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Brandon
Parish Magazine
July/August 2022
St. John’s Church, Brandon &
St. Catherine’s Church, New Brancepeth
Regular
Services:
St. John’s: Holy Eucharist on Sundays
– 9.45 am,
Wednesdays – 9.00 am
St. Catherine’s: Holy Eucharist on
Sundays – 8.45 am, Thursdays – 9.30
Morning Prayer Thursdays – 8.45 am
Tuesdays and Fridays: Fr. Carl leads Morning Prayer on zoom
at 8.45. Contact Fr. Carl for an invitation.
Contacts
Fr. Carl Peters: The Clergy House, Sawmill Lane, Brandon,
Durham, DH7 8NS. Tel: 0191 6803875, revpeters28@gmail.com
Other Contact Telephone Numbers
St. John’s: Carolyn – 6803875
St. Catherine’s: Joe – 3739927; Liz – 3731554
Website http://www.brandonparish.org.uk/Welcome.htm
https://www.facebook.com/StJohnTheEvangelistChurchBrandon
https://www.facebook.com/Stjohnschurchhallmeadowfield
https://www.facebook.com/pg/StCatherinesChurchNewBrancepeth
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From
the Registers
Funerals at St. John’s Church
27 May - Sheila Reid
24 June - Win Dunning
Funeral
at Crematorium
7 June - Frank Mayman
Wedding
at St Catherine’s
25 June - Ian Lumley & Julie Harrison
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Events
Mothers’ Union, Wednesday 13th July,
2.00 pm at St. John’s church
with Father Carl.
The next meeting will be in September.
PCC Meeting, Wednesday 13 July, 6.30 pm,
St. John’s Hall
St Luke's Summer Fair, Saturday 16th July,
1.00 pm.
All are welcome at their annual event in their church hall
in Ushaw Moor
Quiet Day at Minstreacres, Saturday 23rd
July.
This annual opportunity will be led by one of the Minstracres
residents. Please contact Bill Offler if interested, and lifts
can be arranged, williamoffler@outlook.com and 0191 3782883
St.
John’s Hall:
Table top sale Sat. July 23rd 10 am to 12 pm, and Aug. 20th.
Lesley will carry the Queen’s baton relay for Birmingham
2022 Commonwealth Games. She will leave the top of Claypath
at 15.01 and walk to 211 Gilesgate on Thursday 14th July.
Anyone who can, please go and cheer Lesley on!
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TRYPRAYING
Trypraying
is for those who are not religious
and don’t do church.
This initiative is something we could consider using in our
churches.
Here is some information taking from their website:
TryPraying
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The idea for trypraying has grown.
It is being used in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Thousands of churches have also made use of it and the project
around it.
ANYONE THERE?
Almost everyone you know will have prayed
at some time in their life – and many still do.
For many people amazing things happen when they pray and many
people find it a great help. But it’s not just for the
religious. Millions of people who say they are not religious
also pray.
We have some resources to help.
POSTERS and BANNERS: Like the one at the top
of the page.
BOOKLET: The trypraying booklet is a 7 day prayer guide
for those who are not religious. You might like to try it for
seven days and then pass on to someone else.
Get one to carry with you.
There are over 750,000 copies being used and passed from person
to person.
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PLEASE KEEP ON PRAYING: 
The
week-end of 2/3 July is Petertide when many men and women are
ordained Deacon or Priest.
Please pray for any you know and for the new ministry of these
men and women in the Church of England.
Father Carl, as we know, has four churches to look after,
an almost impossible task.
Please pray for him with all the pressures on him, and for guidance
for the best way our patterns of services and his other responsibilities
can be managed.
We
have an opportunity to go into New Brancepeth Primar y
school with
‘Open the Book’ (telling Bible stories)
on Monday 4th July.
Also the top class will be coming into
St. Catherine’s on Wednesday, 20th July. Please pray for
these two events
and for the other opportunities Father Carl has in visiting
local schools and taking assemblies.
A
Prayer for Ukraine
God of peace and justice,
we pray for the people of Ukraine today.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and
in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen
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From
our Priest:
Well
summer is with us now and I think we’ve been having
some quite decent weather! Let’s hope there is a lot
more to come.
Sometimes summer makes us think of summer holidays, past and
present. Are you going away this summer or any time this year?
Certainly it’s nice to be able to get away and find
rest and pleasure, it’s much needed if we can and even
if we don’t get away, a nice day out or a bit of time
sat in the garden is welcome space and relaxation.
I must admit, I always admire people who have a particular
interest or hobby. Whether it’s playing golf or being
part of a bowls team. Whether it’s fishing or painting,
or whether it’s running or enthusing over steam trains,
it seems a good thing to do something you enjoy unashamedly,
where you can switch off and forget for a while the busyness
and distractions of life.
At various stages of life, we often find ourselves in a position
where there is a lot to do. Some of these things we might
enjoy and other things much less so. Even loathe! But from
everything we need a break sometimes, even if we have a job
we enjoy. If for instance we’re running around most
of the time, we might not have much time to see the fruits
of our labour.
We might not have much time to think ‘yes that was good!’
Or perhaps appreciate those we work with.
And in Christian ministry of various kinds, we similarly don’t
always take enough time out to reflect on where we can see
God at work.
Daily prayer life in whatever form we use is an opportunity
for this.
Whatever we’re doing in life though, we can’t
just give out all the time.
We need to put something back into ourselves.
It’s no good for a holiday rep to talk ‘holidays’
when they don’t have a holiday themselves.
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It’s
sad when a preacher works hard in churning out sermons to
talk about God, but fails then to find time to step into silence
and be alone with God. That’s a bit like talking to
everyone about your family or someone you love, but then failing
to spend any time with them.
So we all need time out, or time aside and space.
When the demands of life are tough or a bit too much, let
us keep our faith that God is there for us and God wants to
spend time with us.
God believes in rest, ‘he rested on the seventh day
from all his works.’
And God wants to give us his rest, the rest above all rest.
If our hearts are faithful to him then that rest is ours.
As we hear in the New Testament in the Letter to the Hebrews.
‘ So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people
of God; for those who enter God’s rest also cease from
their labours as God did from his. Let us therefore make every
effort to enter that rest.’
I hope we can all find time to feel comfort in those words
and have faith in the one who wants to give us his rest.
And if you’re going on holiday this summer or any time
this year.
Have a good one!
Fr Carl Peters
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HOLIDAYS
Fr. Carl’s
message to us is about holidays and taking enough rest. Would
you like to tell us a little about how you take rest or what
you do on holidays?
What is
your best memory of the past year?
Seaside?
  Mountains?
Foreign
Parts? 
Just sitting in the garden?
OR something
else?
Why
not email or ring me and I can include some of what you enjoy
in the September magazine?
d.g.gregory-smith@durham.ac.uk
or 019 13731554.
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GET
THE APP:
Download the app for the in-depth 7 days journey: videos,
space to write your thoughts and prayers, and a record of
your progress
from Day 1 to Day 7.
Get
the app from the Apple App store, Google Play, or Windows
Store
HERE
STORIES:
Many people have been impacted by
praying at difficult times in their lives.
Watch the videos in our story section,
as a few people share their experiences of prayer. Also featuring
stories of those such as Jenna and John who have started out
on the trypraying journey of faith.
40 DAYS PRAYER
GUIDE BOOKLET:
Catching
the Wave is a 40-day prayer guide encouraging us to pray for
our communities and to pray for revival.
PERSPEX BOXES:
An A6 sized perspex box in which to place 4 or 5 trypraying
booklets.
'Please take one' is written on the lid.
It can be placed outside next to a trypraying banner.
IS
THIS AN IDEA OUR CHURCHES COULD USE?
One suggestion is we could get a poster, a number of leaflets
and a perspex box for people to help themselves.
Please
make any comments to Fr. Carl or to the editor, David,
d.g.gregory-smith@durham.ac.uk
or 019 13731554.
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