Calendar
Saturday, 8th October
Concert of Sacred Music
This takes place at S Paul’s, Whitley Bay at 7.30pm. Anne Stewart has a few tickets and there will be tickets available on the door.
Sunday, 16th October
Sunday XXIX
High Mass at 10am
The Vicar will not be in the parish today so Canon Walter Hatchley has kindly agreed to come to celebrate and preach at the ONE MASS AT 10AM.
Canon Hatchley served curacies at the Coast and in Gosforth before becoming Vicar of S Francis, High Heaton, where he served until retirement.
There will be no evening service, since there is an event to which we are invited at S John’s Grainger Street.
Tuesday, 18th October
Saint Luke
Sung Mass at 7.30pm
Saint Luke is one of the four Evangelists (authors of the canonical Gospels in the New Testament) as well as the supposed author of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.
Saint Luke may have been one of the earliest members of the Christian community in Antioch. He seems to have been unmarried and a physician. Evidence from his writings and other New Testament texts suggests that he travelled with Saint Paul. He is said to have lived to the ripe old age of eighty-four. In the fourth century, his relics were translated from Thebes to Constantinople where they were housed in the Church of the Apostles. There is a pious legend that he painted one of the pictures in the Church of S Mary Major in Rome.
Canon Best, the Vicar of Haltwhistle, will be singing the Mass this evening.
Friday, 28th October
SS Simon & Jude
Sung Mass at 7.30pm
Saints Simon and Jude were two of Jesus’ inner circle of associates – the Twelve Apostles. Little is known of either man. According to Saint Luke he may have been a Zealot, part of the underground resistance to the Roman occupation. Saint Jude (sometimes identified with Thaddaeus listed in Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels) is considered the author of the Epistle that bears his name. Saint Jude is, for many, the Patron Saint of hopeless causes …
… which brings us to the Vicar. The day is the anniversary of the founding of the College of the Resurrection at Mirfield, where your Vicar was trained for the priesthood; so you will doubtless have something to say to God that day.
Tuesday, 1st November
All Saints’ Day
Procession and High Mass at 7.30pm
Originally the Dedication Festival of the Pantheon in Rome (when cartloads of relics were imported to sanctify the former pagan temple), the feast now commemorates not so much a person, but the phenomenon of sanctity which transforms human life. We remember not the high profile saints, but all those who quietly, but faithfully served Christ during their time on earth.
Wednesday, 2nd November
All Souls’ Day
High Mass of Requiem at 7.30pm
All souls’ day is an opportunity to gather together and remember all those who have, in their time, been important to us. This year, we shall be using for the music of the Mass, some of the proper melodies for Requiem Masses.
As well as All souls’ day, some people ask for a Mass of Requiem to be celebrated on or near the anniversary of death.
Friday, 11th November
Armistice Day
High Mass of Requiem at 7pm followed by a concert
At the High Mass of Requiem (for those from the Benefice who lost their lives in the Great War), the S James’s Singers will sing the Durufle Requiem. After refreshments, we shall return to church for a concert of music including the Faure Requiem. Tickets for the concert are £5 (concessions £3) – contact the Vicar.
Sunday, 27th November
Advent Sunday
Sung Mass at 9am; High Mass at 10.30am; Carol Service and Benediction at 4pm
Advent Sunday marks the beginning of the Church year. The four Sundays of Advent provide a time of preparation before Christmas. In years past, Advent was seen as a “little Lent”, but more recently, it has recaptured something of the feeling of anticipation: as we prepare to celebrate the Birth of Jesus into the world, we reflect also on our preparations for our encounter with Him when we leave this world.
Advent is, none-the-less, a season of simplicity and the Liturgy reflects this, putting a little more emphasis on the penitential aspect of our worship. During the penitential rite, we are sprinkled with water from the Font to remind us that our sins were washed away in Baptism. This rite is called “The Asperges” from the Latin of the text sung during the sprinkling (Asperges me, Domine …)
This might be a good moment to remind people that Holy Water is place in stoops at the doors to the Church. As you enter and leave, you are encouraged to dip your finger in the water and make the sign of the Cross. This reminds us of our Baptism, by which we became members of the Eucharistic Community; it is also a remnant of the ancient practice of cleansing oneself for worship – it does not take the inquiring mind of Sherlock Holmes to work out how these two ideas interplay with each other.
In the afternoon, there is an Advent Carol service at 4pm followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Vicarage.
On Advent Sunday the cycle of readings changes from Year A to Year B.
Wednesday, 30th November
S Andrew
Sung Mass at 7.30pm
Another Apostle. Although he was Saint Peter’s brother, Saint Andrew was not one of Jesus’ inner circle of three. He does, however, have quite a high profile in the Gospel accounts. He is the Patron Saint of Scotland.
Home page: http://stmatthewsnewcastle.org.uk/