St. Bede's Catholic Church

Newcastle upon Tyne

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• Message from Pope Benedict XVI for Lent 2006

• Parish Visitation 12th February 2006

• Agenda Parish Visitation Meeting - 3/11/2005

• Daniel Jopling in India

• Live 8 St Mary's Cathedral -  (Reflection prepared by Fr Jim O'Keefe)

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• Sunday 29th August 2010 - 22nd Sunday of the Year

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• Sunday 8th August 2010 - 19th Sunday of the Year

• Sunday 1st August 2010 - 18th Sunday of the Year

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Latest News:

THE VISIT OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

16-19 September 2010

Many of us have really good memories of the visit of Pope John Paul II to England, Scotland and Wales in 1982. His presence in York on the May Bank Holiday Monday was an amazing occasion. The Pope was very well received at every venue and there was little opposition anywhere.

Pope John Paul’s visit had to be a ‘Pastoral’ rather than a ‘State’ visit, because we happened to be at war with Argentina at the time, over the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. The visit of Pope Benedict will have both State and pastoral elements to it. Pope Benedict is coming at the invitation of the Queen and the Prime Minister, and the visit will include a number of State engagements. There are also pastoral events culminating with the beatification of Cardinal Newman at a major open air Mass at Coventry Airport on 19 September.

Pope Benedict is expected (tho’ these things can change) to meet the Queen in Scotland, visit Westminster Hall next to the Houses of Parliament, meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, attend a huge event in Hyde Park and visit one of the Catholic Colleges of Education in London during the time he is here.

The costs of the Visit will be ‘significant’ – i.e. expensive. The State elements are the responsibility of Government, but the Church, quite rightly, will need to meet the costs of the pastoral aspects of the Visit. It is estimated that the total cost to the Church will be around £7million….

So, there is to be a Special Collection this Sunday – Pentecost Sunday – to help pay for the Visit. Please be as generous as you can….Very many thanks.

You should all receive a prayer card with the Newsletter this weekend, and there are special envelopes available for those who would like to have their donation Gift Aided

For our Diocesan Website on the Papal Visit – www.rcdhn.org.uk

The National Website for information – www.thepapalvisit.org

Many thanks Jim O’K
 

Very many thanks to Fr Brian Malia for supplying here at St Bede’s and St Joseph’s over the next two weeks while I’m on holiday. I’m most grateful to him, and I know others in the diocese are as well. Some will remember Brian as a most youthful curate here in the early 1950s… Thanks also to Fr Seamus O’Kane for taking the phone while I am away, and for saying mass here on Wednesdays and at St Joseph’s on Thursdays – please note that both masses are at 9.00am. This is on top of his responsibilities in St Mark’s and covering for St Matthew’s at Ponteland.

Come Follow Me… The information and application forms for our Journey in Faith, beginning 7 October, are now at the back of the Church. If you’re interested or know anyone who is interested in discovering more about the Catholic Faith, please take one and complete it. The sessions are usually pretty good fun – and the experience one which many people enjoy.

The Fayre… Now then! Those brilliant people who have organised and prepared for our Annual Autumn/Christmas Fayre for so many years are, quite naturally, a wee bit older and feeling the pace. They’d like to step down from doing it all again this year. The Fayre has been a very important source of funding for us over the years, but it may be that we have enjoyed our last one…unless there is a rather rapid increase in the number of people willing to give a hand with all the preparations. Alternatively – perhaps someone can come up with another way for us to raise around £1,200 later in the year?

A Reminder… of the meeting next week, Tuesday 7th September, at St Joseph’s at 7.00pm – to look at the future of our Deanery. You’ll be very welcome.

Job Opportunity… This is a 4/5 month Contract for a Community Development Worker on behalf of North East Churches Together. It is a research project looking at how Churches Together Groups and their partners are engaged in social activities in their area. The closing date is 17 September and there is much more information at the back of the Church.
 

CAFOD – Pakistan Appeal.. A huge thank you to those who have made donations. I have sent off £230.00 which includes 4 donations and £100.00 from the Wednesday coffee group – very many thanks.

Welcome to Olivia Mollie, baptised here at St Bede’s last Sunday. Hopefully she will feel very welcome in our parish community for many years to come.

Exploring Spiritual Direction… An approach to Faith Accompaniment… Over the last 10 years there has been a 6 month Course on offer in our Diocese to help train people in Faith Accompaniment. It will take place between January and June 2011. There are some leaflets about it at the back of the Church – if you’re at all interested, please let me know. It is based at Ushaw and St Anthony’s Priory in Durham - both lovely places to visit!

Its that time of year again… Thank you so much to everyone who is involved in any of the varied ministries and helping capacities in the parish… Eucharistic ministers, Church cleaners, readers, counters, Offertory Procession volunteers, collectors, musicians, Children’s Liturgy leaders, shop volunteers, sacristans, Baptism and Confirmation catechists, typists and preparer of lists… Please give a little thought to what you may be able to do to help deepen and spread the work of the parish.

It would be very helpful if you could give a couple of hours every few weeks to assist with the Cleaning of the Church. It is important that we keep our place of worship fitting for prayer and worship.

As you can see, there’s a good bit going on…but it won’t go on without willing helpers, - so please give it some thought. Many thanks.

Only Irish Coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: caffeine, sugar, fat and alcohol. (Alex Levine)

The Cardiologists Diet …. if it tastes good, - spit it out…

Please note that there will be No Mass at St Bede’s on Tuesday 24 August
and No Mass at St Joseph’s on Thursday 26 August.
 

CAFOD AND THE PAKISTAN APPEAL A number of people have asked me about CAFOD and the dreadful floods in Pakistan – this is a copy of a letter sent by the Director of CAFOD to all the Bishops of England and Wales… Given the magnitude of the unfolding crisis following the devastating floods in Pakistan I am writing to update you on CAFOD’s emergency response and our plan to strengthen our appeal to the Catholic community to help those most affected. While the disaster is being likened to a slow Tsunami, in reality the scale of devastation is greater than that caused by the Asia Tsunami or the Earthquake in Haiti – it is undoubtedly the largest humanitarian disaster in generations. Current estimates indicate over 15 million people displaced by the floods, more than a million homes destroyed or severely damaged, and a vast amount of infrastructure (bridges, roads, water supplies, essential services) simply washed away. Over the coming weeks the advent of cholera and other water borne diseases will increase the death toll. Over the coming 15 months the massive food shortage in the region caused by the destruction of crops, livestock and food reserves will threaten the lives of many others. CAFOD has so far been able to commit around £750k to the initial Caritas relief efforts, this includes £100k released to CAFOD by the British Government within the first 24 hours of the emergency based on their confidence that the church based agencies were able to act quickly and effectively. In reality though, this is just a tiny fraction of what is needed. Appeal income across the UK has been slow compared to the scale of the disaster – partly because so many are away on holiday and partly, we think, because of the negative media messaging about political corruption in Pakistan.  CAFOD launched a website appeal within 24 hours of the emergency onset and emailed 30,000 supporters who have placed themselves on our ‘contact in an emergency’ list. Supporter income to date has reached around £600k. Given the unfolding scale of the disaster and the need to build a 3 year recovery programme between the Catholic agencies in Pakistan we will be e-mailing parishes and asking if they would hold an appeal for the people of Pakistan over the weekend of August 28/29. This would come at the end of a week in which the UK’s Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) will seek to raise awareness across Britain of the plight of the victims and the need to give support.  The Caritas agencies working on the ground in Pakistan have appealed for £4m to cover the first 12 weeks of emergency relief. CAFOD’s first line of response will continue to be through our US sister agency - Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and our Irish sister agency Trócaire. We will build on these early relief responses with longer term recovery programmes working in partnership with other Catholic groups and with Caritas Pakistan.  Thanking you in advance for your support for this appeal and for your prayers for those affected and those responding on the ground.  Chris Bain – Director of CAFOD - Chris kindly sent me this note as a Trustee of CAFOD- JOK CAFOD AND THE PAKISTAN APPEAL A number of people have asked me about CAFOD and the dreadful floods in Pakistan – this is a copy of a letter sent by the Director of CAFOD to all the Bishops of England and Wales… Given the magnitude of the unfolding crisis following the devastating floods in Pakistan I am writing to update you on CAFOD’s emergency response and our plan to strengthen our appeal to the Catholic community to help those most affected. While the disaster is being likened to a slow Tsunami, in reality the scale of devastation is greater than that caused by the Asia Tsunami or the Earthquake in Haiti – it is undoubtedly the largest humanitarian disaster in generations. Current estimates indicate over 15 million people displaced by the floods, more than a million homes destroyed or severely damaged, and a vast amount of infrastructure (bridges, roads, water supplies, essential services) simply washed away. Over the coming weeks the advent of cholera and other water borne diseases will increase the death toll. Over the coming 15 months the massive food shortage in the region caused by the destruction of crops, livestock and food reserves will threaten the lives of many others. CAFOD has so far been able to commit around £750k to the initial Caritas relief efforts, this includes £100k released to CAFOD by the British Government within the first 24 hours of the emergency based on their confidence that the church based agencies were able to act quickly and effectively. In reality though, this is just a tiny fraction of what is needed. Appeal income across the UK has been slow compared to the scale of the disaster – partly because so many are away on holiday and partly, we think, because of the negative media messaging about political corruption in Pakistan. CAFOD launched a website appeal within 24 hours of the emergency onset and emailed 30,000 supporters who have placed themselves on our ‘contact in an emergency’ list. Supporter income to date has reached around £600k. Given the unfolding scale of the disaster and the need to build a 3 year recovery programme between the Catholic agencies in Pakistan we will be e-mailing parishes and asking if they would hold an appeal for the people of Pakistan over the weekend of August 28/29. This would come at the end of a week in which the UK’s Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) will seek to raise awareness across Britain of the plight of the victims and the need to give support. The Caritas agencies working on the ground in Pakistan have appealed for £4m to cover the first 12 weeks of emergency relief. CAFOD’s first line of response will continue to be through our US sister agency - Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and our Irish sister agency Trócaire. We will build on these early relief responses with longer term recovery programmes working in partnership with other Catholic groups and with Caritas Pakistan. Thanking you in advance for your support for this appeal and for your prayers for those affected and those responding on the ground. Chris Bain – Director of CAFOD - Chris kindly sent me this note as a Trustee of CAFOD- JOK

A MUSLIM PRAYER Last Friday Fr Roger heard me say something during our morning Mass about St Bernard and his support of the 2nd Crusade. In the 12th century, there was very little appreciation of Islam I suggested that we need seriously look at our prejudices about followers of Islam, particularly at the moment in the light of the controversy around Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (convicted for the Lockerbie bombing) and the proposed building of a Cultural Centre with a space for prayer…(not a mosque) near ‘Ground Zero’ in New York. Straight after Mass, Roger passed on this prayer from the back of his Bible….I share it with you. It is very different, but really worth pondering…slowly – and for more than once! O God, do not let me be as a butcher of sheep and do not let me as a sheep be killed by the butchers. O God, help me to speak the truth in the face of the strong, and help me not to lie to gain the applause of the weak. O God, if you give me money, protect my happiness; and if you give me power, strengthen my wits, and if you give me success, increase my humility; and if you give me humility, protect my dignity. O God, help me to see both sides of the picture, and do not let me accuse my opponents of treachery just because they have a different point of view. O God, help me to love people as I love myself and to keep a check on myself as I keep a check on others. O God, do not let me become boastful if I am successful, and do not let me despair if I fail, but, remind me always that failure is the experiment that precedes success. O God, let me be gentle with others, teach me that forgiveness is the highest standard of power and that revenge is the greatest indication of weakness. O God, if I lose my money, leave me hope; and if my success diminishes, leave me faith. O God, if I have wronged others, give me the opportunity to apologise; and if people have wronged me, give me the power to forgive. O God, if I forget you do not forget me. Amen I reckon I could go for that… JOK

Journey in Faith… Many thanks to Margaret Daykin, Sr Patricia, John and Audrey Marshall for their commitment to our Journey in Faith Programme over the last few years. We intend to begin again on Thursday 7th October, and there are some leaflets available at the back of the Church for those you know who might be interested. You’ll be welcome to join us, even if you’ve been a Catholic for decades. The programme runs through until after Pentecost next year (2011) and to be honest, we have some really good evenings and discussions. Give it some thought, and invite friends and relations to have a think…

Pakistan Flood Disaster… very many thanks to those people who have spontaneously made a donation to the CAFOD Pakistan Flood appeal… a number of people have given me donations to the CAFOD appeal for this horrendous disaster in Pakistan. Some Aid Workers fear it will be worse than the Asian Tsumani, the Haiti eruption and the Pakistani earthquake all put together – we have all seen the pictures on TV – it is simply horrendous. If you do want to make a donation please pass it on to me and I will certainly ensure that it gets to CAFOD. If you want to write a cheque, please make it payable to Pakistan Disaster Appeal.. very many thanks.

Asylum Seeker Project at St Joseph’s Presbytery. Just a reminder to bring tins of food for this amazing project. Parishes from around the diocese donate food (for some reason, tinned tomatoes and hot dogs seem very popular…) to the Project – please leave what you can in the receptacle (black bin…) just inside the Church door.

Blessed Theresa of Calcutta’s Birthday – just a reminder of the poster advertising the Celebration of Mass at St Robert’s at 3.00pm on Thursday 26th August. You will be most welcome.

One Summer evening during a violent thunderstorm… a mother was tucking her son into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, ‘Mummy, will you sleep with me tonight?’
His mam smiled and gave him a reassuring hug.
‘I can’t, dear,’ she said. ‘I have to sleep in daddy’s room.’
A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice:
‘The big sissy….’

The secret of a good sermon… is to have a good beginning and a good ending and to have the two as close together as possible. (George Burns)

By all means, marry… If you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher. (Socrates)

I have never hated a man enough… to give his diamonds back. (Zsa Zsa Gabor)

Welcome to Tadeo, Ngqabutho (two brothers), Patrik and Marika (brother and sister) and Connor who were baptised last Sunday. Its difficult not realising that the Church is a universal community when there are young people from Zimbabwe, the Czech Republic and Benwell being baptised at the same time.

Bede House – Catholic Chaplaincy, is the new name for the Catholic University Chaplaincy in Windsor Terrace. This is to distinguish it from the University multifaith and ecumenical chaplaincy which has moved into the same street. May they all play nicely together in the years to come.

You are invited to join the Missionary Sisters of Charity to celebrate the 100th birthday of Blessed Theresa of Kolkat (Calcutta) on Thursday 26th August at St Robert’s, Cedar Road at 3.00pm. There is a little more information on the poster at the back of the Church. You will be made most welcome.

The ANNUAL ROSARY RALLY is to be held on Saturday 14 August at Minsteracres Retreat Centre. Mass will be celebrated at 12.00noon and the event will be concluded by 4.00pm. For further information, please contact 01434 673248

Heart Gives Unto Heart Papal Visit Internet Radio… is being produced by young (and some not so young) people to ‘spread the good news during Pope Benedict’s visit in September. If you want to know more, please go to: http://www.heartgivesuntoheart.co.uk

Do you remember the ‘Popescope’? This was one of the ‘memorabilia produced in 1982 for the visit of Pope John Paul II. It enabled you to see the Pope over the heads of hundreds of thousands of people in front of you at big events… Well, the Bishops have appointed IVS Group Ltd to produce the memorabilia for the coming event – T shirts, plates mugs etc…This is a way of saying there will probably all sorts of ‘fake’ things produced, so if you want to buy the genuine article – and help pay for the visit – keep an eye on who has produced it….what a strange world we live in!
 

A list of medical words – and their ‘alternative meaning…
Artery – a study of paintings	Fibula – a small lie
Caesarean Section – a neighbourhood in Rome	Morbid – a higher offer
Recovery Room - a place to do upholstery	Enema – not a friend
Post Operative - letter carrier	Seizure - a Roman Emperor

Very Many Thanks to Fr Roger Burns who joined us last weekend from Australia. Roger was the parish priest at St Joseph’s before me, he went to Australia to join his mother and sister and is staying here on holiday. This weekend he is with the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. He’s very welcome – his deanery is bigger than our diocese, and he was sent to a parish to replace 3 Religious priests – the number of masses was decreased from nine to four! And we think we have problems… His next door neighbour has to travel an hour by car to celebrate mass in one of the parishes for which he is responsible. We’ve known each other a long time, we were both at Ushaw in the 1980s, and he followed me as Pastoral Director there when I left in 1993 – I hope he enjoys his holidays…

St Bede’s School. Mrs Dorothy Hall is retiring as a volunteer piano player for weekly hymn practice at St Bede’s School and Mr Scurr is wondering if there is someone who might be able to take her place. To be honest, I suspect it’s quite good fun. I know our School Masses are great and the musical contribution is so important. If you’re interested, (and can actually play the piano…) would you please get in touch with Mr Scurr on 0191 274 3430. Having said that, I know the school is on holiday, so if you’re massively keen and want to queue up to help, maybe you’d let me know on 0191 274 6147 – you’ll need a CRB check (safeguarding our children) – I’m sure Dr Deidre Grzebalski (our parish Safeguarding person), Mr Scurr or myself will be able to help with that. Please give it a thought.

Bible Alive – on sale this week, - £1.95 – articles about the Pope’s Visit and the Beatification of Cardinal Henry Newman. He was a brilliant guy – really believed in change, he was very clever, he didn’t talk about change, he talked about ‘development’…

Bishop Seamus wants to visit St Bede’s and St Joseph’s and he’s picked a really good weekend… he’s (very sensibly in my view) looking to visit our Deanery during the winter. So, and this is interesting, he’s up for joining us on the weekend before Christmas – December 18/19 December. I reckon we don’t have to worry about that for a while yet!

Deanery Planning… All the priests of our Deanery met with Bishop Seamus last Wednesday for a meeting and lunch – actually both were very good.…! Our Dean, Fr Tony Cornforth, would like to invite anyone who wants to come, to a meeting at St Joseph’s on Tuesday evening, 7th September. I’ll be on holiday (now be honest, you can’t blame me for that) – you’ll be very welcome, and it will be important, - more about this later….If you’ve a diary – please put it in!

Youth Village Cook… I’ve put notice of a job available at the Youth Village near Consett. I suspect it is a brilliant place to work – tho’ I doubt I’d qualify!!. Christine Stewart-Tilling is advertising the post, it is full time tho’ job share is a possibility. Closing date for applications is 16 August. Contact 01207 592244 or admin@ymt.org