Dear Friends,

When read together, this week’s passages of scripture from Acts 16 and John 14 (links below), offer us the reassurance of God’s guiding presence and his promise of peace.

In Acts, we witness the Apostle Paul responding to a vision—a Macedonian man pleading for help. Paul changes course and leads his companions to Philippi, where they meet Lydia, a woman whose heart God opens. Her conversion and hospitality become a powerful testament to the fruitfulness of mission when it is aligned with the leading of the Holy Spirit. It reminds us how that same Spirit might lead us in unexpected ways—the church today must be ready to listen and to follow, even when our plans must change.

John 14:23-29 captures a tender moment in which Jesus reassures his disciples before his departure. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’, says Jesus. In these deeply comforting words Jesus acknowledges the anxiety of his absence, yet promises the presence of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will teach and remind his followers of all he has said. This promise becomes a foundation for the Church’s mission and for the personal peace we seek in times of uncertainty.

This Sunday is also Rogation Sunday, traditionally a time for prayers for the land, crops, and our rural communities. So we might be reminded that God is not only the Lord of the harvest but also the one who calls and directs all our efforts. As we seek blessings on our labours of many kinds, we are also invited to listen—to visions, like Paul’s—and to the Spirit, as Jesus promised.

This week we also look forward to The Ascension Day (Thursday 29th May) which marks the transition from Christ’s physical presence here on earth to the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It mirrors the shift from following Christ on earth to being his witnesses through the Spirit. For us, Jesus’ departure is not abandonment, but empowerment.

Together, these readings and events in our liturgical calendar might invite us to live faithfully between Christ’s Ascension and His promised return—to be a Church open to divine guidance, anchored in peace, and active in mission.

Yours in Christ,

Ian

Worship this Sunday

Sunday 25th May 2025

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

FELTON St Katharine

9.00am Morning Worship

WINFORD St Mary & St Peter

11.00am Eucharist

NEMPNETT THRUBWELL St Mary

6.30pm Evensong

NB: No Evensong at Stowey this week or next due to work in progress.

Next Sunday:

Sunday 1st June 2025, The Seventh Sunday of Easter

9.00am Eucharist (Winford);

10.00am Sunday First (Chew Stoke); 6.30pm Evensong (Bishop Sutton)

Readings & Collect

Acts 16: 9-15

John 14: 23-29

God our redeemer,

you have delivered us from the power of darkness,

and brought us into the kingdom of your Son:

grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life,

so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy;

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.

BCP Collect:

O Lord, from whom all good things do come:

Grant to us thy humble servants,

that by thy holy inspiration

we may think those things that be good,

and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same;

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ascension Day

Holy Communion will be celebrated on The Ascension Day, Thursday 29 May 2025at WINFORD St Mary & St Peterat 10.30am.

For your prayers

The Sixth Sunday of Easter is sometimes known as ‘Rogation Sunday’ (from the Latin Rogare: to ask) when the church prays especially for all who work in agriculture.

Creator God, we give you thanks for the wonder of Creation, for its gentle beauty and fierce grandeur .. . for the variety of place and season … for fruitfulness in nature and plentiful harvests;

For our heritage from generations past … for our farmers as they cope with difficult drought conditions this year … for their craft and skill … for all who act as stewards of God’s creation;

We pray for these rural communities … for all who work the land … for vets, fishermen, distributors and their families … for seasonable weather and good markets … for those struggling to survive financially … for our rural churches and all who volunteer their time and energy to maintain a Christian presence in our villages;

For those who are in special need in our communities … for those in despair … for those who are ill … for those who have no one to pray for them;

Eternal God, we remember before you those who have died in the faith, especially Sonia, Marjory, Marjory, Anthony and Liz … grant them rest and light perpetual … comfort those who grieve, and give us hope in the resurrection of your Son, our Saviour.

Contact

Revd Dr Ian Mills, Rector & Area Dean

The Rectory

4 Parsonage Lane

Winford  

BS40 8DG

Telephone: (01275) 474504 

chewvalleywest@gmail.com

Revd Fran Smettem, Curate

Telephone: (01934) 340682 

curatechewvalleywest@gmail.com