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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

Morning Prayer: 8.30a.m. Monday - Friday

Evening Prayer: 5.00p.m. Tuesday

Midweek Eucharist: 10.00a.m.Thursday

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

Please see the Calendar &

Pewsheet for alterations to this

pattern.

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PARISH CALENDAR - MARCH 2009

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

Mon. 2 2.00p.m. Mothers’ Union - Church & Hall Tues. 3 9.30a.m. Deanery Clergy meet for Chapter - Consett 7.00p.m. Eucharist with Service of Penitence Wed. 4 7.30p.m. Lent Course - Vicarage Thurs. 5 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Sunday 8 THE 2nd SUNDAY OF LENT (Genesis 17.1-7, 15-16; Romans 4.13-25; Mark 8.31-38) 8.00a.m. Eucharist

10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST & Sunday School 6.00p.m. Evening Prayer

Mon. 9 12.30p.m. Ecumenical Lent Lunch - Baptist Church Hall 8.00p.m. St. Cuthbert’s Hall AGM - Church Hall Tues. 10 12.30p.m. “Second Tuesday” Lunch Club - Church Hall 7.00p.m. Eucharist & Stations of the Cross Wed. 11 7.30p.m. Lent Course - Vicarage Thurs. 12 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Thurs. 12 7.30p.m. “This is the Way to Amarillo” An Entertaining Evening with author, George Miller

£5 in aid of the Hall Building Appeal - in St. Cuthbert’s Hall

Sunday 15 THE 3rd SUNDAY OF LENT (Exodus 20.1-17; 1 Corinthians 1.18-25; John 2.13-22) 8.00a.m. Eucharist

10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST & Sunday School 6.00p.m. Taizé Vespers

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Mon. 16 12.30p.m. Ecumenical Lent Lunch - St. Andrew’s URC 7.30p.m. PCC Meeting - Vicarage Tues. 17 7.00p.m. Eucharist & Stations of the Cross Wed. 18 7.30p.m. Lent Course - Vicarage Thurs. 19 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Friday 20 March FEAST OF ST. CUTHBERT OF LINDISFARNE 7.00p.m. SUNG PATRONAL EUCHARIST

Preacher: The Revd. Gary Birchall, Area Dean Followed by a Bring-and-Share Supper in the Hall

Sunday 22 THE 4th SUNDAY OF LENT – MOTHERING SUNDAY (Lent 4: Numbers 21.4-9; Ephesians 2.1-10; John 3.14-21) 8.00a.m. Eucharist

10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST FOR ALL AGES 6.00p.m. Evening Prayer

Mon. 23 12.30pm Ecumenical Lent Lunch - Blackhill Methodist Church Tues. 24 7.00p.m. Eucharist - Celebration of the Annunciation Wed. 25 ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD TO THE BVM 2.00p.m. Mothers’ Union Lady Day Service - Stanley 7.30p.m. Lent Course - Vicarage Thurs. 26 10.00a.m. Eucharist

Sunday 29 THE 5th SUNDAY OF LENT – PASSION SUNDAY (Jeremiah 31.31-34; Hebrews 5.5-10; John 12.20-33) 8.00a.m. Eucharist

10.00a.m. SUNG EUCHARIST & Sunday School 6.00p.m. Evening Prayer

Mon. 30 12.30pm Ecumenical Lent Lunch - St. Mary’s, Blackhill 2.00p.m. Eucharist - at Derwentdale Court

Tues. 31 7.00p.m. Eucharist & Service of Healing

APRIL

Wed. 1 7.30p.m. Lent Course - Vicarage

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View from the Vicarage

Cracked Cisterns?

No, it‟s not another fabric problem with crumbling loos and bathroom fittings… The reference is actually to words from the Prophet Jeremiah:

My people have committed two sins: they have rejected me, a source of living water, and they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns which hold no water. (Jeremiah 2.13)

It‟s a two-fold reproach. First, that God‟s people have lost sight of God himself: he‟d led them from slavery in Egypt into a promised land, but they‟ve forgotten that he is the source of their guidance - they just don‟t pay attention to him any more. And secondly, having made themselves self-reliant, they‟ve found their own resources to be an empty hope. It must be from Jeremiah that we get the phrase, “It just doesn‟t hold water.” That‟s what the Israelites find when they surrender the worship of God and a proper sense of their calling for false idols, materialism and neglect of the poor. And that‟s what we find in our society today.

The recent “Atheist Bus Slogan” campaign has paid for buses to be emblazoned with the rather half-hearted half-thought: “There‟s probably no God - so stop worrying and enjoy your life.” But will people stop worrying? Why shouldn‟t you believe in God, and enjoy your life. And is enjoyment (hedonism) all there is to life? It‟s not just the Recession that‟s making people doubt this. In her chart-topping song, The Fear, Lily Allen sings:

I want to be rich and I want lots of money I don‟t care about clever I don‟t care about funny I want loads of clothes and I want a **** load of diamonds I heard people die while they are trying to find them

It‟s sad - and the chorus admits as much:

I don‟t know what‟s right and what‟s real anymore I don‟t know how we‟re meant to feel anymore When do you think it will all become clear „Cause I‟m being taken over by the Fear

So, is reality to be found just in what you can see, touch, get and grab? Let‟s welcome Lent as the opportunity to attune ourselves once more to the true source of reality - God as we find him in Jesus Christ.

Martin Jackson

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Mothers’ Union News

Monday 2nd

March 2.00p.m. Service in Chuch followed by a talk given by Joan Wardrobe on MU Work in Prisons

Wednesday 25th

March 2.00p.m. MU Lady Day Service - St. Andrew‟s Church, Stanley

Dyson’s “Do”

Thanks to everyone who supported the Coffee Morning

with additional attractions on Saturday 14th

February in

the home of Sammie & Alan Hewlett. Dyson wasn’t much

to be seen - but there was a nice gallery of cats and a good

company. In all £320 was raised.

Proceeds will go towards the refurbishment of the lower ground floor of the

Church Hall. Look out for the next event supporting the appeal - an evening

with author George Miller on Thursday 12th March..

2nd Tuesday Lunch Club … continues to provide food and friendship 12.30p.m. Tuesday 10th March in the Church Hall

100 Club - Winners

February

1st Prize £25 No. 63 Joyce Shaw 2nd Prize £15 No. 17 Joan Locke 3rd Prize £10 No. 8 Olive Booth

Details on how to join the 100 Club from our organiser, Jennifer Lambert, phone 505018.

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Lent – a season for prayer, study & worship

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 - 7p.m. Tuesdays & 10a.m.Thursdays • further opportunities each Tuesday (see Calendar)

¶ 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.

¶ Join in study, discussion and reflection as we follow our Lent

Course, Faith, Hope and Love. Wednesdays at 7.30p.m. from 4th

March at the Vicarage. Details in church /and on the pewsheet.

¶ Be generous - support the USPG Lent Appeal, or use money

saved in Lenten discipline for some other good purpose.

¶ Join in Ecumenical Lent Lunches,

12.30p.m. on these four Mondays in Lent:

9 March – Blackhill Baptist Church

16 March – St Andrew’s URC

23 March – Blackhill Methodist Church

30 March – St Mary’s RC Church

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 March Ps. 119.17-32 Genesis 2.15-17; 3.1-7 Romans 5.12-19

Sunday 8 March Ps. 135 Genesis 12.1-9 John 8.51-59

Sunday 15 March Ps. 11, 12 Exodus 5.1-6.1 Matthew 10.16-22

Sunday 22 March Ps. 13, 14 Exodus 6.2-13 John 12.1-8

Sunday 29 March Ps. 34 Exodus 7.8-24 Luke 22.1-13

Sunday 5 April Ps. 69.1-18 Isaiah 5.1-7 Mark 12.1-12

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Amarillo, Phoenix, Las Vegasthe songs but what do you know about the places, the people, the lyrics and the performers?

An Evening with George Miller, author of “This is the Way to Amarillo”

As featured on BBC TV‟s

Look North & Tyne Tees TV‟s

North East Tonight

George Miller will be talking about his entertaining journey across America to find the way

to Amarillo!

7.30p.m. Thursday 12th March

St. Cuthbert's Church Hall Church Bank, Shotley Bridge

Tickets £5.00 (including Wine)

Contact Jennifer Lambert 01207 505018

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Two great clerics of the Derwent Valley When we bought our house in Benfieldside Road in August 1986, we did not intend to live in it for some years, but I thought it was only good clerical etiquette to write to Ian Robertson, as the parish priest, to let him know what we had done. In reply I received a charming letter, which may perhaps be shared now with the readers of St. Cuthbert‟s Magazine.

12th August 1986

Dear Harry, I‟m delighted to know that your search for a house has at length succeeded. What a tribute to your good taste and sound judgement that you have been led to Benfieldside - to the very heart of it, in fact; congratulations! So far from being “dismayed,” I am very much looking forward to seeing you both. Let your part in the affairs of S. Cuthbert‟s be as prominent, or as obscure, as may seem convenient to you; I have every respect for your sense of propriety, and from the day of your induction at Medomsley, and the speech you made at the reception afterwards, I have known you to be “of the old-fashioned sort” (your words) so you need not be in the least apprehensive about the possibility of causing me embarrassment. I have had a little more definite news about my retirement, which is to take place (or rather, I suppose, “begin”) next June; the prospect of finding a place to live is a bit more definite than it seemed earlier in the year. But no doubt I will tell you a bit more about that later. With every good wish, Yours sincerely, Ian PS. Your Benfieldside address is almost back to back with our Dick Ridgley; he is a staunch churchman and will no doubt keep you up to date with parish affairs; at the same time, though no gossip, he will take care that I am not allowed to ignore you!

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We were sorry to learn of Ian‟s death on December 4, 2008. Averil and I had known him for 40 years or more as a friend and , when we were in Medomsley Vicarage, a clerical neighbour. He had been 57 years in Holy Orders, 27 of them as Vicar of Benfieldside.

Our sorrows deepened at the news of the death of another old friend and colleague, Eric Simpson, on December 21. Eric and I shared some years together at St. Chad‟s College in Durham. He had been ordained 51 years, and was for 29 years Vicar of Chopwell.

So two great clerics of the Derwent Valley have passed from the sceme. We must give thanks for them. May they rest in peace.

Harry Lee

And a much-loved former churchwarden…

Though we reported the death of Arthur Eld in our last issue, his funeral followed only after we went to press. The numbers present bore testimony to the high regard in which he was held - and it was good to welcome so many whose lives he had touched, not least the Leadgate Gleemen who sang for him. Sylvia thanks all who contributed to the British Heart Foundation in his memory, raising £640 of which £400 came from a collection in St. Cuthbert‟s - and she writes: Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your love, prayers and support during the past months which have been so difficult.

St. Cuthbert‟s Church has played a large part in Arthur‟s life: as choir master, PCC member, Church Warden - especially odd job man!

I have so many happy memories of the choir and the young choristers with whom he enjoyed working. There were ups and downs through the years in his church life, but he always bounced back.

Thank you for your friendship.

Sylvia, Shirley and Shaun To that we must return our thanks for Arthur - truly unique and irreplaceable person, and for the gift of his faith, friendship and service!

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Stained Glass in St. Cuthbert’s

Paul Heatherington, one of our Readers,

continues his series …

Lydia - a powerful businesswoman

The image of Lydia in the organ aisle shows a

well-dressed beautiful lady. Lydia was living in

Philippi when Paul, who was on his Second

Missionary journey (between 51-54 AD), met

Lydia. They met on the Sabbath by the river,

where they had gone to pray and worship God;

the Romans had authorised the Jews to use the

riverside in Philippi for worship.

Lydia was a ‘worshipper of God’. That means

she was a convert to Judaism. Lydia accepted

what Paul said about Jesus and became a

Christian. Not only Lydia, but her entire

household were baptized. Lydia persuaded Paul

and Silas to stay with her. ‘If you have judged

me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at

my home.’(Acts 16:15) Later, when Paul and

Silas were imprisoned, Lydia visited them and

attended to their needs.

Although Lydia’s name appears only twice in

Scripture (Acts 16), Lydia has several firsts: she

is the first convert in Europe; the first Christian

businesswoman; and when she opened her home

for Christian worship, it was the first home

church in Europe and the meeting place of the

first European church.

Lydia was a well-heeled and prominent

businesswoman. She sold articles dyed purple.

Although Lydia was a busy woman, she was not

too busy to take time for hospitality, as the

stained glass window seeks to show. Her right

hand has her palm outstretched in a welcoming

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gesture. Her left hand supports a basket, which seems to be crammed with

bread. Generous determined women are hugely important to the Church, as

Lydia herself proved. Generations of women have since copied her

example. The Dorcas and Lydia windows were erected in 1915 in memory

of Anne Annandale, ‘a true friend of all charitable organizations of this

parish,’ by her devoted husband.

NOTES Philippi was a city in Macedonia in Europe.

Purple: Purple dye was not produced cheaply until 1856. In the ancient world,

purple was a difficult colour to produce. The rich and deep purple dye was

obtained from mollusc shells and, because it was highly prized and highly

priced, it was often associated with the rich and powerful.

Lydia: Lydia was from Thyatira, a city in the western province of Lydia in

Asia Minor. Asia Minor means 'Lesser Asia'; it corresponds approximately to

present day Turkey. Lydia’s name might possibly have its origin in the place

name, that is, ‘someone from Lydia’.

Annandale was the name of the family which for generations were paper

manufacturers in Shotley Grove and Lintzford

In my next article the Dorcas window will be described....

Paul Heatherington ________________________________________________________

Celebrating St. Cuthbert

Friday 20th March at 7.00p.m.

SUNG PATRONAL EUCHARIST

Preacher: The Revd. Gary Birchall Vicar of Burnopfield, Area Dean of Lanchester

followed by a shared buffet supper.

Please bring something to eat that can be shared with others.

Bring a guest… Bring yourself!

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Notes & News

Hall News

This month we‟re advertising the Hall‟s Annual General Meeting - which is at 8p.m. on Monday 9

th March. It‟s one of those things we‟ve got to

have because the Hall is a charity in its own right, even though the Parochial Church Council is the Managing Trustee. So come if you can! There‟ll be the opportunity to hear the latest plans - and you should be able to see them as well, since the plans for the fitting out of the lower ground floor have now literally been drawn. We‟re presently waiting to hear more about landscaping below the car park, and we‟ve requested a tender for a handrail from the car park to the new entrance.

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.

________________________________________________________ The Brownie pack is one of the Hall‟s “User Groups” - and very valued they are! They would like us to know that they are once more collecting “active kids” vouchers from Sainsburys this year. So if you go there to do your shopping, please think of bringing them in! Thanks…

________________________________________________________ We‟re sorry to carry the news of the death of the Revd. Ron Johnson. Ron moved into the parish following his return to the North East after a ministry of school Chaplaincy at Eton and Eastbourne Colleges. His first acquaintance with the Church of England was at Christ Church, Consett - and it‟s in that parish that he has given valuable assistance in recent times. He‟s also become known to a number of our own parishioners through house group contacts - and it‟s good that members of St. Cuthbert‟s were amongst those who were present at his funeral, led by Peter Sinclair, Vicar of Consett, and Gary Birchall, our Area Dean. The diagnosis of Ron‟s cancer and his terminal condition came as a shock, and his death in mid-February came sooner still than expected. We share the sorrow of his family and the people of Christ Church. May he rest in peace.

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Annual Parochial Church Meeting & Reports

On Sunday 26th April, we will be holding our Annual Parochial

Church Meeting. This is the occasion when we elect churchwardens and members of the Parochial Church Council. The meeting will follow on after the main Sunday Eucharist - so go over to the Hall, get a cup of coffee and hang on! We hold the meeting in the morning to attract more people, and give a greater sense of involvement in the mainstream life of the parish. And we‟ll do our best to keep things quite brief and to the point.

So this is to ask you to start getting ready for the Annual Meeting - please get ready! Nomination sheets for the office of churchwarden (2), and the PCC (12 members, serving one year), will be found in church in due course. Standing for office, proposing someone else, and voting are all matters for careful (and prayerful) consideration. We look at our financial position too - if you‟d like to see detailed Parish Accounts in advance, please ask Irvine Macnair.

Before the meeting we need to revise our Electoral Roll - the list of all who may vote at the meeting. If you‟re on the Roll already, that‟s fine. If you‟re not, are uncertain as to whether you are, or want to know more, contact the Vicar, a Warden or Kelsey Buchanan, our Electoral Roll Officer. Forms for new members need to be returned by Thursday 2

nd April. The qualification

for membership is to be 16 years of age or more, together with residence in the parish or attendance at St. Cuthbert‟s over a period of 6 months.

Before the meeting we want to be able to print as many reports of parish organisations as possible - and we would like to include them in the April issue of this magazine. So please let the Vicar or our PCC Secretary, Jill Barron, have them as soon as possible, and no later than Sunday 22

nd

March. Send them by e-mail if at all possible. This way we can curt down on a lot of typing and copying, allow as many people as possible to read the reports, and keep the Annual Meeting shorter! Thanks…

St. Cuthbert’s Hall Annual General Meeting

Please join us at 8.00pm

on Monday 9th March 2008 in the Hall

St. Cuthbert’s Hall provides facilities for the whole

community - Registered Charity, no 1070977

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The Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary - 25 March

“On this day the Father made our salvation known to Mary by the message of an angel.” Traditionally known as „Lady Day‟, the festival of the Annunciation of our Lord is one of five commemorations in the Anglican calendar of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her conception is celebrated on the 8 December and her birth on the 8

th September. The other two festivals are The Visit of the

Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth on the 31 May and The Blessed Virgin Mary (the Assumption) on the 15

August.

The story of the Annunciation is recorded in scripture in Luke 1. In the sixth month after the conception of John the Baptist by Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Mary at Nazareth, a small town in the mountains of Galilee. Mary, a young innocent girl, was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a descendant of the royal family of David. When the angel greeted Mary she was troubled. But the angel went on to tell her that she had found favour with God, would conceive and bear a son who was to be named Jesus. Jesus would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High. He would inherit the throne of his ancestor David and would rule for ever. Mary was astonished and asked how this could be, since she was a virgin. The angel explained that the child who would be called Son of God would be born by the power of God and the Holy Spirit. In just the same way her cousin Elizabeth had conceived in her old age and was now in the sixth month of pregnancy. Nothing will be impossible with God. And so Mary responded in trust and obedience: “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”. The celebration of the Annunciation probably originated in the early 5

th

Century. In the eastern Orthodox tradition it is held in such high regard that it is always celebrated on the 25 March, even when this coincides with Good Friday or Easter Sunday. In the Western churches the feast is moved to prevent it falling during Holy Week, Easter Week or on a Sunday. The 25 March is close to the vernal equinox, as Christmas is to the winter solstice. So the Annunciation and Christmas were two of the four „quarter days‟ in mediaeval and early modern England, marking the divisions of the fiscal year – the others being the Nativity of John the Baptist (24 June) and the feast day of St Michael (29 September).

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The Annunciation is a frequent subject of poetry and art. Paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, and Murillo are among the most famous. The best-known poems are, perhaps: „Annunciation‟ by John Donne, „Ave Maria Gratia Plena‟ by Oscar Wilde, „The Annunciation‟ by Edwin Muir, „Mary and Gabriel‟ by Rupert Brooke and „The Annunciation‟ by Elizabeth Jennings.

From Rosie Junemann We’ll be celebrating this Feast at St. Cuthbert’s at the 7p.m. Eucharist on Tuesday 24

th March (the Eve of the Feast).

from „Mary and Gabriel‟ by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)

“He knelt unmoved, immortal; with his eyes Gazing beyond her, calm to the calm skies; Radiant, untroubled in his wisdom, kind. His sheaf of lilies stirred not in the wind. How should she, pitiful with mortality, Try the wide peace of that felicity With ripples of her perplexed shaken heart, And hints of human ecstasy, human smart, And whispers of the lonely weight she bore, And how her womb within was hers no more And at length hers? Being tired, she bowed her head; And said, “So be it!” The great wings were spread Showering glory on the fields, and fire. The whole air, singing, bore him up, and higher, Unswerving, unreluctant. Soon he shone A gold speck in the gold skies; then was gone.

The air was colder, and grey. She stood alone.”

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Finding God in Each Moment of the Day

Do you know the popular series of books entitled Where’s Wally? These books are filled with very detailed cartoon drawings in each of which is hidden Wally. He is dressed in a red and white striped ski cap and glasses and the challenge is to find Wally. You have to search for some time to pick him out of the crowd, but Wally is always there! In many ways, like finding Wally, we need to develop the skill of identifying God‟s presence in our daily lives. One approach that can help us to find God throughout the day is to do a daily review of our day with God. It can provide us with a means of seeing where God has been at work during our day. It‟s an opportunity of remembering how God has been at work and how we have responded to him. As the psalmist says, „On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night‟ (Ps 63:6). What does this look like in practice? Here is a step by step guide:

1. Be still for a moment, and quiet your mind.

2. Acknowledge that Jesus is present. Invite him to guide you.

3. Recall the beginning of the day, when you first woke up. Watch that scene, as if on film. What is your reaction to what you see? Talk to God about it.

4. Continue through the film of your day, going from scene to scene. As you reflect on each one, some scenes may fill you with gratitude, others with regret. Speak directly to God about this. You may also want to pray for those you encountered during the day.

5. End your review with a prayer of thanksgiving for God‟s mercy and love. Ask him to refresh you as you sleep.

As you begin reviewing your day with God regularly, you can expect to see two things beginning to happen: Firstly, you will become more aware of recurring negative patterns in your life, which will challenge these wrong attitudes and habits and increase your desire to grow and change.

Secondly, you will become more aware of God‟s presence in the ordinary moments of your life. And when you start experiencing the reality of God‟s presence with you every day, it‟s not ordinary any more!

Paul Hardingham - Parish Pump

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Signs and Symbols: The Sanctuary

When you think of a „Sanctuary‟ you probably think of somewhere safe: in a retreat, perhaps a refuge from harm, or a shelter in a storm. In the Middle Ages one could flee from the law to a place of sanctuary for so many days.

Even today one hears of cases where people have moved into the sanctuary of a church building to prevent their being taken either by the police or perhaps the immigration authorities.

The word Sanctuary comes from the Latin, „sanctus‟ meaning „Holy‟, so hence a church or other sacred place would count as a place of „sanctuary‟.

In a church the most holy place is considered to be where the bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ himself – the altar. Hence the close area around the altar is called „The Sanctuary‟. You can normally see where it begins by it having steps rising up to it and there being a rail around it. The rail reminds people that they are approaching a special place, and not to enter unless authorised to do so.

Some people will genuflect or bow to the altar (give it reverence) when they pass in front of it – whether a service is taking place or not - as their recognition of the uniqueness of what takes place there at the consecration.

In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem only the priests could enter the sanctuary, and the most central area – the Holy of Holies – was entered by only one priest on one day of the year. Hence the importance that Christians place on the tearing apart of the temple cloth when Christ died on the cross – the Holy of Holies is now visible and accessible.

Have a look at some different churches’ sanctuaries – how do they mark that this place is special? In your own life, what would you mark as special? Jo White - Parish Pump

Mothering Sunday

at St. Cuthbert‟s

22nd March 2008 at 10a.m.

You are invited to join in a special Eucharist for all ages

Other services at the regular times of 8a.m. & 6p.m.

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The Prayer of Distress

May the cross of the crucifixion tree Where the wounded back of the Christ we see Deliverance grant from distress to me, From death, from spell-binding to keep me free.

The cross of the Christ with no flaw at all, Full outstretched to me to answer my call; O God, bless unto me my mainmast tall Ere I go forth and whate‟ver may befall.

What harm soever for me in it be, O let me not take it away with me, For the sake of Christ who from guile is free, For the sake of the King, of virtues he.

In the name of the God of life above, In the holy name of the Christ of love, In the name of the Holy Spirit-Dove, The Three-One together my strength enough.

Ancient Celtic prayer of Tiree

**

Fulbert of Chartres (c 970 – 1028) was the son of a peasant family in

northern France, who rose to become bishop of Chartres. Publicly, he

was renowned for his witty and brilliant sermons. Privately, he was

conscious of his lowly origins and of the transience of worldly success.

Cannot escape myself...

Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end, the resurrection and the life, the perfect man who gave him life for sinners, I worship you, I adore you, I sing aloud your name. I am one of those whom you saved, whom you set free, when you died on the cross. You redeemed me from the slavery of sin. And yet I cannot escape the over-powering sense that I am still a wretched sinner, that my every action is worthless or evil. .. I am so stubborn that I cannot learn.. Lift the burden of wickedness; break down my stubbornness; root out my pride. Let me receive your life-giving love. Let me be free.

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From the Parish Registers

Holy Baptism

1 February Amelia May Jude 30 Granary Court, Consett

8 February Lucy Louise Wright 46 Rosedale Avenue, Blackhill

May they continue to follow Christ

Funerals

29 January Arthur Robert Eld aged 74 years Ashfield, Shotley Bridge

13 February Ronald Stanley Porter aged 74 years Benfieldside Road, Blackhill

23 February Annie Golightly aged 98 years Shotley Park

24 February Elsie Benson aged 94 years Brockwell Court, Consett

May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace ____________________________________________________________

Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, and the future to his providence.

St. Augustine

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