A new teaching programme in a group of rural churches has been put together to encourage parishioners to think about the significance of animals in the Bible, and what the stories about them can teach us in 2026.
Churches in Peasedown St John, Foxcote, Shoscombe and Wellow over the next year will look at the theme of ‘Ask the Animals: And they will teach you’. They aim to delve deep into the Bible to look at what guidance the scriptures have for us in the 21st century.
Sunday sermons from January through to December will look at a different topic each month.
Revd Matthew Street, who leads the set of churches known as the St J’s Group, said:
“The Bible is a powerful book with information that not only tells us about historical events, but how teachings revealed by God to prophets, holy men and His Son Jesus still have relevance for us today.
Over the next year, we’ll be encouraging parishioners to think and learn about the animals in the Bible. We can discover how creatures, real and symbolic, reveal God’s character, human nature, and vital spiritual truths.”
Themes covered throughout 2026 will include:
– Sheep: “I am the good shepherd”
– Dove: “The baptism of Jesus”
– Fish: “Jesus, the fisher of men”
– Wolves: “Beware of false prophets”
– Serpent: “The Serpent in the Garden of Eden”
The new teaching programme will run across 42 Sundays in 2026 at these services:
· 10.00 am – Morning Service at St Julian’s, Wellow
· 10.30 am – Morning Service at St John’s, Peasedown
· 11.15 am – Morning Service at St Julian’s, Shoscombe
· 4.30 pm – Soul Food at St John’s, Peasedown
Recordings of each talk will also be available after each Sunday on the St J’s Group website – www.stjsgroup.church, which also includes details of future events, the church’s work in the community, and details of activities going on during the week.
