Category Archives: Announcements

Meet a Columban Missionary

Following on from their visit to St Cuthbert’s earlier this year, the Columbans in Britain would like to invite you to join a virtual encounter with Marjorie Engcoy, a Columban Lay Missionary from the Philippines assigned to Fiji, on Wednesday 12th August at 7.00pm.  In her work as a lay missionary, Marjorie has been involved in various different ministries such as youth, children, women, liturgy, evangelisation, leadership and JPIC. Marjorie looks forward to explaining some of these ministries in more detail and how through her mission work overseas she has experienced God’s love and His promise: “I will be with you, always.” The free hour-long call will include a prayer, a short introduction and then move to a question and answer forum. We hope this will be a real encounter and not simply something to watch, so numbers will be limited. The webinar encounter will be held on Zoom, and so you’ll need a suitable device and a reliable internet connection. Register at https://tinyurl.com/MeetAColumbanMissionary

Visiting St. Cuthbert’s: What to Expect

If you haven’t yet visited St. Cuthbert’s since we re-opened, you are very welcome. This what you can expect.

As you come into the church, please use the hand sanitiser and follow the one-way system. There are no Mass or hymn books available, but we will provide paper bulletins and Mass sheets at Sunday Mass, and you can access the readings and Morning and Evening Prayer from Universalis on your phone, using the QR codes displayed on the noticeboard.

Many of the benches are not available, and those that are, are clearly marked so that you will be able to find a place to sit. At Sunday Mass, you will be shown to an allocated seat by the stewards.

Face coverings are mandatory in Places of Worship from Saturday 8th August 2020. All those who are attending churches must wear a face covering unless they are exempt from doing so.

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Receiving Communion: Please wait in the pews until instructed by the Stewards to come forward to the priest for Holy Communion, always aware of social distancing in the queue. Please wait behind the yellow line until you can move forward to the square marked on the carpet. Please unloop your face covering, hold your arms at “full stretch” so that there is a good distance between you and the priest, with hands, palms upwards, one of top of the other, extended as flat as possible, consume the Sacred Host and then replace your face covering before moving back to your pew.

Volunteering for Cleaning

We are currently opening the church 3 times a week for private prayer, and for Mass on Sunday. Every time church is open volunteers are needed to clean the church.

Please note the  following, from the Diocesan Handbook for the Reopening of Churches: 

‘Stewards and cleaners must not be drawn from the clinically extremely vulnerable group. Those in the clinically vulnerable group, including people aged 70 or over, could be at a higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. The clinically vulnerable group are advised to take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household or support bubble. Those from this group who still wish to volunteer will be asked to confirm that they have read and understood the Diocesan Handbook for Re- Opening of Churches and HM Government Guidance on Staying alert and safe (social distancing.)’ 

If, having considered this information, you wish to volunteer, please get in touch by emailing office@stcuthberts-durham.org.uk or telephoning 0191 384 3442.

They all ate as much as they wanted

Today’s Gospel begins with Jesus receiving the news of the death of John the Baptist. He and his disciples go off to a lonely place, probably intending to grieve and pray in peace. But there is no peace for Jesus. The crowds come and find him, out in the countryside. Matthew tells us that Jesus took pity on the people – in the original Greek of the Gospel, that he was ‘moved with compassion’ for them. Even when he was sad and grieving himself, Jesus didn’t stop caring for the people. He healed their sick and then, seeing that they were hungry, he gathered the crowd together and fed them, working a miracle with the little food that his disciples were able to bring.

The miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand points to the greatest miracle of our faith. Jesus feeds us with his own body and blood in the Eucharist. It is when we gather for Mass that we are most fully the Church; Vatican II teaches that our celebration of the Eucharist is the ‘source and summit’ of our life as a Church. The coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for us to gather and eat together. We have had to wait patiently to celebrate the Eucharist again, and now we have to resume our celebration gradually and cautiously, making sure that we keep everyone as safe as possible.

But we are still a Church, even when we are apart. Jesus is still moved with compassion for us, his disciples. He still heals us and feeds us with his Word, and he still calls us to show care and compassion for one another. God pours out his gifts upon us, even in the most difficult times.

Reopening of St Cuthbert’s Church

St Cuthbert’s Church will be open for private prayer this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, from 5.00-6.00pm each day. Everyone is welcome to visit the church for private prayer, but you must follow the instructions of the stewards who are on duty, and comply with the requirements of social distancing, in order to keep everyone safe.

Mass will be celebrated at St Cuthbert’s on Sunday 9th August at 10.00am. The capacity of the church is limited to 36 people under the diocesan Risk Assessment. If you wish to attend Mass, you must request a place, by emailing office@stcuthberts-durham.org.uk or telephoning 0191 384 3442. You will be asked to give a contact telephone number. If you come to church without having booked a place at Mass, you may be asked to leave. 

Please do not come to church if you are in the ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ group, if you are showing any of the symptoms of Covid-19, or if you have any concerns about your safety. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass has been dispensed by the Bishops until further notice.

Volunteers are needed to clean the church after each opening. If you can help this week, please get in touch by telephone or email, as above. Volunteers are also needed to act as stewards. Please note the  following, from the Diocesan Handbook for the Reopening of Churches: 

‘Stewards and cleaners must not be drawn from the clinically extremely vulnerable group who are shielding. Those in the clinically vulnerable group, including people aged 70 or over, could be at a higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. The clinically vulnerable group are advised to stay at home as much as possible and, if they do go out, take particular care to minimise contact with others outside their household or support bubble. Those from this group who still wish to volunteer will be asked to confirm that they have read and understood the Diocesan Handbook for Re- Opening of Churches and HM Government Guidance on Staying alert and safe (social distancing.)’ 

If, having considered this information, you wish to volunteer to assist with the reopening of churches, you can do so in any of the churches of our Partnership which are opening. To volunteer, please contact Fr Andrew on parish.priest@stcuthberts-durham.org.uk or 0191 384 3442.

Please Pray

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Jim Freeley, who died recently, and for his family. His funeral service will be celebrated at St Cuthbert’s on Friday 7th August at 1.15pm. Please note that due to Government regulations, the funeral service is open to family members only. Join with us in prayer at the time of the service, but do not attempt to attend.

A Priceless Treasure

We may think that buried treasure is only found in children’s stories. But it can happen in real life. The Hoxne Hoard was found by a metal detector enthusiast near the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, in 1992. The hoard consists of almost fifteen thousand Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins and items of jewellery – some are amazingly beautiful. The law determines that both the finder and the owner of the land are entitled to share in the value of buried treasure; the Hoxne Hoard was bought by the British Museum for almost two million pounds.

What would you do if you found a treasure? In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowds a parable of a person who has found treasure buried in a field; he sells everything he owns, in order to buy the field and make the treasure his own. The next parable tells us of a merchant who sells everything he has to buy a valuable pearl. In each parable, something is found which is so precious that it’s worth giving up everything else. Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is as valuable as that. To be a disciple of Christ is such a precious gift that we should be ready to give up everything that prevents us from following him. It’s a challenging teaching.

Today’s third parable is based on another image that would be familiar to Jesus’ disciples. Fishermen sort through their catch, throwing away the bad fish and keeping the good ones to sell. Jesus will grant his disciples the wisdom to sort through the things of the world, to judge what is worth keeping and what should be thrown away. Everything good comes with a price, but the gift of faith in Christ is beyond price. He asks us to give our whole lives to him.

Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies

The CCRS is a course for adults on the central beliefs of the Catholic faith. It is aimed at teachers serving in Catholic and other schools, teachers in training preparing to take up posts in Catholic schools, catechists, lay leaders and other adults wishing to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith and Catholic education. Modules will begin in September 2020 – details at http://edurcdhn.org.uk/index.php

Wait until harvest time

Darnel is a weed that, as it grows, looks exactly like wheat – but unlike wheat, darnel is poisonous and can be deadly. Jesus tells the crowd a parable in which a devious enemy sows poisonous darnel amongst the wheat in a farmer’s field. It’s impossible for the workers to tell the wheat from the weeds, until harvest time.

In last week’s Gospel, we heard the parable of the sower. Jesus described how his Word takes root in the heart of his disciples, grows and bears fruit. In today’s parable of the darnel, Jesus once again uses an image that is familiar and easy for the people to understand. Jesus’ disciples – the subjects of the kingdom of heaven – are like wheat growing from good seed, strong and healthy. But mixed in with the wheat is the poisonous weed – the ‘subjects of the evil one’ – all that is bad in the world. The servants want to rip up the weeds and get rid of them. But the master tells his servants to wait until harvest time before doing the weeding. Wait and see.

With this parable, Jesus is warning his disciples to be patient. We may be tempted to rush to judgement on those who do evil. We may even want to take justice into our own hands. But only God has the power to judge. We will all face God’s judgement at the end of time, but we have no right to judge others now. Like a good farmer, God waits patiently, giving us the chance to grow and be fruitful; giving time to separate the wheat from the weeds. And, as a small amount of yeast can make a loaf of bread rise, so a few faithful disciples can make a difference to a whole community. By God’s grace, Jesus tells us, we will ‘shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.’

Please Pray

Please pray for John Morris and Emma Bonnard, who will celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage at St Cuthbert’s on Tuesday 21st July at 1.30pm. John is a PhD student in Durham’s Department of Theology, and Emma graduated in 2019. Congratulations to Emma and John.

Please note that the number of guests allowed at the wedding is restricted by Government regulations, and that only invited guests may attend.

Diocesan Vacancies

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle has the following vacancies:

* Property Surveyor based in Newcastle with extensive travel throughout the Diocese. Full-time. Two year fixed term contract.


* Justice and Peace Refugee Project Co-ordinator based in Newcastle. 18 hours per week. 12 month fixed term contract.


* Department for Education, Administrator (maternity cover) – full-time

For further information and details of how to apply please visit our website www.rcdhn.org.uk or contact us on 0191 243 3301

Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear!

A farmer’s life is a hard one. Farmers get up early and work through the day, tending their crops. In Jesus’ time, with no machinery to do the heavy work, the life of a farmer was one of backbreaking labour. The ground was hard, the weather was unpredictable, and the farmer and his family could starve if the crops failed to grow. Many of the crowd listening to Jesus telling the parable of the sower were farmers themselves. They knew just how hard it was to get crops from the soil.

Jesus likens the seed in the parable to ‘the word of the kingdom’ – the Good News that he brings. The different types of soil represent different responses to the word. Some people will fail to understand – the word never takes root in their hearts. Some respond joyfully to the word, but their faith does not have deep roots and they fall away. Some are distracted by the things of the world. And some disciples hear God’s word and understand it; they produce a rich harvest.

As Jesus looked around the great crowd, he must have known that his teaching would not take root in the hearts of all who were listening. Some would become faithful disciples, and some would walk away. But he continued to preach the Good News of God’s kingdom to the people. Like a farmer tending the crops, Jesus tended to the people, doing all that he could to bring them to faith. Today, it is up to us, as disciples of Christ, to sow the seed of the Good News by witnessing to our faith. It may be hard work. Some people will respond with joy, and some will walk away. But the Lord calls us to work faithfully at sowing the seed

Sea Sunday

This Sunday would normally be a day of special prayer for seafarers, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the celebration has been postponed until December. Find out more about the work of the Apostleship of the Sea in supporting seafarers at www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk

 In the past year, St Cuthbert’s parishioners have knitted and sent 113 woolly hats to the port chaplain at Sunderland for seafarers – thank you.

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened

As soon as a child learns to speak, the questions start. What? Who? How? Why? Children are exploring, discovering, learning all about the world, and that’s why they have so many questions. Experts tell us that an average child asks as many as forty thousand questions between the ages of two and four. It can be exhausting for their parents, who have to try to come up with answers. Gradually, as the child grows up, the questions slow down. But it’s sad if we ever stop asking questions altogether, if that means that we are no longer curious about the world that God has made.

Jesus tells his disciples that God reveals the truth, not to the learned and the clever, but to children. Perhaps he means that God’s truth is revealed to those who, like children, have questions and are ready to learn. Those who were considered learned and clever in Jesus’ time – the chief priests, the scribes and Pharisees – generally didn’t become his disciples. They thought that they knew the answers already, and had nothing to learn from him. Jesus’ disciples, on the other hand, were mostly the poor and the outsiders – working men like Peter, tax collectors like Matthew, people burdened with sin or sickness. Jesus didn’t reject those people – he called them and welcomed them. To those who were ready to listen and learn, Jesus revealed the Good News that he had brought from God his Father. It was a message of love and forgiveness, and with Jesus, they found rest for their souls.

We are living in a strange time, when everything seems to be changing around us. We all have questions about what the world will be like after coronavirus, and no one seems to have the answers. Jesus calls us to come to him, and, like children, to trust him and learn from him. Then we will find rest for our souls.