The Benedict Partnership News April 2019

Transcription

1 The Benedict Partnership News April 2019 Welcome to the fifth edition of the Benedict Partnership Newsletter In this edition Reports from some of the Partnership Sub-groups List of current members of the PDG Report on the Global Healing event Report on the Oscar Romero film and talk Holy Week and Easter Services throughout the Partnership Do you have a group meeting regularly in your parish or church? A drop-in, craft group, coffee after Mass or breakfast group for example! How about inviting one or more of the Partnership Development Group members to join your gathering to join in an informal chat about partnership and the way ahead for our Benedict Partnership. Even if you are on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there! Mother Teresa Page

2 BENEDICT PARTNERSHIP VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT VISION The love of Jesus and the gospel are at the heart of our partnership. MISSION We come together as individuals and church communities to respond to the Lord s call to be disciples. We will value and build on the histories and strengths of our individual church communities. We will build on a strong foundation of spirituality, prayer and celebration. We will be an open and welcoming community where there is a place for all. We will encourage everyone to fulfil their unique potential providing support, formation and training. We will go out together with Christ to all! What is happening in other Partnerships? A good resource is the website below which is the Partnership Sharing area of the diocesan website: The site includes links to our partnership newsletter as well as those from other partnership areas. Page 2

3 The Benedict Partnership consists of the following parishes and churches within those parishes: Birtley St Joseph Chester-le-Street St Cuthbert Houghton-le-Spring St Michael Sacriston St Bede (served from St Cuthbert) Washington & Penshaw St John XXIII - the four churches of: Our Lady Queen of Peace Our Blessed Lady Immaculate St Bede St John Boste Current List of Priests and Deacons: St Cuthbert & St Bede Fr Christopher Jackson St Michael Fr William O Gorman Deacon Richard McLaughlin St John XXIII & St Joseph Fr Mark Millward Fr Jim O Keefe Fr Paul Hopper Deacon Chas Ferguson Deacon Peter Lavery Deacon Frank O Neill Acolyte Tony Joy Page 3

4 The Partnership Development Group (PDG)? The PDG is a group of people who have been invited to represent their parish, church, school or group within the Benedict Partnership. The group meet on a regular basis to plan for the future of the partnership, discuss ways in which the members of the partnership can work more closely and decide on actions that may need to be taken to enable us all to fulfil the mission of the church. At the PDG meeting on 23rd March it was decided that the PDG will continue in its current form for now but ways to include more equal representation in this group from each of the churches will be explored over the coming year with a view to refreshing one third of the PDG membership on a yearly basis. Current Members of the PDG Mick Davison, St Joseph - Chair Joan Formosa, St Bede (Washington) - Secretary Hannah Bartlett, St Joseph - Vice Chair Maria Ashburner (Our Lady Queen of Peace), Maria Byrne (Our Blessed Lady Immaculate), Andrew Cox (St John Boste), Catherine Davison (St Leonard s School), Ros Elliott (St Cuthbert), Deacon Chas Ferguson, Mark Harris (St John Boste), Fr Paul Hopper, Ian Hunter (St Bede, Sacriston), Fr Chris Jackson, Tony Joy (St John Boste), Joe Lavelle (St Cuthbert), Deacon Peter Lavery, Anne Marie McKenna (St Cuthbert), Deacon Richard McLaughlin, Fr Mark Millward, Barbara Reilly-O Donnell (Primary Schools), Chris O Neill (Our Blessed Lady Immaculate), Deacon Frank O Neill, Fr William O Gorman, Fr Jim O Keefe, Jim Taylor (St Robert of Newminster School), Sophie Taylor (St Joseph), Lorraine Thompson (St Michael), Emma Waldock (St Bede, Sacriston), Ian Willis (St Michael). Page 4

5 Your Church Needs You! We need to hear from you how you want your church and the Benedict Partnership to function in the future. The way to have your say is to join one or more of the sub-groups listed below and participate in the formation of the Benedict Partnership These are the sub-groups with the Link Person who feeds back from the sub-group to the main body of the PDG. PDG Mission and Vision Statement group Aim - to produce the PDG Mission and Vision Statement Link Person: Mick Davison Pastoral Care group Aim - to establish pastoral teams within each church. We will encourage and support all the valuable work both seen and unseen that is already being undertaken in our churches. We will look to the future pastoral needs of our communities and identify the resources, training and formation needed to meet these needs. Link Person: Maria Ashburner Next meeting 7pm Wednesday 22nd May at St Michael s Communications group Aim - to improve communication within the Partnership, including production of a quarterly Partnership Newsletter and provide recommendations on future developments. Link Person: Mark Harris - sj23it@gmail.com Next meeting 6 to 7pm Wednesday 8th May at St Michael s Young People group Aim - to help the young people in our parish communities experience a personal faith in Jesus and to provide opportunities for formation in how to live their lives to the full. Link Person: Frank O Neill Page 5

6 Prayer and Spirituality group Aim - to develop prayer and spirituality in our parishes to encourage people to get involved. Link People: Joe Lavelle and Joan Formosa Liturgy and Celebration group Aim - to encourage, co-ordinate and facilitate Liturgical and Celebration events within the partnership. Link People: Catherine Davison and Ann Marie McKenna Discipleship and Evangelisation group Aim - to build up communities of disciples in order to reach out to others as commanded in Matt 28:18. Link Person: Sophie Taylor Social Justice and Environment group Aim - to raise awareness within the Partnership about the poor and marginalised and to encourage people to work towards equality and justice for all, to seek to raise awareness of environmental issues and the responsibilities of the Partnership in exercising proper stewardship of God s creation. Link Person: Chris O Neill Finance, Property, HR and Admin group Aim - to develop Partnership-wide arrangements for the effective use of resources in supporting the delivery of the Partnership's Vision and Mission. Link People: Mick Davison and Rev Peter Lavery Social, Fund-raising and Fellowship group Aim - to offer opportunities to gather as faith communities in a social capacity. Link Person: Ann Marie McKenna Reports from the sub-groups Reports from the sub-groups to the PDG are now submitted in a brief format prior to the meeting. Some of these reports are included in the following pages. Page 6

7 Prayer and spirituality sub-group meeting 20 March 2019 Present: Joan Formosa, Joe Lavelle Identify prayer practice in each of our churches Review of prayer in the parishes. Find out who in our churches is leading prayer events. Contact other chairs to find out what they are doing. Partnership prayer meeting to be arranged. Perhaps organise a Partnership day retreat at Stanbrook Abbey More sharing of good practice in parishes. Publicise prayer events throughout the partnership. The way forward Find out the names of any volunteers from the Roadshow who were interested in prayer and spirituality. Make contact with them Recruit representatives from all churches. Encourage attendance at formation sessions re prayer and spirituality currently offered in the diocese. Arrange date of next meeting after new members have been recruited. Pastoral Care sub-group Report March Lead person Maria Ashburner St John XXIII- OLQP Church Team members and their Worshiping Communities St Michael s Lorraine Thompson, Norah Finnigan, Ian Caulfield, Kathleen Taylor St Joseph Peter Lavery, Margaret Taylor Our Blessed Lady Mary Berry Our Lady Queen of Peace Chas Ferguson St Bede (Washington) Joan Formosa Activities Meet bi monthly, last meeting 20 th March. We share the good practise being carried out within our church groups. Exploring how to reach out to the marginalised / those who perceive they are not welcome. Follow the progress of the Ministry of Consolation. Page 7

8 Plans/Proposals Review what we are about/what is pastoral care? Discuss the ministry of welcoming, how we carry it out, how well we do it and could/should we do it differently? Encourage membership from all churches in our Partnership. Guidance from PDG Definition of our role and expectations of our outcomes. Help in recruitment Communications Sub-group Report March 2019 Lead Person Mark Harris - St John Boste Team Members and their Worshiping Communities Our Blessed lady Immaculate Rebecca Beeby, Maria Byrne, Winifred Waite St John Boste Andrew Cox Activities Production and distribution of the January edition of the Partnership Newsletter. Reports on Partnership Events in the Northern Cross. Initial work on gathering a group to advise on a Partnership Website. Requests ed for inclusion of events in parish newsletters throughout the Partnership. Plans/Proposals Production and distribution of an April edition of the Partnership Newsletter to include a comprehensive list of Holy Week and Easter services for all churches in the Partnership. Consultation with a small group of website people working within the Partnership. Review the role of the communications sub-group. Recruit more members from across the Partnership. Page 8

9 Guidance/Decisions from the PDG What is the PDG's expectations of the communications subgroup? Assistance in recruiting more members from the parishes not represented on the sub-group. Social Justice and Environment Sub Group PDG Lead Person Chris O Neill - Our Blessed Lady Immaculate Group Members and their Worshipping Communities St John Boste Pam Baggaly, Kath Bengston, Jane Holly, Our Blessed Lady Maria Byrne, Charlotte Reed St Joseph s Kevin Haigh Our Lady Queen of Peace Margaret Lawson St Michael s Richard McLaughlin St John XXIII Jim O Keefe Activities *To audit the social justice and environment projects which already exist within our partnership churches and schools. * To link our work with the gospels. Studying and learning more about the Papal document Laudato Si and linking this with our work. * To produce resources to support aspects of the Liturgical calendar which are linked with social justice and the environment. *To try to raise awareness of social justice and environmental needs and issues in our partnership community. Plans/Proposals *To distribute our social justice and environment audit form throughout the partnership. *To collect and collate the information from completed forms to Page 9

10 inform future activities in our group. *To plan a family activity day event in support of the national Earth Day Network. *To publicise and generate support for local social justice and environment events in our area. Guidance/Decisions from the PDG *To consider suggestions from the PDG for activities which the social justice and environment may wish to support. *To assist our group in recruiting new members, especially from churches and schools which are not yet represented. Youth Section At the start of a recent conference, the author of Divine Renovation (James Mallon) posed 2 questions: what do we want from our parish? and what do we want for our parish? The first question is about what the parish/partnership should provide for us now; the second question is about what we want our parish/ partnership to be in the future. He made the point that, whatever the vision of the future is, the decisions we make now will have a direct impact on where we go next. With regard to the young people in our partnership, it seems important to try to answer the long-term question first so that any short-term decisions we make will move us towards that goal. We propose to have a meeting of people interested in youth provision/ministry. At the end of January, Fiona Standfield (Diocesan Chief Operating Officer), convened a meeting of representatives of various youth initiatives within the diocese (e.g. Diocesan dept for Youth, Lourdes, YMT, etc) with a view to creating a Diocesan Youth Strategy. The initial meeting was mostly information sharing among the various groups and they intend to have further meetings to firm up a strategy for the diocese as a whole. No doubt, there will be implications for the Partnerships as the strategy emerges and the PDG will be kept informed accordingly. Following some concerns raised by the diocesan HR department about the appointment of a parish youth worker, Fr Mark and Frank had a meeting with Katherine Nugent at the diocesan Page 10

11 offices. Given that the majority of the youth worker s time was to be spent between 4 schools, the view of the HR department was that the substantive post should be a school appointment rather than the parish, even though the parish was contributing the majority of the funding. Until this issue is resolved, the appointment of the youth worker has been put on hold. Flame 19. On 2 March, almost 900 souls, mainly young people, from our diocese made their way by coach to Wembley Arena for a Youth Congress organised by CYMFED (Catholic Youth Ministry Federation), chaired by our very own Fr Dermott Donnelly. In all, approximately 8,500 people took part in the event, including many bishops and Cardinal Vincent Nichols. The theme of the day was about Significance that God has a significant plan for each person s life and provides the grace and strength to fulfil that plan. This message was consistently promoted through music, dance, rap, drama, video and culminated in a period of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The day had a powerful impact on all who took part and the experience was well summed up by one of the young people from our own partnership: What an amazing day at Flame! Thank you so much to everyone for making it such a special time of reflection and making all 8,500 individuals realise that each and every one of us is significant to His kingdom. We are the only creation of ourselves, therefore, we must only aspire to be ourselves. No more Mirror, mirror, on Facebook, tell me how I m supposed to look Mirror, mirror, on Instagram, tell me who I really am. God used a mould to create us and once he was finished, rather than reusing it, he turned and said, Actually no, you are perfect, you have been given all the materials you need to succeed in life. There is no more use for this mould. and he discarded it. Therefore, we should never compare ourselves to those around us. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and stay in the lane he gave us to drive in. Page 11

12 The Partnership Online Here are a few sites you might find of interest. On this page you will find links to: Benedict Partnership's WW1 Centenary Poppy Memorial Celebrating Partnership Roadshow display material Our previous newsletters Links to information on other partnerships and their activities Our Parish Websites St Joseph s, Birtley St Cuthbert s Chester-le-Street St Michael s, Houghton-le-Spring St Bede s, Sacriston St John XXIII, Washington and Penshaw Facebook Pages / Is your parish website up to date? Is it as helpful as it could be for visitors to the area? Is it helpful to parishioners or local people wanting more current information about services, meetings and activities? Page 12

13 An Evening On Global Healing With Dr Carmody Grey On the evening of February 12 th at St Joseph s, Birtley, Dr Carmody Grey of Durham University helped us explore Pope Francis s, 2015 encyclical letter - Laudato Si On Care For Our Common Home. Reflecting later, I was reminded that many children throughout the diocese will know the hymn Our God is a great big God but I wondered if we realised just how big God is. The Brian Coxs of this world reckon our Universe (and there are many other universes) kicked off about 14 billion years ago. A mere 6 or so million years ago, the first ape like creatures began to walk upright in East Africa. Then about 1000 BC the first texts of the Bible began to be written down and Jesus was born around 2000 years ago. John s Gospel tells us that In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God... We usually associate the Word of God with the words of Jesus and the words of the Scriptures but clearly, God has been speaking to us for billions and millions of years through creation. The Word of God has been spoken for nearly 14 billion years in the rocks and dust and gases of the Universe, long before human beings were even able to speak or use words. The Word of God was expressed when the first singlecelled creatures swam in the primordial ooze and the dinosaurs roamed the earth. And God's word said "It was good". All of this - the whole of creation - is an immense gift of God. Pope Francis warns us, however, that we may be leaving to coming generations a wasteland full of debris, desolation and filth [LS 161]. The images of floating rafts of plastic pollution we have recently seen on our television screens are testament to this. Reflecting on the words of St Francis of Assisi, from which 'Laudato Si' (Praise be ) takes its name, Pope Francis reminds us that when we walk among trees and plants we are walking amongst our brothers and sisters and that: "the world is God's Page 13

14 loving gift... we are not disconnected from the rest of creation, but joined in a splendid universal communion" [LS 220]. Everything is holy there is nothing which is not holy except sin. Pope Francis quotes the challenging words of Patriarch Bartholomew who states: "For human beings to contaminate the earth s waters, its land, its air, and its life these are sins." For "to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God" [LS 8] Dr Carmody Grey invited us to look at Pope Francis letter and reflect deeply on its challenges and, in doing so, she helped us to take the first steps on a journey where we learn to fully respect "both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor" [LS49]. Fr Jim O'Keefe and Maria Byrne "Righting The Wrong" Oscar Romero - A Saint For Our Times An Evening with Julian Filochowski On the 14th October 2018, Oscar Romero was canonised by Pope Francis in St Peter's Square in Rome. In celebration of that event, on Tuesday 12th March, the Benedict Partnership was delighted to present an evening on the life of St Oscar Romero. The event commenced with refreshments and was hosted by St Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College. On a wet and stormy night, more than fifty hardy souls braved the elements for the world premiere of the English Version of the film "Righting The Wrong; Monseñor Romero, His People and Pope Francis". The 90 minute, Spanish language, subtitled film, which is not yet on general release, tells the story of Romero as he spoke out for the rights of the poor and the marginalised and against the torture and killings by the Government of El Salvador during the 1970s. The film included many moving audio and film clips of Romano himself and harrowing images of the immediate aftermath of Romero s martyrdom in 1980 as he celebrated Mass. The film also outlined the canonization process which followed. Page 14

15 Julian Filochowski, former Director of CAFOD and Trustee and Chairperson of the Archbishop Romero Trust, introduced the film and later shared his memories of Romero and of his experience of working in El Salvador during that time. A question and answer session followed. Here are a few thoughts shared by some of the audience after the presentation: It was thought provoking, well balanced and emotional without being sentimental. Oscar Romero was a man who trusted in God and lived the Gospel. We thought the whole night was very interesting. Julian Filochowski was so passionate about Romero and had such an indepth knowledge of the man, we felt that the two hours were not long enough and we were left wanting to know more. The main theme that emerged for me was that of change. Oscar Romero started out as quite a conservative priest but he saw what was happening and he knew things had to change. When he looked at the poor and saw how they were suffering and the way they were so unjustly treated, that s what brought about the change in him. Oscar Romero was murdered by his fellow Catholics, and then four of his own bishops tried to block his beatification and canonisation. I ask myself: what was the Church hierarchy afraid of? Romero is a saint for our times. Page 15

16 In an interview at the end of the evening Julian Filochowski shared this thought: "What Romero managed to do was to unite the active and the spiritual aspects of life - he was the great man of the synthesis. People are sometimes political activists with their faith tagged on, other people are very spiritual but they don't want to get involved in the world. Romero was not an activist nor a 'politician dressed up in a cassock' - something he was accused of. Equally he wasn't a prayerful man who closed his eyes to what was going on around him. Romero combined right teaching, right celebration of the liturgy and right action. That synthesis is the key thing - he had a love of God and a love of the poor but these weren't separate things, they reinforced each other. The more he loved the poor and saw Jesus amongst the poor, the more he loved God" Julian also present a framed photo of St Oscar Romero to each parish in the partnership and one for St Robert of Newminster School received on behalf of the school by Hannah Bartlett. Over the tea and coffee at the start of the Romero evening Rebecca McCormac and Katie Rackstraw, Year 12 students at Saint Robert of Newminster Catholic School and Sixth Form College in Washington talked about their involvement with the CAFOD and chaplaincy teams in the school. We put together a CAFOD notice board outside the Chapel because we thought it was really important to showcase CAFOD in the school and decided to include a poster of Oscar Romero in the middle of the display. Page 16

17 We are often in chapel because it is a quiet and peaceful place to be and Mr Taylor, our Chaplain, is there to talk to if anything is worrying us. From being Rebecca and Katie beside the school s CAFOD display. around the Chapel we got interested in CAFOD and have helped to raise money for them. We started with an Oscar Romero event, which included a liturgy which pupils and parishioners came to, as well as Fr Jim O Keefe just after he got back from the Canonisation in Rome. This was followed by a coffee morning where we had cupcakes with pictures of Oscar Romero s face on them and we received donations towards CAFOD. Believe it or not, there are people who want to stay in this country after BREXIT! Given the very large proportion of EU Citizens who are Catholic, this is likely to affect many parishioners in the coming months. For those who wish to stay, the Settlement Scheme is due to fully open by the end of March links to the application process can be found at: If you want to remain, or you know anyone who wants to remain and you are in any way confused by what is happening, then you may find help from a recently launched dedicated website from the European Commission: This site will offer impartial information about the Settlement Scheme. It will also give details about local information sessions and offers an option for parishes, groups or organisations to book an immigration solicitor free of charge to attend information sessions that they are hosting. This may be of help to people in our Partnership and to other folk who take a sneaky look at what s going on... Jim O Keefe Page 17

18 Partnership Reconciliation Services 7pm Monday 8th St Michael 7pm Wednesday 10th St Joseph 7pm Thursday 11th St John Boste 10am Wednesday 17th Mass at St Cuthbert s followed by 10.30am 6.30pm Sacrament of Reconciliation with adoration Maundy Thursday 7pm Good Friday 11am 3pm Partnership Holy Week and Easter Services and Events St Michael, St Joseph, St John Boste, St Bede (Sacriston) St Bede s (Washington) Service for families/children Service in all churches (some led by a lay person) Holy Saturday Vigil Mass 6pm St Joseph, St Michael 6:30pm St Cuthbert 7pm Easter Sunday St Bede (Washington) 8:30am St Bede (Washington) 9am St Bede (Sacriston) 9:30am St John Boste 10am St Michael, Our Lady Queen of Peace, St Joseph 10:30 St Cuthbert 11am 6pm Our Blessed lady Immaculate Our Blessed lady Immaculate Page 18

19 Stations of the Cross and Ecumenical Services During Holy Week 4pm Sunday 14th Our Blessed Lady Immaculate - Stations of the Cross. 7pm Tuesday 16th St Bede (Sacriston) - Stations of the Cross. 7pm Tuesday 16th Chester-le-Street Methodist Church - Churches Together Service. 12noon wed 17th Our Lady Queen of peace - Stations of the Cross followed by soup lunch. 6:30pm Wed 17th St John Boste - Stations of the Cross. Good Friday 10:15 St Cuthbert s - Stations of the Cross followed by Churches Together Walk of Witness. 11am Our Lady Queen of Peace - Ecumenical out-door Stations of the Cross. Beginning at Trinity Methodist church (opposite Shiny Row co-op) and walk to Our Lady Queen of Peace church, where there is tea and hot cross buns. These are wonderful opportunities to witness to our local community what Good Friday means. Words inspired by the Global Healing Evening reported on in this newsletter REQUIEM FOR A BEE Can I mourn for a bee its life force leaking out on the pavement before me; soon to be lost to the circle of life? Or is a bee too small to warrant my attention? Yet something captures me, arrests me; An identification a sense of connection. Together we share a part in this immense creation. And I still to honour my brother. Page 19

20 What Partnership event or activity would you like to happen in 2019? How can we come together socially and/or spiritually across the Benedict Partnership? Any suggestions will be welcomed by any PDG member or Do you have something for the next edition? You are invited to submit comments, suggestions, ideas, fears, hopes and anything else for inclusion in the next edition of the Partnership Newsletter - due out in July. Hand your article to a member of the PDG or send by to: sj23it@gmail.com - (please note new address) A Prayer for Our Partnership Risen Christ, from your abundant grace, pour out afresh your Holy Spirit upon our Diocese. As we build on the deep foundations of faith laid by the countless saints of these Northern lands, by Aidan and Cuthbert, Hilda and Bede, may our Partnership of Benedict continue the mission of building your Kingdom on the earth: to give living witness to your love, and to your compassion and hope for our world. We pray in trustful confidence that your power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Through the same Christ our Lord, Amen. Adapted from the diocesan website: Registered Charity Number Page 20