A Personal History
Looking back on a life at St Peter’s by Brian Hails
Linda kindly suggested would I do an article for the Magazine looking back between the last two Coronations (some 70 years) on life in the parish. I’m not sure whether it will work but I think I will try spanning a wee but longer to my earliest memories at St Peter’s.
As a youngster my family lived in Oak Avenue, Cleadon where there were many young families. My brothers and I, together with neighbouring youngsters, found our way down to St Peter’s Sunday School. This was 1942 during the war.
There were quite a lot of classes dealing with different age groups and it was all very friendly. It was not long before the then Vicar (Revd Henry Robertson) issued a general invitation to those of us who were interested to join the choir.
I was among a few lads that were interested and joined the choir of some 14 boys – 6 ladies and 8 men. I was fascinated, young as I was, by the music. The culture, the dignity and the friendliness of the people at Church. Many social occasions emerged, which in those days, during and after the war ended, was for me unique. There were two practice nights a week – Tuesdays for all the Choir and Fridays for boys only. Psalm pointing had to be learnt, Anthems rehearsed and solos allocated.
There was a Boy’s club, a Youth club, a Tennis Club and the Choir Master was Mr Fair, whom we lads called Pa Fair. He was quite strict but again friendly. He had the whole choir annually around to his house for a Christmas Party – they were great occasions, those were the days of rationing, and I was always amazed at how much food was on the table.
I was confirmed in 1947 by the then Bishop of Durham, Bishop Michael Ramsey, (later to become Archbishop of Canterbury) and after my voice broke, I became a Server. The Youth club (Anglican Young Peoples Association (AYPA) was a very international movement and our branch had an active membership at that time of some 45 members. It was a very well organised affair where we had annual elections of President, Secretary, Treasurer. Diocesan gatherings of AYPA clubs often took place and we got to know other ‘AY ers’ through these events and we were often invited to other clubs’ social occasions which we reciprocated. Before enlisting for National Service, I was the club treasurer. (To be continued?)
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What is Eco Church?
Last October I (Shirley Sinclair) took a proposal to the St Peter’s PCC and they agreed that our church might participate in the A Rocha Eco Church award scheme. Our small eco group Time to Act was delighted to be invited to have a stall at the recent St Peter’s plant sale as part of this project and many of you engaged with this, seemed to share our concerns over the environmental crisis in the world and were keen to know more. So - I thought it was about time for an update and also to invite new ideas about how we might work towards this award.
Briefly about A Rocha:
A Rocha UK, founded in 2001, is a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world, both as a response to the biblical mandate to care for the earth, and also as a demonstration of the Christian hope for God’s world. They work collaboratively with others who share their passion for the planet and its people, and their desire for mutual flourishing.
A Rocha work with these five core values:
Christian: Underlying all we do is our biblical faith in the living God, who made the world, loves it and entrusts it to the care of human society.
Conservation: We carry out research for the conservation and restoration of the natural world and run environmental education programmes for people of all ages.
Community: Through our commitment to God, each other and the wider creation, we aim to develop good relationships both within the A Rocha family and in our local communities.
Cross-cultural: We draw on the insights and skills of people from diverse cultures, both locally and around the world.
Cooperation: We work in partnership with a wide variety of organisations and individuals who share our concerns for a sustainable world.
The Survey
At the heart of Eco Church is a unique, online survey that enables churches to both record what they are already doing to care for God’s earth, and to reflect on what further steps they can take to that end and then act accordingly. I have been working through this survey for St Peter’s and Olwen Smith has just started working through it for St Mark’s and St Cuthbert’s. One thing which soon became apparent to us was that we (members of the two churches) are already doing a whole lot of things, without realising it. The question is - can we go the extra mile?
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The survey covers all areas of church life: Worship and Teaching; Management of Church Buildings and Land; Community and Global Engagement; and Lifestyle. As such, it challenges churches to act in respect of the songs they sing and of the food they serve; of the energy they use and of the ethics of their investments; of the wildlife that finds a home on their land and of the water that flushes their loos; and so on in all the ordinary things of life.
As a church completes the survey, they collect points towards an Eco Church Award. There are three levels of Eco Church Award – Bronze, Silver and Gold. In order to qualify for an Award, churches must attain the required standard in each of the five areas covered by the Eco Survey that apply to them.
At my first pass through the survey, St Peter’s managed to reach high levels in some areas, but not so good in others. For example, we are doing well in the area of our worship and teaching, reflecting the support and encouragement of our church leadership. In our buildings and land management, we also show promise as our PCC and others make every effort to act responsibly when improving and maintaining the small piece of South Shields that we care for. Lifestyle and community engagement are less well covered and I wonder if we, as the ordinary congregations, might have some ideas to share?
I am inviting all of you, then, to have a think about your own interests and concerns and let me know whether you would like to be more involved, are already doing something to care for the environment that you want to share, or whether you have a burning desire to get something started! Over to you…
Winning numbers are drawn at the Coffee Morning held at St Peter’s on the last Saturday of every month. Winners for May and June will appear in the next edition of the magazine.
If you want to take part in the draw for 2023 then call Jean Roberts on
0191 425 2368
8 St Peter’s Monthly Draw Mar 1st Prize £50 155 Linda Major Mar 2nd Prize £20 40 Jean Roberts Mar 3rd Prize £10 81 John Madeiros c/o Brian Hails April 1st Prize £50 41 Andrew Roberts April 2nd Prize £20 198 Colin Brown April 3rd Prize £10 61 David Metcalf
SNIPPETS, SOUNDBITES AND STORIES
I am amazed as I am typing this item. This very subject has just popped up on the radio! But I now understand why. I have written in the past in this magazine about Julian of Norwich and her contemporary Margery Kempe, but it occurred to me that her name was frequently cropping up of late. I have my own interest in her and usually read one of the shorter version books as my Lent reading. I have also represented her in a design in a flower festival. It was lovely to see the use of her most famous words ‘All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well’ on the anointing screen used at the coronation of King Charles last week. Mother Julian was not herself a saint (though named after St Julian) but she is commemorated on May 8th. I have just read that this year marks 650 years since her visions of Jesus’ crucifixion hence the media attention. She received these ‘shewings’ during a life-threatening illness and thereafter having recovered, vowed to devote her life to God as an Anchoress, living the rest of her life in a walled-up cell attached to the church of St Julian in Norwich. She had a small aperture for a helper to provide food and water, and a window onto the outside world where people would come to receive a blessing, or hear her many words of wisdom. This was at the time of the plague and also a site of many hangings during the Peasants’ Revolt, so she was not escaping the world’s problems but continually prayed for the victims. Against the grain of ‘Hell and Damnation’ preaching, she bravely spoke and wrote of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. She also wrote of her visions,’ Revelations of Divine Love’, and is accredited as being the first woman author in the country.
The next bit of publicity is that the author Victoria Mackenzie has written a novel based on her life and that of her contemporary Margery Kempe, a very different lady! (I am rather of the opinion that it will be in the genre of T.V’s ‘The Crown’ as apparently Julian is given a husband and baby, both victims of the plague ....spoiler...sorry). Margery herself decided on a vow of celibacy after the birth of her sixteenth child and devote the rest of her life to pilgrimages, ranging from visiting Mother Julian and holy sites including Jerusalem. She apparently wore her fellow pilgrims out with her continual questioning and chatter! It’s all in the book, no doubt!
Anita Buyers
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Friends Together celebrate special days throughout the year. As the photos show, there was great fun celebrating the Coronation together. The church was decorated in red, white and blue, and the amount of food that peopled shared was amazing - from freshly baked cakes, to sandwiches, sausage rolls, and homemade quiche!
Do come along if you fancy a chat, or to come help fill the coffee pots!
All are very welcome.
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Schools Ministry
As the report for our recent APCMs noted, our local schools appreciate the support given to them by the church. There are three main ways we tend to work with our local schools during the year – school visits to church, leading whole school assemblies and being invited into classrooms to support the RE curriculum. In addition, Cameron is also a school governor at Laygate Community School.
Church visits involve a class coming to discover a little more about the church and the Christian faith. The pictures on the opposite page show just a couple of the stations at St Mark’s and St Cuthbert’s church for the ‘Experience Easter’ event. During this experience, classes came to church to learn a little more about the story of Holy Week and Easter. Some fantastic volunteers shared the story with the children in small groups and helped them to experience different aspects of this story. The children really engaged with the story and asked some amazing questions.
Cameron regularly goes into Ridgeway Primary Academy and Laygate Community School to lead school assemblies for the children. Very often, these assemblies are exploring an aspect of the church’s year e.g Christingle. There was a great deal of excitement at school when Cameron came in wearing his kilt to talk about St Andrew and his importance as the patron saint of Scotland.
Finally, classes really value the chance to invite someone in from church to support the children’s learning. This year, Cameron has been in several schools exploring topics such as forgiveness with Year 4, the parables of Jesus with Year 1 and the colours of the church’s year with Reception. The children are always so well behaved and interested.
Please do keep our local schools in your prayers – the children, their families and the school staff.
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16 LET US HELP YOU GET THROUGH YOUR LOSS We’ll guide and assist you through all the funeral arrangements. Call us 24 hours a day. R. S. JOHNSON & SONS FUNERAL DIRECTORS Crossgate House, Western Approach, South Shields, NE33 5QU Tel: 0191 456 0054 And Spring Villa, St John’s Terrace, Jarrow, NE32 3AB Tel: 0191 489 0063
Activities at St Peter’s Church Hall
Weekly Social Activities & Uniformed Organisations
Monday • Twinkle Tots
• U3A Art
• Brownies
• Guides
Tuesday • Pilates (Judith Briggs)
• T’ai Chi (Martin Thorogood)
• Yoga (Pat Uttridge)
• Yoga (Jill Glozier)
Wednesday • Art & Craft Club (Carol White)
• Line Dancing - Beginner (Ethel Ramsey)
• Line Dancing - Improver (Ethel Ramsey)
• T’ai Chi (Martin Thorogood)
• Yoga (Carrie Kirston)
Thursday • 50+ Exercise to music (Ethel Ramsey)
• Mini Science (Louise Minchin)
• Cubs
• Scouts
Friday • Exercise (Caroline Maidment)
• T’ai Chi (Martin Thorogood)
• Beavers
9.30 am to 11.30 am
1.30 pm to 3.30 pm
6.00 pm to 7.15 pm
7.30 pm to 8.45 pm
9.30 am to 10.50 am
1.00 pm to 2.00 pm
3.00 pm to 4.30 pm
7.30 pm to 8.45 pm
9.30 am to 12 noon
1.00 pm to 2.00 pm
2.30 pm to 3.30 pm
5.15 pm to 6.15 pm
6.30 pm to 8.00 pm
12.30 pm to 1.30 pm
10.00 am to 12.00 am
5.45 pm to 7.15 pm
7.15 pm to 9.00 pm
Saturday
2.00 pm to 3.00 pm
5.00 pm to 6.30 pm
Helpers needed
• Irish Dance (Stokes & Collins Dance) • 9.30 am to 1.00 pm
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10.00 am to 11.00 am
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Activities at St Mark & St Cuthbert’s
Church Hall
Monday • Your Voice Counts Cooking
• Karate
Tuesday • Bertie’s Toddler Group
• ‘Crafternoon’
• Brownies
Wednesday • Friends Together (1st and 3rd Wed every month in church)
• Rainbows
Thursday • Bertie’s Toddler Group
• Ballet & Tap
Friday • Line Dancing
Sunday • Coffee
HARTON GARAGE for all your new and used cars
(plus all your servicing and MOTs)
183 Sunderland Road, South Shields
Tel: 0191 427 7070
Fax: 0191 427 9272
• 9 am to 3 pm
• 6 pm to 7 pm
• 9.15 am to 11.15 am
(not held in August)
• 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm
• 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm
• 1.30 pm to 4.00 pm
• 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm
• 12.45 pm to 2.45 pm
• 4 00 pm to 7.00 pm
• 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm
• after 10.30 am Parish Eucharist
J M & W DARLING LTD Chemist
88 Dean Road, South Shields Tel: 0191 454 3841
1 Stanhope Parade, South Shields, Tel: 0191 455 4551
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Daily Readings
Thurs June 1 Psalm 16.1–8, 10a; John 15.18–21
Fri June 2 Psalm 149.1–5; Mark 11.11–26
Sat June 3 Psalm 19.7–end; Mark 11.27–end
Sun June 4 Psalm 8; Matthew 28.16–20
Mon June 5 Psalm 115:1-13; Luke 10.1–11
Tues June 6 Psalm 112; Mark 12.13–17
Wed June 7 Psalm 25.1–8; Mark 12.18–27
Thurs June 8 Psalm 15; Matthew 24.42–46
Fri June 9 Psalm 34.1–8; Luke 12.32–37
Sat June 10 Psalm 63.1–6; Mark 12.38–end
Sun June 11 Psalm 33.1–12; Matthew 9.9–13,18–26
Mon June 12 Psalm 112; John 15.12–17
Tues June 13 Psalm 119.129–136; Matthew 5.13–16
Wed June 14 Psalm 78.1–4; Matthew 5.17–19
Thurs June 15 Psalm 78.36–40; Matthew 5.20–26
Fri June 16 Psalm 82.1–4, 6–8; John 21.15–19
Sat June 17 Psalm 103.1–12; Matthew 5.33–37
Sun June 18 Psalm 100; Matthew 9.35 – 10.8
Mon June 19 Psalm 98; Matthew 5.38–42
Tues June 20 Psalm 146; Matthew 5.43–end
Wed June 21 Psalm 112; Matthew 6.1–6, 16–18
Thurs June 22 Psalm 68.3–8; John 12.24–26
Fri June 23 Psalm 34.1–8; Matthew 25.1–13
Sat June 24 Psalm 85.7–13; Luke 1.57–66,80
Sun June 25 Psalm 69.8–11, 18-20; Matthew 10.24–39
Mon June 26 Psalm 33.12–end; Matthew 7.1–5
Tues June 27 Psalm 15; Matthew 7.6, 12–14
Wed June 28 Psalm 34.11–17; Luke 11.33–36
Thurs June 29 Psalm 125; Matthew 16.13–19
Fri June 30 Psalm 128; Matthew 8.1–4
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Sat July 1 Luke 1.46b–55; Matthew 8.5–17
Sun July 2 Psalm 1–4,15–18; Matthew 10.40–42
Mon July 3 Psalm 31.1–6; John 20.24–29
Tues July 4 Psalm 26; Matthew 8.23–27
Wed July 5 Psalm 34.1–12; Matthew 8.28–end
Thurs July 6 Psalm 116.1–7; Matthew 9.1–8
Fri July 7 Psalm 106.1–5; Matthew 9.9–13
Sat July 8 Psalm 135.1–6; Matthew 9.14–17
Sun July 9 Psalm 145.8–15; Matthew 11.16–19,25–30
Mon July 10 Psalm 91.1–10; Matthew 9.18–26
Tues July 11 Psalm 119.57–64; Luke 18.18–22
Wed July 12 Psalm 33.1–4, 18–end; Matthew 10.1–7
Thurs July 13 Psalm 105.11–17; Matthew 10.7–15
Fri July 14 Psalm 26.1–8; Matthew 5.1–8
Sat July 15 Psalm 20.1–5a, 6, 7, 9; Matthew 5.43–end
Sun July 16 Psalm 65 8–13; Matthew 13.1–9,18–23
Mon July 17 Psalm 124; Matthew 10.34–11.1
Tues July 18 Psalm 69.1–2, 31–end; Matthew 11.20–24
Wed July 19 Psalm 27; John 17.6, 18–24
Thurs July 20 Psalm 105.1–2, 23; Matthew 11.28–end
Fri July 21 Psalm 116.10–end; Matthew 12.1–8
Sat July 22 Psalm 42.1–10; John 20.1–2,11–18
Sun July 23 Psalm 86.11–17; Matthew 13.24–30,36–43
Mon July 24 Psalm 136.1–4, 10–15; Matthew 12.38–42
Tues July 25 Psalm 126; Matthew 20.20–28
Wed July 26 Psalm 127; Matthew 13.16–17
Thurs July 27 Psalm 14; Matthew 13.10–17
Fri July 28 Psalm 19.7–11; Matthew 13.18–23
Sat July 29 Psalm 49.5–10, 16; John 12.1–8
Sun July 30 Psalm 119.129–136; Matthew 13.31–33,44–52
Mon July 31 Psalm 106.19–23; Matthew 13.31–35
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Rev Kate Boardman
revkateboardman@gmail.com
Vicarage:3 Page Avenue, South Shields, NE34 0SY * 0191 4554682
Rev Cameron Abernethy
revdcam@gmail.com * 07725 314995
CHURCH PERSONNEL ST MARK & ST CUTHBERT’S
PCC Members Ms Liza Dorothy; Mrs Diane Lee; Ms Sarah Lysaght; Miss Jean Smith; Mrs Eileen Wraith
Mr Colin Brown; Mrs Angela Clark; Mr James Knott; Mr Melvin Paterson; Mrs Ethel Ramsey; Mr Ernie Russell; Dr Mark Sinclair; Mrs Joanne Tunnadine; Mrs Linda Smithson
HARTON CHURCHES TOGETHER REPRESENTATIVES
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Church Wardens Mrs Leanore Sheldon Mrs Suzie Webber • 07407 640915 Treasurer Mrs Suzie Webber •
0191 4260007
Deanery Synod Members Mrs Leanore Sheldon Hall Booking Sec Ms Gemma Slater • 07392 845422 Magazine Committee Rep Vacancy Safeguarding Mrs Diane Lee Ms Liza Dorothy • 07703 275025 • 07538 719585 CHURCH PERSONNEL ST PETER’S Church Warden Mrs Jean Stokes jastokes@virginmedia.com • 0191 4207818 Treasurer Mr Colin Brown c.brown932@btinternet.com
Deanery Synod Members
Hall Booking Sec Mrs Ethel Ramsey ethelramsey92@gmail.com • 0191 4542341 Magazine Editor & Committee
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Safeguarding Mrs Angela Clark Mrs Shirley Sinclair • 07813 345747 • 07704 165675
PCC Members
Mrs Jean Roberts; Ms Amanda Lenney
Mrs Linda Smithson lindasmithson@hotmail.co.uk Mrs Jean Stokes jastokes@virginmedia.com
0191 4217634
0191 4207818
St Mark & St Cuthbert contact Margaret Kirkwood 0191 456 007 Harton St Peter contact Margaret Haley 0191 454 3376
