Category Archives: Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership

On-line services this Easter

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Due to the restrictions on numbers in all our churches across the Partnership, many of the Easter services are fully booked. If you are not able to attend services in person, here are the services in the Partnership which you will be able to join on-line. 

St. Cuthbert’s 

Here are the details of services which will be live-streamed on St. Cuthbert’s YouTube channel: 

Maundy Thursday 7.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper 
 9.00pm Night Prayer 
Good Friday 10.00am Morning Prayer and the Office of Readings 
 3.00pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 
Holy Saturday  10.00am Morning Prayer and the Office of Readings 
 8.00pm Easter Vigil 
Easter Sunday 10.00am Mass 

The following events will be on Zoom. See St. Cuthbert’s Parish Community Facebook Group or contact  margaretdoyle1066@sky.com for Zoom log in details. 

Good Friday 6.30pm The Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross 
Easter Sunday 11.00am Gospel Reflection 

Durham Martyrs 

Here are the details of services which will be live-streamed on Durham Martyrs’ YouTube channel: 

Maundy Thursday 7.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper 
 8.30-9.30pm Watching 
Good Friday 3.00pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 
Holy Saturday 8.00pm Easter Vigil 

St. John Boste 

Services are not live-streamed, but recordings of the following services will be available shortly afterwards on St. John Boste’s YouTube channel 

Maundy Thursday 7.00pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper 
Good Friday 3.00pm Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 
Holy Saturday 7.30pm Easter Vigil 
Finchale Partnership, Spiritual

Celebrating the Year of St Joseph, 2021

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The Finchale Partnership has 4 churches with a dedication to St. Joseph, and during this Year of St. Joseph we will be celebrating by providing a variety of different materials for you.

St. Joseph’s church in Gilesgate is part of Durham Martyrs parish, and they have produced a prayer pack and resources for the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19th. The pack includes a summary of Pope Francis’ note on the Year of St. Joseph, prayers based on the 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph, a history of St. Joseph’s church in Gilesgate and activities for children. You can find the pack on Durham Martyrs website at www.durhammartyrs.co.uk

Finchale Partnership, Spiritual

Ignatian Spirituality

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Join us on Thursday 28th January, at 7.00pm, on Zoom, for the fourth session in our series on Spirituality.

We live in uncertain times, to say the least! Something this world seems desperately in need of is spiritualities that are embedded in that reality, unafraid to engage with the complexity, in ways which foster Life. This evening, join us for a workshop exploring Ignatian spirituality – a down-to-earth mysticism for these modern times.

For the link to join this session, see the details of the event in the Parish Facebook Group or email margaretdoyle1066@sky.com

Announcements, Finchale Partnership, Spiritual

The Spirituality of the Benedictines

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The Finchale Partnership and the University Chaplaincy have organised a series of events on the Spirituality of the religious orders. The events take place on Zoom.

The third event in our series is The Spirituality of the Benedictines.

Speaker: Scholastica Jacob was a nun of Stanbrook Abbey, and is now living as a Benedictine in Durham, conducting research at the Centre for Catholic Studies on the experiences of English Benedictine nuns in the early 19th century.

Date: Thursday 26th November at 7.00pm

Details of how to join the session are available in the parish Facebook group or by contacting margaretdoyle1066@sky.com

The picture is a statue of St. Benedict at Monte Cassino.

Finchale Partnership, Spiritual

The Spirituality of the Dominicans

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The Finchale Partnership and the University Chaplaincy have organised a series of events on the Spirituality of the religious orders. The events take place on Zoom.

The second event in our series is The Spirituality of the Dominicans.

Speaker: fr. Benjamin Earl OP. fr. Ben lived in Durham as Parish Priest at St. Cuthbert’s and University Chaplain, from 2012 to 2016.

Date: Thursday 29th October at 7.00pm

Details of how to join the session are available in the parish Facebook group or by contacting margaretdoyle1066@sky.com

Faith Formation, Finchale Partnership

Bible Basics

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A casual and informal overview of the Bible, looking at the major events and the different books of the Bible. This is for anyone who is interested in learning more about the Bible. Beginners welcome! This will be facilitated by Dori Berahya, who has 20 years of experience in Adult Religious Education. Saturday 21 March at 10.30am at St. Cuthbert’s Durham, and repeated on Thursday 26th March at 7.00pm at St. Joseph’s, Langley Park.

Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership Property & Community Review

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In October 2019, we started a Property & Community Review, part of a Diocesan programme. Many people volunteered their time, efforts and ideas to carry out the Property Audit, a Community Audit and a 10-year financial forecast. The Diocese has now decided to pause the review and we are not preparing a report for the Diocese. However the Partnership Development Group agreed that we don’t want to lose the excellent work done so far, particularly on the Community Audit. It’s not too late to contribute ideas about the needs of the community and how we may be able to help. Parish Pastoral Councils will discuss the work done so far and the Partnership will consider anything we can work together on. Thank you to all those who volunteered – your work is very much appreciated.

Announcements, Finchale Partnership

Evening Prayer (Solemn Vespers)

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To mark the First Sunday of Advent, Solemn Vespers will be celebrated at 4.30pm on Sunday 1st December in St. Cuthbert’s Chapel, Ushaw College.

The Finchale Partnership will be co-ordinating the celebration of this service, which also marks the launch of ‘The God Who Speaks’, a Year of the Word, proclaimed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Vespers will be celebrated simultaneously at four other locations across the diocese.

Mince pies and mulled wine will be available afterwards and everyone is welcome.

Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership open afternoon

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People often say they would like to know more about the other parishes and churches in the partnership. The last of this year’s series of open afternoons is on Sunday, 6th October, from 2.00 – 4.00pm, at St. Joseph’s, Gilesgate, Durham, one of the churches in Durham Martyrs parish. The people of Durham Martyrs are looking forward to welcoming visitors from across the partnership to look around, chat over refreshments, and learn a little about the parish. Everyone is welcome to attend. You don’t have to sign up in advance, but if you need a lift to Durham, or if you are able to offer someone else a lift, please leave your details on the sheet on the noticeboard.

Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership: Property & Community Review

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This is the text of the announcement made at last weekend’s Masses across the Partnership:

The Diocese has asked all partnerships to carry out a Property and Community review.

Between 1985 and 2017 Mass attendance in the Diocese fell by more than 64%, but the number of Diocesan buildings has hardly changed. This means that we have too many churches and buildings, and the way they are currently used is unsustainable into the future. This situation places an increasing burden on priests and volunteers to manage property and we cannot afford to meet ongoing running, maintenance and repair costs.  

Now is the time for Partnerships to look ahead and consider what our future property and community needs will be.  The Diocese has asked that we undertake a full review of our buildings and land so that a flexible plan can be developed to maximise their use and sustainability, to meet the needs of our parishes and of the wider community. 

Each parish is asked to carry out a Community Audit, including talking to the local community such as local councils and voluntary groups, to help us think about what our buildings could be used for.  We will be looking for volunteers in all our parishes to make sure there is plenty of communication and consultation with parishioners, and to identify options for use of our buildings.

The Partnership is then asked to look ahead to 2030, taking account of the views of the parishes, financial forecasts, and property appraisals which look at building use and condition, to identify priorities.  A Property Proposals Plan will then be developed and submitted to the Diocese, where it will be reviewed.

The Partnership Development Group is meeting with Jeremy Brock, the Diocesan Property Review Co-ordinator, on 1 October, to find out more about the process.  We will, of course, be working with the Building Committees / volunteers in all of the parishes, and there will be plenty of opportunity for everyone to contribute their thoughts and ideas over the coming months. 

If you think you could help with the Community Audit please contact Margaret Doyle on margaretdoyle1066@sky.com

Announcements, Finchale Partnership

Partnership Open Afternoon at St. Cuthbert’s

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This afternoon (Sunday 15th September), we open our church and community to all our friends from across the Finchale Partnership. This is the fourth of a series of Partnership Open Afternoons where we have an opportunity to welcome each other, to share something of our life together and to have a chat and some simple refreshments. Please do come along anytime between 2pm and 4pm.

Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership open afternoons

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People often say they would like to know more about the other parishes and churches in the partnership.  So, the parish of Bl. Edmund Duke will be hosting an open afternoon on Sunday, 5th May, from 3.00 – 5.00pm.  They are looking forward to welcoming visitors from across the partnership at St Joseph, Coxhoe, DH6 4DA, to look around, chat over refreshments, learn a little about the parish and experience the spirituality of Church. Everyone is welcome to attend.  You don’t have to sign up in advance, but if you need a lift to Coxhoe, or if you are able to offer someone else a lift, please leave your details on the sheet on the noticeboard.

Announcements, Finchale Partnership

Finchale Partnership Confirmation programme

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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).