From the Registers

Funeral at St. John’s1st February - Thomas POUTON7th February - Irene LEE28th February -John STOREY

Funeral at Crematorium2nd February - Edith HUNTER8th February - Robert William CHEESEY9th February - Joan STEPHENSON

- Joseph LONSDALE23rd February - Robert Lawson THOMPSON

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Wed. 1 st . March is Ash Wednesday:

9.00 am St. John’s, Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes7.00 pm St. John’s, Holy Eucharist with Imposition of Ashes

Women’s World Day of Prayer: Friday 3rd March 10.30 at St. Patrick’s Church, Langley Moor.

The service has been prepared by Christian Women of the Philippians. This annual event is always an inspiring and thought provoking occasion.

‘Talking Jesus’ events: 2nd – 5th March (see inside) and St. John’s ‘Open Church’ Sat. 4th March 10.00 – 2.00 pm

Prayer for Our Churches: St Patrick’s Parish Centre, Tues. 14th March, 09.30 - 10.15 am. All welcome.

Brandon Parish MagazineMarch 2017

St. John’s Church, Brandon & St. Catherine’s Church, New Brancepeth

Sunday servicesSt. John’s - 9.45 am Holy Eucharist St. Catherine’s - 8:45 am Holy Eucharist Weekday services – followed by tea/coffeeWed. 9.00 am St. John’s – Holy Eucharist Thurs. 9.30 am St. Catherine’s – Holy Eucharist Evening Service: Mon. 7.00 pm St. John’s – Holy Eucharist

Revd. Carl Peters, The Clergy House, Sawmill Lane, Brandon, Durham, DH7 8NS. Tel: 0191 6803875Other Contact Telephone NumbersSt. John’s: David (Churchwarden) – 3789718; Denise - 3781285 St. Catherine’s: Joe (Churchwarden) – 3739927; Liz - 3731554Website http://www.brandonparish.org.uk/Welcome.htmh ttps://www.facebook.com/StJohnTheEvangelistChurchBrandon https://www.facebook.com/StCatherinesChurchNewBrancepethhttps://www.facebook.com/Stjohnschurchhallmeadowfield

Events:

Churches Together Lent Group: Fridays 2.00 – 3.00 pm starting 10th March at St. Brandon’s Church Hall in Brancepeth and then the following four Fridays. The York Course, ‘Receiving Christ in five different ways’; CD introduction and discussion. Session 1: Receiving Christ: as children of GodSession 2: Receiving Christ: in the stranger and the needySession 3: Receiving Christ: in Holy Communion Session 4: Receiving Christ: through prayer and fellowshipSession 5: ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1.27)

The word ‘Lent’ comes from the Old English ‘Lencten’ meaning the lengthening of days and the coming of spring, a beautiful picture of God’s renewing of our lives. In the Christian Church Lent is the great time of preparation beginning with Ash Wednesday and leading to the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection at Easter.

In the Early Church it was a time when new believers were prepared for baptism on Easter day. It was a tough time with the intention of achieving a serious change of lifestyle for someone who really wanted to be a disciple of Jesus.

The forty days (the six Sundays were Resurrection days), became for all Christians a time of self-examination and repentance, often including some fasting as well as prayer. Today we think of the forty days as reflecting the time Jesus spent in the desert preparing for his ministry. It is a time to seek God’s grace to make changes in our lives.

For your prayers:

1. ‘TALKING JESUS’ event at the start of Lent, Thurs. 2nd to Sun. 5th

March 2017 (see elswhere in this magazine). Pray for the planning of events, our preparation to take part and God’s blessing on all our visitors. A prayer to use:O God our Father,we thank you for your great love shown to us in Jesus,and that you have called us into the fellowship of your Church:as we prepare for mission with our bishops,open our eyes to your wonderful possibilities;lead us to those whose hearts you are touching,that we may bring them to Jesusand learn together to follow him;for you are our hope and our eternal salvation,and in his name we pray.Amen.

2. ‘OPEN THE BOOK’ assemblies in New Brancepeth Primary School. The next one is on Mon. 13th March.

The last one on 13th Feb. was the calling of the Disciples and the miracle of the catch of fish. Some of the children were amazed at the way we produced lots of cut out fish

after Peter (Joe Anderson) had thown out a net!

3. ST. CATHERINE’S LUNCHES. This effort is to make use of our renovated building for the village community. We held two lunches before Christmas and we are planning to restart them again on Friday 10th March and therafter on the second Friday of the month. We have got the help of some caterers (Ashbarton of Crook) who will provide a hot main course and sweet. We have bought four light weight folding tables to make preparation of the church space easier.

St. John’s Hall: Thank you to everyone who came to the latest fundraiser held on Saturday February 11th at Meadowfield British Legion. Over £700 was raised towards the rebuild. Unclaimed raffle winning numbers are 83028, 83568, and 84073. Please contact Lesley Baxter if you are a winner. Big thanks to the fundraising committee for organising it.

Hall Update - Celebrate lottery grant

St. John's hall Meadowfield, Meadowfield royal British Legion and Brandon Carrside youth and community project were successful in a big lottery bid for £9,560. This money will be used over the next year for a number of community events. The first was held in January for Burns night and over 70 people

attended.

Some of the next events planned are -

March 13th at 10.30 am at Carrside youth club there will be a celebration for Commonwealth Day. There is a service with the raising of the flag. The unveiling of a World War 1 bench will also take place. Light refreshments, everyone welcome.

Sunday 23rd April there is a St. George's day celebration from 3pm at Meadowfield British legion. Refreshments and entertainment. Tickets £3.

For any queries please contact Lesley Baxter 07846542035 or see Facebook page stjohnshallmeadowfield

In our churches we don’t arrange flowers or say the ‘Alleluia’ in the prayers in order to make us appreciate more the joy of Easter day. Some people choose a helpful book to read or join in a Bible study group such as the Lent Group above or take simpler meals. Another suggestion is to use the Christian Aid Lenten Calendar of reflections for each day. They say:

‘This Lent we’re sharing the story of Michael, who had to flee his home when soldiers raided his village in South Sudan. Thanks to generous churches and people like you, we helped him get back on his feet and gave him hope for the future.

Please journey with your global neighbours like Michael this Lent by following our Count Your Blessings Lent calendar 2017.’

Calendars and details on www.caid.org.uk/lent

Monthly Bible Fellowship: 3:30 – 4:45 Mondays. St Andrew’s Methodist Church, looking at the Lectionary Gospel readings for the next month. All are invited to these discussions.

Friday Lunch Club: 10th March, 12.00 – 2.00 pm, St. Catherine’s Church. Booking essential, contact Joe – 0191 3739927 or David – 0191 3731554. If you want a lift contact Joe or David

Thursday Coffee at St. John’s: 23rd March at 10.30 am.

PCC Meeting: Wed. 22 March at 6.30 pm at St. John’s

TALKING JESUSSome events across Durham which you or a friend might like to go to:

Diocesan Service of Welcome - Durham Cathedral. Thursday 2nd: 1:30pm - 2:30pm. This opening service at Durham Cathedral will commission the Bishops and Mission Teams as they commence their weekend’s work.

Beer and Hymns - The Elm Tree. Thursday 2nd: 8:00pm - 11:00pm . A singalong of some old favourites in a friendly real ale pub.

The Great Debate – Science, Rationality and Religion. Friday 3rd: 7:00pm - 9:30pm. A debate led by the Bishop of Durham, Prof. Stewart Clark, and Prof Tom McLeish. Physics Department, Ogden Centre W., South Road, Durham DH1 3LE. 7.00-7.30 Welcome & Refreshments7.30 The Case for Religion: The Bishop of Durham7.55 The Case against Religion: Prof. Stewart Clark8.20 Science and Religion Reconciled?: Tom McLeish8.45-9.30 General Discussion

Ceilidh, Cake and Conversation - St. Nicholas Church. Friday 3rd: 7:30pm - 10:00pm. Ceilidh in the church. Join us for guaranteed fun, laughs and thought-provoking moments too. Tickets available from the St Nic’s Church Office on 0191 384 1180 or office@stnics.org.uk

Fab Fun Day & More Tea, Vicar. Saturday 4th: 11:00am - 2:00pm. Come along to sit on our comfy sofa in the Marketplace and have a chat with one of our Bishops. Inside St. Nicholas church join us for fun on our giant inflatable slide, create some fabulous carnival crafts, light

a candle and leave a prayer in our chapel and enjoy some yummy refreshments too. A fantastic fun FREE day for all the family.

Animal Blessing Service – All Saints, Langley Park. Saturday 4th: 3:30pm - 4:15pm. Bring your pet to church for this family service.

Pie and Two Revs - Comedy evening. Saturday 4th: 7:30pm - 10:00pm. Durham School, DH1 4SZ. A comedy evening with comedy clergy and pie and pea supper. Tickets £10 – contact St John’s Neville’s Cross Parish Office, office@sjnx.org.uk, 0191 384 2433.

Jazz Evening - St Brandon’s, Brancepeth. Saturday 4th: 7:30pm - 10:20pm. Steve Taylor Band and a talk by Bishop Chris Edmondson. Tickets £5, from: Steve Taylor (3783117), Sue Morgan (3781172) or Rick Simpson (3780503).

Talking Jesus - Celebration Service, Durham Cathedral. Sunday 5th: 3:00pm - 4:00pm. You are warmly invited to come and bring friends and family to this special 'Talking Jesus' celebration service. Featuring Archbishop Sentamu, Durham Cathedral Choir, Contemporary Worship band, and an opportunity to consider the difference Jesus can make to your life.

And of course St. John’s “Open Church” event on Sat. 4th March, 10.00 am – 2.00 pm.

Invitations and Posters are now available. We hope that as many people as possible will invite a friend or neighbour or family member to visit the church.

Details of these and many more events on: http://WhatWouldYouAsk.uk/