St Nicholas, Peopleton

Bowland Benefice Pews News 25 January 2026 Conversion of St Paul - Collect Almighty God, who caused the light of the gospel to shine throughout the world through the preaching of your servant Saint Paul: grant that we who celebrate his wonderful conversion may follow him in bearing witness to your truth; through 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. This week in the Benefice Sunday 25 January 9.30am Holy Communion in White Ladies Aston 10.30am Morning Prayer in Upton Snodsbury 11.00am Late Breakfast Café Church in Peopleton Sunday 1 February Presentation of Christ in The Temple or Candlemas 10.30am Family Service in Upton Snodsbury 11.00am Holy Communion in Peopleton 6.00pm Songs of Praise in White Ladies Aston Don’t forget - Tea/Coffee and Croissant will be served in St Nicholas’ Church this Sunday at 11.00am at Peopleton’s Late Breakfast Café Church. A short and very informal time of worship and fellowship which is growing in popularity. If you haven’t experienced Café Church before, please do come along and give it a try. However cold and miserable January will be outside St Nicholas Church, there will be a very warm welcome waiting for you inside! The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends this Sunday 25 January This years theme is One body One Spirit Heavenly Father, you have called us in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ to continue his work of reconciliation and reveal you to the world: forgive us the sins which tear us apart; give us the courage to overcome our fears and to seek that unity which is your gift and your will; through 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. Congratulations! An Eco Church Award! St John the Baptist Church, White Ladies Aston has been awarded an A Rocha Bronze Award. A Rocha UK is a Christian charity working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equipping churches to care for the environment. Eco Church is a learning community of churches of all shapes and sizes open to all denominations. It provides a framework to support our church and its leadership, to take practical action on caring for God’s earth, through the Eco Church survey which covers five key areas of church life:  Worship and teaching  Buildings and energy  Land and nature  Community and global engagement  Lifestyle Church Warden Margaret writes……We still have some way to go in some areas to achieve the Silver Award but we’ll do our best! A Diary Reminder - Revd Claire is running a Pilgrim Lent Course for everyone to discuss the basics of faith and what it really means to be a Christian in the 21 st Century. It will be a 6 weeks’ course from Wednesday 25 February, 2.30pm to 3.30pm in The Parish Room, White Ladies Aston. Each session will begin with coffee/tea and cake. Please let Claire know if you would like to go so that she has enough course material for everyone. If you need a lift she will try and arrange it. Contact her by phone on 07921 101320 or email [email protected] Spring may be just around the corner but in these dark, dank, cold and miserable days of January, the light and warmth of the world seem very far away. The so, so depressing news continues to bombard us constantly. It is more than enough to make everyone feel hopeless, helpless and rootless. I won’t even mention politics but the number of times I am sure we have all said recently I don’t believe I just heard that! We can take comfort in the Serenity Prayer God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can and Wisdom to know the difference. It is a time for us to look after each other, just a smile, a kind word, a quick phone call is enough to brighten a day. We all need to cling on to our vision of justice, love and reconciliation, a culture of hope and freedom for ourselves, our families and friends and the wider community and country. If you feel you would like to talk to Revd Claire about life and the universe or maybe just a chat and a cup of tea, please contact her on 07921 101320.