News & Notices 2nd November 2025
- St Mary's Parish Office
- Oct 31
- 6 min read
St Mary's Monkseaton # 282 November 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.
If you missed last week's service, or can't make this Sunday, you can catch up online.
Services: All Saints
8.00am Holy Communion
10.00am Holy Communion
4.00pm All Souls Memorial Service
All Souls Memorial Service
Our All Souls memorial Service will take place on Sunday 2nd November at 4pm. If you would like someone remembered during the service, then please add their name to the alphabetical list in the vestibule.
Eco Tip for the Week
Keep working towards your environmental goals, at both home and within the church community. All actions help.
St. Mary's holds a Bronze Eco Church award and is working towards our Silver accreditation. The detailed Eco Church survey asks questions about how the worshipping community expresses care for God's world in worship and teaching; in how churches look after buildings and land; in how they engage with the local community and in global campaigns, and in the personal lifestyle of the congregation.
To achieve the Bronze Award, the church had to score at least 25% in all categories of the survey; for Silver the requirement is 50%, and when going for Gold it must be 75%.
Toast Church is a new venture for children aged 4 to 11. It's an afterschool club consisting of songs, stories, crafts and prayers to give insight into what the Christian faith is all about. Younger children are welcome but parents will need to stay with them whereas older children can be dropped off and picked up. If you would prefer to wait, coffee and biscuits will be available in an area where you can observe your children. We are launching Toast Church with an event on 6th November where there will be a chance to see what it is all about and enjoy a hot dog. If you need any more information, contact clergy on either vicar@stmarysmonkseaton.org.uk or ctfairgrieve.lewis@gmail.com
OWLS
Our next meeting is on Friday 14th November, please sign up on the list in the vestibule of church before Sunday 9th November so that I can order food.
At the meeting we will be hearing one of Mary Cooper’s Journey Stories after lunch. Also it’s the last opportunity to sign up for OWLS CHRISTMAS LUNCH on Friday 12th December at 12.30 to be held at Whitley Bay Golf Course restaurant.
During the meeting you will also be choosing your meal and paying a £5 deposit required for that celebration meal.
I look forward to seeing you at the November meeting, if you can’t make it on the 14th November please contact me if you want to come to the Christmas Lunch.
Thanks,
Beryl Austoni. Tel 07808 078894
Older, Wiser, Living Spiritually
LLF Open Letter
Dear friends,
I hope by now that some of you will have seen that Inclusive Church have produced an Open Letter for folk to sign in response to the recent news from the House of Bishops around Living in Love and Faith (LLF).
Whilst Inclusive Church are ecumenical we are aware that we have a lot of CofE members, and it felt appropriate to offer this response for and with them.
We would be very grateful if all our membership would be willing to share the letter and help ensure it reaches all those who might like to sign.
We have pitched the letter in such a way as to enable the maximum response and support; to gently encourage the inclusive majority who have been largely silent, to now speak up. For those for whom the letter does not go far enough we would encourage you to sign the Open Letter, but to also write to your bishops and MPs individually.
If the full inclusion, affirmation and involvement of LGBTQ+ people matters to you and you want to see it happen, please share the letter with your friends, family and church community with a personal note asking them to sign. It always makes a bigger impact when folk realise this affects someone they know, like and respect.
The letter is available to download on the webpage (linked below), if printing it out and showing it to people will help include those who might not otherwise come across it, please do so! There is a QR code on the letter that links back to the page and the form to sign. If you are able to assist those who are less confident online and help them with this, we want their voices heard too!
There will be some additional posts being released on our social media and Facebook page, including a short video (with voiceover) to help get the word out electronically. Please watch out for them and share, share, share!
Those who value deadlines - at this stage I am intending to have the form available till November 23rd, after which I will start collating the responses. But the faster the numbers climb, the more encouraging it will be to everything. And if we get to 10000 before then, I will be shouting it very loud to anyone and everyone!
Over 2300 have signed in the first 24 hours, which is a very good start.
Now it really is over to you to build the momentum and make sure we are heard.
Let's do this!
ps. It would probably be remiss of me not to add, the thought of how the capacity of Inclusive Church would be affected if each person who signed set up a weekly donation of Ł1 towards the work of IC (adding GiftAid if applicable), makes me quite giddy! Then we could really start making a difference... (I will happily provide BACs info)
Social Events Coming Soon...
Please enter your team on the form in the vestibule to give us an idea of numbers.
Tickets available by clicking the image above, or see Mike.
Gardens
We are tidying and putting the gardens to 'bed'. If you can spare half an hour or more to help us, it would be greatly appreciated.
Monday 3rd November, meet from 1pm.
Cheryl and the BaRG group.
100 Club
Many thanks to the 60 people who have subscribed to this year’s 100 Club. If we could find another 40 it would be ideal. Forms can be found in the vestibule.
Fund Raising for Edie Smart
You may remember in the Summer the tragic loss of a young girl aged 13, Edie Smart, following an accident on the sea front. Her football team are trying to raise funds in memory of her. If you are interested please follow the link below.
Table Tennis
You are invited to join in playing Table Tennis at St John's Methodist church hall, Ilfracombe Gardens, on Mondays from 3.30 to 5.30pm.
Christmas Fair
Our Christmas Fair will be held on Saturday 29th November.
Anyone who wants to be part of the fair, whether to help, whether to have a stall, whether to donate raffle or tombola prizes or whether to bring in cakes! Please contact Andrew Potter (andrewpotter@hotmail.com) for more details.
Church Windows Update
Things are starting to progress with the windows replacement.
Firstly, we’ve had a new estimate for the work.
The cost has risen significantly, due to the increasing cost of raw materials and a huge jump in the demand for glass.
We’re now looking at a cost - including VAT - of just over £100,000.
However - the windows fund has hit a remarkable £70,000! And we know more money is arriving all the time. This is remarkable figure and is thanks to the generosity of parishioners and to the hard work of those who have organised specific events. Unfortunately, it is proving very difficult to obtain grant monies although we continue to look for sources of funding. So we have decided to undertake the work in phases. This is to minimise future cost increases.
The initial proposal - after discussions with the contractors - is that all the upper windows are replaced, the office windows and the broken window in the Mel Weir suite. If funds allow, we will then do further work on the ground floor.
Once we have a time schedule for the work, we will let everyone know.
The church will not need to shut for services on Sundays.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to speak to Nigel, one of the wardens, or David Tompkins.
You can contribute by:
- cheque payable to "St Mary's Monkseaton" or cash (envelopes in church, with Gift Aid slips, into the wall-safe)
- by bank transfer to: Sort Code: 403418, Account: 04502086 Please give your surname as the 'reference'.
Please also email office@stmarysmonkseaton.org.uk if you are able to Gift Aid your donation
Saturday 1st November
No Marianum
Sunday 2nd November All Saints
8.00am: Holy Communion
10.00am: Holy Communion
4.00pm: All Souls Memorial
Monday 3rd November
9.30 Toddlers
Tuesday 4th November
10.00am: Craft Group
7.30pm: Church in the Kittiwake
Wednesday 5th November
9.00am: Morning Prayer
10.30am: Eucharist
Thursday 6th November
9.00am: Morning Prayer
Friday 7th November
Saturday 8th November
5.00pm: Marianum
Sunday 9th November Remembrance
8.00am: Holy Communion
10.00am: Holy Communion
4.00pm: Choral Evensong
Prayers
Your Prayers are requested for:
Martin Cooper, John Hughes, Jennifer Stephenson, Jill, Janet Minto, Don and Helen Bulmer, Monique Hughes, Ian Davies, Colleen and Stephen, Sheila Jones, Stuart Colter, Jill Horne, Mary Weir.
For those who have died recently
Kathleen Dales
Angela
Carole Marr
Those whose anniversaries of death fall at this time
Kenneth Humble
We also pray for
Holywell Avenue
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