Weekly News Sheets

 St John’s Church, Neville’s Cross

We are encouraging as many people as possible to receive this weekly news sheet via email.  Please click here to contact the Rector’s Secretary to be added to the distribution list. This helps to keep our costs down and also reduce our carbon footprint.

 

This Sunday (6th October) there will be a Communion Service in church at 8.45 am and 10.30 am (with Rev Barnaby Huish preaching and presiding at both services).  The 10.30 am service will be broadcast live (available to view on our Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/StJohnschurchnevillescross. We will also be celebrating our Harvest Festival this Sunday (6th October).

Gifts of non-perishable food will be gratefully received at the morning services and given to the County Durham Foodbank (durham.foodbank.org.uk).  Urgently needed items include:

  • long-life fruit juice
  • coffee
  • tinned fruit
  • rice pudding
  • jam/preserves
  • toiletries

(currently they have plenty of pasta, tinned vegetables, meat, baked beans, pasta sauce, tea – but all gifts are gratefully received).

Taste will resume normal service this Sunday, 6th October.  We meet in Church at 6.30 pm for light refreshments (contributions gratefully received).  Our guest will be Rachel Lillycrop who will tell us something of her journey of faith.  We aim to finish for 8.00 pm.  I look forward to seeing you there.  Mike.

Sunday morning children’s/teenagers’ groups: As of this term we are re-establishing a younger-age group for Sunday mornings, in addition to our Primary-age group (John’s Juniors) and Think Tank (which covers older Primary and Secondary-age children).  We are restarting ‘Funky Monkeys’*, which is a pre-school/Reception-age group, aimed at ages 2-4, which meets in the tearoom downstairs. (*name tbc!) We also provide a soft ‘crêche’ area for younger children (with parental supervision); this is currently in the church itself, but if parents prefer it could be moved to the foyer (to be nearer Funky Monkeys).  There has always been a degree of fluidity in terms of the age boundaries between our various groups.  Please pray for more children, and also leaders and helpers, to come forward to help make our vision viable in the longer term.  We aim to provide thoughtful, engaging, fun, age-appropriate Christian engagement for each of these age groups.  Please let Alex or Barney know if you would be willing to help.

Romans Course – part 2: Following on from our Lent course earlier this year, Jon Wilkinson will be guiding us through the second half of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, using the same video-based resource (https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/resources/the-romans-course).  All are welcome, it doesn’t matter if you weren’t here for part 1 and it’s ok if you can’t make all the sessions; the course will be running on Thursday evenings next month, 7 pm -9 pm (there are 5 sessions and 5 Thursdays: 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st October).

Romans session 6 is titled ‘Hope’.  We have reached the summit of the mountain and survey the panorama of salvation, looking at the hope we have now in the present, and the hope we have for eternity, not only for us, but also for the whole of creation.’  It is a wonderful session, join us if you can!

The next Open Door session is on Wednesday 16th October.  Do come and join us from 10.00 am – 12 noon for coffee/tea, conversation and cake and support this worthwhile cause.

Invitation from St John’s Mothers Union to all members of the congregation: October Meeting – next meeting Monday 14 October at 1.45pm in church. Our speaker will be Alex Walker (Children, Youth & Families Worker) who is going to talk about his journey of faith and work at St John’s. Please join us.

Prayer Meeting: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain,’ Psalm 127.  There are many opportunities for prayer at St John’s, and one of them is the monthly Church Prayer Meeting on Saturday morning at 9.30. Our next meetings are on Saturday 12th October at 9.30 and 9th  November, when we pray for the Church and the world; please join us if you can.

Messy Church: It was wonderful to welcome 27 children and their accompanying adults to our last Messy Church.  We look forward to meeting again on Sundays 13th October and 10th November from 4-6pm.

From the Open Door Team: A huge ‘Thank you’ to all who attended Open Door on Tuesday.  The donations totalled £252.75 for Macmillan Cancer Care.

October Holiday Club: A big thanks again to all those who helped over the summer – well over 70 different adults and children attended our activities during the six weeks, supported by 28 volunteers from St John’s, St Edmund’s, and Bearpark Methodist Church.  (We averaged 25 kids/week).  I am currently exploring whether it’s feasible to put on a similar event/events in October Half Term, with craft activities offered on Monday 28th and a cooking project on Thursday 31st.  If you are available on either day and would be happy to come and help, please let me know asap, so I can determine how likely we are to manage either of these.  On both days, helpers would be needed from around 9:30am – 1:00pm ish (with some flexibility if needed).  Please get in touch with Amy via the Contact Form or in person.

Angels and Stockings – Help needed: In recent years, knitted angels have been hung outside the church at Christmas for the local community to collect and are hugely popular.  Last year one made its way to New Zealand!  A pattern is attached to this email. Please put any in the box in the foyer by Sunday 1st December. Members have also knitted stockings, just big enough to hold a small tube of Smarties, which have been distributed by the Food Bank in December. Again, a pattern is attached.  Please leave these in church by 1st December.

Please contact Elizabeth, Kath, Annette or Judith for further details, either in person or via the Contact Form.

Welcome cards: if you are new to St John’s: welcome!  You are invited to fill out one of the ‘Welcome to St John’s’ cards, which can be found in the pews; it will enable us to get in touch and say hello, and also, if you wish, for us to stay in touch and keep you informed.

Would you like to read or lead prayers (intercessions) in church from time to time on Sunday mornings? If so please contact the Rector or Rector’s Secretary.  Training/guidance/encouragement will be given.

Music on Sundays: If you would be interested in receiving a notification on Saturday, about the hymns/sheet music for the 10.30 am service on Sunday please let Amy know in person or via the Contact Form.

Prayer:  A number of us meet on Zoom every Monday morning at 09.30 to say Morning Prayer together.  This is in addition to the Prayer Meeting in church at 09.30 on the second Saturday of the month (12th October etc).  To join us for Morning Prayer, regularly or on occasion, contact the Rector, Jo Cundy or Mike Chater in the first instance and we will ensure that you receive the Zoom link.  It is so important for the life of the church that we pray together.

Neville’s Cross Community Choir meets every Tuesday evening, 7pm-9pm, and costs £4 per session, which includes refreshments.  There are no auditions and no attendance requirements.  New members always welcome. Contact us at nxcc.durham@gmail.com.

AV Volunteers needed: Those who are hard of hearing find having the AV system on helpful.  We need more volunteers at the 8.45 service to join the rota to do this useful task.  It involves turning on a laptop, putting out the microphones for clergy and the lectern, and muting them when not needed.  Someone could sit beside you while you learned what was involved.  Your help would be very much appreciated.  Please contact Judith, Jan or Jenny to find out more.

Durham Churches Together Ecumenical Service for the Season of Creation: Sunday 6th October, 4 pm at St Cuthbert’s Church, North Road, Durham. Led by Rev Canon Caroline Dick.  All welcome.

Durham Churches Together Eco Churches Lunch: Saturday 26th October, 12.30 pm at North Road Methodist Church Lower Hall. Speaker from Refuse Café.  Please come and join us!  If you would like to bring a small contribution of salad, it would be appreciated.  If you intend to go, please RSVP to christinajc.thomas@gmail.com

 

PRAYERS AND READINGS FOR THIS WEEK:

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY – 29th SEPTEMBER

Hymns for 8.45 am service:

  • Come ye faithful people, come (144)
  • To Thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise (780)
  • All creatures of our God and King (10)

Collect

Eternal God, you crown the year with your goodness and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season: grant that we may use them to your glory, for the relief of those in need and for our own well-being; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Alternative Collect

Creator God, you made the goodness of the land, the riches of the sea and the rhythm of the seasons; as we thank you for the harvest, may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings  

  • Joel 2.21-27
  • 1 Timothy 6.6-10
  • Matthew 6.25-33

Post Communion

Lord of the harvest, with joy we have offered thanksgiving for your love in creation and have shared in the bread and the wine of the kingdom: by your grace plant within us a reverence for all that you give us and make us generous and wise stewards of the good things we enjoy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings for Next Sunday:

  • Amos 5.6-7,10-15;
  • Hebrews 4.12-16;
  • Mark 10.17-31

 

Angel Knitting Pattern
Christmas Stocking