Pentecost Sunday
This Sunday we welcome the young people from St. Alban’s and St. Patrick’s who have expressed an interest to be confirmed later in the year. They will be enrolled into the preparation programme during Mass in St. Patrick’s Church
Please keep them and their families in your prayers during the time leading up to their Confirmation which will take place on the Feast of Christ the King, 26th November, 2023.
You may like to use the following prayer to remember them:-
God our Father, we thank you for our young people
who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
You call each one of them by name and promise that,
whatever happens in their lives, you will be with them always.
We pray that this journey to Confirmation will be an opportunity
for them to deepen their faith and renew their hope in you
so that your love may shine through them to the world.
Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their helper and guide.
Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of right judgement and courage,
the spirit of knowledge and reverence.
Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
All are welcome
Everyone is welcome to join us for the celebration of Mass in St. Patrick’s and St. Alban’s churches. It is a joy to welcome people of other faiths or none who 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.
Parish Walk
An enjoyable day was had last Saturday by those who joined our Parish Walk – the glorious sunny weather was a most welcome bonus, once the sea mist had dispersed! Thanks to those who organised it, supported it and to those who sponsored the walk. So far, £155.00 has been raised for Cafod.
Think Tank
If you would like to become part of our parish “Think Tank” to explore how we might move forward as we continue to emerge from the effects of the pandemic, you would be welcome to a gathering in St. Patrick’s parish centre on Friday, 9th June at 6.30pm. So far, we have engaged in a variety of social events and the recent parish walk, all of which have been appreciated by those who have taken part. So do come along and bring your ideas and perhaps a friend!
Parking in our church car parks
Please be aware that the Trustees of the Diocese cannot accept responsibility for injury, loss or damage to third party property, vehicles and their contents whilst left in the church car parks.
Masses and Liturgies
The following celebrations will take place during the coming weeks.
- Saturday: (27th May) 6pm Mass in St. Alban’s Church: The Intentions of all our parishioners
- Sunday: (28th May) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: Jim and Michael McErlane
- Tuesday: (30th May) 10am Service of the Word with Holy Communion in St. Patrick’s Church
- Saturday: (3rd June) 6pm Service in St. Alban’s Church
- Sunday: (4th June) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: Kathleen Falconer
- Tuesday: (6th June ) 10am Service of the Word with Holy Communion in St. Patrick’s Church
- Saturday: (10th June) 6pm Mass in St. Alban’s Church: Leonard Robinson
- Sunday: (11th June) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: Ann Lannighan
- Tuesday: (13th June) 10am Service of the Word with Holy Communion in St. Patrick’s Church
- Saturday: (17th June) 6pm Mass in St. Alban’s Church: Sandra Dorrian
- Sunday: (18th June) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: George Owens
- Tuesday: (20th June) 10am Service of the Word with Holy Communion in St. Patrick’s Church
- Saturday: (24th June) 6pm Mass in St. Alban’s Church: Intentions of MD
- Sunday: (25th June) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: Michael Prendergast
- Tuesday: (27th June) 10am Service of the Word with Holy Communion in St. Patrick’s Church
- Saturday: (1st July) 6pm Mass in St. Alban’s Church: Private Intention (NF)
- Sunday: (2nd July) 10am Mass in St. Patrick’s Church: Jim McGee
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; Fr. Pat O’Connell who is in hospital and,
- all those whose memories we cherish at this time
Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons
Each week Bishop Barron offers a Sunday sermon.
Special Collections
During the coming weeks you will have the opportunity, if you wish to do so, to contribute to the following causes:-
- 28th May: Diocesan Lay Training Fund
- 18th June: Day for Life
- 2nd July: Peter’s Pence
Should you wish to contribute to any of these collections please place you donation into an envelope marked with the name of the collection and deposit it in the collecting boxes at the entrance to our churches. Parishioners who have boxes of envelopes should have the necessary envelopes included.
No collection taken
Although we do not take a collection at Mass by passing round a basket, we do hope you will feel able to make an offering towards the upkeep and running costs of our churches in one of the boxes you will find at the entrances to our churches. Your offerings are our sole source of income. Alternatively you may consider making your offering by Standing Order the details of which are above.
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
News from our School
Following the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, we will be celebrating the Feast of Pentecost with the children in school. They have all been learning the story and taking part in activities in class. We plan to have a Pentecost party in school with a red theme to close our half term.
Little Sisters of the Poor Job Vacancy
The Little Sisters of the Poor run St. Joseph’s Home for the elderly in Newcastle. This is a friendly, relaxed, well-equipped Home with over 105 staff. Registered Nurses are required for a Day shift – 37.5 hours per week, Shifts are 8am-4pm, 1pm-9pm; and Night shift 20 hours per week, 9pm-8am. Two references and an enhanced DBS check are required. For more information please contact Lee-Marie on 0191 273 1279 or email lee.marie@lsplondon.co.uk
Telephoning the presbytery
If you telephone the presbytery and there is no-one available to take your call, you may choose to leave a message. We will do all we can to return your call at the earliest opportunity. For safeguarding reasons, we are unable to return anonymous calls, so please leave both your name and number for your call to be returned. For security reasons, the parish telephone number is sometimes withheld for outgoing calls, so please bear this in mind if you are expecting us to return your call.
The Diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project
Thanks to your support, each month over 400 people who are seeking asylum in our area benefit from this project. Should you wish to support the project, donations of sugar, biscuits, tinned fish in oil, tins of tomatoes, chick peas, toiletries and shampoo may be left on the table to your right as you enter the front of St. Patrick’s Church or on any table if you enter by the rear door. A basket is also available in the porch of St. Alban’s Church and in our school.
A stay in Hospital
If you or any members of your family are going into hospital and would like to see the Catholic Chaplain, please ask a member of the ward staff to contact the Catholic Chaplain. Alternatively you can contact the Chaplaincy Department Office directly. For the Queen Elizabeth Hospital telephone 0191 445 2072 (Catholic Chaplain: Rev Paul Nichol). For the RVI and Freeman Hospitals in Newcastle telephone 0191 282 9322 (Catholic Chaplain: Rev Paddy Jackson).
In an emergency, please ask the ward sister to contact the on call Catholic chaplain who carries a bleep. Please do not contact your own parish priest who may be unable to respond due to current hospital protocols.
……..invites you to a talk by Chris Maunder on Our Lady of the Nations – Apparitions of Mary in 20th Century Catholic Europe at St Cuthbert’s Church Hall, North Shields, on Wednesday at 19.30. Chris Maunder is a retired Senior Lecturer and Visiting Fellow, Theology & Religious Studies, at York St John University, and a researcher and writer in the area of Marian Studies. The title of his talk is that of his book (2016, Oxford University Press). A scholar of Catholic popular religion in professional life, he is also passionate about Marian shrines, visiting them across Europe and helping to maintain his local shrine, a 15th-century rock chapel in Knaresborough. ~ Michael Kerrigan Newman Association, Tyneside Circle
Cafod Campaign: Fix the Food System
Cafod’s food campaign is urging the UK government to protect the right of farmers around the world to use their seeds. Seeds are life. They are the very foundation for farmers to produce the food that feeds us all. For generations, small-scale farmers have freely swapped and shared a wide variety of seeds to produce food and maintain biodiversity. More recently, farmers have also developed seeds that ensure crops are resilient to climate change.
However, the freedom of farmers to choose what seeds they use is under threat as the World Bank supports new laws which push farmers towards using seeds sold by big agri-business. These laws, which are being brought in with the support of global financial institutions such as the World Bank, overwhelmingly favour large agri-businesses. Instead of being able to choose their own seeds, small farmers must purchase commercial seeds – something that is good for big business profits but not so good for the farmers who grow the majority of the world’s food. It’s clear that our current global food system is in crisis, and at the heart of this crisis is a struggle over control of the world’s seeds. Protecting the freedom of farmers to choose seeds is a right we must all stand up for if we are to tackle global hunger while responding to the cry of the earth and the poor. All across the Hexham & Newcastle Diocese, parishes are being asked to raise awareness of these issues. There is some publicity available if anyone wishes to take on this responsibility. Full information about this is available on Fix the Food System (cafod.org.uk)