St. Bede's Catholic Church

Newcastle upon Tyne

The page is usually updated on Friday or Saturday although additional updates can be made during the following week. Please check 'Last updated' under latest news.

• Document Downloads

• New - 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)

• Pope Benedict XVI

• Pope John Paul II

• Election of Popes

• Lent 2005

• The Passion Story

• Events

• The Vatican

• Adult Christian Education

• Latest News

• Sunday 26th February 2006 - 8th Sunday of the Year

• Sunday 19th February 2006 - 7th Sunday of the Year

• Sunday 12th February 2006 - 6th Sunday of the Year

• Sunday 5th February 2006 - 5th Sunday of the Year

• Archives

Lent 2006

Fr Michael Ekanem will lead three REFLECTIONS ON LENT on the following dates: Friday 10th, 17th and 24th March. Please watch this space about what shape the Reflections will take.

CAP

Central Buildings

Oldham Street

Manchester M1 1JQ

or www.church-poverty.org.uk

Bishop Kevin will be leading a service in St Mary’s Cathedral at 4.00 pm this Sunday (26th)

As Joan Rivers once said: ‘The trouble with housework is that you spend ages filling the dishwasher, washing clothes and cleaning the house, and then in six months time you have to do the same again’…...

No comment JOK

Very many thanks to those who were able to join us for the meeting with the Bishop. The supplement will give a flavour of what was said during the conversations. Bishop Kevin really enjoyed his visit—and was chuffed to receive a card from the children following their liturgy.

See notes from Visitation

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes—Friday 4 August to Friday 11th August 2006. Poster and information at the back of the Church.

Reporters were talking to a woman on her 104th birthday and asked her: ’What’s the best thing about being 104?’ ’No peer pressure’ was her reply.

More mundane matters! There is a retiring collection this weekend for the Catholic Education Service (CES). The CES does a great job on behalf of the Church, negotiating with Government in relation to Catholic Education and Schools. It is certainly worth supporting. Let's be honest, we are blessed in this part of Newcastle in the quality of our Catholic Schools, they are doing an excellent job, this collection helps the Church throughout the country to maintain an excellent service to Education.

This is certainly not mundane!

A very warm welcome to Bishop Kevin this weekend. I'll have been ordained 34 years this month, and I've never been in a parish where there has been a Visitation from the Bishop. I must confess, I'm not too nervous... Our diocese, like every other diocese in the country is facing very significant changes in the near future, triggered by the fact that there will be fewer priests. But, as Fr John Farrel OP said a few weeks ago - 'There is only one priest in this diocese - Jesus Christ - and we all have to play our part in helping the Church develop in this area'.

This weekend we all have the opportunity to talk to Bishop Kevin about our parish, and wonder how we might be able to develop in the future. Bishop Kevin will be at St Joseph's next weekend and I hope that parishioners from both parishes will feel free to say whatever they want to say and listen to what the Bishop has to say. We're really lucky at the moment, having Gospel Readings from the 1st Chapter of St Mark. Jesus is setting out his stall - if you like - he is encouraging people to be part of the community through his healings and preaching, but he is also wondering about 'going to other towns and villages' in order to preach the Gospel everywhere. In other words, the present Gospels are about 'communion' and 'mission'. And we all have a vital part to play in it all.

Future Events...

Tuesday 14th February: 10:30 am to 3:30 pm Holy Spirit Hall Denton. A day on Funding Workshop for the North East. This is organised by the Church's Regional Commission, and is about fundraising opportunities for faith communities. I can't go, I will be in Alnwick at Mass for John McHugh and then in London. If anyone can go, please see me. The parish can splash out the £5.00 for the day - and we might well learn something about local funding sources.

Wednesday 15th February: Denton Burn Library, 6:30 pm, a public meeting of Benwell and Scotswood Ward Sub Committee about the Academy Planning Application.

Thursday 16th February: at the Pauline Bookshop next to St Mary's Cathedral, 7:15 pm. Fr Sean Hall will explore Pope Benedict's Letter 'God is Love'. Sean is a good teacher, and this letter is really brilliant. If you've never been to anything like this before, it might just be worth having a go at it. If you want to go - it's free - please let the staff know by ringing 0191 239 5702. I do intend to go myself, so if you want a lift.

Saturday 18th February: St Joseph's Parish Centre, Walker Terrace, Gateshead. 'Lay (Liturgical) Leaders - New Perspectives'. This will be a good afternoon with Mrs Angela Joyce and Fr Adrian Dixon. 1:00 am to 4:00 am. If you would like to go, please let me know.

Sunday 26th February: 4:00 pm in the Cathedral, POVERTY ACTION SUNDAY. Bishop Kevin Dunn will preside at an afternoon ceremony on A Vision of New Life for our communities. It is sponsored by Church Action on Poverty and will be based on the Story of Lazarus and the stories of our local communities. If you require further information, please ring 0191 272 2962.

Saturday 4th March: At Ushaw, a Day of Recollection led by Fr Gerard W Hughes SJ. Gerry Hughes , as he's known, is a good guy! You may have come across his book 'God of Surprises'. A good read. He's also one of these folk who sets off on walks to places like Rome and Jerusalem. He's been to both and written excellent accounts of his trips. You might well value listening to him. Tea and coffee are available, but you need to bring the dreaded packed lunch.

Saturday 11th March: Children's Liturgy of the Word - again at St Joseph's Parish Centre, Gateshead. 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. I know a couple of our leaders are going to this gathering (I notice you need to bring a packed lunch, no lavish fare in the Gateshead Hilton, maybe a cup of tea and that's it...). If anyone else wants to go, please let me know. I will be sending off the 'spondoolicks' (what a lovely word) next week. Interesting - it costs £7.50 per person (perfectly reasonable, but £3.00 for groups of more than three...).

Saturday 1st April: The Passion of Christ according to Mark. This is a Retreat Day at the Cathedral led by Fr Eamonn Mulcahy. It begins at 10:00 am with the celebration of Mass and ends with lunch in the Cloister at 1:45 pm. It is essential to book - 0191 239 5702. A minimum donation of £7.00 is suggested to cover the costs of the day.

And Finally - and way ahead...

23rd to 25th June: Minstreacres Monastery, a Carmelite Retreat directed by Fr Anthony Lester (the Boss of the Carmelites). This retreat is open to anyone in the Carmelite family and anyone interested in Carmelite Spirituality.

What fascinates me about all of the above is the variety of things 'on offer' around part of the Diocese. If I'm honest, I doubt if much of it is of interest to too many people, but at the same time, there are parishioners who are interested in some of these things. I'm not at all sure how to do this , but I would want to encourage anyone at all who is interested in continuing formation or education, or just curious about what the Church is about in all these areas, to let me know and follow up some of the courses/days/evenings that are on offer. The parish is in a position to be able to fund some of these programmes, so you'll never be out of pocket, and hopefully, the parish will benefit from your learning, questions and interest. Please let me know if you are interested.

Have a good week... JOK

Bible Alive for February on sale - £1.95. A good edition, with reflections on the readings at Mass for every day of the month. The sale of this publication helps with the Church's response to the needs of the people in prison and their families.

North of England Victims Association. This particular organisation (NEVA) are holding their Annual Memorial Service at St Mary's Cathedral in Newcastle at 11:30am on Saturday 18th February. This is a service for all people who have tragically lost a relative or friend and a chance for all to come together to remember in prayer those who have been killed or have died in other ways.

For Your Diary - perhaps? MARY - Grace and Hope in Christ. This is a one day Conference to consider the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission Statement on Mary. It's at St Ninian's, Harlow Green in Gateshead from 10:00am to 3:30pm. Some totally clued up speakers: Professor Anne Loades, formerly of Durham University; Dr Sarah Jane Boss, a former colleague of mine at Ushaw and Director of the Centre foe Marian Studies and others. If you're interested, let me know. High powered stuff there, I suspect.

We hope to have three couples joining our Church community during our Easter Vigil this Easter. This is a real blessing for us. The couples will be joining others from around the Diocese with the Bishop in the Cathedral on Thursday 2nd March at 7:00pm. I certainly intend to be there, and other members of the parish will be very welcome to join us all to support those on their faith journey.

Marriage Week - 7th to 14th February. Diocesan Mass to Celebrate Marriage on Friday 10th February at St John Boste, Crighton, Oxclose, Washington. More information at the back of the Church.

Ushaw College (a lovely place to visit...) is looking for an Administrator to help with the St Bede's Institute. You may remember seeing Tracy Marraty's name on loads of adverts from Ushaw. Tracy has now moved on after helping to establish the Institute 6 years ago. This is a full post and the job description is available at the back of the Church. If you are at all interested, let me know, I might just know a good bit about it...

Lay (Liturgical) Leaders - NEW PERSPECTIVES... One of the key issues of this new Visitation programme is the encouragement and support of lay leaders in parishes. Indeed it is partly to affirm the need for all sorts of lay leadership to develop in our local Church. One of our 'areas for development' that emerged as we prepared our Parish Profile, was the need for more lay involvement and leadership within parish life. There is to be a study day on Saturday 18th February at St Joseph's Parish Centre in Gateshead for those involved in leaders Celebrations of the Word and Holy Communion (Eucharistic Services). If anyone would like to go, and I would certainly encourage people to take up this offer, please let me know as soon as you can. Many thanks.

Children's Liturgy of the Word - Study Day (same place, St Joseph's Parish Centre Gateshead) on Saturday 11th march 10:30am to 4:30pm. Again, if you are interested in joining our team who help with Children's Liturgy, or would like a re-fresher, please take advantage of this particular course. It will be directed by Jenny Pate, the new Deputy Director of our Education Service, and an excellent teacher. Information at the back of the Church. Please let me know if you are interested. Many thanks.

Parish In Council Meeting: Many thanks to those who were able to join us for the meeting last Wednesday. Some good discussion prior to the Bishop's presence here for the Visitation in a couple of weeks time. One big issue is how to introduce more people into parish life and to take an active part in our pastoral and liturgical work.

Answers on a postcard please...

Bishop Kevin will be here for 6:00pm Mass Saturday 11th February. He will also be here for 10:00am Mass on Sunday 12th February, followed by a meeting with all those who like to be present after Mass, hopefully in the School Hall.

I would encourage you to join us for that meeting. It will offer a really good chance to explore, with the Bishop, how we can be faithful witnesses to the Gospel in this part of the City.

Next Sunday - 12th February - Retiring Collection for the Catholic Education Fund. This collection helps the Church in its mission in schools and colleges throughout the Country. It does a very good job arguing with the Government about Education and the special place of Catholic Schools in our country. It is really well worth supporting.

St Cuthbert's High School - please take one of their Newsletters available at the back of the Church. With very good eyesight and a microscope you might just see one of our parishioners who was part of the Fulcrum Challenge in Rumbak in India. Congratulations, once again, to Daniel for surviving the whole escapade.

One or two bits and pieces following the Finance Committee last week:

Very many thanks to everyone, once again, who contributed to the collection for our new Chalices which is a very clear statement about how important our Celebration of the Eucharist is for us. It is also clear statement, once again, about the memories we have for hose who are dear to us. The chalice can be seen as a place of 'memory' and sacrifice. Many of those remembered will have made sacrifices for all of us. Thank you once again.

Our Christmas Candle and Lights: The Parish In Council wanted the collection to be split between out Loan to the Diocese and Fr Joe Plumb in Peru. A cheque has been received with thanks by Fr Joe's treasurer (Mgr Gerard Lavender of Holy Family Darlington), and the remainder will go to relieving our debt with the Diocese for our new roof. Once again, very many thanks.

Say one for us!

One or two profound thoughts with which to end this missive:

Moses went up to Mount Cyanide to get the ten amendments.

When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carter.

The epistels were the wives of the Apostles.

St Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony, which is another name for matrimony.

Christians only have one spouse. This is called monotony.

Sampson was a strong man who let let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.

Moses led the Jews to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without ingredients.

After reading this, it does occur to me that the discussion at the Parish in Council about how to continue to engage young people in the Church and how to develop good adult Christian education programmes are pretty good ideas... JOK