Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope,
where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.
~ Pope Francis
Safeguarding – The Holy Name Parish operates at all times in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance, the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and our Diocese’s policies and procedures. Our parish Safeguarding representative is Madeleine Hardy who can be contacted via the parish office (0191) 281 0940. Alternatively, you can contact the Diocesan Safeguarding personnel by email at safeguarding@diocesehn.org.uk, by telephone (0191) 243 3305 or via its website
Please remember the following who are ill – Fr John Skivington, Frank McCombie, Winifrede McCombie, George Taylor, Bob Murphy and a severely mentally ill person. May the Lord grant them comfort, strengthen them in their weakness, take away their fear and give them his peace.
A Stay in Hospital – If you or any members of your family are going into hospital and would like to see the Catholic Chaplain, please ask a member of the ward staff to contact the Catholic Chaplain. Alternatively, you can contact the Chaplaincy Department Office directly. For the RVI and Freeman Hospitals here in Newcastle, telephone 0191 233 6161 (Catholic Chaplain: Fr Mariadass). In an emergency, please ask the Ward Sister to contact the on-call Catholic chaplain. Please do not contact your own parish priest who will be unable to respond due to hospital protocols.
Prayer for People Critically Ill or Facing Great Uncertainty
God of the present moment,
God who in Jesus stills the storm and soothes the frantic heart,
bring hope and courage to all who wait or work in uncertainty.
Bring them hope that you will make them the equal of whatever lies ahead.
Bring them courage to endure what cannot be avoided,
for your will is health and wholeness;
you are God, and we need you.
—Adapted from New Zealand Prayer Book, p. 765
Office Hours – Excluding Bank Holidays, the normal parish office hours are Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm. Emails received outside these times will be answered on the next working day.
Who We Are – Our parish has a growing, talented congregation – growing in the numbers taking part in Mass, in the diversity of participants, including young families, and in the range of social, spiritual and cultural activities. Everyone is welcome to join us. The average number of people taking part in Mass for the four weekends of October was 285.
In our parish we currently have a total of 96 people carrying out 30 different roles. Would you like to join them? If so, please contact Fr Campion.
Sunday 1 February 2026 – Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Mass Times and Intentions 31 January – 8 February 2026
Saturday – Mass 4pm – Kathleen Gregor (A)
Sunday – Mass 10am – John Forster (A)
Tuesday – Mass 10am – Colin Ramshaw (A) and Rene Marston (B)
Thursday – Holy Communion Service 10am (in the hall)
Saturday – Mass 4pm – Hylda Finnigan (A)
Sunday – Mass 10am – Pro Populo
Racial Justice Sunday 2026 – Today the Church invites us to reflect on the need to oppose racism and pursue racial justice with renewed vigour. This year’s theme is: “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21): Promoting Racial Justice in our Parishes. Read more.
From our Chair of Finance
In the dim recesses of our minds, who can remember the Pandemic-era urgency of introducing streamed Masses and cashless donations? Since then, both developments have matured into permanent features. Our Holy Name streaming easily matches Hollywood’s Panavision© best, while cashless transactions are the norm – everywhere. Our current cashless payment system was innovative in its time, but has suffered from reliability problems. So, we are moving on and aiming to achieve:
- Greater capacity – we will have two terminals at the back of church
- Increased flexibility – we will be able to collect not only for Holy Name funds, but also special collections, specific fund-raising and perhaps even ticket, etc sales.
- Easier administration – for “traditional” signed-up Gift Aiders, those who wish to sign-up and those who simply want to make a one-off or occasional donation, all will be simplified in our dealings with HMRC to obtain our tax relief (which is currently worth about £28,000 pa).
We will implement the changes over the next few weeks, with the aim of being fully functional by the start of the new tax year on 6 April 2026.
What are the obvious changes?
- There will be two terminals at the back of church – they are bigger than before, but much cleverer
- If you wish to gift aid your donation, there is a one-off registration process to go through so that the system recognises your card to meet HMRC recognition requirements. Both debit or credit cards can be used – but if at all possible, please use the same card for all future donations. You can also use your phone to make a donation.
Importantly, for those who donate by the “traditional” Standing Order process – nothing need change for you! More will be revealed next weekend when we have the big switch-on – meanwhile, try to contain your excitement…. ~ Michael Howard, Chair : Finance Committee
On Monday the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today’s liturgy. Before the revision of the General Roman Calendar this marked the end of the Christmas season.
In this poem, translated from Middle Irish by Eleanor Hull (the same woman who, through her translation and versification, gave us the hymn “Be Thou My Vision”!), Mary foresees the future suffering of her infant son and discusses it with him.
Mary’s Vision
” Are you asleep. Mother ? “
” I am not, indeed, my son.”
” How is that. Mother ? “
” Because of a vision I have of thee.”
” What vision is that. Mother ? “
” There came a slim dark man on a slender black steed,
A sharp lance in his left hand.
Which pierced thy right side.
Letting thy sacred blood pour down upon thee.”
” True is that vision, Mother.”
Baptism Preparation – The parents and godparents of babies and young children who are to be baptised must take part in a short Baptism Preparation Course held in the Parish Hall. The course helps them understand what they are undertaking in asking to have their children baptised and it also provides practical advice and help with the ceremony. The course is for parents for whom it is their first child to be baptised and who have been invited by the parish priest to take part. The next courses are from 10am to 12 noon on Saturday 28 March and Saturday 6 June. For further information about Baptism at Holy Name, please check this link: Baptism – Holy Name
Requiescant in Pace– Please remember in your prayers Canon Robert Spence whose Requiem Mass takes place on Tuesday at Ushaw; Christine Gill whose Requiem Mass will be held here on Friday 13 February at 10am; and Molly Hearne (mother of Catherine) whose Funeral Mass takes place on Friday 20 February at 11.30am in St Mary’s Church, Whickham.
Refugee Project Donations – The next collection will be on Saturday 7 February from 9 to 10am in the hall on Towers Avenue. Items requested this month are cooking oil, sugar, plain white flour, washing up liquid, evaporated milk, cornflakes, tomato ketchup, corned beef, nappies size 5 & 6 and unopened toiletries. Any spare plastic bags are always welcome.
Pilgrimage – About 30 people attended Kerry Clegg’s presentation on Tuesday about her experience of walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a 500-mile ancient pilgrimage across northern Spain. Many thanks to Kerry for a most enjoyable evening.
Parish Social Events – Our Book Club, Wine Club, Bridge Club, Poetry Club, Walking Club, Film Club and other social activities are open to all members of the community. You don’t have to be a Catholic or a member of the parish to join. All are welcome.
Holy Name Film Club – On Friday 6 February at 7pm we will be showing Roman Polanski’s 1988 neo-noir mystery thriller Frantic, starring Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, Betty Buckley and John Mahoney. Ford is Richard Walker, a surgeon visiting Paris with his wife to attend a medical conference. A shocking turn of events leaves him isolated and frantic and sets him on a nerve-jangling tour of the underbelly of Paris that climaxes in a life-or-death confrontation on the Seine. Critics on its release variously hailed it as “Polanski’s best film ever” and “vintage Polanski”, while American critic Roger Ebert, éminence grise of 20th century cinema, said: “to watch the opening scenes of Frantic is to be reminded of Polanski’s talent. Here is one of the few modern masters of the thriller and the film noir. Frantic is a reminder of how absorbing a good thriller can be”. So, join us for a great evening and see what all the fuss is about! ~ Martin Wheeler
Church Visit – Would you like to know more aboutthe various objects and items we routinely see within a Catholic Church? If so, come along to the church on Saturday 28 February at 10amfor an explanation. Then from 11am to 12 noon we will meet in the Parish Hall to consider how the Holy Spirit works in the Church, bringing us together into one Christian family, touching our lives in so many ways, above all through the sacraments. All are very welcome to attend. ~ Deacon Jeremy Wynne
Parish Bookstall – Did you receive a book at Christmas that you have already read or wasn’t your thing? Or did you enjoy one so much that you would like to share it with other people? Please consider donating it to the bookstall. You can leave any at the back of church after Mass on Saturday or take them round to the hall on Sunday morning. Many thanks for your generosity. ~ Lynn and Kevin Dresser
Tuesday is the birthday of painter Norman Rockwell, born 1894, whose illustrations of everyday American life graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post for over 50 years. Rockwell painted soldiers, mooney-eyed teenaged lovers, and doughy policemen. Rockwell’s paintings appeared on the cover of the Post more than 300 times.
Holy Name Book Club – All are welcome to the next meeting on Wednesday 25 February to discuss Persuasion by Jane Austen. Future selections are Horse Under Water by Len Deighton, Never Mind by Edward St Aubyn and Between Two Worlds by Olivier Norek.
Holy Name Poetry Group – We next meet on Wednesday 18 February at 7pm in the hall for poems on the theme of ‘Humour’. All are welcome to join our merry group – just take along a published poem of your choice related to the theme.
Holy Ghost
by June Robertson Beisch
The congregation sang off key.
The priest was rambling.
The paint was peeling in the Sacristy.
A wayward pigeon, trapped in the church,
flew wildly around for a while and then
flew toward a stained glass window,
but it didn’t look like reality.
The ushers yawned, the dollar bills
drifted lazily out of the collection baskets
and a child in the front row began to cry.
Suddenly, the pigeon flew down low,
swooping over the heads of the faithful
like the Holy ghost descending at Pentecost
Everyone took it to be a sign,
Everyone wants so badly to believe.
You can survive anything if you know
that someone is looking out for you,
but the sky outside the stained glass window,
doesn’t it look like home ?
Holy Name Bridge Club – We meet each Wednesday in the Holy Name parish hall on Towers Avenue from 1pm to 3.30 pm. We are a friendly group who welcome all, whether beginner or experienced and all the stages in between. Play is non-competitive but social. You don’t need a partner as we play with a different one each week and experienced players are quite happy to play with a beginner. At present we have one male member who would like more men to join so he wouldn’t feel outnumbered by the women. We bring a drink and pause halfway through for a chat. If this sounds appealing, please come and join us. Just turn up!
Altar Serving at Holy Name – Would you like to be an altar server at Holy Name? The ministry of Altar Serving is an important liturgical role which assists the priest at Mass and at other services to enhance the celebration and which serves God and the community. We are looking to add to our current Team of altar servers. You must have received your First Holy Communion in the Catholic Church and there is no upper age limit. All training will be provided. To find out more, or to express an interest, please contact Deacon Jeremy either in person or by email at jeremy.wynne@diocesehn.org.uk
A Changing Priesthood? – St John Henry Newman wrote, in his Essay on the Development of Doctrine, ‘Here below to live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often’. Regarding in particular the Sacrament of Orders, what changes might be possible? What might not be possible in the future? Fr Sean Hall will give a lecture on ‘A Changing Priesthood?’ on 10 MARCH at 7pm in the hall. Fr Sean is parish priest of St Mary’s, Forest Hall and St Aidan’s, Benton. Having studied at the universities of Durham and Louvain, he taught Theology and Church History at Ushaw College. Since then, he has held a number of posts in the diocese, including Director of Religious Education and Director of Diaconate Formation. He continues to be actively involved in adult education in the diocese and further afield.
The Faithful Departing
In December, the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a conservative-leaning Catholic media empire [in the United States], released the results of a poll of Catholic opinion. It found that 52 per cent of Catholics viewed Trump favourably and 37 per cent unfavourably – a reversal of the results of the Pew poll from September. However, the EWTN poll also asked which Catholics still support Trump and his policies. According to the EWTN poll, it is those Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more who are most supportive of Trump and the Maga agenda. They are more likely to support mass deportations, the expansive use of the death penalty, the trashing of aid and climate change policies, Trump’s military adventures, his war on the poor and his tax-cutting for the rich. “Cafeteria Catholics” was once a term used to deride twice-a-year Catholics who would pick and choose between items of Church teaching; it now seems to apply to the ostensibly more pious Catholics in our pews, too. ~ Stephen Schneck, ‘The Faithful Departing’, The Tablet 24 January 2026
Walking Group – Our next outing will be on Thursday 12 February at the Derwent Walk Country Park. This will be an easy pleasant riverside walk of 4-5 miles which takes us along a disused railway track, into woodland and through the Thornley Wood Sculpture trail. Regular walkers will be sent details in due course. If you are interested and have not yet registered please contact Barbara Cooper, Parish Secretary.
Nature Notes – Gardeners who over-tidy their beds and borders in winter should not be surprised when they see fewer butterflies, bees, grasshoppers, moths and other insects in spring. Having bred, the adult forms of many native invertebrates die off in autumn, leaving eggs, nymphs or larvae to survive winter, tucked away in dead vegetation, under leaves, on old twigs and inside stems. These form the following year’s insect population, numbers of which can be devastated when gardeners rake up leaves and cut back vegetation, bagging it up or putting it in a lidded compost bin. If natural but “untidy” flowerbeds feel intolerable, leaving dead plant matter in a loose, uncompacted open pile until late spring will help some of the young insects survive. Melissa Harrison in The Times, 27 January
Holy Name Choir – Why not come along and sing with us? Singing in the choir makes a great contribution to the worship at Holy Name, and just about anyone can do it. Singing is good for your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, and it’s great to try new things – it’s enormous fun and really satisfying, and you’ll get to know a great bunch of people at the same time! Don’t worry if you’ve never done it before, can’t read music or are a slow learner: we provide easy online learning aids for all the music we sing, so you can sit at home and learn the music at your own pace. We sing some beautiful music, but we’re all just amateurs giving it our best shot, we take all the time we need learning a new piece; the choir is a close-knit, friendly group and we all support each other. Rehearsals take place most Saturdays from 5pm to 6.15pm, with a quick warm up on Sunday morning at 9:30am. So, if you enjoy having a sing, can basically hold a tune and think you’d like to give it a try, just speak to any member of the choir. ~ Martin Wheeler, Choir Director
Lost Property – Some items left in church have been claimed but the majority are now bagged up waiting to be taken to a charity shop. If anyone is willing to take these – two children’s blackboards and a child safety gate – to a charity shop, please contact the parish office. You will need a car.
Celebration of Marriage – The annual Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Stephen Wright in St Mary’s Cathedral, Clayton Street West, Newcastle on Saturday 14 February at 12 noon. Married or engaged couples or widows are welcome to take part, especially those celebrating a significant wedding anniversary this year (or since last February’s Mass). If you wish to take part, please contact the parish office.
In the 2025 Holy Year of Jubilee, Holy Name parishioners undertook three pilgrimages to follow the Northern Saints and visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Jesmond. Each of them was a joyful occasion with the opportunity for reflection, prayer and celebration of community. To read more and view the gallery of photographs.
Holy Island SVP Summer Camps 2026 – Applications are now open for children in school Years 5-7 for Holy Island Summer Camps. The children spend a week in our centre on the island over the Summer holidays. Transport takes the children from Tyneside to our residential centre and all meals, accommodation and activities are included in the cost. For more information, please visit our website: Holy Island SVP Vinnies Camp https://svp.org.uk/microsite/ozanam-camp
Do you have some spare time on your hands and want a fulfilling volunteer role? – Our residential centre on Holy Island needs volunteers in 2026. There are lots of roles: Working with the children on ourVinnies Summer Camps, during the summer holidays as a caretaker, kitchen assistants, cooks, and volunteering to work directly with the children. It’s hard work, but so much fun and very worthwhile! No cost, just your time and patience for an interesting week on this beautiful island! Or perhaps you are retired or have flexible holidays and could give some time to help at our Term Time Camps. We need people who can take on a caretaking role or help in the kitchen with serving meals, cooking or operating the dishwasher! These Camps allow hundreds of children from the Diocese and further afield have a great residential holiday in our centre. Guaranteed hard work but fantastic memories too! To join our fabulous team or find out more information about any of the roles and to volunteer, please visit our website: Holy Island SVP Vinnies Camp https://svp.org.uk/microsite/ozanam-camp or contact BarbaraT@svp.org.uk
Jesmond Library Talks – On Thursday 12 February at 6pm, local historian Margaret Bozic talks about the various ways of crossing the Tyne Gap from Newcastle to Carlisle – including the abortive canal proposal, which is one of Northern History’s great might-have-beens. Admission £3 at the door
Parish Council – Members are nominated by parishioners and appointed by the parish priest. Current members are: Clare Robson (Chair), Aaron Gamboa, Dominic Manfredi, Deacon Jeremy Wynne, Sheila Jackson, Susan Carr, Madeleine Hardy (Safeguarding), Michael Howard (Finance), Tony McPhillips, Tessa Burton-Roberts, Nicholas Stonor, John Waddell and Fr Campion (ex officio).
Finance & Buildings Committee – This committee shares with the parish priest in the financial management of the parish. Members have some expertise and experience in financial matters. The current members are: Michael Howard (Chair), John Devine, Stephanie Grant (Health and Safety), Paul Lee, Joan Louw, Tony McPhillips and John Welsh. Clare Robson also sits on the Finance Committee in her role as Chair of Parish Council. New members are always welcome. For further information, contact the Chair on (0191) 281 5769 or any member of the committee.
Used Stamps, Medals and Jewellery – Used postage stamps (any country or period), foreign currency (notes and coins from any country), broken or unwanted pieces of gold/silver jewellery, military medals from any conflict and any old stamp albums may be left at the back of church in a marked envelope or dropped off at the presbytery for Barbara, our parish secretary, to deliver them to David and Theresa O’Neill. David can be contacted on telephone 0191 264 5771 or email david-oneill3@sky.com
Dissatisfied? Taking part in Mass at Holy Name should be a prayerful and uplifting experience. If you are dissatisfied with the service you receive or with any aspect of parish life, including its management, please let Fr Campion know. Our members’ satisfaction is paramount. ‘The Christian faithful have the right and even at times, the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters that obtain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known’. (Code of Canon Law 212.3)
Sunday Mass: Saturday 4pm, Sunday 10am 