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.
Free Bereavement Support Group
The Bereavement Journey
We know that in life, loss is all around us. Often the death of a loved one can be almost too much to bear. If you have lost the person that you love, either recently, or many years ago, grief may stay with you as you navigate your day-to-day life. Weobley parish church (St Peter and St Pauls) is running 7 weekly sessions, starting Wednesday 2nd October at Weobley Village Hall to support you through the process of bereavement. We will be following a series of films and discussions (The Bereavement Journey) that gently guide people through the most common aspects of grief and bereavement, enabling them to process the implications for themselves and discern next steps.
Loneliness and isolation are often felt by the person left behind. By walking with others who have taken the same path, we aim to help you find ways to manage your grief and loss. The format will be an informal, relaxed meeting with refreshments, where you will join others who have experienced similar losses.
Please contact Lesley-Anne Ryder to reserve your place:
Lesley@LesleyRyder.co.uk Phone: 07720 448000
Staunton Churchyard Cleanup
Saturday 5th October
9.30am - 12.30pm
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
We will be pruning low branches, cutting back hedges and tidying areas around the boundary.
Please bring gloves and equipment.
Tea & Cake
Please contact Glenn Jones on 07717 534593
Churches Together in Weobley
Harvest Festival
Sunday 6th October
11.00am
WEOBLEY PARISH CHURCH
Followed by a delicious Lunch for a donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee
If you would like to book a Lunch please contact Wendy Hereford email: wendykhereford@gmail.com or sign up list in Weobley Parish Church
Harvest Festival
Sunday 6th October
3.30pm
Come along and join us this harvest time as we celebrate all that God has provided
Refreshments
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid
St Mary's Church Monnington-on-Wye
Coffee Morning
Tuesday 8th October
10.30am - 12.00pm
*Tea *Coffee *Cakes *Biscuits & Friendly Chat
Weobley Parish Church
Weobley Churchyard Clean up
Saturday 12th October
9.30am - 1.30pm
We will be pruning low branches, cutting back hedges and tidying areas around the boundary walls.
Please bring gloves and equipment.
Soup lunch will be provided with Tea & Coffee
WEOBLEY PARISH CHURCH
Soup & Sweet Lunch
Saturday 12th October
12.30pm-2.30pm
Norton Canon Village Hall
All proceeds to Sarnesfield Church
To reserve a place please contact: Roger Marshall on 01544 318795 or email: rogermarshall@bbmax.co.uk
Cafe Style Family Harvest Festival
Sunday 13th October
3.00pm
Norton Canon Village Hall
*Tea *Coffee *Cake
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid and non-perishable goods for the FoodBank
St Nicholas Church Norton Canon
Harvest Festival
Sunday 13th October
10.30am
Come and celebrate the goodness of the harvest with us at our annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid
St Mary's Church Staunton-on-Wye
Harvest Festival
Sunday 20th October
10.30am
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid
Byford Parish Church
Family Crafty Harvest Service
Sunday 20th October
3.00pm
Harvest crafts for the children followed by tea
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid
St John the Baptist Letton
Harvest Festival
Sunday 27th October
11.00am
This year we will be collecting donations toward WaterAid
St Mary's Church Sarnesfield
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
6th & 13th October An Attitude of Gratitude
While on holiday, I found myself grumbling about a few days of rainy weather. However, my complaint led me to recall the times that I lived in desert environments, in Australia and the Middle East, when I used to lament the lack of green in the landscape. There’s a well-used saying in the UK that ‘You don’t get a green country without rain’. As we celebrate Harvest season, we are also called to give thanks for the blessings that come with rain!
I once heard a story related by an Australian who was working in a dry, remote part of Africa. She was asked by the women of the village about how far Australian women walked to fetch their water from a well. When she replied that most Australian women had access to piped, clean running water, both hot and cold, one of the ladies exclaimed ‘How happy must be the people of your country!’
This anecdote caused me to reflect on how much we take for granted; how we often overlook the simple provisions of everyday sustenance. Perhaps it also illustrates our deeper need to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness. Are we thankful for the material blessings of food, shelter and warmth? And are we grateful for the support of others around us? In the letter to the Ephesians Paul says ‘I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers’. May this Harvest season be a time of heartfelt thanksgiving and may the joyful fruits of this spirit of gratitude be evident in our lives and churches.
Rev’d Philip
Harvest Collection for Water Aid
PCC members across the benefice were consulted about supporting a charity with our harvest collections, and the decision was made to make donations to Water Aid, a charity working in developing nations to provide access to clean water and drainage. More information can be obtained at www.wateraid.org/uk
22nd & 29th September Francis of Assisi
In 1961, I became a founder member of the choir of the new St Francis Church in the Parish of Langley Marish, Buckinghamshire. We lived just fives miles away and for years I sang at the annual Patronal Festival of St Francis, on October 4th.
Francis was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1181/2 and died in 1226 aged 45.
His father was a wealthy silk merchant, but Francis renounced a life of privilege and embraced the life of a poor man. Dressing in a coarse woollen tunic, like the poorest Umbrian peasants.
He went about preaching peace and love, and although Francis was not an ordained priest and had no preacher’s licence, in 1209 he obtained permission from the pope to found a religious order—the ‘Lesser Brothers’ later to be know as the Franciscans.
Francis of Assisi preached the Christian doctrine that the world was created good and beautiful by God, but suffers a need for redemption because of human sin. He believed that nature itself was the mirror of God. In his ‘Canticle of the Sun’ he gives God thanks for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Water, Fire and Earth, all of which he saw as rendering praise to God. He called all creatures his ‘brothers’ and ‘Sisters’, and even preached to the birds.
Perhaps ahead of the modern curve, on 29th November 1979, Pope John Paul II declared Francis the Patron Saint of Ecology.
I am not a papist, and I don’t venerate the saints, but I do see in Francis a fine pattern for Christian life which we could all do worse than to follow.
Rev Charles Overton