Please come along on Sunday 16th December to sing Christmas carols for the residents. Meet at the church at 1.45pm.

Will take place in the parish room on Sunday 16th December 3.30-5.00pm (after carol singing in the Hallgarth Care Home). All children (big and small) are welcome to join us for fun and party games. Please bring something for a shared party tea.

In recent Advents, the parish raised enough money to populate a crib with cattle, goats, chickens, pigs and camels. This year we would like to raise money for birth certificates. A birth certificate costs £25, and is possibly the most valuable item a child could receive. When babies are born at home in poor, rural areas, it is too difficult to travel to register the birth. But a child without a birth certificate faces problems. In Zimbabwe, for example, children without a birth certificate cannot go to school, take exams, apply for an ID card, vote, or access many other basic essential services. Please support our appeal.

Please take a copy of ‘The Finchale Partnership at Christmas’ and join us for Advent and Christmas services over the next few weeks. If you’d like to find out more about what is happening in the Partnership, the minutes of the November meeting of the Partnership Development Group are now available on the noticeboard, and on the partnership webpages hosted at http://www.stcuthberts-durham.org.uk/

Our seasonal film and pizza night is on Friday 21 December when we will be showing the 1947 triple Oscar winner ‘Miracle on 34th Street.’ Doors open at 6:30pm and the screening starts at 7pm in the Parish Room. All are welcome to this free event. Please feel free to bring drinks or snacks to share.

Durham Churches Together has its annual New Year’s Eve service in Durham Cathedral, and an ecumenical choir will lead the musical worship, including hymns and an anthem (John Rutter’s “The Lord bless you and keep you.”) The service is at 6.30pm on Monday 31st December, with a short rehearsal beforehand. There will also be a rehearsal on the afternoon of Sunday 30th at 3.00pm, at St Oswald’s Church. If you would like to sing for this service, please email David Harris on d.m.harris108@gmail.com with the following information:

• Name;
• Church;
• Voice part (SATB);
• Whether you’ve sung the Rutter before;
• Can you make the rehearsal on the 30th.

Diocesan event for young people in school Years 5-8. Wednesday 19 December, 6.00-7.30pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, Mill Lane, Hebburn NE31 2ET. Live music; praise and worship; invited speakers; refreshments and social time.

A day of reflection for healthcare and mental health professionals: Saturday 12 January 2019, 10am-3.15pm at The Royal Foundation of St Katharine, 2 Butcher Row, Limehouse, London, E14 8DS. Details at www.cbcew.org.uk under ‘Dept of Christian Responsibility and Citizenship.’

We are currently without an organist for Christmas Morning Mass. If you know of anyone, organist or pianist, who would be able to play at this Mass please ask them to contact Alison on 0191 3719184 or alisonpurvis1@hotmail.com
Also If there are any ex-choir members out there who would like to re-join for a short period and help us out over Advent/Christmas please get in touch!

“The attacks on Christians continue and the world remains totally silent. It is as if we have been swallowed up by the night”. So said an Iraqi Christian, sharing his story with Aid to the Church in Need. Today we welcome Mike Collins who will share with us some stories of hope, and of how this international Catholic charity is making a difference in the lives of our persecuted brothers and sisters. There will be range of products on sale after 10.00 Mass, some of which are made in Aleppo.

Today, the First Sunday of Advent, the Church begins a new year. Advent is a season of hope, expectation and patient waiting, as we prepare to greet the new-born Christ. For Christians, Christmas is the revealing of God’s eternal plan for the world. The Son of God comes into our world as one of us. The prophet Jeremiah promises that God will send a leader who will practise honesty and integrity, in contrast to the corrupt and vicious leaders who have brought suffering to the people of Israel. Jesus warns his disciples that they will face ‘earth-shattering’ events; but they can stand firm, if they have faith in him.
We too may face earth-shattering events, in our own lives or in the wider world. We can stand with confidence, if our lives are founded on faith in Christ. In Advent, we are invited to renew our commitment to him. May the Lord be generous in increasing our love, so that we will be ready to meet the King when he comes.