Welcome to Weobley & Staunton Joint Benefice
incorporating the Churches and Parishes of Weobley, Staunton On Wye, Norton Canon, Monnington, Sarnesfield, Byford and Letton in Herefordshire
Inclusive Church
As a Benefice, we believe in Inclusive Church – church which does not discriminate, on any level, on grounds of economic power, gender, mental health, physical ability, ethnicity, race, marital status or sexuality. We believe in Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which chooses to interpret scripture inclusively; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
STAUNTON-ON-WYE SERVICES throughout January, February & March 2025
During January, February and March we are hosting our services in Staunton-on-Wye Village Hall, HR4 7LR
Cafe Church on the 2nd Sunday of each month with guest speaker and Communion Service on the 4th Sunday.
WEOBLEY & STAUNTON JOINT BENEFICE
Lent Lunches
Tuesday 25th March, 12.00-2.00pm Weobley Parish Church, Weobley HR4 8SD Contact: Carole Page - carolepage@hotmail.co.uk
Thursday 10th April, 12.00-2.00pm Common Farm, Byford Common, HR4 7JZ Contact: Maggi Denaro - mags.denaro@yahoo.co.uk
CTiW Lent Course
The Stations of the Resurrection
'He is not here - he has risen'
This Lent course explores some of the encounters with the risen Christ recorded in the Gospels. We will journey along with the disciples through episodes of amazement , confusion, questioning and exhilaration to delve deeper into the mystery and significance of the resurrection.
Led by Rev Philip Harvey
Meeting every Wednesday in Lent at 2.30pm, starting
Wednesday 12th March 2025 - 9th April
St Thomas Parish Room, Weobley
All are Welcome
Easter Bunny Drive
Friday 28th March 2025
Doors open 6.00pm
Drive starts: 6.30pm
Fun for all the family includes: Raffle, Easter Prizes & Refreshments
£5.00 per family
Children must be accompanied by an adult
All proceeds raised for Letton & Staunton-on-Wye Churches
Staunton-on-Wye Village Hall
For more information please contact Jane Bryan on 01544 321922
Mothering Sunday
Join us as we celebrate Mothering Sunday
30th March at 10.30am
As we gather together at our group Eucharist service
St Mary's Church, Sarnesfield
Palm Sunday 13th April
You're warmly invited to join us for our Palm Sunday services as we commemorate Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem
10.30am Staunton-on-Wye Eucharist CW
10.30am Weobley Eucharist CW
All are welcome
Family Easter Treasure Hunt
Monday 14th April
10.00am - 12.30pm
Join in the fun of a family treasure hunt around Weobley and activities exploring the real Easter story.
Children must be accompanied by an adult
To register for this event please contact Sam Phillips on 07507 794779 or email: admin@weobleyandstaunton.org
WEOBLEY PARISH CHURCH
Maundy Thursday
17th April 2025
3.00pm
Communion
Weobley Parish Church
Year of Engagement
Hereford Diocese has branded 2025 the ‘Year of Engagement'. With a strategy to build on three core behaviour values - to be prayerful, Christlike, and engaged. The events and activities this year will be based on the five marks of mission, summarised as Tell, Teach, Tend, Transform and Treasure, and led by our Mission Enabler for the Environment, Rev'd Stephen Hollinghurst. These values will help ensure that we proclaim Christ and grow as disciples in our faith. Being prayerful and confident in our Bible helps make us more outwardly looking and engaged Christians who live out our faith daily.
For Year of Engagement events please click on the button below.
Weekly Reflection
thoughts and reflections from the Rev'd Philip Harvey
16th, 23rd & 30th March ‘The best-laid plans of mice and men’
Currently we are being bombarded by a lot of media reports about political, economic and foreign policy initiatives that seem to be destabilising the global economy and appear to threaten, rather than, assist the chances of building any lasting peace in war-torn regions. We are also hearing all kinds of sinister plans and disastrous predictions. All of this media creates a kind of anxiety-producing noise, making it difficult for us to imagine a world in which there is peace and hope. In all of this I am comforted by a little poem ‘On Problems’ by the Dutchman Piet Hein, which speaks about the limitations of human thinking and planning:
Our choices plans
have fallen through
our airiest castles
tumbled over,
because of lines
we neatly drew
and later neatly
stumbled over.
The prophet Isaiah puts it another way in one of our Lenten readings (chapter 55: 6-9):
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This is something positive – and challenging – for us to reflect on in this season of Lent!
Rev’d Philip
2nd & 9th March Why remain in the Church of England?
Why remain in the Church of England?
Given all of the bad press the CofE has received over the last few months, and the disappointment that some may feel after decisions made at General Synod, I thought this very eloquent article by Frances Ward to be worth sharing (published in The Church Times 7th February).
Lent – a season for reflection
The season of Lent, leading up to the events of Holy Week and the story of Easter, is a time for us to take stock of our spiritual journey thus far.
The Church of England has produced a Lenten series entitled ‘Living Hope’ which includes a daily reflection for the 40 days of Lent. The readings and reflections explore how we can have hope in times of frustration or uncertainty; the hope found in joining with others; the invitation to notice signs of hope around us; the courage to face reality and pursue a hopeful future; and the ways God transforms death into life at Easter. This is available as a booklet for sale or you can sign up with your email and have the reflection sent to you each day for free.
If you would prefer to participate in a Lenten face-to-face group study, I am running a Lent Course entitled ‘Stations of the Resurrection’, for five Wednesday afternoons, 12th March to 9th April, at 2.30pm in the parish room of St Thomas Catholic Church Parish, Kington Rd, Weobley, HR4 8QS. In this interactive course we will consider various readings from the gospels and journey along with the disciples through episodes of amazement, confusion, questioning and exhilaration to delve deeper into the meaning of the resurrection. All are welcome!
Rev’d Philip