Evangelisation News from the Team working in South Tyneside
 
Sr Michael writes:

"A Wake-up Call to South Tyneside:

"Catholicism has a long and proud tradition in South Tyneside - Jarrow, Hebburn and South Shields. On Saturday 25th October 2008 forty five members of the cluster met with Clare Ward of CASE and the Diocesan Evangelisaton Team to be challenged and called to be Heralds of the Gospel in South Tyneside.

"Clare inspired us all with three inputs and power points: Culture, Language and Telling our Story – all related to the present day and all very relevant to the 21st Century and the world we now live in with all its challenges, positive and negative. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the day was the participation of the people: in the morning, we had role play of parish types who might be resistant to evangelisation – the traditionalist, the know-all, the harassed single parent and the devout 'do-gooder'. Do you recognise yourself in any of these? We did.

"In the afternoon we had faith stories and testimonies from three people which were very moving and equally challenging. Good music and good food (Fr Peter Martin on the soup) made for a nourishing day both spiritually and temporally. Now it’s over to the Deanery to implement some of the many ideas raised during the day."

To see photos and a full report of the day see
www.rcdhn.org.uk/evangel2/newsbits/heraldsjarrowoct08.php

Further events for your diary: a time of formation based on the ideas put forward:

Nov 29th 10.30 -1.30 at St Bede’s Jarrow
March 21st 10.30-1.30 at St Gregorys South Shields
May 31st 2-5pm at St Aloysius Hebburn S Tyneside.

Evangelisation and daily life

Continuing a series, written by people from our diocese, connecting life and evangelisation :

"We're never promised an easy journey. Only a safe arrival."
I regularly listen to “Thoughts for the Day” on Radio 4 and when I get a quote I usually say to myself “must remember that”. More often than not, by 10 o’clock I can’t remember the quote I heard at 8’oclock. This quote is different and every day it comes back to me.
It is the safe arrival which keeps me going. I have had many long tedious journeys, but I get home to a warm welcome and then problems of the journey fade into insignificance. This will be nothing, compared with the homecoming we will have when we finally meet our Father in Heaven. So every day, I hold on to this promise and I can travel on through life with its up and downs, confident that I will have a safe arrival.

Reflection
A series written by a different member of the Diocesan Team each month.

In November we remember our Dead and the Holy Souls. The Christian Life highlights Resurrection. To resurrect we need first to die. I read once that there are two kinds of dying: one bringing death, another bringing life. Laurens Van Der Post, in the “The Seed and the Sower”, speaks of death not just as something which happens to end life but something which affects our living. Something bad happens and something within dies.

Evangelisation is about bringing life: Christ is our life.

Is there anyone we need to forgive; myself, or another, an event I need to be freed or free others from? Many people that Jesus met were in this situation. In this month of November can we bring the gift of healing and freedom, to self and others, which he patterned for us?

Evangelise month by month
November

It's about this time of year we start thinking about Christmas and buying Christmas Cards! How about making a definite decision only to send cards with a Christian image, perhaps cards which include a scriptural text inside?

Come Home For Christmas 2008

Come Home For Christmas, the national initiative by CASE to attract 'lapsed' or resting Catholics back to church, is already attracting interest again this year.

This year there are three different cards to appeal to different parishes.

See www.rcdhn.org.uk/evangel2/chfc08resources.php for more information and download cards etc.

See also www.comehomeforchristmas.co.uk

Bottom Line

The following was overheard at a recent 'high society' party:

"My ancestry goes back all the way to Alexander the Great," said Christine. She then turned to Miriam and asked, "How far back does your family go?"

"I don't know," replied Miriam, "All of our records were lost in the flood." 
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