Hello everyone,

With so many places in our world ravaged by war and conflict, please pray for all people living in fear and under threat of violence, and for world leaders, that they would seek ways to find reconciliation and a lasting peace.

Services this week:

This Sunday there will be Holy Communion at Appleby and Packington, Morning Prayer at Donisthorpe, and Breakfast Church at Measham, all at 10.00am. Kids Kingdom Sunday School also meet at Appleby from 9.45am.

Looking ahead:

Packington have a Coffee Morning in church on Wednesday from 10.00am to 12.00noon with books and jigsaws to borrow or swap.

Appleby also have Coffee & Chat in the Church Hall from 10.00am to 12.00noon on Wednesday.

Activeage also meet at 11.00am in Measham Church Hall on Wednesday.

Kids Kingdom Baby & Toddler group meet on Thursday from 9.00am to 11.00am in Appleby Church Hall.

Next Sunday (29^th) at 10.00am there will be a united team service at Donisthorpe; Appleby also have their Harvest Festival.

Further ahead, there is an open invitation to us all to a special service of Choral Evensong led by Leicester Cathedral Choir at 4.00pm on Sunday 13^th October at Christ Church Coalville.

Woodfield Team prayer

God our Father, you long to draw all people into your love.

Increase in number your church throughout the Woodfield Team; deepen us as followers and learners of Christ; and give us courage to share the good news of your kingdom.

We pray this in the power of your Spirit, to the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect for Sunday 22^nd September – The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity

Gracious God,

you call us to fullness of life:

deliver us from unbelief

and banish our anxieties

with the liberating love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Reading for 22^nd September – Mark 9.30-37 New International Version (UK)

Jesus predicts his death a second time

³⁰ They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, ³¹ because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.’ ³² But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

³³ They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ ³⁴ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

³⁵ Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.’

³⁶ He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’

Prayers for today:

We pray:

Eternal Lord, you are our creator and sustainer. We bring before you the needs of our church, our world, our communities, and ourselves.

• Gracious God, we pray for your Church, and the churches in our local community, asking that among the Woodfield team there be a growing desire to get together. We give you thanks for those who come up with fresh ways of making your name known to the wider community.
• Creator God, we recognise our part in the tensions and injustices of the world; heal the resentment between people and intervene in the world’s conflicts. Help us to walk humbly with you at our side. When we come to a crossroads and have to choose which way to go, lead us to the path of justice and away from the road that leads to selfishness and sin.
• We remember those who cry out for peace as they work in their communities and across the world to end conflict. We pray also for those who speak up against systems of power, as they seek to transform economics and politics for the good of all.
• Heavenly Father, we thank you for the love we share with our families and our friends. We recognise that they may have faults, and they love us in spite of ours.  Help us to be flexible and adaptable in all of our relationships and also capable of accepting constructive criticism.
• Loving God, we pray for abundant life for anyone we know who has recently been given bad news about their health or the health of a loved one. Lord, help us know what to say and when to speak. May we always be ready to give practical help whenever we can and to ensure that those on their own are able to manage and cope with day-to-day life.
• Merciful God, when death separates from us those we love and we find it hard to live without them, comfort us. Help us remember that death has no power over the peace you give and that the love we shared with those we see no more goes beyond the grave.
• Lord we ask you to lead us into the coming week, help us to believe that you are close by us. When we face hard decisions or difficult work, when we enjoy ourselves and have fun with others, may we know that you share these times with us.

Amen.