Weekly News

Benefice Office Opening Hours
Monday to Friday -  9:30 am to 1.00 pm

23rd August 2026

The Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

Welcome
If you are new to this church, it is lovely that you can join us today. We produce this information on a weekly basis which you can have emailed to you along with other information about the benefice.
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or email tovebeneficeoffice@gmail.com

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The Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than either we desire or deserve: pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask but through the merits and mediation of 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
God of all mercy, in this eucharist you have set aside our sins and given us your healing: grant that we who are made whole in Christ may bring that healing to this broken world, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lectionary Readings for Sunday:

Old Testament Reading:  Isaiah 51: 1 – 6
Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah, who bore you, for he was but one when I called him, but I blessed him and made him many. For the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation, for a teaching will go out from me and my justice for a light to the peoples. I will bring near my deliverance swiftly; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look at the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats, but my salvation will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.

New Testament Reading:  Romans 12: 1 – 8
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Gospel:  Matthew 16: 13 – 20
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

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
Sophie Laffey
Rachel Batchelor

Sick
Caroline Hunt
Mary Minnie
Carol McCormick
Dawn McCormick
Rob Ramos
Jane Small
Janet Gross
Abbie Mardell & Baby

Rest In Peace
Mary Reed
Elsaida Forbes
Nola Wright
Patricia Martin
Lily Watkins
Arthur (brother in law of Hazel Starmer)
Rev Haydn Jones

Banns
Victoria Anderson and Jacob Bower
Tracy Loasby and Adam Cameron-Clarke
Irina Belyaeva and Roy Bricknell

Wedding   
Eleanor Wise & Samuel Pomfret

Baptism
Pearl Connell

Benefice Notices

Service of Celebration & Thanksgiving
Sunday 20th September at 9.15 am, our Family Communion at St Lawrence Church will include an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the completion of our new heating and lighting and projection and screen projects. We are enormously grateful to the charities, organisations and individuals whose generosity and support have made these improvements possible.
Everyone is warmly invited to join us, with refreshments following the service.
Please RSVP by Sunday 13th September call 01327 350459 or email tovebeneficeoffice@gmail.com

Ride, Stride & Drive 
Join in or sponsor this year’s Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust event on Saturday 12th September. St Lawrence will be open from 10am – 6pm (with welcomers and refreshments), alongside St Michael’s, St Mary’s and St Bartholomew’s. Whether you’d like to cycle, walk, drive, or join a rota welcoming visitors, please contact Val Hartley (07511 636883 / val.e.hartley@btinternet.com) to get involved. Full details are in this week's Benefice Mailing.

Bible Study
Moving to Wednesday evenings starting 2nd September, exploring the Book of Acts and the life of St Paul. Everyone is welcome to join us at The Chantry House from 7:30 pm.
We suggest starting to read the Book of Acts as preparation. Those who follow the daily readings on the Weekly Sheet or join in with Morning prayer will be doing this anyway! At the current time the Book of Acts is being read at Morning Prayer.

Fellowship Groups
If you’d like to host or join an informal home group for friendship, prayer, and chat around Sunday’s readings, please speak to Revd Nigel, Revd Paula, or Revd Greg.

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