Welcome to Weobley & Staunton Joint Benefice
incorporating the Churches and Parishes of Weobley, Staunton On Wye, Norton Canon, Monnington, Sarnesfield, Byford and Letton in Herefordshire
Inclusive Church
As a Benefice, we believe in Inclusive Church – church which does not discriminate, on any level, on grounds of economic power, gender, mental health, physical ability, ethnicity, race, marital status or sexuality. We believe in Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which chooses to interpret scripture inclusively; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
Weobley Parish |Church Christmas Fayre
Saturday 30th November 2024
2.00pm-4.30pm
*Crafts *Raffle *Christmas Music *Refreshments *Stalls
Come and see the church beautifully decorated with Christmas Garlands by our wonderful community groups and pick up some great gifts for Christmas
WEOBLEY PARISH CHURCH
Sponsor an Angel
This Christmas, bring light and love to the memory of a loved one or honour a special person by sponsoring an angel at St Nicholas, Norton Canon.
Join us in this beautiful tradition of remembrance and dedication.
Saturday 30th November & Sunday 1st December
12.00pm-4.00pm
See the angels displayed in the church and have a moment or two for reflection
Refreshments are available & donations will be gratefully received.
To reserve your angel please contact Hannah on 07768 182316.
Carol Services across the benefice
Sunday 1st December 3.30pm Monnington-on-Wye
Sunday 8th December 3.00pm St Nicholas Toy Service Norton Canon
Sunday 15th December 10.30am Crafty Carol Service, Letton 4.00pm Byford
Sunday 22nd December 11.30am Sarnesfield 6.00pm Weobley
St Nicholas Toy Service
Sunday 8th December
3.00pm
With Guest Preacher Archdeacon Derek Chedzey
This Christmas season, bring joy to a child in need by donating a new toy to help families who could use a little extra support.
Norton Canon, HR4 7BQ
Winter H-Art
Byford Church are hosting winter H.art displaying Beautiful ceramics, sculptures, paintings, home spun wool products, printing...great cards and lovely
Christmas wrapping paper.
Local produce stall
Tea and coffee and cake!
Saturday 30th November 11.00am -7.00pm
Sunday 1st December 11.00am -5.00pm
Saturday 7th December 11.00am -5.00pm
Sunday 8th December 11.00am -5.00pm
An ideal chance to purchase a bespoke one of a kind Christmas gift.
St John the Baptist, Byford HR4 7LD
Staunton-on-Wye Christingle
Tuesday, 24th December 2024
2.30pm
The Christingle Service is a great way for communities everywhere to come together this Christmas to catch up, make special memories and have fun!
Funds raised in support of The Children’s Society
St Marys Church, Staunton-on-Wye HR4 7NE
A Year of Faith
Hereford Diocese has branded 2024 the ‘Year of Faith’. The apostle Paul says that ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). Bishop Richard says: "Jesus shows us that self-giving love is who God is, and his fingerprints are all over us. He shows us that a relationship with him provides the personal security: psychological, material and eternal to risk living differently. I hope our year of faith will increase our confidence in that reality and thus our confidence to live in the light of it" (Weekly eNews from Hereford Diocese 4.1.2024). Upon the solid rock of faith, we can build a vision for positive change.
For Year of Faith ideas and resources please click on the button below.
Weekly Reflection
thoughts and reflections from the Rev'd Philip Harvey
1st, 8th & 15th December Watching and waiting: Luke 21, 25-36
I remember a voyage taken once on a boat in high seas, feeling sea-sick and hoping to catch a glimpse of land. But the roll and pitch of the boat, the height of the waves, and the misty conditions prevented us seeing the distant contours of the Isles of Scilly as they were picked up on the boat’s radar. In our gospel text Jesus speaks to his disciples about difficult sailing ahead; of ‘distress among the nations, confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves’. He paints images of a world in conflict and destruction, but with all of this being a prelude to an even more powerful event, the arrival of God’s redemption.
In the season of Advent we are called to watch and wait as our church pitches and rolls through a stormy world; as we hang on to the railings of our faith. We do not watch in vain. Jesus assures us that ‘when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near’. In the turbulence of the present, the approaching coastline may seem far-off, even invisible. But we have a captain who knows our destination and is steering us calmly into port.
Rev’d Philip
17th & 24th November Not one stone will be left!
In Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus emerges from the temple building (Mark 13). One of his disciples, possibly seeing the temple for the first time, says ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ Jesus replies, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’
Jesus’ reply rings true on two levels. First as a prophecy of the destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD70. Next, it seems to challenge the idolatry that often springs up around the worship of buildings. In his speech to the Athenians, Paul says: “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands” (Acts 17: 24). Paul is not claiming anything new. The readers of the Old Testament were told by the prophets and the psalmists that God’s dwelling was with his people - in right actions, prayers and worship - rather than in places of stone and mortar.
Our human temptation is always to attach the sacred to something concrete, without consideration for the transience of things. There will come a day when our venerated church buildings crumble into dust, yet Christian worship will not. A former dean of Salisbury used to stand regularly by his deanery door, look over at the cathedral and say ‘O great cathedral, the day will come when the Lord has no more use for you.’ While this idea might seem heretical to those attached to the church as a place, it makes perfect sense in terms of orthodox theology. The church is God’s people: we are its living stones, and God is always active, reconstructing his church with each generation. Are we prepared for this?
Rev’d Philip