Thought from Fr. Colm -15th October

Our recent Parish Council Meeting was a constructive and lively discussion on many aspects of parish life. From making all as welcome as possible to reception of Holy Communion under both kinds. The need for more volunteers is a constant. The very insightful point was made by one member that we can’t return to pre-Covid days, It simply will not happen. It was added that this didn’t just apply to Church, but to every walk of life. “How Covid changed Religious Experience” by Dr. Joshua Edelman is worth Googling. Alexander from Mexico, joined us for his first meeting as a new member. It was indeed good to have a representative of the growing international community present. We all agreed that greater regard needs to be given to important national religious celebrations of the various countries now attending our Masses. A bidding prayer on Sunday could be one way of recognising this. It was added how marvellous it always is to have intercessions in different languages, at Easter especially. The replacement of Katie Flood as Youth Worker again came up. We need to revisit an approach to how we welcome people to Mass. There is already in place a marvellous welcoming atmosphere in both our churches. Getting a balance and being sensitive to the small acts of kindness, building friendship with, bridging cultural and language differences, and … knowing when to respect the need for privacy.A possible change of Mass time to our Sunday morning Mass at St. Joseph’s was discussed. Is 11.00am too late? Children’s Liturgy: we are delighted with how it’s developing again. Thanks to our volunteers. We had a good turnout for our Baptism Programme on Monday evening. Thanks again to our Baptism Team.

Food hygiene

The Chief Environmental Health Officer for Durham County carried out an inspection of St Joseph’s kitchen assessing the food safety & hygiene practices of the Volunteers who are involved in the preparation & serving of food for Parish events. I’m delighted to report that a Hygiene Rating of 5 has been awarded. This is the highest grading and all involved in catering activities should be very proud. Keep up the good work

Counters needed - weekly count

Dear Parishioners –

Since the onset of COVID the number of people willing to count the collections each week has dropped from 24 members to 10 and we are trying to recruit more parishioners who would be willing to help with this important task making it less onerous for all concerned. The count is done at St. Joseph’s on either Sunday after 11 a.m. Mass or on Monday morning - the day and time is decided upon by each individual who would then be placed in a group counting at the requested time. At present there are only 2 members in each team and it takes approximately 2 hours – less if there is no second collection. Obviously more hands make lighter and shorter work. The rota is very flexible and if any date does not suit it is possible to swap your turn with another counter on the rota. All newcomers will join existing groups to learn the counting procedures. We really need more volunteers so if you are able to help your priest and Parish please contact Janet Nichols . Many thanks and God Bless.