24th Sunday of the Year
Dear Parishioners
This weekend the Church in England and Wales celebrates Education Sunday, offering an opportunity for us to pray for all involved in Catholic education, to celebrate the achievements of the past and to ask the Lord to bless the work of the year ahead.
Jesus teaches us: “If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31,32).
The enterprise of Catholic education, whether in the home, school, college or university, is built on the belief that it is God our Father who enlightens the eyes of our minds. Through his gift of grace, he enables us to discover him and come into a relationship with him in Christ, the one source of all truth and freedom. For truth enlightens our intelligence and shapes our freedom, leading us to know and love God.
Pray for our school community as it launches out into a new year under the guidance of Mrs Lisa Stokoe, our new executive head teacher, supported by our dedicated staff.
Heavenly Father, you know our every need and will not let us wander far from your love.
On this Education Sunday, we pray especially for all those involved in education in any way,
especially those who are feeling a little lost or uncertain for whatever reason.
Bless the children, young people and adults who are starting out on their next phase of learning and inspire all those who help them on their journey. Amen
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.
What do Catholics believe and why – an Introduction evening this week
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 this Tuesday, 13th September at 7pm 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.
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.
- Monday: No Mass
- Tuesday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – Damian Lagan
- Wednesday: (Private Mass) Fr Ronnie Richmond
- Thursday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – Gerard McCabe
- Friday: (Private Mass) – Private Intention
- Saturday: 6pm in St. Alban’s Church – For the intentions of all our parishioners
- Sunday: 10am in St. Patrick’s Church – William and Elizabeth Pearson
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 and,
- all those near and dear to us whose memories we cherish at this time especially William Pearson.
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.
Education Sunday
This 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 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 7pm – 8.30pm. You would be welcome to attend.
Refreshments after Mass
Refreshments will next be served in St. Patrick’s parish centre after Mass next Sunday, 18th 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.
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.
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.
Cafod’s campaign to “Fix the Food System – An Information Evening
Our Third World Group invite you to an information evening, presented by Mark Maughan, Cafod’s Community Participation Co-ordinator in the Diocese, who will speak about Cafod’s current campaign to “Fix the Food system,” and share his experience of time he has recently spent in the Sudan.
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.
Mark will be coming to St. Patrick’ parish centre on Thursday, 13th October at 6.30pm. We do hope you may feel able to join him and fellow parishioners in a Covid safe environment. Please note this is an awareness evening and not a fundraising event!
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.
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
The Bishops of England and Wales offer the following prayers following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
For the repose of Her Majesty the Queen
Almighty God, you are the author and sustainer of all human life;
grant that your servant, Elizabeth our Queen,
whom you granted a long and happy reign as monarch of these lands
may be forgiven her sins and rewarded with that eternal life promised to all
those born again in the water of baptism and power of your Spirit.
Eternal rest, grant to her O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
Prayer for the Royal Family
Almighty God, source of all consolation, we pray for the members of the Royal Family who mourn the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Uphold them in your love and pour out on them the consolation of your healing Spirit. Let them find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, comfort in their sadness, certainty in their doubt and courage to live through this hour. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for the King
O God, to whom every human power is subject, grant to your servant His Majesty the King, wisdom in the exercise of his high office, so that always revering to you and striving to please you, he may constantly secure and preserve for the people entrusted to his care the freedom that comes from unity and peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has issued the following statement :
On 21 April 1947, on her twenty-first birthday, Princess Elizabeth said, ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service.’ Now, seventy-five years later, we are heartbroken in our loss at her death, and so full of admiration for the unfailing way in which she fulfilled that declaration. Even in my sorrow, shared with so many around the world, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
At this time, we pray for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty. We do so with confidence, because the Christian faith marked every day of her life and activity. In her Millennium Christmas message, she said, ‘To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.’
This faith, so often and so eloquently proclaimed in her public messages, has been an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many. The wisdom, stability and service which she consistently embodied, often in circumstances of extreme difficulty, are a shining legacy and testament to her faith. Our prayer is that she is now received into the merciful presence of God, there to be reunited with her beloved Prince Philip. This is the promise of our faith, and our deep consolation. Queen Elizabeth II will remain, always, a shining light in our history. May she now rest in peace.
We pray for His Majesty the King, as he assumes his new office even as he mourns his mother. God save the King.
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 has not been published in this time of National Mourning following the death of Her Late Majesty the Queen. The Zoe Study suggests 1 in 44 people currently have Covid with an estimated 112,816 new daily cases in the UK.
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.