Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
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.
MAY
Sunday 3 THE 4th SUNDAY OF EASTER
(Acts 4.5-12; 1 John 3.16-end; John 10.11-18)
8.00a.m. Eucharist
10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST
& SUNDAY SCHOOL
6.00p.m. Evening Prayer
We recognise the fulness of God’s work on Easter Day. From the darkness
we come to celebrate the triumph of light, the victory of the Resurrection
and the power of Christ's risen life over death. The Easter flame is lit, and
we are called to the renewal of our Baptismal faith and hope - today the call
goes out to all who would put their trust in Christ:
Thank you to everyone who gave to the “Make a Mother’s Day” appeal in
memory of our mothers. This year we gave a total of £88 which is being
used to buy 2 latrines and washstands and 2 blackboards and chalks.
Thank you also to everyone who has made teddies, so many and all
individuals with their different colours and expressions. 31 teddies have
travelled to Durham and possibly now a bit further at the start of their
journey abroad.
A message from Consett Christian Aid Committee
“Thank you to everyone who bought tickets and supported the Coffee
Morning on Saturday 21st February at Consett Methodist Church. We
raised £149 for Christian Aid - and the Traidcraft stall made £102 for their
fund. It was a lovely social morning with many people from different
Churches and communities all enjoying time together.”
Dorcas -
Next to the Lydia window in St Cuthbert‟s organ aisle
is to be found a window with the title „Dorcas.‟ Dorcas
was a follower of Jesus and lived in Joppa. Sadly she
fell ill and died. Her body was washed and placed in
an upstairs room. When the other Christians in Joppa
heard that Peter was in Lydda, they dispatched two
men to beg Peter to come as quickly as he could. Peter
returned with them to Joppa. The scene greeting Peter
seems not to have been unlike the occasion when
Lazarus had died: mourning, weeping, widows were
everywhere.
The men took Peter to the room in which Dorcas has
been laid and he was shown clothes which Dorcas had
made. This is the scene which the stained glass
window depicts. Dorcas is NOT the woman in the
window. The woman depicted is a woman holding up
a garment made by Dorcas for Peter to see.
Peter asked everyone to leave the room. Then, he knelt
to pray, calling on Jesus‟ power. Peter – not unlike the
way Jesus called on Lazarus to come out of the tomb –
turned to the body of Dorcas and ordered her to get up.
On opening her eyes and seeing Peter, Dorcas sat up.
Peter helped her to her feet, by taking her by the hand.
Peter then called both the grieving widows and the
other followers of Jesus into the room for all to see that
Dorcas was alive and well.
Dorcas is an excellent example of a woman who was
responsive to the less fortunate. Dorcas demonstrated
her newly-found faith in Jesus Christ by working with
her hands to meet the needs of the less fortunate. She
had given a great deal to the poor and was always
doing good things for people.
11
Jesus acted through Peter. All too often, Christians think too little of what
Jesus can do through them. The raising of Dorcas created quite a stir and
everyone living in the vicinity quickly learned what had happened. As a
result, many of those living in Joppa came to faith.
NOTES
Acts 9:36–41 has the story of Dorcas.
Dorcas is the Greek translation of the Hebrew „Tabitha‟ and means a
deer or a gazelle.
Joppa, Jerusalem's seaport, was a town in Israel on the
Mediterranean Sea. It is now 10 miles southeast of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Lydda wasn‟t far from Joppa
Saints: St Paul describes living church members as „saints‟, and
addressed his letters, „to the saints of ….‟
Dorcas Lane, who ran Candleford's Post Office in the BBC drama
„Lark Rise to Candleford’ was played by Julia Sawalha.
Paul Heatherington
……………………………………………………………………….
Fashion at St Cuthbert’s
7.30p.m. Wednesday 29th April
Ladies’ Fashion Show
- in St. Cuthbert’s Church Hall.
Plus ça change…
I was going to write an article about the air-raid shelter, or
“bunker”, which was built for church use in the 1940‟s,
and was trawling through past Parish Magazines to find
details of when and how it was demolished, when I
serendipitously hit on something more immediately
relevant - tree felling!
Churchgoers, and those who pass up and down the bank, may have noticed
that NEDL have been having some pruning and tree felling carried out, and
this work has included felling two of the four conifers outside the Church. I
counted the growth rings on the stumps and these trees were 54 years old -
give or take a year or two.
Now, in the Parish Magazine for December 1955 was a paragraph about
felling some of the trees in the churchyard which were in a dangerous
condition; damaging church walls and carrying fungal spores into the
church. These trees had been listed for felling three years previously. (It
took NEDL two years and a bit to get the job done this time, so things have
speeded up since the 1950‟s).
The article continues with the hope that a replanting scheme would be
started straight away - so it would appear that the two trees just felled were
part of that replanting scheme - and those who planted them probably never
thought that these trees too would grow and cause damage to walls and
pathways, and endanger the electricity supply!
Sammie Hewlett
Spring Clean-up…
Get St. Cuthbert’s Church ready for Easter
Make a clean sweep!
Please come along to lend a hand
with pre-Christmas cleaning
on Saturday 4th April from 10a.m.
More details from Liz Parker…
13
Come and buy your cakes and nibble your biscuits while attending the
APCM meeting to find out what is going on.
……………………………………………………………………….
COFFEE plus
in support of St Cuthbert’s Church
CHURCHWARDENS’ REPORT
The fabric of the Church is in reasonable condition, most of the work this
year has been general maintenance, but there are a number of major works
which will require attention in the not too distant future, in particular the re-
pointing of the boundary walls.
The peeling interior paintwork is of some concern; but this would need
fairly substantial works involving stripping off the old and testing of
available materials if we are to avoid the flaking which is occurring.
15
Repairs were carried out to number of stained glass
windows in the East aisle, we are fortunate that the
Lexan coating to the outside of all of the windows
gives a good level of protection, both from damage and
also from draughts.
Minor roof repairs were needed to arrest the ingress of
water in the Chancel and at the rear of the Lady Chapel,
all gutterings were also cleaned out .
Problems with the quarter chimes to the clock were resolved, and the
annual maintenance has been carried out with no problems being found; the
possibility of fitting an electrical winding mechanism in the future may be
worth considering.
As most of us are now aware felling and pruning of trees in the Church
yard has now been carried out, this work was necessary, both to clear
obstruction to the overhead electric cables and also because the two
conifers were causing damage to the footings of the boundary walls. All of
this work we are pleased to say was carried out by NEDL at no cost to
ourselves.
Repairs and replacements have also been carried out to a number of
damaged floorboards.
A survey of the floor heating grilles has revealed the need for 17
replacements, the necessary Archdeacon‟s Certificate has been received for
this work, which is expected to commence within the next month.
The Quinquennial Report is due next year, and we
still have some work to do to meet the
recommendations of the previous report, which
standing committee and PCC will be working
through in the next year. Unfortunately this will
inevitably involve fund-raising - all ideas for which
will be gratefully received.!
Thank you to all of you who help to maintain this beautiful Church,
whether practically or financially. As we say year on year, being
custodians of such a building, brings a lot of work but also an awful lot of
pleasure.
Handbell Ringers
2008 was not the best of years for St Cuthbert‟s Handbell Ringers; with
family commitments, eyesight problems, illness, and a great anxiety
preventing full rehearsals, or even meetings at all. However, we did
perform at the Christmas Concert with the Leadgate Gleemen, and also for
the Christingle Service on Christmas Eve.
We carry on… maybe someone else will come and join us. Perhaps 2009
will be the Year of Renewal for St Cuthbert‟s Handbell Ringers!
Sammie Hewlett
18
Last year the bells were rung most Sundays by a regular band of 9 ringers –
one of which has returned to the exercise after an absence of 45 years!
Practice nights have often been busy occasions as we enjoy the company of
ringers from Consett and Lanchester.
Two new learners joined us in the New Year (2009) who will hopefully
boost our local band in the future. Despite the slight increase in numbers,
ringing still has to be cancelled during some holiday times, particularly in
the summer. Most of the ringers are tied to school holidays, which makes
cover difficult.
Four weddings were rung for during the last year, and two visiting bands
were welcomed. Some of our ringers took part in the association quarter
peal week in July (one ringer achieving their first quarter peal) and another
quarter was rung in October for Sammie and Alan Hewlett‟s Golden
Wedding Anniversary.
Minimal repair work has taken place in the tower last year. A stay had to be
replaced on the 4th bell and some splicing work to repair the ropes on the 5th
and Tenor bells. Following closer inspection of these ropes it has been
necessary to order two new ropes for these heavier back end bells. Most of
the cost of which should be covered by the Tower fund, which is likely to
reduce it to zero.
During 2008 Consett and District Christian Aid Committee held our usual
events:
A coffee morning in Consett Methodist church in February
The sponsored walk in September
A performance given by the Snug Theatre Group during One
World Week in October
Together with Christian Aid Week, these events raised over £10,300.
St Cuthbert‟s collection for Christian Aid Week was £1,245. Thanks are
due to all our dedicated collectors, both to those who have been collecting
for many years and to those who collected for the first time in 2008. Thank
you also to all the members of our community who continue to give so
generously.
Please consider helping in 2009 if you can. It doesn‟t take too long and
would help to continue our valuable contribution to Christian Aid.
Sheila Barnes
Brownie Report
We have maintained our numbers this year and at
present have 32 girls and a very long waiting list. We
now have a successful parent‟s rota running to provide
enough adult support at each meeting.
We have held several very successful fundraising
events including an entertainment night and a
Christmas concert.
In March we joined with 2nd Chester le Street Brownies for our Pack
Holiday at Moorhouse Activity Centre in Durham. We enjoyed an African
theme. We enjoyed African drumming sessions and abseiling and archery
in the snow.
In May we spent a weekend at Hawkhirst Scout Camp, Kielder the girls
took part in Canadian canoeing, archery, climbing and orienteering.
In July we took part in a County Activity Day celebrating all things
Olympic and Chinese as the theme was the Beijing Olympics.
In September we visited The Forbidden Corner in Leyburn, North
Yorkshire. The girls enjoyed solving the riddles and getting very wet under
the waterfalls.
Since September the girls have been involved in Girlguiding UKs
Changing the World project. This has involved learning about The Railway
Children charity, exploring homelessness and raising money for the charity.
In December we visited Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates at the
Theatre Royal in Newcastle.
In February we held a sleepover which had the theme of Chile. The girls
enjoyed making ponchos, cooking and having an indoor snowball fight.
The coming year is expected to be very busy and enjoyable for all girls as
Girlguiding is celebrating its 100th Birthday Year starting on 5th September
2009.
Fiona Bell
22
100 Club
Another very successful year allowing us to donate £600 to
the church and give out £600 in prize money. We ended the
year with a final balance of £195 and have a total of 108
numbers allocated.
Many thanks to all participants.
Jennifer Lambert
SUNDAY COFFEE
Refreshments and biscuits were provided in the Church
Hall after the 10 am. Eucharist on 51 Sundays in 2008.
Donations came to £462 and expenses to £74. Sunday
School children joined during term-time and consumed
many a biscuit! A rota of volunteers (some press-
ganged) helped serve and wash up and the rota‟s
periodicity was about 8 weeks. More helpers would,
of course, be very welcome.
Jenny Macnair
The help given by “dishwashers,” “drivers,” “cooks,” and raffle ticket lady”
is very much appreciated. Here‟s to the next time!
Pam Hudson
Confirmation 2009
Our Deanery has again been offered only one
Confirmation this year - but back at the time of year
we’ve been used to.
So you might wish to grasp this opportunity… The Bishop of Durham (I
nd
think!) will be presiding at a Deanery Confirmation on Monday 22 June -
at All Saints’ Church, Lanchester.
We have a couple of candidates, but would welcome more! If you’re an
adult with actual church involvement - and want to be confirmed - please
get in touch with the Vicar (of St. Cuthbert’s!) as soon as possible. There’ll
be some preparation involved after Easter - and hopefully it will all be very
enjoyable. Carpe Diem!