Notices
Fr David Swyer SSC (Vicar): 07872 572681: davidswyer64@gmail.com
www.portslade-mileoak.org.uk
Harvest Thanksgiving/27th Week in Ordinary Time
New English Hymnal
259 Come, ye thankful people come; 264 All things bright and beautiful (Tune: Monk); 285 For the beauty of the earth (Tune 1: England’s Lane); during communion:  459 The Lord’s my shepherd (Crimond); Recessional: 262 We plough the fields and scatter 

Diary
SUN 5 	Harvest Thanksgiving
	9.00am Parish Mass (The Good Shepherd)
	11.00am Parish Mass (St Nicolas)

Mon 6	No services today

Tue 7	Our Lady of the Rosary
	8.45am Morning Prayer &
	10.00am Morning Prayer (St Nicolas)
	
Wed 8	Feria
	9.30am Morning Prayer &
	10.00am Mass (The Good Shepherd) 

Thur 9	S John Henry Newman, Pr
	8.45am Morning Prayer (St Nicolas)
	7.00pm Mass (St Nicolas)
	
SUN 12 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
	9.00am Parish Mass (The Good Shepherd)
	11.00am Parish Mass (St Nicolas)
						
	    	Intercessions
Priest: Let us pray to God, the Lord of the harvest,
that he will bring to fruition all that he desires for his creation.

Reader: Lord of creation, we see that the fields are ripe for harvesting: we pray for your Church, that it may be ready to gather fruit for eternal life.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

You have created the universe by your eternal Word,
and have blessed humankind in giving us dominion over the earth: we pray for the world, that we may honour and share its resources, and live in reverence for the creation and in harmony with one another.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

Your Son has promised that the Spirit will lead us into all truth: we pray for the community in which you have set us, for one another and for ourselves, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace.
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.
Jesus came to bring healing to the sick. We pray for all those who suffer that they may find wholeness. For…
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

Your Son Jesus Christ is the first-fruits of the resurrection and will reap the harvest of the dead at the end of time: we pray that he will gather us all together
with those who have gone before in the banquet of the age to come. For…
Lord of the harvest,
in your mercy hear us.

In a moment of silence, we offer our own petitions…

We join our prayers with those of our Blessed Mother.

Hail Mary…

Priest: Source of all life and giver of all that is good,
hear our prayers and grant us all that is in accordance with your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Please pray for:
The people of Israel and the Palestinian Territories
The Sick: Irene Harman, Tracey Harman, Barbara Woodward, Janet Edwards, Ryan Woolgar, Christine Smith, Phillip Jones, Tony Johnson, Susan Styles, Adrian, Gordon Cubberley, Beverley Cubberley, Mel, Seema, David Greaves, Dawn Buck, Cathy Fish, Martin Fish, Marian Burke, Dan Burke, Audrey Beard, Chris, Barbara Humnalova

The Departed: Andrew Perry, priest, Ann
Year’s Mind: John Wood 1st, Herbert William Pope 1st, Shirley Swyer 2nd 
Harvest Supper
Thank you to Gill, Ann, Lisa and their band of helpers for the Harvest Supper yesterday. Fr David
Harvest Thanksgiving
O Lord, good father, who in your providence
have entrusted the earth to the human race,
grant, we pray, that with the fruits harvested from it
we may be able to sustain life
and, with your help, always use them
to promote your praise and the well-being of all.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son,
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.  Amen

First Reading		Joel 2.21-27
Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice,
for the LORD has done great things!
Do not fear, you animals of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 		
O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the LORD your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 		
I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you. 
You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame. 

Psalm 126
Refrain: The Lord has indeed done great things for us.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,  
then were we like those who dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter  
and our tongue with songs of joy. R:/

Then said they among the nations, 
‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has indeed done great things for us, 
and therefore we rejoiced. R:/

Restore again our fortunes, O Lord,  
as the river beds of the desert.
Those who sow in tears 
shall reap with songs of joy. R:/

Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed,  
will come back with shouts of joy,
bearing their sheaves with them. R:/

Second Reading 1 Timothy 6.6-10
There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Alleluia, alleluia.
Lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are ripe for harvesting. Gather the fruit for eternal life.
Alleluia.

Gospel	Matthew 6.25-33
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’

Prayer over the Offerings
Sanctify, O Lord, the offerings
we bring to you with thanksgiving from the fertile earth
and, as you give us a rich harvest of the earth’s produce,
so make our hearts abound with heavenly fruitfulness.
Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Communion Antiphon Cf. Ps 103:13-15
The earth is replete with the fruits of your work, O Lord; you bring forth bread from the earth, and wine to cheer the heart.

Prayer after Communion
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we give you thanks in this saving mystery for the crops harvested from the earth, we may, through the same mystery working within us,
be worthy to receive still greater blessings. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.