News (October 2009)
Back to menu
The Big Read
From Tweed to Tyne, and way down to south of the Tees, plans are underway to get church people from a wide variety Christian denominations joining in a project called The Big Read.
The brainchild of the Bishop of Durham, Tom Wright, The Big Read will see a series of talks happening across the two dioceses of Newcastle and Durham, and a specially produced book launching in time for Lent next year.
Alastair Macnaughton, Developing Discipleship Officer for the two dioceses, explains: “It’s not a sponsored read, that is reading from a massive book, or ‘big people’ reading from a big lectern. Instead this will be a chance for ordinary folk to get inside just one book of the Bible.” That book is the Gospel according to St Luke, because Advent 09 until Autumn 2010 is ‘the year of Luke’, meaning that at ordinary times of year, Luke will be read Sunday by Sunday.
Alastair adds: “ Luke’s stories capture the imagination in a unique way. For example, the Good Samaritan, the Lost Son, and the Lost Coin only figure in Luke’s Gospel, and yet they are among the most powerful and memorable of the parables.”
The Big Read aims to capitalise on the current fashion for book groups, offering the chance to discuss the text, dig behind the author’s aims and ideas, and consider differing interpretations and personal accounts of inspiration.
Around Christmas SPCK are publishing a study guide written by Bishop Tom and aimed at both personal use and group discussion. There will also be a short ‘Big Read’ booklet. Both will be widely available through bookshops and it is hoped there will be discounts for parishes or deaneries ordering large numbers.
Sister Patsy McDonald from Ushaw College is training group leaders along with Alastair Macnaughton for ‘Big Read’ groups throughout the region, and leaders will have discussion materials to help people benefit from the ‘Big Read’ booklets.
Bishop Tom will be speaking on St Luke at venues all over the North East, including St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Alnwick, St Nicholas’ Cathedral in Newcastle, and West Hexham Methodist Church.
“These are big churches!” says Alastair Macnaughton, “We hope that people will want to organise buses from their parishes, and we’re asking everyone to watch out for details and dates of the talks. It’s a chance for Christians to come together and share their insights and questions about St. Luke.”
Back to top
Holy Sepulchre Heritage Week
Members of the congregation of Ashington Parish Church of the Holy Sepulchre have been remembering days gone by for this year's Heritage Open Days held during September.
All sorts of items have been unearthed from sheds, attics and the backs of cupboards and exhibited in the church for visitors to see. Central to the process of recollecting former times have been interactive talks, given by members of the congregation, on the themes of Meet the Miner and Life in the Rows.
Pupils from Wansbeck 1st School visited the church class-by-class during the week. They were able to ask questions of former colliery workers Fred Fear and cit Miller, and find out what it was like to work down the pit. Elsewhere in the church were various ladies from the congregation, dressed in traditional colourful pinnies, who talked about life in the Colliery Rows some 60 years ago. And then it was time for some 'hands on', as the children got a chance to handle the old domestic implements, ration books and toys, and ask questions about them.
Teacher Nick Benefield said: "This is a brilliant idea. It's so good to make that link between the Church and the community, and for the children to meet and talk with local people about the history of their town."
Headmaster Mick Spence said that the children were "buzzing" when they arrived back from the church. And the school staff enjoyed the home-made refreshments, with some coming back on the second day to buy a few more "provisions" for the staffroom.
Misgivings amongst those giving the talks that the children were too young to comprehend what they were being told proved to be unfounded when a grandmother came to visit the exhibition on the second day because of what her five-year-old granddaughter had told her about working down the mine: "She'd remembered so much of what she'd been told," she said. Another five-year-old was impressed by the practicality of the tin bait box: "The miner must've took cheese sarnies and put them in there to keep the mice out!"
Many of the adults who visited commented on how much they'd enjoyed having childhood memories sparked off by visiting the exhibition. "It brought mining back to life," one said, "Thank you!"
Back to top
St. Bart’s Fair
Organisers of the St Bartholomew’s church fayre in Newbiggin were delighted after their annual event this summer proved another great success.
A Flower Festival - on the theme of the ‘Surrounding Sea’ - along with a ‘Songs of Praise’ was held in the church whilst a memorabilia display entitled ‘From Bygone Days’ was staged in the Church Centre Cottage. The display included archive material in its centenary year from the opening of Newbiggin Colliery in 1909; a photographic flashback from start to finish of the regeneration of Newbiggin beach; a collection of photographs of Newbiggin past; photographs of the old lifeboats of Newbiggin and a demonstration of lobsterpot making by George Dawson.
The Village Show which took place in the Church Centre received entries for arts and crafts, photography, a children’s section, a vegetable section and a flower section. The fayre with its numerous stalls was also held in the centre, a Mediaeval Pageant unfolded along the prom and a ceilidh during which the grand prize draw was made rounded off the events. Fayre convener Josie Armstrong said: “Everything went well; the weather was kind and a lot of people appreciated what was on show - certainly the memorabilia display which we introduced this year, was very well attended. We did get people from out-lying areas making their first visit – possibly because of reading about our Fayre in The Link! They enjoyed the various attractions and are looking forward to attending in future years.”
Back to top
Congratulations to Lesley Carson
Congratulations to Diocesan Interfaith Officer Lesley Carson who was married this summer to Mr. David Hillary. Colleagues from Church House attended the evening wedding reception held at Lumley Castle, and the couple left later for a honeymoon in Mexico.
Back to top
Graham Barnard’s First Day
New Diocesan Secretary Graham Barnard is pictured with his wife, Jane, and Bishop Martin after a service of welcome in the chapel at Church House. It was Graham's first day in his new post, and Bishop Martin told colleagues gathered for the service that administration was an important part of the ministry of the diocese. Graham and Jane later joined staff for coffee in the refreshment room.
Back to top
Top award for Richard
Being a Christian entails being an active member of the community, and one member of St. Mary’s, Monkseaton, Rotarian Richard Hart, has been honoured by the Rotary Club of Whitley Bay for “outstanding work” in establishing contacts with the voluntary sector in North Tyneside and beyond.
Richard has been presented with a ‘Paul Harris Fellowship’, an award created in memory of the founder of the Rotary movement, and the highest honour any Rotary Club can offer.
Richard, who has been Community Service Committee chairman for over four years, has helped the Rotary Club make substantial contributions to many organisations, including Whitley Bay Community Allotment Association, junior sporting clubs and teams, the North Tyneside Fostering Network, McMillan Nurses Cancer Support, Whitley Bay Air Cadets, St Mark’s Community Centre Shiremoor, Cullercoats Community Centre, North Tyneside Disability Forum, Washington Disabled Riding School, Moebius Syndrome Society, North Shields, and most recently, the purchase and presentation of a minibus to North Tyneside Mencap.
Back to top
Holywell and Seghill garden party
For the first time in many years this September, the parish of Seghill and Holywell held a parish garden party in the garden of Seghill Vicarage. Fr Phil Hughes hosted the event which was attended by members of both Seghill Holy Trinity and Holywell St Mary.
There were many stalls and raffles offering chances to win prizes, however the most unusual was that organised by Fr Phil and his family. No less than 200 items were laid out, each costing £2.00. Some were worth considerably more than this whilst others were valued below the price asked. Each item had a raffle ticket attached and when all the items had been sold an envelope was opened revealing a winning number, the recipient then receiving £50 cash as a prize.
Our picture shows parishioners at one of the stalls.
Back to top
Farewell to Peter Dodgson
Last month saw Peter Dodgson leaving Shepherds Dene Retreat House after 11 years as Warden, and as Manager since Easter. Chair of the Shepherds Dene trustees, Alison Moore, said: “ Over this period Peter has given unstintingly of his time, running the House and grounds and welcoming guests, and earlier this year he saw the House through a big refurbishment programme.”
She added: “Many people in both Durham and Newcastle dioceses will have warm memories of his welcoming and relaxed presence during their visits to Shepherds Dene, and we all want to wish him the very best for the future.”
Back to top
Visit from Lord Michael Bates
Last month Lord Michael Bates spoke at the inaugural meeting of the St. George's Cullercoats Men's Group. He talked about his own Christian life and how this related to his work in the House of Lords. A lively discussion followed and the evening finished with a pie and peas supper. Twenty six men from the parish attended and a programme of events is now being planned. Our picture shows: (left to right) Lord Michael Bates, Rev. Geoffrey Short OBE and Mr. Trevor Mennear.
Back to top
Old spectacles needed
Optometrists Judith and Nigel Robinson, who attend St. Mary's Monkseaton, are appealing for old pairs of spectacles to send to people in developing countries..
Judith explains: 'We have a link with a charity called Vision Aid Overseas. We collect unused spectacles and every now and again a box-load goes off to their offices in Crawley, for re-use in parts of the world where people desperately need spectacles but can't afford them.'
All spectacles in good condition are potentially useful, but cases are too heavy to transport, and loose lenses are not usable. So there are all sorts of good reasons why you should look out that old pair of specs you never use and pop them into Judith and Nigel at their practice, 64 Front Street, Monkseaton.
To start with, you'd be helping provide useful work experience for prisoners. After delivery to VAO Headquarters in Crawley, the spectacles are rough-sorted to eliminate any which are unsuitable before being passed to one of their partner prisons. Selected prisoners are trained by VAO volunteers to carry out a more detailed examination of the spectacles before grading the lenses and packing them. VAO provides optical instruments, hand tools and packing materials to the prisoners for whom such work is a valuable step towards rehabilitation. The spectacles are then returned to VAO and being shipped overseas to their project teams across the world.
Spectacles are only dispensed after a full eye test and if they are of a standard we would be prepared to wear ourselves in the UK. Originally, VAO arranged for optometrists and dispensing opticians to travel to poor areas of Africa and set up their clinics to test eyes and dispense spectacles. This is an effective way of reaching people who desperately need spectacles to live an ordinary life. But if a lasting impact is ever to be made in the target countries, people must be trained in eye care techniques and refraction. The charity performs training of nurses and students so that they can continue to help when their teams are not in country.
In July 2002, a Vision Aid Overseas team in Zambia came across a boy named Derek, who was attending a school for blind children at Ndola, 400 miles from his home. An eye examination revealed that he would be able to see with the help of strong spectacles. Fortunately, the team had an appropriate pair with them which gave Derek almost normal vision. He returned to live with his parents and brothers and resumed mainstream education. Most blind schools in Africa contain children who would not be there if they had spectacles.
Back to top
Dedication service at St. Cuthbert’s
.JPG)
The people of St. Cuthbert’s Hebron as well as members of the local community have been celebrating the dedication of an ambitious refurbishment and conversion project which provides a much needed facility for the village.
Bryony Roff, church member and one of those working on the scheme, explains that the work to convert part of the generously- sized vestry at St Cuthbert’s forms part of ongoing plans to allow the church to be used as a venue for the community when not required for services.
“Phase one included forming a new kitchen and disabled WC in the vestry as well as a complete new foul drainage system, and alterations to the paths at both the main and vestry doors to allow disabled access,” she says. “The idea of converting the church was raised a few years ago, but the PCC were aware that if it were to be used by the wider community or for fundraising events, facilities were too basic to do this comfortably. “
She adds: “The Hebron Community Association was also conscious that in a scattered village and parish there was no meeting place for community activities and events. The views of those living in the parish were sought last summer to ascertain the level of support for the idea of altering the church. There was a very strong support in favour of the proposals and the HCA, with the PCC’s consent, asked the church architects Spence and Dower to develop the plans. A faculty for the conversion works to this small grade II listed church was obtained, and tenders for the work were sought to allow serious fundraising to begin.”
The Hebron Community Association became the chief fundraisers and ‘client’ led by Michael Duffy as they were able to access funds as a community body which would have been unavailable to a church. A special licence was obtained from the Diocese allowing the building - except for the Sanctuary - to be used as a venue for community activities, managed by a newly formed committee made up of PCC, HCA and Parish Council members. Revenue from the use of the new facilities will be used to contribute to the running costs and upkeep of the church. Partners in Community Action, Castle Morpeth Borough Council’s Community Fund, SITA, the PCC of St Cuthbert’s Hebron and St Mary Magdalene and the local Parish Council are amongst those who have generously funded the first phase of works. These works, carried out by Hastie D Burton of North Shields, totaled over £50000 excluding VAT and fees.
Fundraising is now underway for phase 2, to provide new high-quality stacking chairs, folding tables, storage facilities and other items required to allow flexible use of the nave.
Bryony says: “All parties involved are confident that the new facilities will give St Cuthbert’s Church a renewed and vibrant future and the community a much needed meeting space for new and established events. It will be used for social, recreational and educational purposes, bringing the wider community into the church building and developing contacts and opportunities for the church in general.”
The service of dedication was conducted by the Archdeacon of Lindisfarne, Peter Robinson, on September 13.
Back to top
Volunteers needed
Have you heard of aphasia? Aphasia is a communication impairment most commonly caused by the brain damage from stroke. It can affect all aspects of communication: Expressing yourself in speech, writing (including computers), understanding other people’s speech, reading, and it sometimes affects the recognition of numbers too.
According to figures from the Stroke Association, every five minutes someone in the UK has a stroke. That’s an estimated 150,000 people per year. In North Tyneside alone there are about 1,120 people living with aphasia after stroke (based on population statistics and the National Stroke Strategy, 2007).
Due to communication difficulty as well as mobility problems, people can become socially isolated, and after stroke many people benefit from speech and language therapy to help their communication recovery. But often they also need help to adjust long term in everyday life, which is where CHANT comes in.
People with aphasia helped choose the name Communication Hub for Aphasia in North Tyneside . The aim is to support people with long term aphasia after stroke, and their partners or carers, to help them adjust to their communication problems and ‘get their life back’.
CHANT is funded through North Tyneside Council. Kath Mumby is a Speech and Language Therapist employed by North Tyneside PCT to lead the project (and she’s also a Reader in the Diocese) and Sarah Taylor is a Communication Support Coordinator for The Stroke Association. However, to be a real success the project needs volunteers.
CHANT trains its volunteers to offer both one-to-one and group support. They help people take the first steps into further independence, or encourage them at home. CHANT offers group and individual support for people returning to work and leisure activities. It’s not meant to replace or duplicate existing groups but to help people use what is already on offer. To achieve this CHANT runs short courses to give people confidence and skills before trying something new. Volunteers may also support people trying to use existing services such as libraries and adult learning courses.
Training programmes are run using the skills of people with aphasia: they are the experts. With support they help train volunteers and other key people in North Tyneside to have increased insight into aphasia and how to help communication Here is a chance to offer more support to help those who are living with long term aphasia following stroke. If you might consider volunteering to help CHANT do contact them at the address below. There are no particular qualifications for volunteering: just the ability to be a good listener.
Communication Hub for Aphasia in North Tyneside,
Wallsend Health Centre, The Green, Wallsend, NE28 7PB
Dr Katharyn Mumby (SLT, Project Lead) Mobile:07554 334 981
Katharyn.Mumby@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk
Sarah Taylor (The Stroke Association, Communication Support Coordinator)
Mobile: 07534 915 763
sarah.taylor@stroke.org.uk
Back to top
Lindisfarne Launch
Two significant dates in Lindisfarne's diary arrived in September. On Sunday 6th 54 students and prospective students from across the north east gathered for an Introductory and Open Day at Church House, Percy Main. This event was for those who will be engaging in Lindisfarne's academic programme.
During the day there was an introduction to Lindisfarne's work and vision, worship (planned and largely led by the 55 people present!), lunch, some course information and a session on study skills. There was a good and purposeful feel to the day, a lively and heartening display of interest, and a real sense of expectancy; after all the months of planning Lindisfarne is taking off! Feedback from the day has shown that this was a helpful and worthwhile event for those present, in the light of which we have already put next year's event - Sunday 5th September - in our diary. If the study of theology leading to a university award just might be for you (or if you might want to attend without completing the assignments needed for an award) why not book the day into your 2010 diary now?
Monday 7th saw 35 group leaders and tutors drawn from all of Lindisfarne's programmes engage in an evening under the banner: Becoming the Partnership, Building the Team. Those present represented a wide cross section of the even wider network of people involved in Christian adult learning across the region. This was primarily a listening exercise, so after a buffet meal and a session setting the scene, we were pleased to engage with the views and perspectives of those present as they helped us to think about how Lindisfarne can flourish and develop in the coming months and years.
There is a tremendous amount of goodwill around the region with regard to Lindisfarne. We look forward to building upon the work already begun, developing and deepening relationships, and sharing in the task and privilege of offering opportunities for quality learning to all who seek them.
Back to top
Make Waves for climate change
Tens of thousands of eco-minded Brits will flow through the streets of London on Saturday December 5 in a human wave of support for action on climate change ahead of crunch talks at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
The Wave, a carnival-style street procession beginning at 12 noon from Grosvenor Square in London, is being organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition and it promises to be the biggest climate change demonstration the UK has ever seen.
The family-friendly event is encouraging people to follow the theme by wearing blue clothing and bringing blue fabric and banners to create a human wave that will flow along the Thames Embankment towards Westminster. A stunning finale will take place at 3pm as The Wave encircles the Houses of Parliament.
The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition represents 11 million members across 100 UK organisations, from the Women’s Institute and RSPB to Christian Aid and Friends of the Earth. All are united in their demand for an end to dirty coal, the creation of a green economy and a fair and just international climate change deal that protects the worlds’ poorest communities.
Director of Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, Ashok Sinha says: “ The Wave will send a clear message to Gordon Brown; the people of the UK want the Government to stop climate chaos and help protect millions of people in developing countries already suffering its effects. As world leaders meet in Copenhagen the committed supporters of this 11 million strong coalition will be watching and waiting for a real commitment to cutting carbon emissions globally.”
Back to top
Monthly healing service is welcomed by churches across the diocese
On the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30 pm in St Michael and All Angels' church New Hartley, there is a service of Wholeness and Healing. This is an event for anyone in the Diocese. Since these services began in the summer, people have travelled from many parts of the Diocese to take part.
The monthly service is offered by the Bishop's Adviser for Healing, Dr Peter Bryars supported by colleagues from different traditions within the Diocese. The aim of the service is to provide an inclusive, accessible time of worship where folk can come and focus on God's 'shalom' - the wonderful healing love shown by Jesus which is available to us though the Holy Spirit. Peter's work in this area recognises the different ways in which this healing love is available - through individual prayer, the Eucharist, anointing, laying on of hands, prayer ministry etc. The service reflects these different traditions through an Iona liturgy, the use of silence, the lighting of candles and by offering both anointing and prayer ministry. It seeks to promote a relaxed atmosphere in which people can meet with God.
We are already hearing some wonderful testimonies from people about how Jesus has healed them - physically, spiritually and emotionally - and this has greatly encouraged others, building up faith and restoring belief in a living God.
New Hartley lies between Seaton Delaval and Seaton Sluice and the services last just over an hour. Come and join us!
Furthermore the team are holding their annual healing Eucharist at St. George's Cullercoats on Sunday October 18th at 6.30pm. Again all are welcome.
Back to top
Stop the press
October sees the arrival of two visitors from our companion link diocese of Botswana, Bishop Trevor Mwamba and Archdeacon James Amanze. They arrive in Newcastle on October 23, staying until November 2, and the Botswana Task Group is currently devising a programme which will enable them to meet as many people as possible throughout the diocese as well as sampling different areas of activity including youth and children's work, evangelism and theological education at Lindisfarne, the new Regional Training Partnership.
The Revd. Geoff Lowson, chair of the Botswana Task Group, says: "We are delighted that they are visiting and looking forward to meeting up with them again. We also hope to be discussing the signing of our Link partnership renewal out in Botswana, and we understand that there are plans for Bishop Trevor to address the next meeting of our Diocesan Synod."
Back to top