Public Mass resumes

Following yesterday`s announcement by the government, I`m happy to say public Masses will resume. Mass will be at St Wilfrid`s on December 5th at 5pm amd at St Joseph`sat 11am (EF) on  December 5th and on December 6th at 10 (Ordinary Form) and at 12 noon ( Extraordinary Form).  The usual safety precautions will be in place. Information about attending Christmas Mass will be given this weekend. On December 20th we welcome bishop Byrne who will celebrate a Pontifical Low Mass at St Joseph`s at 12 noon (EF)

From the parish newsletter

An answer to Our Prayers

It is with great joy that we announce the opening of St Joseph’s for Sunday Mass beginning with 10.00am Ordinary form on Sunday 9^th August and followed by the Extraordinary Form at midday.

It will come as no surprise to any of you to hear that the number of people allowed at each Mass has to be restricted to comply with the social distancing  measures in place to protect us all against Covid 19. Our limit is 37, which can be stretched slightly if there are family groups.

As well as the social distancing measures, which requires us to remain 2 metres apart at all times, the wearing of facemasks is compulsory, for those aged over 11 years, unless exempted on medical grounds (there will be a limited stock of facemasks available for a small donation at the back of church).

There are also other changes to the way we can enter and exit church and new rules and regulations to follow, such as sanitising hands on entry and exit and prior to receiving Holy Communion.

No statue is to be touched at all, there will be no water in the stoops and there is to be no singing.

There will not be a collection during Mass and so we ask that if you can, you continue to give generously through bank transfer, standing order or direct debit, if you want to continue with weekly cash or cheque donations there will be a receptacle at the back of church in which you may place your donation at the END of Mass.

All the new rules will be clearly displayed and we will have stewards and ushers to assist you at every step, please ensure you comply with their instructions, this is for your own good and the good of others.

To begin with we have decided not to have a pre-booking system in place, this may have to be reviewed depending upon the numbers coming to Mass when we first open. It is essential you arrive early and queue outside, maintaining 2metre distance whilst the stewards show you to your seats.

We have been asked to comply with the government’s ‘Track and Trace’ system, this means that we have been requested to take names and contact details for each person at Mass in order that they may be contacted should there be an outbreak of Covid at one of our services. Your details would be treated with the utmost discretion, in compliance with DATA protection and all information destroyed after 21 days. We STRESS that this is merely a REQUEST and if you would rather not supply this information that is your right to withhold it.

In order to speed up entry to church and to assure you of the utmost confidentiality of any information you are happy to give to ‘Track and Trace’ we ask that at home you write down your name and a telephone contact number along with the date and the Mass you are attending, place this information in a sealed envelope and put it in the box provided at the back of church. No-one will need to access these envelopes at ALL unless there is an outbreak of the virus at the Mass you have attended. This process will have to be completed at each and every Mass you attend, completing the information once will not suffice as envelopes will be destroyed after 21 days and will be kept sealed unless they are needed. Again, we STRESS giving this information is entirely VOLUNTARY.

It has been no easy task to get to the moment of celebrating Mass inside our church once again and we owe a great deal of thanks to everyone who has worked to get everything in place for this momentous occasion, without our volunteers for cleaning, (both before and after each Mass), our Stewards and ushers, committing to being here at each Mass, we would not have been able to open our doors again.

I know it is with great sadness that St Wilfrid’s has not yet been able  to open, the Bishop wisely made the decision that each Priest could only open ONE of the churches for which he is responsible, this is because there is an inordinate amount of work and added stress for each Priest in being able to safely say Mass again.

Canon Brown took the very difficult decision to open St Joseph’s first, before St Wilfrid’s, because St Joseph’s has a larger capacity, therefore more of our faithful will have the opportunity to attend Mass, also it is more central than St Wilfrid’s, meaning it is more easily accessible to the majority. The decision is in no way an indication of preference for church or parishioners, it is purely and simply a question of practicality and common sense.

We continue to pray for the success of our open churches and the demise of the virus that in the not too distant future ALL will be open, and Mass will be said once again everywhere.

Thank you everyone for your patience and prayers, understanding and continued support of our two united parishes.

VOLUNTEER MEETING/TRAINING and CLEANING of CHURCH FRIDAY 7^th AUGUST 6pm PLEASE ATTEND IF YOU CAN, TRAINING IS ESSENTIAL FOR ALL. Bring a facemask with you and if you are not already on the books in a voluntary role at St Joseph’s please bring along some form of ID.

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Pastoral Letter of Bishop Robert Byrne CO

Pastoral Letter of Bishop Robert Byrne CO

 for distribution in Holy Week 2020

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,I especially wanted to write to you as we begin Holy Week facing the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. I want to assure you that all the clergy and faithful are uppermost in my thoughts and prayers. Without doubt we are living in challenging times but we should see this as an opportunity to have anever-deeper faith and trust in the Lord. In these days of Holy Week, we unite ourselves more earnestly to the sufferings of the Lord on the Cross and wait with him for the glorious day of the Resurrection and new life.At this time, we normally look forward to participating in the events of our Lord’s death and resurrection through the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum. Sadly, this year we are unable to do so. Instead we unite ourselves spiritually with the whole Church in our homes. We can do this in several ways. I would encourage all those who are able to read the texts of the Holy Week liturgies and to pray the Liturgy of the Hours or the Holy Rosary. We can also make a Spiritual Communion which prayerfully expresses our faith in Christ’s presence in theBlessed Sacrament. There are a number of spiritual resources on our diocesan website to help you do this. Thanks to modern technology we can also join with our Cathedral and other churches in the diocese and elsewhere which are live-streaming the ceremonies. In these ways we are able to deepen our unity with our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are suffering with us and sometimes in a worse situation.A number of people have asked about the Sunday Mass obligation and the requirement to make our Easter duties of receiving Holy Communion and confessing our sins. By decree of the President of the Bishops’ Conference of 18th March 2020, the Bishops of England and Wales have dispensed with the Sunday obligation to attend Mass for the time being andalso, for this year, the requirement to receive Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Easter or thereabouts. The Bishops have asked that all should make a Perfect Act of Contrition at this time. This requires us to be contrite of heart forwhat we have done, know and be overwhelmed by the love and mercy of God for his children, and to approach this grace with humility and resolution not to sin again.
Many of us are bewildered by the situation in which we find ourselves. Normal life has ceased by the unprecedented measures which all of us have a duty to undertake in order to contain and stop this threat to life. Nonetheless our Catholic faith remains a vital comfort and support to us now and as we face the future. We can sustain our life ofprayer by the reading of the Scriptures, praying the Rosary, novenas and litanies and using the social media to keep ourselves connected in the communion of faith.I want to say a special word to those who are preparing to be baptized or received into full communion with the Church at the Easter Vigil. I had the pleasure of meeting many of you at the Rite of Election on the 1st Sunday of Lent. I witnessed then the excitement and enthusiasm that you had at taking this great step in your journey of faith. Iam sorry that you are unable to continue this journey as you planned. I assure you that your baptism or reception will take place as soon as possible. In the meantime, please see the delay as an opportunity to deepen your love and trust in the Lord. His grace continues to work in our lives whatever the circumstances. Let me take this opportunity to thank all those who are doing so much to support our local communities and parishes. I want to thank especially our NHS staff and all those who have care of the sick. You are doing a splendid job and we are all deeply grateful to you. Thanks also to our headteachers and staff of the numerous schools that have remained open –your work is an invaluable support to parents working in the NHS and others who are atthe forefront of the battle against the Covid-19 virus.I ask you all to remember the injunction of the Lord to love ourneighbour, which has not been suspended! Please have a special care for those who are elderly or vulnerable and be ready to give thema helping hand. Please keep in your prayers those who suffer with the virus and those who care for them and for those who have died.Although we are more physically separated at this time yet we are united through our faith and in the prayers of our Ladyand the saints. Let us find our hope in Christ who is with us in all the trials of our life.Yours devotedly in Christ,

 Rt Rev Robert Byrne CO Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

Coronavirus

The Solemn Vespers for St Joseph`s day, this Thursday, has been cancelled in the light of the government`s advice on the coronavirus. All other parish meetings will be cancelled. Mass continues as usual until further notice.

St. Joseph’s Church, High St., Gateshead

To Celebrate the Patronal Feast

Thursday March 19^th

7.00 p.m.

Sung Latin

Vespers

With Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

(Includes music by Elgar and Perosi)

Magnificat

(Sung to a setting by Orlando de Lassus)

Officiant: Fr Paul Zielinski,

Cantors: Fr Michael Brown, Fr David Phillips

Music by the Church Schola and the Westland Singers

under the direction of Paul Dewhurst.

Sponsored by the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.

Unfortunately the 7pm Ash Wednesday Latin Mass at St Joseph's has had to be cancelled as has the 12.05 ordinary form. Please make alternative arrangements.