23rd Sunday of the Year
Dear Parishioners
From 1st September to 4th October, 2022 we celebrate a special time of prayer and reflection to grow in our awareness of the beauty of God’s Creation.
Pope Francis calls on us, during this Season of Creation, to ‘Listen to the voice of creation,’ the sweet song in praise of our Creator, alongside the plea lamenting our mistreatment of our common home
It is a special time for all Christians to pray and work together to care for one another and for our planet.
Exposed to the climate crisis, the poor feel even more gravely the impact of the drought, flooding, hurricanes and heat waves that are becoming ever more intense and frequent. Our brothers and sisters of the native peoples are crying out. as a result of predatory economic interests which are invading their ancestral lands. Finally, there is the plea of our children. Feeling menaced by shortsighted and selfish actions, today’s young people are crying out, anxiously asking all adults to do everything possible to prevent, or at least limit, the collapse of our planet’s ecosystems.
Listening to these anguished cries, we must repent and modify our lifestyles and destructive systems.
May God bless us all
Fr Patterson
All are welcome
Everyone is welcome to join us for the celebration of Mass in St. Patrick’s and St. Alban’s churches. In recent times, it has been a joy to welcome those people of other faiths or none who have come to join us in worship.
Currently, only baptised Catholic people are able to receive Holy Communion and we ask that when you approach the altar you extend your hands towards the minister who will place the sacred host in your hand which you should then consume immediately before returning to your place.
If you are not a Catholic or are indisposed to receive Holy Communion, you are invited to come forward at the appropriate time and receive a blessing, indicating your desire by folding an arm across your chest.
Felling Male Voice Choir and the Tyneside A Cappella Choir Concert
These two choirs will be coming to St. Patrick’s Church for a Concert on Saturday, 24th September from 6.30pm – 9pm.
It will be an all ticket event. Tickets cost £8.00. We have been allocated twenty tickets for our parishioners which are now available to purchase after Mass in both churches.
Mass Intentions
Fr. Patterson will celebrate Mass for the following Intentions during the coming week. With the exception of Wednesday and Friday all Masses and Services are open to everyone to attend.
- Tuesday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – Fr. Tom Burke
- Wednesday – (Private Mass) Elizabeth Curry
- Thursday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church: Denis Lenehan and Margaret Lenehan
- Friday: (Private Mass)- Fr Bill O’Gorman
- Saturday: 6pm in St. Alban’s Church – Brian Grace Snr and Brian Grace Jnr
- Sunday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – For the intentions of all our parishioners
Mass to view on line
Mass is live streamed from our Cathedral on a Sunday. Visit the Cathedral website.
Alternatively, you may like to follow Mass from the Holy Name, Jesmond. Visit the website for Mass times this week.
When you are unable to celebrate Mass 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.
Please keep in your prayers:
- all our parishioners who are sick, housebound or in hospital.
- all those near and dear to us whose memories we cherish at this time especially Maureen Johnson and Denis Lenehan.
A Prayer for those who have died from Covid
Gracious God, as we remember before you all those people 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 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 Prayer for Ukraine
Father, hold the people of Ukraine deep in your heart. Protect them from violence, political gamesmanship and from being used and abused. Give the nations of the world the courage and wisdom to stand up for justice and the courage to care generously. Take from us those traits that see us pursuing our own needs and wants before those of others. Teach us to live in love, dignity and respect, following your ways. We ask this in your name and for your sake. Amen
A Prayer for the Season of Creation
Father, Lord of all creation, we praise you with all your creatures and the whole universe that comes forth from the work of Your hands. We acknowledge the privilege and responsibility that You give us as stewards of Your creation. In our ignorance we have done damage to our common home and our brothers and sisters are suffering.
Through faithfully following your Son guide and direct us to prepare for a better future. Teach us to contemplate You in the beauty of the universe, for all things speak of You. Give us the grace to recognise, respect and protect all You have created, using wisely all that you have entrusted to us.
Holy Spirit, who first hovered over the dawn of creation and drew order out of the chaos, help us to build your kingdom of justice, love, peace and beauty where the poor of the earth are crying out. You, who live and reign, world without end, Amen.
Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons
Each week Bishop Barron offers a Sunday sermon.
Refreshments after Mass
Refreshments will be served in St. Patrick’s parish centre after Mass this Sunday, 4th September.
Currently, we can only offer refreshments on the first and third Sunday of the month due to a shortage of volunteers. Could you join the rota to help make tea and coffee on a more regular basis? If so, contact Maureen Hodgson.
What do Catholics believe and why?
If you would like to know more about what Catholics believe, perhaps with a view to considering becoming a member of the Catholic Church, you may be interested in a series of talks which will take place in St. Patrick’s parish centre on Tuesday evenings. Why not come along to an information evening on 13th September at 19.00 in St. Patrick’s parish centre for a short introduction to the programme and a chance to ask any questions you may have. If you need more information please contact Alan on 07976402023 or, if you know a priest, you may wish to have a quick word with him too.
A stay in Hospital
If you or any members of your family are going into hospital and would like to see the Catholic Chaplain, please ask a member of the ward staff to contact the Catholic Chaplain. Alternatively you can contact the Chaplaincy Department Office directly. For the Queen Elizabeth Hospital telephone 0191 445 2072 (Catholic Chaplain: Rev Paul Nichol). For the RVI and Freeman Hospitals in Newcastle telephone 0191 233 6161 (Catholic Chaplain: Fr Mariadass 0191 273 3903).
In an emergency, please ask the ward sister to contact the on call Catholic chaplain. Please do not contact your own parish priest who will be unable to respond due to current hospital protocols.
An evening to reflect on how we love our neighbour!
All around the world, including here at home, families are finding it harder to put food on the table.
In northern Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, four years of drought has resulted in twenty million people fighting for survival. Schools are closed and people are forced to keep moving to find places where food is available. Pope Francis reminds us that as Catholics we are called to care for the world’s most vulnerable people; it is our commitment to them that is a mark of our faith.
Our Third World Group have invited Mark Maughan, CAFOD’s Community Participation Coordinator in the Diocese, to come and talk to us about Cafod’s campaign to “Fix the Food System” and share his experience of time spent in the Sudan to help us grow in our awareness of the plight of our brothers and sisters throughout the world and what we might do to help them.
Mark will be coming to St Patrick’s parish centre on Thursday, 13th October at 6.30pm. We hope you may feel able to join him and fellow parishioners. Please note this is an awareness evening and not a fundraiser!
The Society for the Protection of the Unborn
This society have formed a Gateshead branch and invite interested parties to their first meeting in St. Joseph’s Presbytery, High West Street, Gateshead on Wednesday, 14 September from 19.00– 20.30. You would be welcome to attend.
Do you want to help? Please consider making your weekly offering by Standing Order
To relieve the pressure on our “Counting Teams” in both St. Alban’s and St. Patrick’s, it would be greatly appreciated if parishioners would consider making their offering to either St. Alban’s or St. Patrick’s by Standing Order. The details you require to set up a standing order can be found below. If you would like to help by join a counting team, please contact Terry or Christine Harbron for St. Alban’s or Maureen Hodgson for St. Patrick’s.
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
If you are a tax payer and are not a member of the parish gift aid scheme, please consider joining the scheme, it costs you nothing and the parish benefits by being able to reclaim the tax you have already paid on your offering. The parish receives 25p of every £1.00 you give from HMRC. All that is required, is for you to complete a simple form which does not involve you disclosing any personal financial information and is held securely by the Diocesan Finance Office. To obtain a form, or for more information, please email John, our Gift Aid organiser for both St. Alban’s and St. Patrick’s at stpatrick.giftaid@outlook.com
Are you able to support the Diocesan Refugee Project?
The organisers of this project express their renewed thanks for your ongoing support of their work. The project supports over 400 asylum seekers and tries to provide them all with a bag of food. Those who are destitute also receive a supermarket voucher. Donations of sugar, biscuits, tinned fish in oil, tins of tomatoes and chick peas may be left on the table to your right as you enter the front of St. Patrick’s Church or on any table if you enter by the rear door. A basket is also available in the porch at St. Alban’s. They are particularly in need of toiletries and shampoo. Please note: baked beans and tinned meat are not required.
The Diocesan Emmaus Bereavement Support Service
Whilst family and friends can be immensely supportive in coping with a bereavement, sometimes a bereaved person may wish to talk to someone outside of their immediate circle. The Emmaus Bereavement Support Team, trained in the Ministry of Consolation, is available to support those who wish to talk about their loss. As the post-Covid restrictions have eased, support can now be offered face to face. The Emmaus Bereavement Support Service number is 07732 980740 – please leave your name and number and a member of the team will get in touch with you.
Education Sunday
Next Sunday, 11th September, is a day on which Catholics are encouraged to reflect on the Church’s enormous contribution in this country to Catholic Education and to pray for all those involved in it. The Catholic Education Service (CES) is the agency of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales charged with safeguarding and promoting our remarkable network of successful Catholic schools. The CES represents Catholic Education to the Government, Ofsted and other national bodies to ensure Catholic schools are empowered to flourish.
Should you wish to support the work of the Catholic Education Service in England and Wales, please place your offering in an envelope marked “Catholic Education” and deposit it in one of the boxes at the entrances to our churches next weekend. Parishioners who have a boxed set of envelopes should have an envelope in your box.
The Relics of St Bernadette
In September and October this year, the Relics of St Bernadette will journey on pilgrimage through England, Scotland, and Wales offering opportunities for prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal for people to experience the special gifts and charisms of Lourdes. “By inviting us to venerate the mortal remains of the saints, the Church does not forget that, in the end, these are indeed just human remains, but they are remains that belonged to individuals touched by the transcendent power of God. The relics of the saints are traces of that invisible but real presence which sheds light upon the shadows of the world and reveals the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst.” (Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI)
The relics will be brought to St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle from 11am on Saturday 1st October until 11am on Sunday 2nd October. Registration must be made to gain access to the Cathedral. For further information, please visit Registration – St Bernadette
Might God be calling you to be a priest?
The Vocations Team extends an invitation to men aged 18+, who might be thinking about a vocation the the Priesthood, to an enquirers evening. The evenings will take place at the Cloister Cafe, St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle, on: Tuesday, 25th October, 2022 and Tuesday, 6th December, 2022. The evenings start at 6pm with a period of prayer, talk/discussion, followed by a meal together, finishing around 8pm. If you would like to attend, or for more information, please contact the Vocations Promoter – Fr Shaun Purdy vocationspromoter@diocesehn.org.uk or by telephoning 01670 812 200.
Connected Voice – cost of living
Connected voice offer information and support from a range of organisations for anyone who needs help with cost of living issue.
The Parish Newsletter by email
Could you help to offset the cost of printing paper copies of the Newsletter by having it sent to you by email? Many of you have been receiving it electronically throughout the pandemic and continue to do so. If you do not already receive it in this way and would like to receive the Newsletter and other news from the parish by email, please send your request to felling.stpatrick@rcdhn.org.uk and you will be added to our contact list. The Newsletter may also be found on our parish website.
A few printed copies will still be available from St. Patrick’s and St. Alban’s churches, on the days they are open for Mass, for those of you who do not have access to email.
Celebrate safely in our churches.
Both St. Alban’s and St. Patrick’s churches continue to follow the National Guidelines for Churches issued by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales which are as follows:
- If you are displaying any symptoms of Covid-19 you should stay at home.
- Hand sanitiser will continue to be offered as you enter and leave church.
- You may wear a face covering during the celebration of Mass.
- Indoor congregational singing can take place with a general encouragement that face coverings are worn.
- Although there is no formal social distancing by way of seating, we ask that when you take your seat, you are sensitive to the needs of other people who are already in a bench and may not be comfortable if you “snuggle up” to them. We have plenty of seating space.
- We will invite you to come forward for Holy Communion, row by row from the front. Holy Communion will continue to be distributed under one kind only.
- It is still important to ventilate our buildings. This has the effect of diluting and dispersing viral particles
- Our “welcomers” will be on hand to greet you and care for you
St. Alban’s Church.
St. Alban’s Church is now open for a Vigil Mass on Saturdays at 6pm. Parishioners are asked to enter and leave the church by the main doors only. Following advice from the Diocesan Health and Safety Officer, the side door should only be used as an emergency exit.
Following Bishop Robert’s advice with the current level of help we have available to us, we are only able to open the church on a Saturday evening. For the time being, it will remain closed during the week for all services. Bishop Robert has asked Fr. Patterson to review the situation after the summer to assess the level of need and support.
ZOE Covid update and this weeks data from the Office of National Statistics
The Zoe update occurs once every two weeks.
This weeks data from the Office of National statistics may also be of interest to you, showing the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus continues to decrease in England where the estimated number of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 893,300 , equating to 1.64% of the population, or around 1 in 60 people.
Please get vaccinated
The Catholic Church continues to promote the participation of everyone in the Covid vaccination programme as part of its mitigation of virus transmission in church and ancillary buildings.
Pope Francis also urges us to do so.
