1

Parish of St.Cuthbert, Benfieldside

Sunday Worship
8.00a.m. Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer)
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST (Common Worship)
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
+ Choral Evensong (BCP)
Taizé Vespers

Sunday School meets at 10.00a.m. in the Church Hall during term

Weekday Worship Please see the

Calendar &
Morning Prayer: 8.30a.m. Monday - Friday Pewsheet for
Evening Prayer: 5.00p.m. Tuesday alterations to this
Midweek Eucharist: 10.00a.m.Thursday pattern.

Parish Office
Arrangements for Baptisms, Marriages, etc. should
normally be made in the Vicar’s vestry in church on
Tuesdays at 5.30p.m. - please phone first if possible.
For Spiritual Advice & the Sacrament of Reconciliation
(Confession), please contact the Vicar.

Clergy & Readers

Vicar: The Revd Martin Jackson
St. Cuthbert’s Vicarage, Church Bank, Shotley Bridge
01207 503019
mobile phone: 0797 226 2412
e-mail: martin.jackson@durham.anglican.org
Readers: Mrs. Rosie Junemann 01207 583998
  Mr. Paul Heatherington 01207 506282

Parish web-site: www.communigate.co.uk/ne/saintcuthberts

Parish Blog: www.saintcuthberts.blogspot.com
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PARISH CALENDAR - FEBRUARY 2009

Sunday 1 CANDLEMAS - PRESENTATION OF CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE
(Malachi 3.1-5; Hebrews 2.14-18; Luke 2.22-40)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST WITH HOLY BAPTISM
& Sunday School
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
Mon. 2 2.00p.m. Mothers’ Union Annual General Meeting
Tues. 3 9.30a.m. Deanery Clergy meet for Chapter - Burnopfield
1.30p.m. Shotley Bridge Infants School Visit to Church
Wed. 4 1.30p.m. Shotley Bridge Infants School Visit to Church
Thurs. 5 10.00a.m. Eucharist
Sunday 8 3rd SUNDAY BEFORE LENT
(Isaiah 40.21-end; 1 Corinthians 9.16-23; Mark 1.29-39)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST
& Sunday School
12 noon Holy Baptism
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
Tues. 10 12.30p.m. “Second Tuesday” Lunch Club - Church Hall
Wed. 11 1.30p.m. Shotley Bridge Infants School Visit to Church
Thurs. 12 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Sat. 14 10a.m. - 12noon Coffee Morning in aid of Hall Appeal

- in the home of Sammie & Alan Hewlett, 151 Benfieldside Road

Sunday 15 2nd SUNDAY BEFORE LENT

(Proverbs 8.1,22-31; Colossians 1.15-20; John 1.1-14)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST
6.00p.m. Taizé Vespers
Wed. 18 7.30p.m. Deanery Synod Meeting
Thurs. 19 10.00a.m. Eucharist - cancelled this week
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Sunday 22 THE SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE LENT
(2 Kings 2.1-12; 2 Corinthians 4.3-6; Mark 9.2-9)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
Mon. 23 2.00p.m. Eucharist - at Derwentdale Court
7.30p.m. Parish Finance Committee - Vicarage

Wednesday 25th February is ASH WEDNESDAY

Join us for the Eucharist with imposition of ashes:
7.30p.m. Sung Eucharist
Thurs. 26 10.00a.m. Eucharist - cancelled this week

MARCH
Sunday 1 THE 1st SUNDAY OF LENT
(Genesis 9.8-17; 1 Peter 3.18-22; Mark 1.9-15)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST
& Sunday School
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
Tues. 3 9.30a.m. Deanery Clergy meet for Chapter
Thurs. 5 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Readings for Sunday Evening Worship

Please use these readings, whether or not you are able to join us at the 6p.m. service
Sunday 1 February Ps. 122,132 Haggai 2.1-9 John 2.18-22
Sunday 8 February Ps. 5 Numbers 13.1-2,27-33 Philippians 2.12-28
Sunday 15 February Ps. 65 Genesis 2.4b-25 Luke 8.22-35
Sunday 22 February Ps. 2 1 Kings 19.1-16 2 Peter 1.16-21
Sunday 1 March Ps. 119.17-32 Genesis 2.15-17;3.1-7 Romans 5.12-19
4

View from the Vicarage

A bit of an Ordinary Time…
I‟ve written before about “Ordinary Time.” It‟s those parts of the Christian
Year when we‟re not doing anything else in particular - so to speak! In other
words when it‟s not Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost
or some other major Christian festival. After we‟ve celebrated Candlemas
at the beginning of February we get a bit of “Ordinary Time” until Ash
th
Wednesday on 25 February - and then it‟s Lent, and then it‟s Easter….
In Ordinary Time the vestments and hangings we use in church are green.
It‟s the most abundant colour in nature - something we might take for
granted. But it‟s also the colour of growth. Life continues and - we pray -
flourishes. Times like Christmas and Easter help us to focus on one thing in
particular: the birth of Christ and new hope for a troubled world; the
Resurrection of Our Lord and renewed hope that life may triumph over
death and darkness. But in between, we simply need to allow for growth. It
can be difficult when we feel we haven‟t got a particular focus. But Ordinary
Time is a reminder that in our spiritual lives we need discipline and a
certain pace. At Christmas we can just throw ourselves into all the spirit of
celebration. But after a while that celebration can become over-indulgence.
I suspect that most of us realise that when we get on the scales in the New
Year. And in living the Christian life also, we need to be able to plan for our
spiritual health and well-being.
So in Ordinary Time, Christians get the chance to come to church not just
because it‟s a special occasion, but because this is where we belong. After
all the over-eating of Christmas, we don‟t give up eating - we simply try to
plan our diet more sensibly. In the same way between the special
celebrations of the Church‟s year, we need to see that we are properly fed
in a spiritual sense. In Ordinary Time we can find still more profoundly that
we are fed in the Eucharist as we receive Christ‟s Body and Blood at the
altar. In daily life we can try to plan our prayer - not with a sense of urgency
and immediate necessity, but because we need to hear God speak to us in
the humdrum events of daily life. And if we can make the reading of Holy
Scripture a regular event, that can help us make sense of what is simply
going on, day in, day out.
Embracing what is Ordinary is not a matter of being boring. It‟s seeing that
God is a reality in every part of life. We don‟t need special excuses to pray
or to meet Christ in worship. We do need to remember that (before we miss
him) he‟s here already.
Martin Jackson
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Mothers’ Union News

Monday 2nd February
2.00pm Annual General meeting
- at 1 St Mary‟s Crescent, Blackhill
Please note the time – we have decided to hold the meeting in the
afternoon instead of the evening, in daylight instead of the dark, and hoping
to avoid icy roads and pavements.

Thank you to everyone who bought copies of the Christmas Quiz. We

have collected £40 which will support Mothers‟ Union work in the Durham
Diocese including the “Away from it all” scheme to give holidays to families
suffering adversity. We hope you enjoyed doing the quiz - good luck to
anyone who has sent off a completed quiz.

“Make a Mother’s Day”

Once again, for Mothering Sunday we plan to
make a collection to buy gifts which, through
the Mothers‟ Union, will help to improve the
lives of mothers and other carers, and through
them, families and communities. We do this in
memory of our mothers and anyone who would
like to remember their own mother in this way
is very welcome to join us.
Various gifts are on offer as well as hens and chickens. I have a number of
catalogues and will leave some at the back of Church. They can also be
seen at www.themothersunion.org Please let me have your contribution
st
by Sunday March 1 .
Sheila Barnes

Christian Aid Coffee Morning

10.00 – 11.30a.m Saturday 21st February

Cake Stall and Traidcraft Stall

Consett Methodist Church

Tickets 50 pence available from Sheila Barnes

6

ON THE DAMASCUS ROAD

-famous conversions in the history of the Christian Church
St Augustine of Hippo (354-430AD) is generally recognised as one of the
greatest thinkers, theologians and bishops the Church has ever had. Not
to be confused with the later Augustine of Canterbury, Augustine was born
in Thagaste (modern Algiers) in North Africa and brought up in a home
where his mother Monica was a devout Christian. His father was a pagan
for most of his life.
Augustine was a bright boy who did excellently at his local school and then
went on to advanced studies in the great Christian centre, Carthage. It was
there, however, as an enquiring teenager that he fell in with worldly
companions and began to sample forbidden fruit. He lived with a girl by
whom he had a son, much to his mother‟s grief. During these years, he
confessed later, he was captivated by the love of learning, the lusts of the
flesh and pride in his academic success.
Later he moved to Rome, then to a professorship in Milan. There he began
to attend the cathedral where Bishop Ambrose was the preacher. His
mother Monica followed him to Italy and continued to pray constantly for
her son‟s conversion.
When Jesus spoke with Nicodemus he said that the moving of the Spirit is
like the wind and we don‟t know where it comes from or where it is going.
Monica hoped that Ambrose‟s preaching would be the means of
Augustine‟s conversion and certainly Augustine greatly admired Ambrose
and found him a godly man and his intellectual equal. But the wind of the
Spirit blew from an unexpected quarter.
On an August Sunday in 386AD Augustine was visiting a friend‟s home in
Milan. In his Confessions, his later-written autobiography, he tells us that as
he walked in the garden that Sunday he heard the sound of children‟s
voices as they played games in a neighbour‟s garden. He thought he
heard the words tolle legge, tolle legge, which meant „Take up and read.‟
He walked into the summer house, picked up a Latin Bible and it fell open
at Romans 13:12. „The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us cast off
the works of darkness and put on the armour of light.‟ Augustine believed
and in that moment he was converted to a living, vital faith in Christ as Lord
and Saviour. There was no light shining from heaven or the audible voice
of God as in Paul‟s experience but it was Augustine‟s Damascus Road.
The wind of the Spirit transformed the proud and ambitious academic and
in the years to come he would emerge as the greatest Father and
theologian of the Early Church. Dr Herbert McGonigle
 7

Dyson’s “Do”
During the recent cold spell Cocoa and Dyson have
spent most of their time in the airing cupboard, and
Cocoa has been telling Dyson tales of Things That
Happened before he, Dyson, came to live with us,
and how Cocoa and his brother Cadbury (who, sadly,
was hit by a car) once had a Coffee Morning, and
How Exciting it was.
Dyson was most impressed by this, and said “Can I have a Coffee Morning
Too?” (For those who are unacquainted with them, I should explain that
Oriental cats talk with Capital Letters). I told him that this would mean lots
of strangers coming into his house and sitting around talking for quite a
long time. He said he Didn’t Mind that - he would be Very Brave and stay
in the airing cupboard with Cocoa and then he would Feel Safe.
So on Saturday 14th February, Dyson will have a “Do”
at 151 Benfieldside Road, from 10.00 am until 12 noon,
when there will be various jams and cakes on sale, as
well as coffee and scones and Dyson’s Gallery of
Portraits of Beautiful Oriental Cats.
Proceeds will go towards the refurbishment of the lower ground floor of the
Church Hall, the appeal for which is now underway.
Sammie Hewlett


2nd Tuesday Lunch Club

… continues to provide food and friendship

12.30p.m. Tuesday 10th February in the Church Hall


New Deanery Clergy: You‟ll realise the clergy have recently been
stretched by illness and vacancies. So we‟re glad to welcome Canon
Sheila Bamber, Director of Education, who will be assisting throughout the
Deanery as she‟s able. And Dr. Meg Gilley is going to be working here for
a limited period mainly in Annfield Plain & Collierley. Welcome to both!
8

Teddies go to hospitals, prisons and travel abroad

Many of you will remember the “teddies for tragedies” which Mothers’
Union members had made and put on our display last year. These teddies
are always in demand and can be used wherever children are in distress.
They are distributed in our hospitals and at prisons. Mothers‟ Union
members work at prisons to support visiting
families and at Low Newton Women‟s Prison
they have found that the bears help the children
and their carers (usually grandmothers) on their
first visit. If a child is upset they are told to “Let
Mummy kiss and cuddle the teddy and then
when you go home Mummy‟s kisses will be with
you” The teddies are also used at Frankland and
Durham Prisons.

Ten teddies from Durham were sent to Afghanistan at Christmas and given
to an orphanage run by an Army Chaplin who was very grateful to receive
them. The plan now is to send more for Easter – could you help to knit
some teddies so that our soldiers serving abroad can give them to children
in Helmand Province this Easter? They are very easy to make. I would
th
need these teddies by Sunday 15 March but please remember that there
is an ongoing need because the children keep the teddies that they are
given. We are told that “these little bears work” - please knit one (or
some!) if you can.

To find out more about Teddies for Tragedies and to see lots of pictures of
the teddies and some of their recipients, visit
www.teddiesfortragedies.org.uk/

Teddy Knitting Instructions

Double knitting wool. Size 10 (3.25) needles
Main colour – for head and paws.
Trouser colour, jumper colour, scarf colour

Cast on 10 stitches main colour and knit 10 rows.

Change to trouser colour and knit 30 rows. Make another leg the same.
Knit across all 20 stitches and work 16 rows.
Change to jumper colour and knit 24 rows.
Change to main colour for head and also change to stocking stitch. Work
for 5.5 inches (50 rows)
Change to jumper colour and all knit rows.
 9
Continue remainder of teddy in reverse order.
Stitch down the sides of the head.
With jumper colour pick up 8 stitches either side of the neck join and knit 20
rows. Change to main colour and knit 10 rows for paws.
Repeat for other arm.
Sew up teddy leaving opening in crotch.
Sew diagonal top corners of head for ears before stuffing teddy with either
polyester or other harmless padding. Foam rubber is not recommended as
babies may chew it.
Run a thread round the neck to draw it in. Sew on a happy face.

SCARF
Cast on 50 or 60 stitches. Knit 4 rows. Cast off. Tie scarf on teddy and sew
to back of neck.

PLEASE AVOID WHITE WOOL AS IT REPRESENTS DEATH

Sheila Barnes

Preparing for Passiontide

An introduction to a sequence of words and music for

Passiontide recently published by the RSCM

The Way of the Cross

Led by Gordon Appleton of the Royal School of Church Music

Wednesday 11 February 2009, 7.30 – 9.30pm

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Church Chare, Whickham, NE16 4SJ

Organised by Durham Diocesan Liturgical Committee for musicians, clergy and

all who share responsibility for planning and leading seasonal worship.

Cost: £5.00

If you would like to attend, please contact Rosie Junemann as soon as possible
(01207 583998).
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Notes & News

Webb Ivory Catalogue: Thanks to everyone who bought items
from the catalogue and aided our church funds. And thanks to Elaine
Bellerby who organised it all. Some money for orders is still due to be
handed in - so please let Elaine have it as soon as possible!
________________________________________________________

Hall News - and for Hire…

We‟re glad to say that work on the Car Park is
now complete. Landscaping will hopefully son
follow - and we‟ve drawn up plans for the
development of the lower ground floor of the
Hall, including a new meeting room. For this
we‟ll need money. Help us make a start by
coming to “Dyson‟s Do” - a coffee morning at the
th
home of Sammie & Alan Hewlett on 14 February.
Meanwhile a reminder that the Hall itself is available for hire - for
community use and private social functions. It‟s appreciated greatly by its
regular users, and has been popular for Baptism parties, children‟s birthday
parties, Golden Wedding Anniversaries etc…
To find out more, contact the Bookings Secretary, Mrs. Linda Short, on
01207 503750.
________________________________________________________

NEW DRAMA GROUP EMERGES

A new drama group has been formed for the
entertainment of parishioners. The group, One in
Seven, is named after the average gradient of
Church Bank (otherwise known as Oh that Bank!).
We hope to put on a show in the early summer, but
in order to do so we need a few more members.
If you are interested (and you don't have to be an actor), please see Jim or
Marjorie Hollingsworth, Kelsey Buchanan, Bev Anderson, Paul
Heatherington, Bill Hudson, Ian Hamilton, or Steve Mitchell. If you know
anyone who may be interested please send them to any of the people
mentioned above.
Jim Hollingsworth
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10th January 2009 was a good day…

Right at the start of it, Rosie and Richard Junemann
became grandparents, when Ethan Harry was born
at 12.25a.m. to Harry and Alpa, weighing 6lb.12oz.
All are doing well. Congratulations all round!

And later in the day, Peter Worters married Pauline

Wong in St. Cuthbert’s Church. It was lovely to be there
are the marriage of Peter, who has grown up in our midst,
and Pauline, whom we’ve come to know over the last few
years. Pauline is moving on to a Post-Doctoral research
post at Stanford University in California, so together
they’ll be leaving their home in Cambridge to “cross the
pond.” Our very best wishes…
________________________________________________________

But there’s also sad news:

The Revd. Ian Robertson, long-time Vicar of St. Cuthbert’s, died in
December - an appreciation by the Revd. Harry Lee is to be found
elsewhere in this magazine. A number of us were able to attend his funeral
at Sherburn Hospital where he has lived for many years.
We share the sorrow of Janet Gourlay and her family, following the death
of her father, Alan Vipond after several weeks of illness in hospital.
And as we go to press we are preparing for the funeral of Arthur Eld.
We’ve been saddened at Arthur’s long illness, though encouraged to see
how he has borne it - and by the occasions when he has been able to leave
home for rare visits to us and to parish events. In the end Arthur’s death in
Univesrity Hospital followed shortly after a fall at home. We know how
much we have to be thankful for in his life of faith, service and friendship.
Arthur was a wearer of so many “hats” and so much a part of the life of St.
Cuthbert’s. We can’t begin to say here how much he will be missed, and
we extend our deep sympathy and love to Sylvia, Shirley and Shaun.
________________________________________________________

But finally, some more congratulations to younger members of

our congregation. Over the Christmas / New Year period, Laura
Gibbon became engaged to Dan Jude, and Louise Cherryman to
Chris Clark! So, there’s more to be looking forward to…
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STAINED GLASS - MELCHIZEDEK

Paul Heatherington, one of our Readers, continues his series …

Walk with me to the organ aisle. There you will find a

Santa-Claus lookalike. No, not Bill Hudson! In the
window next to where Bill sits, there is a stained glass
window. Do go and view the window close up. The detail
is extraordinarily fine. The words in the lower left
picture read, ‘Blessed be Abram of the Most High.’ The
scene illustrates this passage from Genesis, ‘And
Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and
wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And
he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most
high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed
be the most high God, which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Genesis 14:18-20 KJV
The man who is standing wears a crown. He is
Melchizedek, king of Jerusalem. Abram is the person
kneeling to receive the blessing. Abraham's original
name was Abram which means either ‘exalted father’ or
‘my father is exalted’. For the later part of his life, Abram
was called Abraham ‘Father of many nations’.
Verse 4 of Psalm 110 reads, ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change his
mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”’
Psalm 110 is quoted in the New Testament more than any other. It was
quoted by Jesus and Peter and many times in the Letter to the Hebrews.
According to the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews Jesus is a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek because:
• Just like Melchizedek, the High Priesthood of Jesus did not depend
on any genealogy, but on himself alone. Under Jewish law a
man could only be a priest if he could prove a pedigree going
back to Aaron; character and ability had nothing to do with it.
However, the priesthood of Melchizedek was based on what
he was, not on what he had inherited.
 13

• Jesus is the High Priest who lives forever.

• Jesus is the High Priest who himself is sinless and never needs to
offer any sacrifice for his own sin.
• Jesus is the High Priest who in the offering of himself made the
perfect sacrifice which once and for all opened the way to
God. No more sacrifice needs to be made.

These five qualities apply to the priesthood of Melchizedek.

• It is priesthood of righteousness. The name Melchizedek literally
means King of Righteousness.
• It is a priesthood of peace. The word Salem (derived from shalom)
means peace therefore Melchizedek was also King of Peace.
• It is a royal priesthood, because Melchizedek was a king.
• It is personal – and not inherited – because Melchizedek has no
genealogy.
• It is eternal, because Melchizedek has no birth or death, and his
priesthood has no beginning or end.
Sharing a meal is an act of fellowship. On meeting Abram, and before
Melchizedek blessed Abram, and received tithes from him, Melchizedek
'brought forth bread and wine'. This foreshadows the actions of the Jesus
at the Last Supper, which is the scene depicted in the adjacent window.

100 Club - Winners

December
1st Prize £25 No. 103 Annie Stones
2nd Prize £15 No. 26 Fiona Bell
3rd Prize £10 No. 85 John Worters

January
1st Prize £25 No. 7 Margaret Wilkinson
2nd Prize £15 No. 98 Sheilah Lumley
3rd Prize £10 No. 12 Linda Short

Subscriptions for the year were due in January! Further details on how to
join the 100 Club from our organiser, Jennifer Lambert, phone 505018.
14
 15

Lent – a season for prayer, study & worship

ASH WEDNESDAY
is the beginning of Lent,
& a Solemn Day of the Church
It is a
Day of Discipline & Self-Denial
but also a day to celebrate on
Wednesday 25th February
Join us for the Eucharist on Ash Wednesday:
7.30p.m. Sung Eucharist
with imposition of ashes
This year we’re planning to celebrate only one Eucharist on Ash
Wednesday. Please make the effort to join us so that we can begin
this holy season together. If you need transport, please let us know!

And look out for details of our plans for study & worship during Lent

Please use wisely the opportunities Lent gives us……

¶ Make a commitment to be regular in worship:
• especially by joining in the Eucharist each Sunday.
¶ Make extra time for worship:
• midweek Eucharists on Thursdays at 10.00a.m.
• further opportunities including Stations of the Cross
¶ Take time for reflection at home:
• make some time each day for prayer in quiet.
• use the parish’s daily prayer sheet & prayer cycle.
• resolve to get to grips with the Bible.
16

Ash Wednesday
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. But why 'Ash' Wednesday? The reason
has to do with getting things right between you and God, and the tradition
goes right back to the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, we read how the Israelites often sinned. When they
finally came to their senses, and saw their evil ways as God saw them, they
could do nothing but repent in sorrow. They mourned for the damage and
evil they had done. As part of this repentance, they covered their heads
with ashes. For the Israelites, putting ashes on your head, and even
rending your clothes, was an outward sign of their heart-felt repentance
and acknowledgement of sin. (See Genesis 18:27; 2 Samuel 13:19; Job
2:8, 30:19; Isaiah 58:5; Jeremiah 6:26; Jonah 3:6)
In the early Christian Church, people undertaking „penance‟ had ashes
sprinkled over them at the beginning of Lent. They turned to God, and
mourned their sins. But soon many other Christians wanted to take part in
the custom. They heeded Joel's call to 'rend your hearts and not your
garments' (Joel 2:12-19). Ash Wednesday became known as either the
'beginning of the fast' or „the day of the ashes‟.
The actual custom of 'ashing' was abolished at the Reformation, though the
old name for the day remained. Today, it has been restored, and we
encourage you to receive the mark of ashes on your forehead. For the
Christian it‟s a reminder of our mortality, but also of the grace of God by
which we live: "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return..."
(Genesis 3:19)
The late medieval custom was to burn the branches used on Palm Sunday
in the previous year in order to create the ashes for today. So please bring
back your Palm Crosses from last year…
The collect for today goes back to the Prayer Book, and stresses the
penitential character of the day. It encourages us with the reminder of
God‟s readiness to forgive us and to renew us.
Almighty and everlasting God,
You hate nothing that you have made
And forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
That we, worthily lamenting our sins
And acknowledging our wretchedness,
May receive from you, the God of all mercy,
Perfect remission and forgiveness;
Through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord…
 17

Two billion people – a third of humanity – still survive on less than $2

a day. Unfair trade rules keep them in poverty, but they face the global
challenges of food shortages and climate change too. Fairtrade is a
people‟s movement for change that aims to tip the balance of trade in
favour of poor producers. We all need Fairtrade more than ever and we all
have the power to create positive change for people and planet.

The Fairtrade Foundation is the independent non-profit organisation that

licenses use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products in the UK in accordance
with internationally agreed Fairtrade standards. The Foundation‟s vision is
of a world in which justice and sustainable development are at the heart of
trade structures and practices so that everyone, through their work, can
maintain a decent and dignified livelihood and develop their full potential.
To achieve this vision, Fairtrade seeks to transform trading structures and
practices in favour of the poor and disadvantaged. By facilitating trading
partnerships based on equity and transparency, Fairtrade contributes to
sustainable development for marginalised producers, workers and their
communities. Through demonstration of alternatives to conventional trade
and other forms of advocacy, the Fairtrade movement empowers citizens to
campaign for an international trade system based on justice and fairness.

The Foundation‟s mission is to work with businesses, community groups

and individuals to improve the trading position of producer organisations in
the South and to deliver sustainable livelihoods for farmers, workers and
their communities.

Sales of Fairtrade goods are continuing to increase.

18
Estimated UK retail sales by value 1998-2007 (£ million)

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Coffee: 13.7 15.0 15.5 18.6 23.1 34.3 49.3 65.8 93.0 117.0

Tea: 2.0 4.5 5.1 5.9 7.2 9.5 12.9 16.6 25.1 30.0

Chocolate/cocoa: 1.0 2.3 3.6 6.0 7.0 10.9 16.5 21.9 29.7 34.0

Honey products: n/a n/a 0.9 3.2 4.9 6.1 3.4 3.5 3.4 5.0

Bananas: n/a n/a 7.8 14.6 17.3 24.3 30.6 47.7 65.6 150.0

Flowers: n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 4.3 5.7 14.0 24.0

Wine: n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1.5 3.3 5.3 8.2

Cotton: n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 0.2 4.5 34.8

Other: n/a n/a n/a 2.2 3.5 7.2 22.3 30.3 45.7 90.0

TOTAL 16.7 21.8 32.9 50.5 63.0 92.3 140.8 195.0 286.3 493.0

Retailers, licensees and commercial companies are gearing up for

Fairtrade Fortnight (23 February – 8 March 2009), which looks set to be
bigger and better than ever before, with hundreds of in-store activities
planned around the country.

The theme is Make it Happen. Choose Fairtrade. This urgent call is

pertinent this year as the Fairtrade Foundation is one year into its ambitious
five-year strategy, Tipping the Balance, which aims, by 2012, to enable
twice as many producers to be benefiting from selling Fairtrade goods in
the UK, while those already supplying the UK market should be able to
double the proportion of the crop they sell through the Fairtrade system.

Fairtrade Fortnight presents companies with a unique opportunity to market

Fairtrade and is the perfect time for companies to improve visibility at point-
of-sale, or even consider extending their range of Fairtrade certified
products.
 19
There are now more than 4,500 FAIRTRADE Mark products certified, over
a wide range of product categories. This is expected to include olive oil and
cosmetics in the coming year as the Tipping the Balance strategy aims to
increase sales four-fold by 2012, partly through the introduction of new
product categories.

Bananas continue to be a best-selling Fairtrade product and one in four

bananas sold in the UK are now Fairtrade. Fairtrade Fortnight will
culminate with Fairtrade campaigners up and down the country attempting
to set a world record for eating Fairtrade bananas between midday on 6
March and midday on 7 March. Independent shops and retailers such as
Sainsbury‟s, Waitrose and the Co-operative will support the initiative by
making supplies available and, in some cases, on-pack messaging.

The value of UK Fairtrade sales has grown more than tenfold since 2001,
reaching nearly £500 million in 2007 and now helps more than 7.5 million
people – farmers, workers and their families – to have more security and
control over their lives. New sales figures for 2008 will be announced
during Fairtrade Fortnight and are expected to reflect key commercial
developments and show significant growth in some categories.

Hundreds of Fairtrade Towns, Churches and Schools around the UK will

promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight and last year an estimated
12,000 separate activities and events took place.

Fairtrade Fortnight‟s official public launch will be an Olympic-themed event

in central London on Sunday 22 February. Sports activities including a
Fairtrade chocolate relay race, and giant inflatable banana jousting are
planned. Celebrities, including Olympic medal winners, are expected to
attend.
20

From the Parish Registers

Marriages
10 January Peter James Worters & Pauline Wong
Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts
and a crown upon their heads.

Funerals
5 December John Benson aged 73 years
Mountside, Shotley Bridge
15 December Eileen Hillary aged 87 years
Shotley Park Residential Home
15 January Alan Vipond aged 87 years
Edmundbyers House Residential Home
21 January Judith Lowdon aged 60 years
Stanhope Suite, Corbridge Road
May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace
____________________________________________________________

With Valentine’s Day and Love in mind:

Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the
same direction. – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Christian is supposed to love his neighbour, and since his wife is his
nearest neighbour, she should be his deepest love. – Martin Luther

Useful Church Contacts:

Churchwardens: Liz Parker, 178 Benfieldside Road 505156
Linda Short, 9 Sherwood Close   503750
PCC Lay Chair: Peter Thompson, Wheldon House, Ebchester 560454
PCC Treasurer: Irvine Macnair, 10 Kempton Close. 505828
PCC Secretary: Jill Barron, 141 Benfieldside Road 504352
Sunday School: Carol O’Malley, 13 Spring Close, Ebchester 561884
Church Hall: Linda Short, 9 Sherwood Close  503750