Bowland Benefice
Pews News 9 February 2025
4 th Sunday before Lent
Collect
O God, you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
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
9 February

10.30am

Holy
Communion in
Upton
Snodsbury

10.30am

Family Service
in White Ladies
Aston

Tuesday
11 February

7.00pm

Bowland
Benefice
Council meets
in White Ladies
Aston

Sunday
16 February
3 rd Sunday
before Lent

11.00am

Benefice Holy
Communion
In Peopleton
The Benefice Council meeting (postponed from 28
January) takes place this Tuesday. If you have
anything you would like discussed please do let me
know – [email protected]

Late Breakfast Café Church held on 26 January with
coffee and croissant, singing, prayer and discussion
was well supported and popular and those attending

were keen to ‘do it again!’.

It is in the Bowline as happening again this month on
23 February. There will now be no service in
Peopleton that day (but Communion at White Ladies
Aston and Morning Prayer at Upton Snodsbury).
Please do make a note that Café Church will actually

take place on

23 March at 11.00am in St Nicholas, Peopleton.
Look out for posters advertising it nearer the time.
At that service we will hear from Stef Jones about the

charity he set up in 2021 called
Onwards and Upwards.

Stef did voluntary work in HMP Brixton and this led
him to realise that he had a passion for prisons and
specifically, helping keep people out of them.

Appointing our new Bishop of Worcester
If you are interested in the process of appointing the
new Bishop of Worcester, the next steps and who is
involved and what they are doing can be found on the

Diocesan website.

The appointment panel will be hard at work to find
the right person for our Diocese at what we all know
is a very difficult time for the Church of England.
The appointment will probably be announced in July.

World Day of Prayer

When I first came to Pershore in 1973, the annual
Women’s World Day of Prayer, was a big event,
drawing women from the Catholic church, The Baptist
Church, the Abbey and village churches together for a
service on the first Friday in March.
Women officiated at the service, all the readers were
women, the prayers and singing were led by women. I
suppose you could say it was a bit of a closed shop!
Over the years, it has been opened up to everyone –
Women was dropped from its title.
It is an important occasion with the opportunity to
connect with Christians from across the world, many
of whom are struggling to maintain their faith in very,
very difficult circumstances and ways of life.
This year the service has been put together by the
women living on the Cook Islands – only two thirds
the size of the Isle of Wight lying between Tonga and
Samoa. The theme this year is from Psalm 139 ‘I
praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made’.

The women write:

Our Heavenly Father blessed our islands of the sea.
From the northern islands across the ocean to the
southern islands, the golden sun shines through the
clear blue skies and birds freely fly. From the bright,
white sandy shores all the way to the highest
mountain top our islands are abundant with fresh
produce and colourful flora and fauna. The lagoons
and oceans are bountiful with sea life, fish and gems
(like black pearls), which link us to the world.
On each island the mighty coconut tree stands tall, a
symbol of strength and goodness. The coconut tree
provides for our health and wellbeing. We have
discovered how to use every part, from the fronds to
the very deep roots for food, drink, medicine, shelter
and much more. The coconut tree is essential to our
survival and is the tree of life for our people.
We are grateful for the arrival of Christianity to our
shores 200 years ago. The gospel of Jesus Christ
brought hope, peace and light. In time, our cultures
have interwoven with Christianity, and the blessings
are evident today. As guardians and caretakers of
God’s marvellous works, we always treasure these
words, ‘I made you wonderful’.
This year’s service takes place on 7 March at 2.00pm
in The Baptist Church, Broad Street, Pershore.
Please make a note in your diary!