#LiveLent
#LiveLent – we will be discussing the weekly topic after our Evening Prayer Service every Sunday during lent (apart from March 14th as Bishop Richard will be joining us).
If you do not have the booklet you can download the app and join in.
Although we will not be having our usual Shrove Tuesday pancakes in church this year, we will be holding a small Ash Wednesday Service at Weobley Parish Church at 11.00 am on 17th February for those that do not have the facility to watch it via Facebook live-stream. There will be ashing but it will be by ash being dropped into the hands of penitents who will then mark the cross on their own forehead. As well as being live-streamed it will also be available to watch on our website and YouTube channel shortly afterwards.
Churches Together in Weobley Lent Study Group.
The CTIW Lent Study Group starts on the 24th February at 3.30pm on Zoom, to be led by Father Simon – more details and joining instructions will follow in People and Steeple shortly
Introducing Rev Philip Harvey
Penelope and I are looking forward to our move into the Hereford Diocese, getting to know you and writing this next chapter of ministry in God’s service together.
I grew up in a large Christian family in Sydney, Australia and worked as a teacher of English, History and Drama in several schools before teaching and leading in international schools in Germany, Oman and Luxembourg. While in Luxembourg I was sponsored by the Diocese of Europe and undertook my ministry training with the Eastern Region Ministry Course and Durham University. I then served in Sprowston, an urban parish of Norwich. My travels and experiences have been across a range of churches, cultures and spiritual traditions.
I like outdoor pursuits that put me in touch with the natural world: gardening, walking and cycling. My musical tastes are diverse, ranging from baroque to jazz and I play the guitar, flute and harmonica. My favourite areas of reading include history, theology and biography, while my favourite foods are Mediterranean and almost anything cooked slowly in red wine. I tend to be experimental in the kitchen, which is occasionally a good thing and sometimes not so good.
Penelope (also a teacher) and I have two adult children. Our son Blake lives in Canberra and our daughter Caitlin lives in Bristol. We also have three young grandchildren, who are a source of real joy.
We would value your prayers and support as we make this transition, and look forward to meeting many of you in April.
Our New Rector – Marvellous News!
For quite some time now, we have been prefacing news about the search for a new incumbent with the headline ‘Our New Rector’.
And now we can share with you the marvellous news we have just received from Hereford Diocese.
“The Bishop and Patrons are delighted to announce that Rev’d Philip Harvey, presently in the Benefice of Sprowston with Beeston St Andrew and Christ Church New Catton in the Diocese of Norwich, has been appointed to The Weobley & Staunton Group of Parishes. Rev’d Harvey will be licensed by Bishop Richard at Weobley on Monday 26th April 2021 at 7:30pm which may have to happen online via Zoom if the pandemic restrictions remain in place.”
Rev’d Harvey and his wife Penny will be arriving in Weobley after Easter, on a date to be yet confirmed, but in good time to establish themselves in their new home and prepare for Philip’s licensing service at the end of April.
Until then, and with Spring on the horizon, and the promise of a fresh, new chapter in the life of our group of parishes with a new incumbent to lead us, we wish Philip and his family all the best in effecting a safe and easy transition from Norfolk to Herefordshire.
Above is our Facebook livestream video for January 24th 2020 – we hope you enjoy it.
Fifth Sunday – Group Service
Next Sunday – January 31st – we had scheduled a Group Service at Byford but we can no longer do this and so instead, and to try and retain the group dynamic, we will be ‘hosting’ just one morning service which will be pre-recorded and with contributions from all the parishes and then broadcast on YouTube and our Group Facebook site. We will publish the links for this service in People & Steeple next week and we hope that as many of you as can will engage with the service, and of course we’d be happy to hear your thoughts about it after the event. These are new and exploratory times; with light from you all we can map the best way forward.
January 17th
We are live streaming on our Facebook page from Weobley Parish Church this morning (24th Jan) at 10.30 am – you can find us at https://www.facebook.com/weobleyandstaunton/
We will upload it to the website shortly afterwards.
January 9th
Changing service schedules
Once again we find ourselves in lockdown and while the government has not prevented churches offering public, communal worship it is evident that a significant number of churches across the country have decided that it would be prudent to put in place self-imposed closures. In our group there is still some consultation with the parishes and PCCs about what is best to offer but in the short-term you can see that tomorrow, Sunday 10th, the Eucharist at Weobley will go ahead but the Holy Communion at Staunton-on-Wye has been cancelled.
However, in order to provide the widest possible engagement with congregations there will be two online services on the usual Zoom login at 10.30am and an Evening Prayer (BCP) at 5.30pm. These service sheets can be found under the ‘week by week’, then ‘services’ tab.
A more detailed schedule, intended to see us safely through to the end of this latest lockdown, will be settled over the next few days and, as they say in legal circles, without prejudice, we expect that it will be, each Sunday, a public communal service at one of our larger churches and also a morning and evening online service. the new schedule will be publicised in People & Steeple and on our website and Facebook site as soon as it is settled.
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Weobley rallies to restore vandalised Nativity Crib
Many who live in the wider Weobley environs will have been upset to see, or hear about the vandalism that so defaced the Church’s Together in Weobley Nativity crib just before Christmas. A regular, much-loved installation in the Rose Garden for many years now, the crib was partially damaged and covered in graffiti during the hours of darkness. But as ever, when things need sorting, the village rallied to ‘put things right’ and nowhere was this more evident than the huge response to the initial post on the Word on Weobley Facebook site. Offers of help to repair, donations for replacements, and expressions of support to the ‘recovery team’ were mixed with universal condemnation of the actions of a small number of vandals.
With this wind of support in the sails, the crib was restored to life and all seemed well. However, Storm Bella had a different idea and once again at night, the crib was badly damaged, by nature this time. So, and with regret, it was dismantled and returned to the store. But, rest assured, it will be back next year and mostly probably ‘bigger and better’ and for that the CTiW would like to thank the large number of people who expressed how much they felt it was an essential part of Christmas in Weobley. Here’s to next year and a truly peaceful Christmas.
Churches Together in Weobley had a wonderful Carol service at the Rose Gardens on Saturday, it was both safe and enjoyable and thank you to all those that organised it and those that attended – we managed to raise a tremendous £245 for Crisis this Christmas. In the aftermath of what followed the community has come together stronger and united in prayer.
Tier 1 – but no change in church
Hereford_Diocese_Inspire_Magazine___Issue_7_web
Produced three times a year. This publication includes news and information from right around our Diocese. It’s a pdf document which can be read online or downloaded.
Wearing Face-coverings in Church
We have just received guidance from the Church of England that the wearing of face-coverings in church is mandatory . Our feeling is that this is a matter that touches on personal responsibility.
For updates on Weobley, Letton, Byford, Norton Canon, Monnington and Sarnesfield parishes please visit their pages on the ‘Churches’ tab.
Please visit our Week-by-Week tab for details of our weekly Zoom Services and accompanying service sheets. Below is a link for a little taster of one of our Sermons that Rev’d John Thewlis gave us for Trinity Sunday.