This Sunday Catholics are encouraged to reflect on the Church’s contribution to education in this country and pray for all those involved in Catholic education. There will be a retiring collection to support the Catholic Education Service, the agency of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales which represents and supports Catholic schools.
Public Lecture
Durham 1569: A People’s Tragedy? Prof. Eamon Duffy (University of Cambridge, Emeritus) Tuesday 17th September, 6.30-7.45pm in the Debating Chamber, Palace Green, Durham. Entry is free of charge, but registration is essential for those not registering for the Northern Rising conference; please register online at https://centreforcatholicstudies.eventbrite.com or by telephoning 0191 334 1656, by 12noon on Tuesday 17 September.
Around the Church
Congratulations
Thank You
Finding the Best Place
Jesus sees the guests at a dinner jockeying for the best places. The closer to the host a guest was seated, the more they were seen to be honoured. But Jesus points out how insecure we are, if our self-esteem depends on the opinion of others. Public opinion is a fickle thing: we can lose our position of respect and honour in a moment. If, instead, we depend on the love of God, we are standing on a firm foundation. Rather than trying to be ‘in with the in-crowd,’ we can seek out the poor and the sick, who may be more in need of welcome and hospitality. That is the way to secure our own place at the heavenly banquet.
Parish Office
Please Pray For
The Heart of Prayer: an Introductory Day on Centering Prayer
This introductory day will be held at Ushaw, Saturday 21st September 2019, 10.00am – 3.30pm, led by Elizabeth Smith B.Ed.
Elizabeth Smith has given numerous retreats and workshops on Centering Prayer, sharing the teaching of Fr Thomas Keating. Thomas Keating was Elizabeth’s mentor and friend. Elizabeth founded Contemplative Outreach UK with Fr Keating’s blessing and support in 1989.
The cost for the day is £10 per person, to include tea/coffee in the morning and in the afternoon. Light meals may be purchased in The Refectory. Booking is essential. To purchase a ticket, go to www.ushaw.org
Events at Ushaw
Hand in hand: The artistic and spiritual life of Dame Werburg Welch. An exhibition of textiles, paintings, wood carvings and prints by a Benedictine nun of Stanbrook Abbey, a remarkable hidden talent. Continues until 3rd September.
‘Behind the Scenes’ tour of the Ushaw Library. Saturday 28th September at 2pm. Cost £5. To book, and for details of all events at Ushaw College, go to www.ushaw.org
Heritage Open Days
On Friday 13th and Saturday 14th September, between 10am and 3pm, our church will be taking part in the national Heritage Open Days event (https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/st-cuthberts-catholic-church-durham) .
The church will be open to visitors, a small exhibition will be in place and light refreshments will be available. If you could support our existing stewards and help staff the church for 30 minutes or more during the day, then please sign up on the list on the noticeboard or contact Andy Doyle (0798 543 4185 or andydoyle1066@sky.com).
Church Cleaning
To get ready for the Heritage Open Days and Partnership Open Afternoon, it would be good to have a cleaning blitz in the Church and Parish Room in particular. So, if you can help, please come along from 2.00pm on Saturday 7th September, ready to dust, sweep, polish and generally spruce up our beautiful church.
Justice and Peace Refugee Project
Our parish collects biscuits and toilet rolls to help provide basic supplies to asylum seekers in the diocese. These are collected regularly, on the first Sunday of the month. If you would like to donate items please remember to bring them to Church next Sunday 1 September and place them under the bench in the narthex ready to be collected.
The Narrow Door
Jesus is asked, ‘Will there be only a few saved?’ And his answer is ‘No.’ People from all nations will be welcomed to the feast in the kingdom of God – from east and west, from north and south. No one is excluded; God offers salvation to everyone. So why is the door narrow? Jesus gave this teaching to the people at a time when he was making his way through towns and villages on his way to Jerusalem. Many of the people heard his teaching, and saw the miracles that he worked; but only a few, it seems, became his disciples. The door was narrow for them, because Jesus’ call to conversion was too much of a challenge. The door is narrow for us, too, if we are overly attached to the things of this world. But if we respond to Christ’s call, and go through the narrow door, we find that it opens onto the infinitely wide love and mercy of God.
Around the Church
Congratulations
To Ciara Courtney and Matthias Müller, whose Nuptial Mass will be celebrated at St Cuthbert’s this Saturday, 24th August, at 12.30pm. Ciara and Matthias were both students at St Mary’s College from 2008-11. Please pray for them as they begin their married life. Everyone is welcome to the Nuptial Mass.
I have come to bring fire to the earth
We know Jesus as the Prince of Peace. So why does he speak in today’s Gospel of bringing fire to the earth, and of causing division within families? Because Jesus speaks the truth, consistently and fearlessly, and the truth is not always welcome. He denounces injustice and challenges the hypocrisy of the chief priests and elders, who lay heavy burdens on the ordinary people of Israel. He eats with tax collectors and sinners, cures lepers and welcomes pagans. Jesus causes division because he challenges the powerful and disturbs the status quo. Like all of the prophets before him, he encounters opposition and, in the end, the rulers of the people bring about his death in order to silence him.
Around the Church
Finchale Partnership
The minutes of the recent meeting of the Partnership Development Group are now available here
The Kaki Tree Project
Commemorates the sufferings of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where atomic bombs were dropped on 6th and 9th August 1945. Ewan Anderson will speak about the Kaki Tree at 10.00am Mass on Sunday, to mark the anniversary of the bombs, and will show a drawing of the tree which survived the nuclear blast.