remind people to refrain from dipping (intinction) their wafer into the wine when receiving communion. Those administering the chalice do not wish to cause upset at the communion rail. The reason for non-dipping policy is on the bishop’s advice and twofold: firstly one of hygiene and secondly because we have members who are gluten intolerant. If you feel unable to receive the wine from the chalice then receiving in one kind means you are making a valid communion. Thank you for your understanding.

Easton Neston Church and Churchyard visitors
If you have previously registered your number plate for access to visit St Mary's Easton Neston Church and Churchyard and it is not working the gate, please would you let Bev know on 01327 354385.

Please click here, or on the image, for This Months Services