St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Ardrossan

15/06/2026

Sunday: 19 July 2026: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
The Gospel: Matthew 13. 24 - 30, 36 - 43
Jesus put before the crowd another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared
to someone who sowed good seed in his field;
but while everybody was asleep,
an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.
So when the plants came up and bore grain,
then the weeds appeared as well.
And the slaves of the householder came and said to him,
“Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where, then, did these weeds come from?”
He answered, “An enemy has done this.”
The slaves said to him,
“Then do you want us to go and gather them?”
But he replied, “No;
for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
Let both of them grow together until the harvest;
and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,
Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’

Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house.
And his disciples approached him, saying,
‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’
He answered,
‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
the field is the world,
and the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
the weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil;
the harvest is the end of the age,
and the reapers are angels.
Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all causes of sin and all evildoers,
and they will throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Let anyone with ears listen!’

15/06/2026

Sunday: 26 July 2026: Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
The Gospel: Matthew 13. 31 - 33, 44 - 52
Jesus put before the crowds another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that someone took and sowed in his field;
it is the smallest of all the seeds,
but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,
so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

He told them another parable:
‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour
until all of it was leavened.

Again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,
which someone found and hid;
then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has
and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
in search of fine pearls;
on finding one pearl of great value,
he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net
when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down,
and put the good into baskets
but threw out the bad.
So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out
and separate the evil from the righteous
and throw them into the furnace of fire,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Have you understood all this?’
They answered, ‘Yes.’

And he said to them,
‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven
is like the master of a household
who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’

15/06/2026

Sunday: 14 June 2026: Third Sunday after Pentecost
The Gospel: Matthew 9. 35 - 10. 8 - 23
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and every sickness.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them,
because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few;
therefore ask the Lord of the harvest
to send out labourers into his harvest.’

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits,
to cast them out,
and to cure every disease and every sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles:
first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew;
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot,
the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:
‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles,
and enter no town of the Samaritans,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, proclaim the good news,
“The kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
You received without payment;
give without payment.
Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,
no bag for your journey,
or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff;
for labourers deserve their food.
Whatever town or village you enter,
find out who in it is worthy,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter the house, greet it.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
but if it is not worthy,
If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,
shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
Truly I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for the land of S***m and Gomorrah on the day of
judgment
than for that town.

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves;
so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Beware of them,
for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;
and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me,
as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say;
for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;
for it is not you who speak,
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will betray brother to death,
and a father his child,
and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
and you will be hated by all because of my name.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town,
flee to the next;
for truly I tell you,
you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.’

15/06/2026

Sunday: 7 June 2026: Second Sunday after Pentecost
The Gospel: Matthew 9. 9 - 13, 18 - 26
As Jesus was walking along,
he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth;
and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’
And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in the house,
many tax-collectors and sinners came
and were sitting with him and his disciples.
When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to his disciples,
‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’
But when he heard this, he said,
‘Those who are well have no need of a physician,
but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means,
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”
For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

While he was saying these things to them,
suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him,
saying, ‘My daughter has just died;
but come and lay your hand on her,
and she will live.’
And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.
Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for
twelve years
came up behind him
and touched the fringe of his cloak,
for she said to herself,
‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.’
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said,
‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’
And instantly the woman was made well.
When Jesus came to the leader’s house
and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion,
he said,
‘Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.’
And they laughed at him.
But when the crowd had been put outside,
he went in and took her by the hand,
and the girl got up.
And the report of this spread throughout that district.

07/06/2026

Congratulations on 150 years. Still going strong and moving onto a new chapter. 💜

03/06/2026

We thank God for Sean’s appointment and pray for his ministry.

Bishop Nick is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev Sean McEwen as Priest-in-Charge of St Columba’s, Largs initially for three years. His licensing will take place on Wednesday, 29th July 2026 at 7pm, the Feast of Martha and Mary of Bethany (white stole).

Sean says, “I am honoured and deeply grateful to be called to serve the wonderful community of St Columba’s, Largs. I look forward to discerning together how God is at work among us, as we grow in prayer, deepen our common life, and bear witness to the risen Christ in the world. I am grateful to the vestry, Dean Reuben, and Bishop Nick for their thoughtfulness and welcome in this process, and I look forward to joining in the life of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway and the Scottish Episcopal Church.”

Bishop Nick says, “I am really delighted to welcome Father Sean to the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, and to St Columba’s, Largs. It is a joy to receive someone from another part of the Anglican Communion (Diocese of East Tennessee), bringing fresh experience, new perspectives, and a deep commitment to prayer, community and mission. I know that Sean and Lance will find a warm home among us, and I am sure we will have much to learn from one another as this new chapter begins.”

Please pray for Sean and his husband Lance as they prepare to move from the USA in order to come and live and work here in Scotland in the coming months.

29/05/2026

Sunday: 31 May 2026
The Gospel: Matthew 28. 16 - 20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
When they saw him, they worshiped him;
but some doubted.
And Jesus came and said to them,
‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always,
to the end of the age.’

24/05/2026

Sunday: 24 May 2026
The Gospel: John 20. 19 - 23
When it was evening on the first day of the week,
and the doors of the house where the disciples had met
were locked for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood among them and said,
‘Peace be with you.’
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again,
‘Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
‘Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them;
if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’