People often say they would like to know more about the other parishes and churches in the partnership. So, 5 of our churches will host an open afternoon between May and October 2019. The first one will be at Ss Joseph, Patrick and Cuthbert, Coxhoe on the afternoon of 5th May. Please see the poster on the noticeboard for more details.
Category Archives: Finchale Partnership
Finchale Partnership Minutes
The minutes of January’s meeting of the Finchale Partnership Development Group are now available here.
Finchale Partnership Confirmation programme
A Confirmation preparation programme will be run in the Finchale Partnership during 2019, open to all young people in school Y9 and upwards. The initial information session for young people and their parents is planned for March 2019. We would like to establish a group of people from across our Partnership – experienced Confirmation catechists and adults who are not catechists but would be willing to help with the sessions. There will be a meeting on Tuesday 5th February 7.15pm, St Patrick’s presbytery, Langley Moor, DH7 8JJ (parking available, Mass at 6.30pm). If you are interested in helping but cannot attend this meeting please contact Brendan Payne (brendanpayne@doctors.org.uk / 0771 753 1935).
Partnership Development Group
The minutes of the latest meeting of the Finchale Partnership Development Group are now available here
Advent Service of Reconciliation
Justice and Peace invitation
The Outreach Committee of the Finchale Partnership is seeking to meet with all Justice and Peace groups within the partnership, and anyone else who has in interest in justice and peace issues, with a view to learning from each other and investigating ways we might work more effectively together across the partnership. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 06 December, from 7:00pm at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Esh Winning. Please contact Fr Robert Riedling at St Patrick’s, Langley Moor with any enquiries (langleymoor.stpatrick@rcdhn.co.uk / (0191) 378 4486).
Preparing our Young People for Confirmation
The parishes of the Finchale Partnership have agreed that we will work together to prepare our young people for Confirmation. A training session, around the use of the diocesan programme, has been organised. This is open to those already involved in Confirmation programmes, as well as those interested in getting involved. The training will be led by Father Michael McCoy, beginning at 7:15pm, on Thursday 06 December, at St. Cuthbert’s, Old Elvet, Durham City. Light refreshments will be available and the session should last around one hour. Preferably, email the parish office to confirm your attendance, by Monday 03 December, or feel free to turn up on the evening.
Holy Hours
In his recent pastoral letter, Bishop Seamus asked that we pray that the grace of Jesus Christ will bring hope to the suffering and healing to the wounds of those who have been so deeply hurt by abuse. He suggested that we should hold Holy Hours in each parish. In the Finchale Partnership, the Holy Hours will be:
Tuesday 2 October
7.00pm St. Cuthbert’s, Durham
7.00pm St Joseph’s, Ushaw Moor Mass at 6.30pm
7.00pm St Patrick’s, Langley Moor Mass at 6.30pm
Thursday 4 October
12 noon St. Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw College
7.00pm St. Joseph’s, Gilesgate, Durham
7.00pm St John Fisher, Sedgefield, concluding with Benediction
Finchale Partnership: Minutes of the PDG meeting
The Partnership Development Group met at the end of July, to review the first year, and to discuss the activity of our 6 sub-groups. The PDG concluded that we have achieved a lot in our first year, but we need to make sure that we give more people the opportunity to get involved. The minutes of the meeting are on the Partnership webpages, and there is a copy on the noticeboard at the back of church.
The ‘One Year On’ document which we sent to the Diocese can be found here.
Finchale Partnership Newsletter
The third edition of our Partnership newsletter tells you more about our development plan and how you can get involved.
Ushaw Flower Festival
21st June: Mass at Ushaw
Thursday 21st June is the 450th Anniversary of the birth of Aloysius Gonzaga.
The Junior House Chapel at Ushaw was dedicated to the young Saint and his feast was celebrated as a Playday.
Mass will be celebrated in St Joseph’s Chapel, Ushaw, on Thursday 21st June at 12.30pm
The replica statue of O
ur Lady of Help which was originally in St Aloysius Chapel will be with us in St Joseph’s as we celebrate the 450th Anniversary Mass.
The Mass of the Durham Martyrs
A Day of Reflection for the Finchale Partnership
On Saturday, April 28th we are planning a Day of Reflection at the Parish Centre in Newhouse. This will be from 10.30am – 3.30pm. In this Easter season Fr Jeroen (Minsteracres) will lead us in thinking about ‘Discipleship’. This is for all of us in our partnership of parishes but we’d like to extend a special invitation to those people who have been received into the Church over these past few months, and at Easter. The day will be free of charge but we ask that people sign up on the list at the back of church. Tea and coffee will be available but maybe participants could bring a packed lunch.
A Day of Reflection for the Finchale Partnership
We are planning a Day of Reflection at the Parish Centre in Newhouse, Esh Winning on Saturday, April 28th from 10.30am – 3.30pm. In this Easter season Fr Jeroen (Minsteracres) will lead us in thinking about ‘Discipleship’. This is for all of us in our partnership of parishes. We’d like to extend a special invitation to those who have been received into the Church over these past few months, and at Easter. The day will be free of charge but we ask that people sign up in their parish to give us an idea about numbers.
The Finchale Partnership – February meeting of the Partnership Development Group
The Partnership Development Group (PDG) met at the end of February. At the meeting
- the PDG supported the proposal from the parishes of Coxhoe, Sedgefield and Trimdon to become one parish. The proposal has now gone forward to the Episcopal Council.
- we discussed the appointment of a Youth Ministry Co-ordinator in Durham Martyrs parish; and
- we discussed the next steps with the Partnership Development Plan following the consultation meeting.
There’ll be more information about the plan after Easter, but in the meantime, you can read the minutes of the PDG meeting here.
The Finchale Partnership: Development Plan
Our Partnership was set up at Pentecost 2017, and we have made good progress in getting to know each other and starting to work together. But it’s important that we agree what our priorities are, so that the Partnership takes forward the right things to support and build the church across our 9 parishes.
The Partnership Development Group (PDG) have drafted a development plan, but we need your views on whether we have included the right things, and we need you to get involved with taking forward all that needs to be done. Please take a copy of the summary draft development plan, and let us have your views, by attending the open meeting at St. Leonard’s School in the main hall on Thursday 22 February at 7.00pm, or contacting Margaret Doyle after Mass or on margaretdoyle1066@sky.com.
The full draft development plan can be viewed at the back of church or on our Partnership webpages
Partnership Matters
The latest edition of the bi-monthly Partnership Matters news update is now available on the front page of the diocesan website (www.rcdhn.org.uk). It includes items on engaging young people in partnerships, being a welcoming community, feedback from a recent meeting of partnership chairs and much more.
An Advent service for the Finchale Partnership
Our Advent service will be based on the theme of the Jesse tree, and every church in the partnership will be preparing some of the leaves for the tree during the first weeks of Advent. We will bring all the leaves together at a service on Sunday 17th December at 4.00pm, at St. Cuthbert’s, Durham. Everyone is welcome and there will be refreshments after the service.
The Finchale Partnership
The Partnership Development Group met for the second time on 13th September. Following the success of our first partnership event at Ushaw, we have been discussing the strengths of each parish, and the areas where we need support. We have also been joined by representatives from the primary and secondary schools. We are beginning to get to know each other better but we still have a lot of work to do to agree the priorities across our 9 parishes. The Diocese is asking us to look at a range of subjects, from finance and property to liturgy and outreach, and we will need to involve more people in taking things forward once the plans become clearer. In the meantime, we are planning a partnership newsletter to keep everyone informed, and you can keep up to date with information about the partnership on our webpages, where you will also find the name of your parish representative on the group and the full minutes of the meeting.