33rd Sunday of the Year
Dear Parishioners
This Sunday, 14th November, is Remembrance Sunday. It is the day we remember the members of the Armed Forces and their families from Britain and the Commonwealth, the vital role played by the emergency services and those that have lost their lives as a result of conflict or terrorism.
The National Service of Remembrance takes place at the Cenotaph in London and is being televised on BBC 1 from 10.15.
The poppy is a symbol of Remembrance and hope for a positive future and peaceful world. Poppies are a show of support for the Armed Forces community, those currently serving, ex-serving personnel and their families; and a symbol of Remembrance for all those who have fallen in conflict.
The Gateshead Field of Remembrance in Saltwell Park is open from 9am to 4pm each day and will close on Sunday, 21st November. Please be aware that regional and/or national Covid-19 restrictions may affect the Saltwell Park Field of Remembrance.
So on this day, let us remember before God, and commend to his care those who have died for their country in conflict; those whom we knew, and whose memory we treasure, and all who have lived and died in the service of humanity.
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
at the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
we will remember them.
Let us pray:-
Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted, either by death or life; hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day; fulfil in them the purpose of thy love; and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
We continue to do all we can to ensure St. Patrick’s Church is as Covid safe as we can make it in keeping with Bishop Robert’s instruction. Sanitising your hands, social distancing, the wearing of face coverings, cleaning the church after each celebration and the maximum capacity of 70 for funerals and Mass are still in place.
Thanks to our volunteer stewards we are able to celebrate Mass on Tuesdays at 10.00 and on Sundays at 10.30. We do not at present breach our capacity for the celebration of Sunday Mass, so there is no longer a need for you to book a place in advance, nor does the Government require you to provide Test and Trace details.
As we must continue to clean the church after each celebration, the rear of the church will remain closed to reduce the demands on our stewards who sanitise the benches after you leave. Could you help as a steward on a rota basis, either during the week or over a weekend? Please get in touch if you can.
As the number of new cases in Gateshead begins to decrease, it is still high with 783 new cases in the last seven days. Please do all you can to be cautious in your everyday life choices which not only affect ourselves, but impact on others too, including the NHS on which we all rely at times.
Please pray for our fellow parishioners and all those in our community who have recently tested positive for Covid-19, and please continue to look after one another.
May God bless you and your loved ones and may he protect us from all harm.
Fr. Patterson
Mass to view online
Mass is live streamed from our Cathedral on Sunday at 11.30 am.
Alternatively, you may like to follow Mass from the Holy Name, Jesmond celebrated live at 10am on Sunday and most weekdays and Saturday at 4pm. These Masses may also be viewed later.
Mass Intentions for the coming week
With the exception of Sunday and Tuesday, Fr. Patterson will celebrate Mass privately during the week remembering the following Intentions. Bishop Robert asks that Face coverings should still be worn in our churches.
- Monday: Susan Harland
- Tuesday 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – Brian Grace Snr and Brian Grace Jnr
- Wednesday – Brian Quigley
- Thursday -The sick, their families, NHS staff & Care Workers
- Friday – Olwin Durham Saturday – Fr. Patterson’s intentions
- Sunday: 10.30 in St. Patrick’s Church – For the intentions of all our parishioners
When you are unable to celebrate Mass with us in Church, you may wish to make this act of spiritual communion:
Lord Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you. Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
In case you are not aware, a parish priest is obliged to celebrate Mass for the “Intentions of the Parishioners” every Sunday or Holyday, which prevents him from fulfilling personal intentions on those occasions.
Please keep in your prayers this week:
- all our parishioners who are sick, housebound or in hospital and Fr. Kevin Daly who is ill and,
- all those near and dear to us whose memories we cherish at this time especially Susan Harland
A Prayer for Carers, Nurses and Doctors
Lord Jesus, who healed the sick and gave them new life, be with doctors, nurses and carers, as they act as agents of your healing touch. In desperate times, keep them strong yet loving; and when their work is done, be with them in their weariness and in their tears. Amen.
A time to pray
Please join together in prayer for the 142,678 people who have died in our country from the coronavirus. (Friday’s figure):
Gracious God, as we remember before you the thousands who have died from the coronavirus, surround us and all who mourn with your compassion. Be gentle with us in our grief, protect us from despair and give us grace to persevere and face the future with hope. We make this prayer in Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen.
A prayer for those who are afraid
God of all hope we call on you today.
We pray for those who are living in fear:
Fear of Covid-19, fear for loved ones, fear of what the future holds.
May your Spirit give us a sense of calmness and peace. Amen
A prayer for the people of Afghanistan
May those who are fleeing, find sanctuary,
may those who are staying, find safety,
may those who are fighting, find peace,
may those whose hearts are breaking, find comfort,
may those who see no future, find hope.
Remembering those who died since the Pandemic began
Since the Pandemic began, the ways in which we have been able to say goodbye to our loved ones and to celebrate their funerals, whether they died with the Coronavirus or of other causes, have been severely restricted.
Bishop Robert has asked us to dedicate the month of November to remembering them all.
We remembered them in name during Mass on the Feast of All Souls and continue to remember them in prayer each day.
Their names will be taken to St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle where they will be remembered during a Requiem Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert on Saturday 27th November at 11.00. Their names will also be entered into our parish Book of Remembrance. Due to the current Covid restrictions, entry to this Mass is by invitation only.
World Day of the Poor
This Sunday, 14th November, is the fifth World Day of the Poor, initiated by Pope Francis in 2017 with the theme of “let us love, not with words but with deeds.” The Christian is called to follow the example of Jesus in loving God and neighbour, especially the most vulnerable. Pope Francis reminds us, “If we truly wish to encounter Christ, we have to touch his body in the suffering bodies of the poor.” Developing a culture of encounter is a key theme for Pope Francis and an essential counter witness to what he describes as a culture of waste and indifference, a culture that casts aside human beings who are not considered to be productive or useful.
Poverty comes in many guises. In England and Wales, we do not always see the desperate material poverty which is evident in other countries, but it is there. In 2019, according to a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2.4 million people in the UK, including 0.5 million children, experienced destitution at some point in the year, in other words they did not have enough to live on. The same report says that before the Coronavirus pandemic, 14.5 million people in the UK were caught up in poverty, equating to 1 in 5 people.
In our society, we also have people who experience the poverty of isolation and loneliness, homelessness, modern day slavery, trafficking, relational poverty, the experience of being abused or the victim of violence. These circumstances are often drivers of material poverty, or the result of material poverty. The Gospel calls us to a conversion of heart and this conversion, as Pope Francis says in this year’s message for the World Day of the Poor, “consists primarily in opening our hearts to recognizing the many different forms of poverty and manifesting the Kingdom of God through a lifestyle consistent with the faith we profess.”
An Ongoing Appeal from our Diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project
Father Patterson continues to be most grateful to the generous response we are receiving to this appeal. The project supports on average 300 clients each week, who all receive a bag of food. 102 of them are destitute and also receive a supermarket voucher.
If you are able to bring donations of rice, sugar, biscuits and toiletries as well as tinned fish in oil and tins of tomatoes and chick peas to St. Patrick’s Church before Mass on Tuesdays or Sundays, they may be left on the table to your right as you enter the Church. Please note: baked beans and tinned meat are not required.
Respect for one another – Be aware of personal space and personal choice.
We have lived through a lot since the pandemic started so let us be kind and respect one another. Be aware of personal space and personal choice. Some people might not be ready to hug, kiss, shake hands or reduce social distance. Don’t assume what people are comfortable with. Instead, ask them and respect their personal choices.
Statistics show that the uptake of the Covid vaccine in our region has slowed considerably, so it is important for us all to do what we can to encourage people we know to consider being vaccinated if they haven’t already done so. Pope Francis urges us to do so. Please accept your invitation for a “Booster jab” when you receive it and do consider having a flu jab too.
Community Counselling Service
Bheith Ann is a new Community Counselling Service available to all residents of Felling and the wider Gateshead area and is taking referrals for those individuals with issues such as Bereavement and Grief, Loneliness, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Relationship Problems, Post-Trauma Experiences and Bullying.
This is a free confidential services delivered by a team of dedicated, trained counsellors strictly in line with national professional Codes of Ethical Practice. To make a referral, please ring the Bheith Ann Referral Helpline on 07425 768 957. If you simply want more information about the Service please ring Neil Campbell on 07903 239 983.
St. Patrick’s Boundary Wall.
The work of rebuilding the southern boundary wall of St. Patrick’s Church with Caxton House using the original stone, at a cost of £25,000, will be completed this week.
Fr. Patterson is extremely grateful for a most generous donation of £100.00 received during the week towards the cost. Should you wish to make a donation it may be placed in the box at the front of the church or put through the presbytery letterbox. Alternatively you may choose to make a donation by Bank transfer for which you will require the following details: Account name: DHN Felling St Patrick; Sort code: 40-34-18; Account No: 52010453. Donations. Thank you.
During the course of the work, the Diocese carried out an inspection of the entire boundary wall with the stonemasons and further work has been identified as needing attention, particularly on St. John’s Place. Stone walls built in 1895 do not last for ever!! Estimates are in the process of being obtained!
Church Grounds
The grounds of both of our churches are looking somewhat worse for wear at present. The last visit by the contractor who maintained the grounds was on 9th September. Fr. Patterson has only just been able to make contact with them to discover that they have ceased trading! Fr. Patterson is now looking for a replacement contractor who would be interested in the work at an acceptable cost. Should any parishioner be able to recommend a suitable contractor please contact Fr. Patterson.
Your ongoing financial support is welcomed and needed
Fr. Patterson continues to be grateful for your offerings during these difficult times and is especially grateful to those parishioners who regularly contribute to parish funds by standing order helping us meet the regular financial commitments of our churches.
You may bring your envelopes to Mass on Tuesdays or Sundays or drop them through the presbytery letterbox. For security reason, envelopes should not be put through the letterbox of St. Alban’s Presbytery.
The parish is still able to reclaim the tax from Gift Aided offertory contributions made by bank transfer. It would be helpful to enter your name and Gift Aid envelope number as the reference when making the transfer.
The details for bank transfers/standing orders and cheques are as follows:
St. Alban’s HSBC bank account name: DHN Pelaw St Alban, Sort code: 40-34-18, Account No: 92010984
St. Patrick’s HSBC bank account name: DHN Felling St Patrick, Sort code: 40-34-18, Account No: 52010453
COP26
How will the decisions made at COP26 change our day-to-day lives? What can we do to help move these policies forward?
The decisions made at COP26 are part of the wider ambition to decarbonise our economies – and that will certainly have an impact on daily life.
The cars we drive and the way we heat our homes are going to change. Buying an electric vehicle, or getting a heat pump installed at home, is going to become more and more common. The hope – and for many the expectation – is that as these technologies become more established, the costs will come down.
There are also personal choices to be made about what we eat. The Climate Change Committee which advises the government recommends a 20% reduction per person by 2050 in the amount of beef, lamb and dairy we consume and how often we fly. Then there are practical issues like recycling and cutting down on waste as much as possible.
Although the summit closes this weekend, the outcome of their discussions will become more evident in time.
ZOE Covid weekly update – A drop in new cases but more infections after vaccination
Professor Tim Spector looks at the continued drop in cases in the UK this week, where we’ve seen the biggest drop yet since the winter wave! While this is promising news, the hospital admissions data tells a different story, as we’re yet to see the same decline reflected here. Tim also shares some important new data on breakthrough infections and how common they are after vaccinations and boosters, as well as revealing the risk of your sniffle being more likely to be a cold or COVID. Check it out by taking a Lateral Flow Test. Kits are available from the local chemist, are free of charge and simple to use.
Parish News by Email
If you are aware of parishioners who would like to receive the Newsletter and other news from the parish by email, please ask them to email Fr. Patterson at felling.stpatrick@rcdhn.org.uk and they will be added to our contact list.
