All Saints’ Hanley William are celebrating Plough Sunday today. Priest in Charge of
Teme Valley South, Robert Barlow, explains:
“Plough Sunday, the Sunday after the feast of Epiphany or “Twelfth Night” marked the
end of the mid-winter Christmas festivities. The twelve days of partying and celebrations
finished. Plough Monday was back to work. But before work started, the plough (often a
communal one for the whole village) was brought to church to pray for a blessing on it
and the work it would do. After the service it was taken (often with dancing) round the
village and villagers were invited to make contributions to the cost of its upkeep and the
upkeep of the Church that had blessed it.
“At the 10.30 service at Hanley William a local farmer will bring a vintage tractor with
a small plough attached. We will pray for the work of all the tractors of the farms of
the villages. After the service we will follow the tractor and plough up the lane to the
local pub for Sunday lunch. And we will hope for better fortune than last year when the
tractor started to overheat and had to limp home as we went on to the pub!”
Please pray for all the plough Sunday services taking place today and for all the farmers
across our diocese.
Stourport Deanery – Rural Dean: Mark Turner; Lay Chair: Andrew Quinn
Diocese of Kuching (S.East Asia): Bishop Bolly Lapok with Assistant Bishop Solomon Voon