Tag Archives: Featured
Church Reopening
Additional stewards would be welcome to help resume opening to the public on Fridays and Saturday mornings. The new rota will start after Easter. Stewards are DBS screened and serve with a partner; sharing conversation and coffee means the two hour shifts (10.00-12.00 or 13.00 -15.00) every two or three weeks are not very onerous. If you could help, please contact Ciara (office@stcuthberts-durham.org.uk) or Susan Penswick (scpenswick@hotmail.co.uk)
Foot Washing
If any member of the parish or chaplaincy communities are willing to take part in the foot-washing at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday Evening (28th March, 7pm), then please sign up on the list on the noticeboard or let Fr Andrew or Andy Doyle know. Remember that even St Peter was reluctant to have his feet washed (John 13:8) – but relented!
Holy Week Volunteers
If you can help with welcoming, reading or administering Holy Communion at our Holy Week and Easter services, please sign up on the rota on the noticeboard as soon as you can. We need lots of volunteers to avoid overloading just a few people and to ensure that our liturgies are celebrated with dignity, reverence and joy. Members of both the parish and chaplaincy communities are invited to volunteer, so please do sign up.
An important notice for existing Gift Aid Donors
As the parish’s financial year is drawing to a close, we will soon be compiling our Gift Aid return. If donors have signed up for Gift Aid but now believe that they will not have paid sufficient income tax to cover the Gift Aid on their donations (e.g. if you have donated £400 over the year, then you must have paid Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax of at least £100 over the same year) then please let Fr Andrew or Andy Doyle know as soon as possible. Also, if any donors have changed address in the last year and have not already informed the parish or the Gift Aid team at the Diocesan Offices then, again, please let Fr Andrew or Andy Doyle know.
Please Pray For ….
Those who are sick:
Stuart Button, Phil Bawden (Australia), Francis Mangion, Andrew S, Christopher Browne, Hugh McElhennon, Mary Skelton, Clare Humphrey and David Moore.
Those whose anniversaries occur at this time:
Samuel Traynor, Betty Brown, William Rolland Smith, Anthony Gavaghan, Mary Blenkinsop, Ryoko Shinoda, John Jack. May they rest in peace.
Synod Meeting: Structures and Decision Making
We’re holding a series of meetings to talk about some of the issues raised in the summary document from the Synod Assembly in Rome last October. The third meeting this Sunday 25th February at 2.30pm, at St. Cuthbert’s, and the subject will be ‘Structures and Decision Making’.
Please come along and share your ideas on the following questions:
The Synod Assembly agreed that ‘synodality represents the future’, and is an essential part of ‘advising, discerning and decision making’ in the Church. The Assembly also called for obligatory Diocesan and Parish Pastoral Councils. How should we take forward a synodal approach (including Conversations in the Spirit and listening to those on the margins) in our Diocese? And how can we best use this approach in our Partnership and our parishes?
Palms to Ashes
Traditionally, we burn the blessed palm leaves and crosses from last year in order to provide the ashes for Ash Wednesday and so, if you have palms at home, please bring them to church and place them in the box provided in the porch on or before Sunday 11th February. On the Friday evenings of Lent, starting from 16th February, we shall be praying Lenten Vespers (Evening Prayer) at 6:10pm, followed by Stations of the Cross at 6:30pm. If anybody from the parish or chaplaincy community would like to suggest and/or lead a version of Stations, please let Fr Andrew or Andy Doyle know as soon as possible.
Bishop Stephen Wright
St Cuthbert’s Parish Pastoral Council
Knitting for Stella Maris (The Apostleship of the Sea)
So far this year the parish has sent over 60 warm, woolly hats the chaplains for distribution to seaman visiting local ports. Now that the temperatures are increasingly chilly there is an even greater need for hats. The pattern is on the parish website and at the back of church if you would like to knit hats for the seafarers.
Retreat in Daily Life
An introduction to Ignatian prayer, led by a team of trained retreat guides from St Bueno’s Jesuit spirituality centre. Participants meet with a guide each day to talk about their prayer life, and there are evening workshops on ways of praying. You can take part in person or online. This year’s Retreat in Daily Life will be held from this Sunday 21st-Friday 26th January. For more information or to sign up, contact Fr Andrew on andrew.j.downie@durham.ac.uk
The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) will be a available on Thursday 25th 4.00-5.00pm in church.
Knitted Crib
Volunteering
Thank you to everybody who has taken up a volunteering role in the parish and completed the necessary paperwork. Just a reminder it is Diocesan policy that before starting any volunteer role in the church a simple volunteer registration form needs to be completed. It is a very simple process. Please contact the parish safeguarding representatives Stephanie Brown 07809611640 or Mark Miller 07958174805 for the necessary form. It is important that all volunteers old and new read the Diocesan Safeguarding Guidlines. A copy of these can be found on the notice board at the back of church and here Diocesan Safeguarding Guidelines
Online Gospel Reflections
Preparing the Church for Christmas
Calling all Readers, Welcomers and Ministers of Communion
We are in desperate need for volunteers to minister at the Christmas liturgies. If you can read, welcome or help to distribute Holy Communion at any or all of the following services: Christmas Mass during the Night at 10pm on Christmas Eve; Christmas Mass on Christmas Day at 10am, then please sign up on the list on the noticeboard or contact Andy Doyle on 0798 543 4185 or andydoyle1066@sky.com Please do not leave it to the last minute.
Christmas Film and Pizza Night
On Friday 15th December we will be showing our festive film, the 1994 version of “Miracle on 34th Street” starring Richard Attenborough. Doors to the Parish Room open for pizza and drinks at 6:30pm and the screening begins at 7pm. There is no charge but, to help us with the catering, please let Andy Doyle know (0798 543 4185 or andydoyle1066@sky.com) if you are planning to come along.
Synodality: the Next Steps
12 months ago we had several local meetings to discuss the Synod on Synodality. We had some good discussions and were able to contribute to the synthesis which our Diocese sent in. During October, the Assembly of the Synod on Synodality met with Pope Francis in Rome and they have now published their report. Once again, we have the opportunity to share our thoughts, to listen to others and to make a contribution to the Synod.
We’ll be holding a series of discussions, and the first will be at 2.30pm this Sunday 3rd December in the parish room. We’ll be joined by Avril Baigent, who is a Director of the School for Synodality and synod co-lead for the Diocese of Northampton. Avril will be talking about Conversations in the Spirit, and sharing some advice on how to get the most from our meetings.
You can also take part in the meeting via Zoom; contact Fr Andrew on parish.priest@stcuthberts-durham.org.uk for login details.