St Mary's Monkseaton # 246 January 2025
Vicar: Rev Nigel Taylor email: vicar@stmarysmonkseaton.org.uk
Curate: Rev Claire Lewis email: ctfairgrieve.lewis@gmail.com
Please note: Nigel and Claire are not available on their day off which is Friday.

Find out more about our upcoming Services here.
If you missed last week's service, or can't make this Sunday, you can catch up online.
Holy Communion: Third Sunday of Epiphany
8am Holy Communion
10.00am Holy Communion
4.00pm Cafe Church
6.30pm St Mary's Youth Group
Sunday 10.00am Service; 2nd February. Presentation of Christ (Candlemass)
We will be blessing candles as part of this service so if you would like to bring a candle from home to be blessed you be very welcome to.
A New Congregation: 'Marianum'

In 2024 I promised to start a 'New Congregation', to build a missional group, who will be nurtured in faith with the aim of being focused on the community in which they live, and to provide an alternative form of worship to that offered on a Sunday morning. With Claire joining us, this is now possible.
This is not a replacement for our Sunday morning services, but an opportunity to reach new people and people who may travel some distance out of parish to find a style of worship that engages them. Our Sunday morning worship is flourishing but we need to recognise that this style of worship may not be to everyone's taste. In addition, our Sunday morning congregation is not growing younger, and many have served tirelessly. As a busy church, we need new people to help us to continue to serve our community as it has in the past.
The new service will begin on Saturday 1st February at 5.00pm
The format will be :
Worship songs to begin
A confession
Readings (Based on a theme not the lectionary)
Prayers
Worship songs
Shared Meal
The service will be family oriented where there will be worship and teaching for adults and the chance to dance and play for children. If you interested in supporting us with your presence (You will not be asked to do a job) then please let Claire know.
Environment Conference
Please see the link below for conference on the environment open to all. As a church we are committed to improving the environment in which we live and this is an opportunity to learn and gain new ideas. The conference is organised by John Appleby so please ask him any questions you may have.
Parish Directory and Communications.
We are refreshing our Parish Directory this month. If you would like to be included, please complete a 'Contact Details, Data Privacy and Consent' form which you will find at the back of church. If you have not completed a form, we will not put you in the directory and you will not receive any communications from us. The link below takes you to the form which you can print out and return to the office.
PCC Meeting on 15 January
PCC met last week and as ever there was a wide ranging agenda to consider. Our financial position is stable and we finished the church financial year on 31 December 2024 with a very similar amount of money as at the start of the year. Safeguarding in its widest form is always on the agenda and this month we agreed the Church Social Media Policy. Several teams of people have been established to write sections of our church action plan and to look at the current structure of all of the groups and committees in our church that enable it to operate on a week by week basis. These teams will have a short life and it is hoped their recommendations will be presented to PCC in March. Some possible designs for the new windows were briefly studied but we need Diocesan approval to have different styles to the current ones and this is currently being checked. Plans for new visual equipment in church was also discussed and plans are in the foyer for everyone to see and add their comments. Liz Hayes, Lay Chair of PCC.
New “St Mary’s Music Notes” WhatsApp Group
This new group is open to anyone interested in finding out more about the music in our services. Posts will include lists of the hymns and other music being included, together with some insights into why they were chosen, how they are appropriate to the day or season, and backgrounds to their composition.
To join, either speak to Mike or Penny, or pop your details on the form on the table in the vestibule.
Journey through the bible
It's not too late to join!
Would you like to know your bible better? Claire is offering a story based look at the bible. It's a 12 week course exploring six old testament and six new testament stories to give an overview of the journey of the people of God. We will hear the stories, there will be a short time for discussion and questions and then lunch. Next Meeting is Wednesday 29th January.
Volunteers for Burns Night Ceilidh: 31st January 6pm
Tickets are selling quickly for the Burns night which is great news. We need of a small team of volunteers to help.
We also need some raffle prizes.
All profits will be going to the 'New Window and building improvement fund'
Prayer and contemplation
As a church, St Mary's has a history of being a praying community with a focus on contemplative worship. A focus for this is our 'Escape' service on the afternoon of the first Sunday each month. In addition we have Morning and Evening prayer on Monday through to Thursday. Having time to pray and carving that time out of busy lives is not easy. A useful resource that might help you in your prayer life is Fr Richard Rohr's 'Center for Action and Contemplation' daily meditations. If you are interested in using these, the link below will take you to the website.

Saturday 25th January
10.00 Parish Walk (Weather permitting)
Sunday 26th January (Epiphany 3))
8am: Holy Communion
10am:Holy Communion
4pm: Cafe Church
6.30pm: St Mary's Youth Group
Monday 27th January
9.00am: Morning Prayer
9.30am Toddlers
4.30pm: Evening Prayer
Tuesday 28th January
9.00am: Morning Prayer
10.00: Craft Group
4.30pm: Evening Prayer
7.30pm: Church in the Kittiwake
Wednesday 29th January
9.00am: Morning Prayer
10.30am: Holy Communion
12.00 midday: Introduction to the bible
4.30pm: Evening Prayer
6pm: Choir
Thursday 30th January
9.00am: Morning Prayer
9.30-11am: Pop in Cafe
4.30pm: Evening Prayer
7.30pm: Bible Group (Ron's House, contact Nigel or Claire for details)
Friday 31st January
Office closed.
6pm Burns night Celiidh
Saturday 1st February
Office Closed
Sunday 2nd February Presentation of Christ at the Temple (Candlemass)
8am: Holy Communion
10am: Holy Communion
4.00pm: Escape
6.30pm: St Mary's Youth Group

Prayers
Your Prayers are requested for:
Sophie, Martin Cooper, John Hughes, Suzanne, Iris Allan, Jennifer Stephenson, Audrey Searle and Jill.
Rest in Peace
Harry Shotton, Gerry, Ruth Wolf
Remembering also those whose anniversaries of death fall at this time:
Margaret Campbell
We also pray for all residents of Carolyn Way
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