Dear Friends,

This week’s readings (links below) remind us that the Word of God is not always quiet whisper meant to soothe, but a living fire meant to refine. In Jeremiah, we hear the Lord asking, ‘Is not my word like fire. .. and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’. In other words, God is not distant or passive—he is near, searching the hearts of His people and speaking truth even when it disrupts comfort or challenges false peace.

In our passage from the Letter to the Hebrews we are given a vision of faith that endures through trials. The great cloud of witnesses reminds us that faith is not a private sentiment but a costly, active trust in God’s promises—often in the face of suffering. We are urged to ‘lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely’, fixing our eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross for the joy set before him.

Finally, in our Gospel passage from Luke, Jesus says, ‘I came to bring fire to the earth’. These are unsettling words, but they do call us to a deeper honesty. Christ’s presence brings division not because he desires conflict, but because truth and justice often disturb what is false and unjust.

As we gather to worship this week, may we open our hearts to the fire of God’s Word, not fearing its heat, but trusting in its power to purify, transform, and guide us ever closer to Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Yours in Christ,

Ian

Worship this Sunday

Sunday 17th August 2025

The Ninth Sunday after Trinity

REGIL St James

8.30am Holy Communion

BISHOP SUTTON Holy Trinity

10.30am Eucharist

CHEW STOKE St Andrew

6.30pm Evensong

Next Sunday: Sunday 24th August 2025 – St Batholomew

9.00am Morning Worship (Felton); 11.00am Eucharist (Winford);

6.30pm Evensong (Nempnett Thrubwell & Stowey)

Readings & Collect

Jeremiah 23: 23-29

Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2

Luke 12: 49-56

Almighty God,

who sent your Holy Spirit

to be the life and light of your Church:

open our hearts to the riches of your grace,

that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit

in love and joy and peace;

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:

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee,

the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful;

that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee,

may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For your prayers

Faithful God, you speak to us not from afar, but from within our lives. You are not a distant God, but one who sees, knows, and acts. Kindle in your Church the fire of your Word. Where we have grown dull or complacent, awaken us with your truth. May all who preach and teach do so with integrity and boldness, shaped not by the voices of this world, but by your Spirit.

God of justice, we pray for a world in turmoil, where your truth often brings division. Where leaders are tempted to offer easy answers, give them courage to stand for what is right. We lift before you those places where conflict, oppression, or disaster rage. Bring peace—not the false peace of silence, but the true peace that comes through justice and reconciliation.

God of endurance, strengthen us to run the race set before us. We pray for all who are weary: for those carrying burdens of grief, illness, anxiety, or despair. We pray for those who have died in your faith, among them Joyce and Clive. May they know the great cloud of witnesses surrounding them, and find hope in Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

God of refining fire, burn away all in us that is false. Shape our hearts to desire you above all. May we live not for comfort, but for faithfulness.

National Online Service

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