Newsletter

8th March 2015 3rd Sunday Of Lent - Year B
False gods
At the feast of the Passover, thousands of pilgrims arrived in Jerusalem to
worship in the Temple. The Law required them to offer an animal in sacrifice,
and so the animal sellers set up their stalls, to provide the cows, sheep and
pigeons that were needed. But the pilgrims weren’t allowed to use Roman
money in the Temple, so money changers were brought in, too. When Jesus
arrives in the Temple and takes in the scene, he drives out the animal sellers
and the money changers, who have turned his Father’s house into a market
place. The law of sacrifice has become a false “god,” and the prayerful atmosphere of the Temple has been destroyed.
It may shock us to see Jesus acting in this way. But the prophets of Israel often made such dramatic gestures. Jesus is calling the attention of the people
to the abuse of the Temple, and challenging the rulers who have allowed it to
happen. On what authority? On his own authority, as the Son of God – the
authority that will be proved when Jesus rises from the dead.
Our worship is true worship only if our lives are centred on Christ. What are
the false gods that distract us from him?
Fr Tom McHale
Fr Andrew Downie
Fr Michael Keoghan
502196
503550
502320
Deacon David Westgarth
Deacon Shaun McGee
St Mary’s News & Notices
Sanctuary Candle: Anyone wishing to sponsor the Sanctuary Candle at a cost of
£10 for one week, in memory of a deceased relative or a special intention, please
contact Stella Atkinson on 504004. This week the candle will burn for the Birthday
Memories of Stephen Haney.
Retiring Collection: None This Week
Lately Deceased: James McClen (Son of Mary Reddington)
Offertory envelopes; New boxes for 2015/2016 are available at the back of
church-please take your box. The New Year commences from Saturday/ Sunday
4th/ 5th April 2015. If you or your spouse are a tax payer and would like to become
a gift aid donor, please see Ian Hillas. All that is required is your name address
and signature on a form. The tax you pay on the amount of any future donations
can then be collected by the parish without any further involvement by you. The
total tax reclaimed for the Parish last year was £8150. If you have ceased to become a tax payer in the year please advise Ian of this. Thank you for your
generous support throughout the year.
St. Mary’s Special Needs Club: would like to say a huge thank you to all who
collected Evening Chronicle Wish 14 tokens. We have received an amazing
£506.54—our best to date!! Thank you again. On Friday 20th March at 7pm, the
drama group from Dilston Hall Residential College near Hexham are coming to
provide an evening of entertainment. There is no cover charge, but we will of
course have a raffle and tombola. All are invited.
Macmillan Cancer Support would like to thank the family of the late Ms P.
Feltham for the kind donation of £31.91 raised in her memory. This gift will enable
us to continue to provide vital services and information to people who need our
help. Thank you.
SVP National Raffle: Tickets on sale after masses, for St. Vincent de Paul
National Raffle. Prizes are £3,000, £2,000, £1,000 Plus many more.
CAFOD Please return CAFOD Lenten Fast Day Envelopes on the Collection Plate
or through the Presbytery letter box.
Singing Group – The Singing Group is on a Wednesday from 7-20pm -8.45pm in
the Day Centre. New members are very welcome, no ability necessary! Please
contact Gill for more information on 588321.
Trip to Heighley Gate Garden Centre For all those who have enjoyed the recent
trips to Dobbies Garden Centre, another outing is being organised on Tuesday
March 24th to Heighley Gate. Please sign the notice at the back of church ,
indicating if you would like to board the bus at St. Mary's or Shotley Bridge beside
the King's Head. The bus will leave St. Mary’s, Blackhill at 10.30a.m. and Our Lady
of the Rosary at 10.35a.m.
Office Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am - 2pm.
email:stmarysblackhill@outlook.com
Tel: 01207 502320
Our Lady’s News & Notices
Retiring Collections: None this week.
Monday Coffee Mornings
after Mass or the Service of the Word and
Communion.
Lenten Lunches The next Lenten Lunch is tomorrow March 9th at Blackhill Baptist
church hall at12.30pm. Come along and meet our fellow Christians over a bite to
eat.
S V P National Raffle Tickets on still sale after Sunday Masses for St Vincent de
Paul National raffle until Sunday 8th March. Prizes are £3,000, £2,000, £1,000 and
many more.
Trip to Heighley Gate Garden Centre For all who have enjoyed the recent trips to
Dobbies Garden Centre, another outing is being organised on Tuesday March 24th
to Heighley Gate. Please sign the notice at the back of church, indicating where you
would like to board the bus, either at St. Mary's or outside the King's Head at
Shotley Bridge
Safeguarding Checks We are in the process of having our checks updated. If your
previous check was 3 or more years ago you will have received an initial self
declaration form. Once this has been returned to the diocese, a further form will be
sent directly to your home address which asks for various forms of identification. I’d
be grateful if you could photocopy the 3 documents you choose to use as
Identification and show me the originals so I can sign to say I have seen them. I
will send the photocopies to the diocesan office together with your completed
form. If anybody needs to use the photocopier at St Mary’s Presbytery you are
welcome to do so during office hours: Tuesday – Friday 10 am- 2pm.
Any questions or help needed just ask Kath Clayson 01207 502014/ 07958492535.
Offertory envelopes New boxes for 2015/2016 are available at the back of churchplease take your box. The New Year commences from Saturday/ Sunday 4th/ 5th
April 2015.If you or your spouse are a tax payer and would like to become a gift aid
donor, please see Ian Hillas. All that is required is your name address and signature
on a form. The tax you pay on the amount of any future donations can then be collected by the parish without any further involvement by you. The total tax reclaimed
for the Parish last year was £3410. This has contributed significantly to parish funds
and could be further increased if all tax payers in the parish joined the Gift Aid
scheme. If you have ceased to become a tax payer in the year please advise Ian of
this. Thank you for your generous support throughout the year.
Re St Patricks day 17 the March Irish coffee morning to be held in Shotley Bridge
church hall on 21st March after mass. Any raffle or tombola prizes should be left at
the back of church, I would be most grateful also to anyone who can help in anyway
would be most welcome. Eileen Willis.
Village Trust Open Meeting in the church hall Tuesday 24th March at 7.15 for
7.30pm.
Items for the Newsletter Items for the newsletter to be E mailed to rayfenwick@talktalk.net by 10.00am Wednesdays or left in the church mail box .
St Patrick’s News & Notices
Retiring Collections: This week: Lenten Alms Next week: Liberia
Sick list: If you know of sick or housebound parishioners who would wish to
receive Holy Communion at home, or to be included in the list of those whom the
parish community is praying for, please speak to Fr Andrew, or Deacon David.
Altar servers: Boys and girls who have made their First Communion can become
altar servers. If your child is interested in serving on the altar. We also need adult
servers to take a turn at serving at weekday Mass. If you might be able to help,
please speak to Fr Andrew.
The Season of Lent Why not join us for 8.00am Mass on Friday, on your way to
school or work, or for Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 11.30am, followed by
soup lunch in aid of CAFOD.
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will be held next Saturday, 14th March,
after 12.00 Mass until 4.00pm.
Congratulations to Szymon Nawrocki and Grace and Holly Ng-Perkins who will be
Baptised today. May God bless them and their families.
Donations for future fayres: Following the great success of recent mini fayres,
these will be continued in the future, with the next one planned for Easter time.
You have been very generous with your kind donations which have ensured the
success that has been achieved. As Christmas is over you may have one or two
surplus gifts which you might consider donation for raffles and tombolas at future
events. If you have, and would like to donate them, then please hand them into the
parish office, or at the Church Hall Coffee Mornings after Sunday Mass. Thank you!
CTS rack in the porch has been restocked for Lent.
200 Club. Membership subscriptions for this year are now due with the draws for
January and February to take place on Sunday 1st March. Envelopes will be at the
back of Church for your subs. Thank you to everyone who took part last year and
congratulations to the winners. Please consider taking part this year as there are
numbers are available.
Safeguarding Checks We are approaching the next round of checks. If anyone
has either changed their address or ceased their ministry, please contact Agnes
Nelson on 592505 or at the Sunday coffee morning, or inform Fr Andrew
Gift Aid Statements: Gift Aid Donation Statements, which cover donations for the
2013/2014 tax year, can be found at the back of church. Please collect your statement as soon as possible. You will need it to complete your tax return. Thank you
once again for making this commitment to the support of St Patrick’s – it is an important contribution to our parish, and is very much appreciated.
Notice Board Please don’t display any items on the Church notice board without
showing them to Fr Andrew.
Notices for Bulletin If you would like an item included, email details to
stpatricknews@aol.com
St Pius News and Notices
Diocesan Development Fund: A collection will be taken after Mass today.
Please be as generous as you can.
Partnership Lent Reflection: Today at 3.00pm at St Pius. A time of quiet
prayer and reflection as we journey together through the season of Lent.
Refreshments afterwards.
Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession): Wednesday 18th March. 6.156.45pm, in St Pius X sacristy.
Lourdes Pilgrimage 2015: There are 4 seats available for this trip at a cost of
£699 each. Dates of travel are 23rd to 30th June. Should you be interested
please phone Eleanor on 504090.
Please don't park your car on the grass in front of the church. Durham County
Council have warned that they may fine offenders. Please also be considerate of
residents when parking. Space is also available over the main road at the old
petrol station
Coffee Mornings: After 11am Mass on Sundays and 10am Service on Mondays
– always a great way to catch up with everything.
Prayers for Vocations: During Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on
Thursday mornings, the Rosary is said for the vocation of Priests.
New Altar Servers: Boys and girls who have made their First Communion are
eligible to serve on the altar. If your Son or Daughter would like to become an
altar server, please see Father Andrew
Sick List: If you know of any sick or housebound parishioners who would wish to
receive Holy Communion at home, or to be included in the list of those whom the
parish community is praying for, please speak to Father Andrew or Deacon
Shaun.
100 Club: Please consider joining this club. Numbers are 50p per week and all
profits go to Church Funds. Winning numbers are on the notice board. Prizes of
£50, £20 and 3 x £10 awarded monthly.
Statue of Our Lady: With Mr & Mrs Agnew, 16 Dunelm Road.
There are vacancies on the rota to have the statue of Our Lady for one week at a
time. If you want to join there is a list at the back of Church.
Newsletter Items: By 6pm Wednesday to 7, Consett Park Terrace or susan.j.mcgee@btopenworld.co
General Notices
Lent Reflections: Today at 3.00pm at St Pius X.
Sunday 22nd March at 3.00pm, at Our Lady’s, Shotley Bridge.
Saturday 28th March at 10.00am, at St Patrick’s, Consett (Exposition and Confessions afterwards.)
Continuing The Journey: Tuesday 10th March at 7.30pm. Theme—The Holy
Spirit.
Durham Cathedral comes to Ushaw for Evening Prayer: Today, 8th March, we
have the Durham Cathedral Consort directed by James Lancelot the Organist and
Director of Music coming to Ushaw for Evening Prayer, with Canon Rosalind Brown
leading the service in St Cuthbert's Chapel at 6.00.p.m. A very special moment in
the life of Ushaw College.The Cafe and Gift shop will be open from 2.00.p.m.
Youth Village currently looking for part-time staff. Housekeeping and Kitchen
duties. Hours are negotiable. Rate of pay is living wage of £7.85. Anyone interested, please ring Youth Village on 592244.
Quiet Day at Ushaw: On Wednesday 25th March from 11.00.a.m. - 4.00.p.m.
Father John Marsland - the President of Ushaw will be leading a "Quiet day of
prayer and reflection" at Ushaw in the week leading up to Holy Week. The cost
will be £15.00. including lunch and refreshments. 25 places available
Please contact tickets@usaw.org or leave message on the phone 07421035240
Catholic Perspectives on Poverty: A Study Day for Clergy, Laity, and Students of
Theology. Saturday 21st March 2015 at Ushaw College; 10.00am (registration) 5.30pm. If you would like to attend the study day, places must be booked and paid
for in advance by 1st March. £50 with a buffet lunch; £40 without lunch (packed
lunches can be brought and eaten in the refectory). Concessions are available on
request. For further details, any queries about transport from Durham to Ushaw
College, and to book, please contact Eddie Jarvis at: e.t.jarvis@durham.ac.uk or
0191 334 1656.
Forward Together in Hope: Our diocesan development programme. Meetings are
scheduled during March with the Council of Priests, Youth Council and Council of
Laity to update them on progress and seek their ideas and involvement. Episcopal
Vicars will also be meeting with clergy in their areas to consider Forward Together
in Hope. The next step will be to arrange meetings in each Deanery to provide
more details of the forthcoming self-evaluation process.
God's Gift of Love: A concert featuring original songs, poems and a Catholic Art
Exhibition. Featuring Catholic singer, songwriter and poet Gerry Coates, plus
friends. This FREE show will feature many of Gerry's original songs, plus new ones
from his CD “God’s Month of Valentine”. Audiences are invited to send their own
wedding photos to be displayed and will be given the opportunity to tell their own
romantic poems, tales, secrets and experiences of a successful marriage.
Wednesday 11th March at 7.00pm, in St Patrick’s Hall.
A Message from the Hospital Chaplains: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Gateshead, RVI and Freeman Hospitals in Newcastle do not give Chaplains
access to information about patients’ admittance, so the Chaplains rely totally on
information given to them from family, local priests or patients before they enter
hospital. Patients are sometimes misled by being asked their religious
denomination – thereby thinking that the Chaplain will be informed – they are
not. Patients can ask for a visit from the Chaplain and the nurses are usually good
in contacting them but they may forget. The following contact information may be
helpful: QE Hospital; telephone 0191 445 2072 and leave a message; RVI &
Freeman Hospitals; telephone St Andrew’s Church, Newcastle on 0191 232 1892
and leave a message. For all hospitals – in an emergency, ask the Ward Sister to
contact the on-call Roman Catholic Chaplain not just a Chaplain.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to the Holy Land October 12th – 19th 2015: Please consider
joining the pilgrimage. Return flights from Manchester, bed and breakfast, full
en-suite accommodation, lunches included most days, air conditioned coach
throughout trip to transport throughout the region, full time tour guide throughout
the whole 8 days. Booking forms and full pilgrimage information is available on the
diocesan website www.rcdhn.org.uk or are available from Father Peter Stott at St.
Joseph, North Shields.
‘Christ And The Church Need You’ In this Year for Consecrated Life, we invite
young men aged 18-40 to dream big and consider a life on the spiritual vanguard.
'Come and See' the Community of Our Lady of Walsingham, based in the diocese
of Brentwood, a new religious community founded in 2004. As the male branch
begins to take shape you are invited to consider if its spirituality speaks to you.
Dates; 20th-22nd March. Venue: Abbotswick House of Prayer near Brentwood in
Essex. For further details visit www.walsinghamcommunity.org or call Jim on
01277 373848.
WHITE RABBIT - RISE Theatre UK Tour 2015 YMT are delighted to welcome
the professional Christian theatre company RISE Theatre, who will be performing their brand new original play ‘White Rabbit’ at: St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle on Thursday 26th March 2015 Tickets cost £5. The performance
starts at 7.30pm and is suitable for adults and ages 12+.For booking
information and tickets please contact YMT on 01207 592244 or admin@ymt.org Tickets are also available from the Cathedral Bookshop and
Cloister Café and can be bought online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/risetheatre
Catholic Directory online: You can find information about churches, Mass times
etc online at www.catholicdirectory.org
Anniversaries
St Mary’s Thomas Hewitson, Peter Walls, Teresa Lillian Nattrass, Helen Marie
Tucker, David Christopher Chivers (Chris), Jackie Graham, Robert Rodgers,
James Million, John Toner, James Welsh, Theresa Bell, Peter Ward, Mary
McArdle, Mary Clarke, Anthony Martin, Eric George Tucker, Martin Rogan, Joseph
Richardson, Terry Akers, Joseph Fullen, Henry Waggott, Mary Ann Brady
St Patrick’s Isabella Conroy, Lily Gettings, Sarah Fletcher, James Lee, Rose Ann
Carlin, Marguerite Martin, Catherine Campbell, Mollie Smith, Theresa Jackson,
John Paul Walls, Patricia Osbourne, Kathleen Johnson
St Pius Tony Donaghy and Josephine Kerr.
Our Lady of the Rosary None This Week.
Those who are sick in our Parish
We keep in our prayers
St Mary’s: Paul Wass, Ryan McBeath, Tilly Lockey, David Oliver, Mary Hannant,
Shaun Donaghy, Kieran Richard Atkinson, Amelia Burns, Norman Riches, Ethan
White, James Thomas English, David Sizmy, Eileen Fannon, Mary Barnes, Arron
Armstrong, Rita Atkinson, Freya Simpson, Vera (Vicki) Thorpe, Maddy Kennedy,
Mark Adams, Anne Cant, Jack Nugent, Tom McClen, John Corr, Margaret Corr,
Rob Moon, Donna Philips. Teresa Anderson (nee McGuigan), Margaret
Bridgewater (nee Telford)
Our Lady of the Rosary: Mary Kennedy, Elsie Hughes, James Baker.
St Patrick’s: Eileen Fish, Margaret Heslop, Anna Bradley, Martin Rogan, Cheryl
Reilly, Judith Hindmarsh, Joe Cavanagh, Teresa Donnelly, Joseph Raw, Joe
Conroy, Arthur McArdle, Theresa Hutton, Mary Hughes, Ann Dickinson, Nora
Robson, Bernadette McAloon, Marian Richardson and Peter Hughes.
St Pius: Dot Atherton, Marie Atherton, Patricia Bell, Michael Carney, Elsie Hughes
(Harrop), Paul Hunt, Mary Kennedy, Ella Kerr, Nancy Malone, Robert Nixon Jr.,
Charlie O'Donnell & Jade Telford
St Patrick’s
Readers
March 8th
9.30am: M. Gallagher 6.00pm: C. Thirlwell
March 15th 9.30am: T. Gallagher 6.00pm: J. Murray
Ministers
March 8th
9.30am: D. Barrass, M. Lenahgan, C. Westgarth
6.00pm: R. Wright, P. Hewitson, P. Thirlwell
March 15th 9.30am: J. Dimambro, C. Robson, M. Westgarth
6.00pm: T. Mulholland, M. Dimambro, J. McArdle
St Pius
Church Cleaning Rota:
Group D: 2nd March: M Welch and M Davey
Please call Mary Davey on 504532 if there are any problems with covering the
rota.
Ministries
8th March 2015
Reader: Rachel Hodson
Minister: Sue McGee.
Our Lady of the Rosary
Readers
C Bell T Dixon.
Ministers
P Watson & M Jopling.
Cleaning Rota
A Bradley & P A Barron.
Sacrament of Reconcilliation:
St Patrick’s available every Saturday 11.00-11.50am or by appointment.
St Mary’s Saturday evening from 4.45-5.15pm.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
St Mary’s: Every Tuesday morning 10.30-11.30am.
Our Lady of the Rosary: Every Friday 9.30-10.00am
St Pius X: An hour before Mass on Monday and Wednesday and half an hour
before communion services.
First Friday of the month: 6.00-7.00pm.
St Patrick’s: Half an hour before each weekday mass with recital of morning
prayer of the church.
Saturday 11.00am-12 Noon and Sunday 5.00-5.30pm.
There is also Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on the first Saturday of the
month from 11.00am-12 Noon and after Mass until 4.00pm.
Novena to Our Blessed Lady
St Patrick’s Monday evening at 7.00pm.
Baptism Preparation Format
Please deliver the completed form to St Patrick’s Presbytery.
If you have any queries ring St Patrick’s on 01207-502196 and a catechist will be
pleased to help.