Online Service for Sunday 25 October 2020

An offering of readings, reflection and prayer for the Last Sunday after Trinity, also observed as Bible Sunday.

Facebook Memories & Prayer

Facing each day. How do we get started? What can sustain us? Where is God in all this - and our response?

Celebrating St. Luke - Sunday 18 October

Our online offering of readings, reflection and prayer for Sunday 18 October as we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist.

Look in the church + look forward to Sunday

A “trailer” for Sunday’s celebration of St. Luke the Evangelist. 

We’ll be in church and online - meanwhile a quick look at how we depict the man in question.

Online Harvest Service for Sunday 11 October

The Revd. Martin Jackson leads a service of readings, reflection and prayer for Harvest Thanksgiving.

There'll be Eucharists in both churches - 10.30am at St. Cuthbert's and 4pm at St. John's.  Harvest gifts offered at the services will be passed on to the People's Kitchen in Newcastle for its work with homeless people.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…’

“Do not worry…” We may feel we do in fact have all too much to worry about – and for someone just to say “Don’t worry!” is not necessarily what we want to hear. Of course Jesus is saying rather more – but what’s important is to realise that he’s speaking to real people like ourselves in real situations of need. His is a message for the hungry, the poor, the sick, the prisoner and the person who despairs. And that message comes from one who shares in all that it is to be human.

Baptism, the Rule of 6 and Local Lockdown

The diaries of most clergy this year tell a story of postponed or cancelled Baptisms and Marriages. Many simply could not be performed during the period of the strictest Lockdown. And even now no more than 15 are allowed in a wedding party and Baptisms taking place outside regular congregational worship are limited to six - with a further restriction to one household in this area. More can attend a Baptism when it's planned to take place in a bigger service - but numbers are still going to be much limited as we have to fit in the regular congregation with social distancing and reduced capacity. 

So it's great when we manage to make the arrangements! Most recently we celebrated the Baptism of Arthur Reid at St. Cuthbert's Church. Just Arthur, his parent and his big brother present - but family friends and godparents (by proxy) able to look in via the video filmed by his Dad.

A reminder of what is at the heart of our Baptismal faith: the desire to follow in the way of Christ; to be open to God's love; to be ready to affirm that faith. This was a real celebration. We look forward to welcoming Arthur into our wider congregation in due course. But here and now God's love is real, however small the service in which we celebrate it.

Service of the Word for Sunday 4 October 2020

The Revd. Martin Jackson leads a liturgy of readings, reflection and prayer for the 17th Sunday after Trinity.

The parable of the tenants of the vineyard - how does it speak to us?