Northern Synod in Mozambique Our nine synod members are safely home from Mozambique after a turbulent series of events cut their visit short. They awoke on Wednesday morning, September 1st, to the news that riots had broken out in parts of Maputo...
September 2010 read moreWalking with St Cuthbert For the second year running, a group of pilgrims from Northern Synod and beyond walked the 62 miles from Melrose to Holy Island, following the St Cuthbert's Way, and reflecting on the life and times of the best loved of the Northumbrian saints.....
August 2010 read moreModerator visits Northern Synod The first official visit undertaken by General Assembly Moderator Val Morrison, following the meeting of Assembly in Loughborough at the beginning of July, has been to Northern Synod....
August 2010 read moreKeld Quiet Day Words, Images, and Creation was the title given to what was billed as "a quiet day for all age" held at Keld in Swaledale on July 10th. Workshops were offered on writing and reflection on the Psalms....
July 2010 read moreFrom Oxclose to Mozambique Emma Briggs from Oxclose is one of seven young adults who will be visting Mozambique at the end of August..... Oxclose Church decided to help with fund-raising for the trip by organising a Sunday evening Rich Man / Poor Man meal, giving people just time to get home and watch the World Cup Final...
July 2010 read moreVisitors from Mozambique Two leaders from our global partner church, the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique, are currently our guests in Northern Synod. Ernesto Langa, President of the Synod and José Tovela jnr, President of the Synod Council arrived in Newcastle last Friday...
June 2010 read moreBible & Birds on Holy Island It was Faith and Feathers with a difference - the wrong time of year, and the wrong kind of birds. But once again a great time was had by all....
June 2010 read moreThe Spirit blows at Darlington The congregation of Northgate URC in Darlington celebrated Pentecost in style. During the service people were asked to write a message ...
May 2010 read moreSt George's at 150This year sees the 150th anniversary of the move of St George's Church, Morpeth to its present prominent site on the Telford Bridge. The first service was held on Thursday 12th April 1860...
April 2010 read moreQuarter century church secretary stands down St Andrew’s Church Monkseaton, decorated in daffodils on Easter Sunday, was the backdrop for a presentation to the Church Secretary, Miss Dorothy Postle, who retired after 26 years....
April 2010 read moreCrook receives Knitted Bible Seven classes of local school children, together with Brownies and Guides, members of the church and other local churches as well as people from the town all found their way to St Andrew's Dawson Street in Crook to discover the Bible as it's never been known before....
March 2010 read moreThe Mother's Story Prodigal sons have fathers, but not mothers. At least that's how the story has always been told - and perhaps we'd have thought no more about it if it were not for the strange way in which the lectionary leads us to read the story.....
March 2010 read more"Bringing St Cuthbert home...." This was how Russian Orthodox scholar and iconographer Dr Elena Narinskaya described her experience of painting an icon of St Cuthbert...
March 2010 read moreModerator in Mozambique Synod moderator Rowena Francis and URC Sceretary for International Relations flew in to Maputo yesterday for a short visit which it is hoped will kick-start our global partnership.....
March 2010 read moreMinisters' Day at St Antony's Northern Synod ministers met together at St Antony's Priory in Durham on February 16th 2010 as part of the Vision 4 Life prayer year.
February 2010 read moreMaking a Splash! Members of Zion, Northallerton United Reformed Church made a big splash last Christmas. Instead of sending Christmas cards to each other, they gave the money they would have spent on cards towards the purchase of a well.....
February 2010 read moreMessy Epiphany Messy Church is one of the highlights of our church at Grindon, in Sunderland. Once a month worship takes a different form - with adults and children working together....
February 2010 read moreSt James's Alnwick wins prestigious planning prize Since 1986 the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) North East have organised annual awards schemes to recognise and celebrate planning achievement in the region.....
January 2010 read moreProcession of the Magi at Barnard Castle The Church, the local primary school, and the Townswomen's Guild collaborated on a procession of the Magi...
December 2009 read moreNorth Shields Winter Wonderland The fine John Dobson church of St Columba's North Shields was transformed into a winter wonderland for a seasonal flower festival held over the second weekend of December....
December 2009 read moreAn award-winning church Just over a year after he handed over the keys of St Andrew's Benton over to the congregation, the architect Vincente Stienlet of Pascal J Stienlet and Son have won a coveted Commendation in the Hadrian Awards....
December 2009 read moreArt Group create church collage An inspirational and imaginative collage has been put together by the St Andrew’s Art Group to celebrate the opening of the new reception area and refurbishment of the church premises in Eastfield Avenue, Monkseaton.
December 2009 read moreCross in the Attic It's not quite on a par with churches that rediscover cast-out medieval treasure, but a recent ceremony at a Local Ecumenical Partnership in Bishop Auckland had a special resonance for a number of individuals in our synod.
November 2009 read moreSynod Talent Low Row elder Daphne Clarke recently achieved a long-held ambition to tread the boards of the Georgian Theatre in her home town of Richmond. The occasion was the November 2009 "Richmondshire has Talent" competition....
November 2009 read morePilgrimage against Poverty A 10th anniversary with a difference took place on 18th October when more than 300 people from our region joined in a pilgrimage against poverty. This was the 10th birthday of the Church Action on Poverty Iona to Westminster walk ...
October 2009 read moreDenewell Avenue - up the garden path. Following its successful Centenary Year in 2008, Denewell Avenue United Reformed Church in Gateshead has been working on upgrading the exterior of their premises....
October 2009 read moreFaith & Feathers again! There's no shortage of birders on Holy Island looking for the latest rarity blown in by the winds. And there's no shortage of pilgrims, looking to restore their soul as they walk in the footsteps of the Celtic saints. But it takes a Faith & Feathers weekend to bring the two pursuits together.
October 2009 read moreBlyth moves - across the road. Some people say things move slowly in Blyth. Whether or not that's true, it seems they don't always move very far.For over 130 years our congregation have worshipped in the tall steepled building that is such a landmark at the far end of Waterloo Road....
October 2009 read moreNew minister for St Andrew's and St Cuthbert's. "This is the top job in the United Reformed Church" said former Moderator of Assembly Dr David Peel, as he was inducted as minister into a local pastorate after twenty years spent in theological education and training....
August 2009 read moreWaddington Street Flower Festival. In early July, "Gardens to Delight", a four day flower festival organised with local flower clubs featured Japanese, Exotic, Rose, and Futuristic gardens, gardens with biblical themes, gardens inspired by Monet and many more. A memorial garden bore the URC logo in cream and gold.
July 2009 read moreEcumenical Confirmation at Kingston Park. Lucy and Lydia were confirmed and welcomed into the church by the church leaders of all four partner churches at St John’s, Kingston Park Local Ecumenical Partnership. Lydia was also baptized in a portable bapistry filled and warmed for the occasion. The very visual expression of the unity of the church was great to witness.
July 2009 read moreChurch leaders pray over plans. 10 potential priests and ministers from an Anglican/Methodist training college met with Ray Anglesea, Planning Aid North, to llearn how Area Action Plans and Supplementary Planning Documents are helping to change the face of our inner cities.
July 2009 read moreOpen Day at the Keld Resource Centre. An Open Day was held at the Keld Resource Centre on Friday June 26th to celebrate the renovation and refurbishment of the Manse...
June 2009 read moreYad Vashem Seminar 2009. Pamela Ward reports on her experience of attending the Yad Vashem Seminar in Jerusalem.
June 2009 read moreSwaledale Festival Service held in Keld URC. For the first time the service on the middle Sunday f the Swaledald Festival has been held in a United Reformed Church. The service in the Keld oChapel was led by Revd Julie Martin, and attended by visitors, performers and organisers from the festival.
June 2009 read moreSmarber Festival 2009. Revd Dr David Peel gave a two part sermon at this year's annual Smarber Festival in Swaledale. The first part was preached on the site of the old Smarber Chapel....
May 2009 read moreMinister in Residence at Keld. Sheila Maxey, a former Moderator of General Assembly and retired minister, recently spent a week in the refurbished manse at the Keld Centre in Swaledale. As the first in a series of "ministers in residence" she has written some reflections on the experience for the own church magazine, and has allowed us to share them more widely here...
May 2009 read moreCrook Celebrations. It was a time of celebration when the people of St Andrew's Dawson Street in Crook in Weardale were at last able to mark the completion of the refurbishment of their church buildings. Special events were held over the weekend of 4th & 5th April 2009 as a culmination of all the work that had been done since St Andrew's United Reformed Church and Dawson Street Methodist Church had come together for form a Local Ecumenical Partnership just over three years previously....
April 2009 read more