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Upcoming Services:
Baptism:
Oscar Carson, Sunday 17th May, 2026 @ St Mary The Virgin, Bickleigh
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Life in our churches and communities
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Shaugh Prior Village Hall needs your help!
They would love to create a hall history book, and would love to go back as far as possible.
There are so many people still in our lovely parish who have such wonderful knowledge and we are reaching out to you in the hope we can gather as much info as possible.
Things like the date the hall was built, who was involved, a list of previous chairs, any big events the hall was part of, photos would also be amazing!
We would really appreciate it if you shared this post so we can reach as many people as possible who may be able to help fill in years of gaps!!
Any info or photos you can share with us can either be emailed on shaughpriorvillagehall@gmail.com or passed to any of the committee at our monthly coffee mornings!
Thank you 
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St Mary’s Church Christian Library
We successfully applied for a grant from Speaking Volumes Book Grant Scheme last year and received a generous grant of £250.
This is available to community organisations to buy Christian books that can inspire, uplift, and transform lives, and to enhance their community spaces.
Rev. Jo, Jo Carpenter and Grace chose 22 books from the Eden online christian bookshop and now they have been stamped and installed in a donated bookcase in St Mary’s, next to the Choir stall.
The books vary in topics from grief, suffering, prayer to faith, for new or lifelong Christians, for toddlers, teen and adults. Please take a look and book out your chosen book on the form for up to one month.
If you have christian books you would like to donate to the library, please contact Grace.
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Online Prayer Group
Each Wednesday Rev Jo and Frank will be holding a weekly prayer meeting via Google Meet (video call via your computer’s browser, a bit like Zoom), at 9:30 to 10:00am to pray for one another, our churches, ministers and volunteers. If you are interested in joining the meeting, please get in touch for the link details.
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Regular giving
Thank you to all of you who are donating to our churches! Have you considered setting up a regular donation to support the life and maintenance of our church communities? Please consider a single or monthly donation.
Donate now for Bickleigh Parish / Donate now for Shaugh Prior Parish.
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Prayer lists
Those in need of our prayers
Julie, Sophie, Karen, Richard, Judy, Mo, Valerie, Avril, Eileen, Steve, Jill, Dawn, Anne, Rita, Ray, Diana, Maureen, Mike, Mel.
Pray for the Souls of the Recently Departed
Those whose year’s mind occur around this time
Raymond Kellaway, Bryon Crosby
Those whom we love and see no longer and those who have no-one else to pray for them
+Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord
and let light perpetual shine upon them
May they rest in peace
and rise in glory
(please email admin@bspchurches.co.uk with updates to the prayer list)
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Sunday, 17th May 2026
7th Sunday of Easter
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O God the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,
but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us
and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
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1 In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over the course of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. ‘This’, he said, ‘is what you have heard from me; 5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ 9When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’
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This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
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15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason 16I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
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This is the word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
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Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
All: Glory to you, O Lord.
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44 Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
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This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, O Christ.
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