Bowland Benefice
Pews News
22 October 2023
20 th Sunday after Trinity - Collect
God, the giver of life,

whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:
by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live
the gospel of Christ
and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
the joys of eternal life;
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.
We welcome Revd Canon Sarah Dangerfield to
our Bowland Benefice this Sunday.
She will take the service of Holy Communion

in White Ladies Aston

followed by the Harvest Festival with Communion

in Peopleton.
This week in the Benefice
Sunday
22 October

9.30am Holy Communion in
White Ladies Aston
10.30am Songs of Praise in
Upton Snodsbury
11.00am Harvest Festival
with Communion in
Peopleton followed
by Harvest Lunch in
the Village Hall

Monday
23 October

1.00pm Thanksgiving
Service for the life
of Revd Nancy
Murray-Peters in
Fladbury
7.30pm Talk in The Parish
Room, White Ladies
Aston

Friday
27 October

7.30pm Film Night in The
Parish Room,
White Ladies Aston

Sunday
29 October
Bible Sunday

10.30am Benefice Holy
Communion in
Broughton Hackett
Please think of Upton Snodsbury Church of England
School, its Head Teacher, the Staff and children today
(Thursday) as they are expecting a visit from SIAMS –
The Statutory Inspectorate for Anglican and
Methodist Church Schools.
Revd Claire is on the move in Peopleton!
Claire and Tim will be moving on 26 October. We send
our love and best wishes as they prepare for
the move and their life in the Rectory.

Praying for peace in The Middle East
Out of the depths I have cried to thee O Lord:

Lord hear my voice.
The conflict in the Middle East is beyond
comprehension in its brutality and hatred.
Revd Sarah Dangerfield hopes that what follows –
prayers and meditations provided by Christian Aid and
Embrace the Middle East may help and direct us in our

thoughts and prayers.
As you light a candle:
In the name of Christ, who is our peace,
we light this light for peace in Israel, peace in Gaza, peace in
the West Bank, and peace across the Middle East.
O God of all justice and peace, we cry out to you in
the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear
which prevails in the Middle East.
Be with those who need you in these days of
suffering; we pray for people of all faiths - Jews,
Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land.
While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence
and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to
bring justice and equity to the peoples.
Guide us into your kingdom, where all people are
treated with dignity and honour as your children, for
to all of us you are our Heavenly Father.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
(The Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell, Jerusalem.)
For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is

from him. (Psalm 62.5)

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did

not overtake it. (John 1.5)

Pray not for Arab or Jew, for Palestinian or Israeli, but
pray rather for ourselves, that we might not divide
them in our prayers but keep them both together in

our hearts.

When races fight, peace be amongst us.
When neighbours argue, peace be amongst us.
When nations disagree, peace be amongst us.
Where people struggle for justice let justice prevail.
Where Christ’s disciples follow let peace be our way.
and a prayer from Catarina Mesquita-Reynolds,
aged 9, St Richard’s CE First School Evesham
I pray for peace between countries.
I pray for people to reach out to other people with the

hand of generosity
And not to be unkind but to care;
Not to argue but to open up discussion;
To be a friend and not fight or bully;
To accept others’ nationalities and not be racist.
To look for the good in other people and not find fault

in others;

Not to use religion as a weapon but to use it as a

support and actual faith.

And finally, not to hate but forgive and love. Amen.