Bowland Benefice
Pews News 12 February 2023
2 nd Sunday before Lent
Collect
Almighty God,

you have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme

over all things,
now and for ever. Amen.
This week in the Benefice
Sunday
12 February

10.30am Holy Communion in
Upton Snodsbury
10.30am Family Service in
White Ladies Aston

Saturday
18 February

10.30am
to Noon

Coffee Morning for
the Ukraine in The
Parish Room, White
Ladies Aston
(see below)

Sunday
19 February
Sunday next
before Lent

10.30am Benefice Holy
Communion in
White Ladies Aston

Tuesday 21
February

7.00pm Lent Course begins
at The Crown,
Peopleton
(see below)
This coming Saturday 18 February, in The Parish
Room, White Ladies Aston a Coffee Morning is being
organised to support relief efforts in the Ukraine. We
are all aware of the dreadful conditions people find
themselves in and of the devastation caused to the
country which has been going on for nearly a year.
There will be a chocolate and wine raffle. The PCC will
match whatever is raised up to a maximum of £500.
Please do show your support for this wonderful
initiative to send relief to the Ukraine.
The Benefice Lent Course begins on Tuesday 21
February. Claire explains: called Dust and Glory, it will
explore how we can live well with the mess of
everyday life. It encourages us to take a fresh look at
the frustrations and failings that every day brings and,
rather than pretending we can always avoid them,
seek to learn from them and grow closer to God
through them. It will be relaxed and a good chance to

relate scripture to real life.

 Please let Revd Claire know if you would like to take
part on 07921101320 or [email protected]

For the romantic amongst us……
Next Tuesday is St Valentine’s Day: but who was he?
Valentine’s name comes from the Latin valens
meaning worthy, strong and powerful. He is the
patron saint of lovers epileptics and beekeepers.
By some accounts, St. Valentine was a Roman priest
and physician who suffered martyrdom on 14
February during the persecution of Christians by the
emperor Claudius II in about 270. He was buried on
the Via Flaminia, and Pope Julius I reportedly built a

basilica over his grave.

According to legend , St. Valentine signed a letter from
your Valentine to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had
befriended and healed from blindness.
Another common legend states that he defied the
emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to
spare husbands from having to go to war.
St Valentine prayers and thoughts for the week

Eternal God,

we offer our thanks that through our earthly lives you

speak of your eternal life.
We rejoice in the wonder of creation,
the gift of human life and the many blessings
that our relationships bring.
Renew in us the fruits of your Holy Spirit;
that love, joy and peace may abound in our homes,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God, source of life and love,
we ask you to bless our families and friends.
Help us to see that the love we experience from
others is only a reflection of your great love for us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We pray for those whose relationships have ended
either by the death of a partner or by a break up. May
they find peace and happiness once more.
We think of all children, especially those in the care of
local authorities, in foster homes and adoptive homes.
May they all know the love & security of ‘belonging’.
We remember couples and families devastated by the
earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Their suffering is
almost beyond imagining. How can we help?
In this cold weather we remember those living on our
streets. Donations of warm clothing, socks,
underwear, toiletries and single bedding would be
greatly appreciated by the St Paul’s Hostel for the
Homeless in Worcester. There is a collection box in

Peopleton Church.

Food is always required too. There are food collection
boxes in The Pantry in Peopleton (given to Pershore
Food Bank) and Peopleton Church (given to
Worcester Food Bank).