St Cuthbert’s is the Parish Church for the people of Coulby Newham, Easterside & Marton

December
St Cuthbert’s and St Agnes Weekly News
2012
www. stcuthbertmarton.org.uk email: ask@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Vicar: The Rev’d Andy Grant. The Vicarage, Stokesley Road, Marton, 50p where sold
Middlesbrough, TS7 8JU. telephone: 01642 974176 email: vicar@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
17th May 2020 FREE ISSUE

Trust in God, not your feelings!

Hello everyone! Week nine of the lockdown is upon us (with only minimal restrictions eased thus far);
I hope that in this long continuous wait for better news on the coronavirus front, you have been able to
wait upon the Lord that he may renew your strength and give you his hope and peace in the midst of
the uncertainty and tragedy that besets our nation at present. My reflections this week focus upon the
words and promises of Jesus as found in St John’s Gospel, chapter 14, verses 15 to 21.
A major part of our humanity is our capacity to feel emotion. We feel a whole range of emotions as
human beings; anything from intense anger, distress and deep sorrow, right through to peace, joy, and unbridled happi-
ness, even ecstasy (and all that falls in-between). Yet talking about or sharing our ‘emotions’ is not always easy. We are
probably more comfortable about sharing our feelings when we are happy and at peace. Yet when we are feeling low or
unhappy, we often deny those feelings ‘publicly’ because somewhere in our past, we probably heard that to show nega-
tive emotion, sadness, or to shed tears was weak or stupid (which of course is utter rubbish). Or, we are concerned
that ‘opening up’ will expose our vulnerability (oh how we love to feel strong, in control, and above all the challenges of
life!). Our feelings will often depend upon circumstance – we are invariably at the mercy of circumstances and events,
many of which are out of our control. Alternatively, some people are an open book and you can read them because
they emotionally leak all over the place; others hide their feelings with stoic resistance. Our feelings are also heavily im-
pacted by our relationships with others, and how messy our interactions can be with each other. I could go on; but you
will know how from your own experience how complex this human life is.
Jesus knows us! And thank God he knows us! If there is anyone we can be truly open and honest with, it is him. There
is no need to manage, compress, or neatly package our feelings before Jesus; he just accepts us in whatever state we are
in. He also knows that our feelings are unpredictable and sometimes unreliable. So thankfully, his command that our
love for him is expressed primarily by obedience (intent and action), and not feeling. Can you imagine if Jesus said: ‘if you
love me, make sure you feel that you love me’. We would all fall woefully short if that was the case. Whilst we can at times
have feelings of love for Jesus, they are not consistent nor that reliable; and at times we may even feel ambivalent to-
wards him. His command is that we obey him, and that we express our love for him in that obedience. Our feelings do
not necessarily need to synchronise with doing the right thing. We can ‘feel’ very little yet still do what is right, and what
is the will of God for us. Obeying Jesus is not about slavish obedience to an unquestionable and remote deity; but having
a heart and mind filled with the promised Holy Spirit, acting upon those prompts and nudges from God, to do the right
thing, to love, to forgive, to have mercy, to be generous, to serve, to care etc. Obeying Jesus cannot be done effectively
without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That is why Jesus follows up his command to his disciples that they must obey
him as an expression of their love for him, by the promise of an advocate, a helping hand, a guide, the Holy Spirit himself.
What a truly wonderful help the Holy Spirit is; 100% reliable and supremely consistent and perfect in his power and love;
what a help he is for us complex, fragile souls, whose feelings waver and whose faithfulness can be patchy! Thank God
for Jesus and his perfect obedience and for the fact he never wavered from the will of God.
God bless you all. Amen.
Rev’d Andy Grant

Live Streaming of Worship at St Cuthbert’s

Sundays
10.00am Holy Communion and 6.30pm Night Prayer
Tuesdays
10.00am Toddy’s Toddlers (Story and prayers for small children)
Wednesdays
10.00am Morning Prayer and Thought for the Day
For those without internet access there will be prayers in this newsletter every week.
Ascension Day Thursday 21st May
6.30pm Ascension day service

If you have any news to tell us please email to: news@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

 BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK COMMENCING 17th MAY 2020
Sunday 17th May Acts 17.22-31 Psalm 66.7-end 1 Peter 3.13-end John 14.15-21

Monday 18th May Acts 16.11-15 Psalm 149.1-5 John 15.26—16.4

Tuesday 19th May Acts 16.22-34 Psalm 138 John 16.5-11

Wednesday 20th May Acts 17.15, 22—18.1 Psalm 148.1-2, 11-end John 16.12-15
Thursday Acts 1.1-11 or Ephesians 1.15-end or
Ascension Day 21st May Daniel 7.9-14 Psalm 47 or Psalm 93 Luke 24.44-end
Acts 1.1-11

Friday 22nd May Acts 18.9-18 Psalm 47.1-6 John 16.20-23

Saturday 23rd May Acts 18.22-end Psalm 47.1-2, 7-end John 16.23-28

Access To Church
The Archbishop of York has written to all churches to inform them that clergy are now permitted to enter church build-
ings to pray and lead on-line worship services. This is a small step in the right direction, but still a long way off from nor-
mal church life and congregational worship being restored.
Baptisms, weddings and funerals in church are still not permitted at present.

St Cuthbert’s Churchyard
This week I was disturbed to see a video of our churchyard posted on Facebook with various comments such as “what a
shame it has been allowed to decay”. I saw this as a bit of a slap in the face for our dedicated maintenance team who
work hard every month to keep it tidy.
There were also several kind offers of help from concerned parishioners. Thank you for those but PLEASE DON’T do
any work in the churchyard until we are given permission to do so by our Church leadership.
As well as issues with Covid-19 there are also important safety issues for people working alone which need to be consid-
ered which is why whenever we do maintenance work there is a team on site watching out for each other. We will be
glad of any help we can get when we can get back to regular non essential maintenance.
Just to add that because the churchyard is closed for burials its is the responsibility of Middlesbrough Council to maintain
it. In normal times they cut the grass, test the gravestones for safety and do a decent job given the difficulties of sunken
graves etc. These are not normal times and clearly the council is under pressure. I would prefer that they concentrate
on delivering food to the self isolating, emptying our dustbins and caring for the people rather than maintaining our
churchyard.
I also want us all to stay safe and not take unnecessary risks so that one day in the not too distant future we can all re-
turn to our beautiful Church and use it for that which it is intended, praising the Lord.
Alan Proudler—Churchwarden

PHONE THE CLERGY

The clergy are doing their best to phone around to say hello to the church families of St Cuthbert's and St Agnes, but do
feel free to call us, particularly if we haven't got round to calling you yet. We don't want anyone to feel that they cannot
just pick up the phone; we would love to hear from you!

Telephone numbers and email addresses for Andy, Claire and Sam are on page four of this newsletter.

Please remember Pauline Howard in your prayers after the sudden death of her nephew Peter, she will feel this very
deeply as they were very close.
More sad news from Freda Ford who reports that Eileen Peverell, sister of Joyce Lawrence from Easter-
side died in her nursing home this week. Let us remember her in our prayers!

Stay safe, His spirit is with us!

KEEPY UPPY fundraiser for the NHS
Jack Clayton (Sarah and John Clayton’s son) has
set up a just giving page, raising money for the
NHS.
He has attempted to do as many keepy
uppys as possible, and managed 101! He counted more,
but if people could sponsor just 1 penny for each keepy
uppy - that would be £1 more to the fund.
The links to Jack’s “just giving“ page and video are as
follows:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dalmatianjack
https://vimeo.com/413900595
For those who don’t already know Keepy uppy, is the skill of
juggling with an association football using feet, lower legs,
knees, chest, shoulders, and head, without allowing the ball to
hit the ground.
Come on St Cuthbert’s and St Agnes’ lets support Jack
and the NHS!
Regular Giving to St Cuthbert's
If you would like to contribute to the running of our
Church the easiest way to donate is by direct credit, if
you would like to do this regularly or as a one off dona-
tion our bank details are as follows:
Name: PCC of Marton in Cleveland Church A/C
Sort Code: 30-95-56
Account No.: 00274161
Your financial support is greatly appreciated at all
times but particularly now during these unprece-
dented times.
Digital resources
Weekly service broadcasts-detailed on the front page
Live streaming services from St Cuthbert’s Church.
These are available through our Facebook page.
Time to Pray app
Everything you need for Prayer During the Day, with varia-
tions according to the day of the week and the season of the
Church’s year. Download for free.
Daytime prayer and Night prayer service audio
Building on the existing daily prayer feed, this includes daytime
prayer and night prayer for each day. It will be available as a
downloadable app in the coming weeks.
The BBC's Daily Service and Sunday Worship
Prayer for the day - each day the Church of Eng-
land publishes audio and text of the Prayer for the Day.
Mental health reflections – 13 daily reflections that seek to
provide hope, reassurance and comfort. We have al-
so published five tips to help tackle loneliness and isolation.
Pause for Prayer
When Illness Strikes
Risen Lord,
when many of our fellow citizens
succumb to illness at the same time,
you are there, standing in the midst.
We easily panic – or else unreasonably feel
it will never happen to us.
Be the rock in our turbulence,
the calm in our storm,
And strengthen those who give their skill and care
to return us to health and well-being.
Through Him who is always the resurrection
and the life,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
From Pocket Prayers for Troubled Times compiled by John Pritchard
 St Cuthbert’s Church, Marton.
Intercession Prayers

Please Remember in your prayers

Long Term
Barrie Harvey and family, Dorothy Murrell, Sue Hanson, Dorothy Ward-Thompson, Tony Simms, Eileen, Margery
Ormeston,
Medium Term
Libby, Charlotte, David, Jean Berry, Lydia, Gail, Neil, Marianne, Gordon, Tom, John Shaw, Christine, Joyce Hodg-
son, Janet, Olwen, Mary Featherstone, Hilary Clarke, Jack, The Roberts Family, Maggie, Linda & Bob Crocker. Francis
Iseton, Emma Smithson, Sarah Clayton, Joyce Lawrence and family and Pauline Howard.
Pray for all who are suffering from Coronavirus , all who are self isolating, all, who are worried, the home-
less and all who are sick, especially for Eileen Peverell, (sister of Joyce Lawrence from Easterside) died in
her nursing home this week (not Covid-19) and Pauline Howard after the sad loss of her nephew Peter.
If you would like us to pray for someone who is sick or prayers for yourself please email your request to:
pray@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

Pastoral Care
Weddings Sadly, there can be no weddings in church buildings until further notice.
Funerals may now only happen at the Crematorium or at the graveside. Only immediate family members can attend (if the cremato-
rium allows) – that is, spouse or partner, parents and children, keeping their distance in the prescribed way.
Baptisms Emergency baptisms can take place in a hospital or at home, though subject to strict hygiene precautions and physical dis-
tancing as far as this is possible.
Pastoral Care List. Please contact Andy or Claire if you would like someone from our Church to stay in touch.

CONTACT DETAILS FOR ST CUTHBERT’S CHURCH

Vicar Rev’d Andy Grant 01642 974176 vicar@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

Curate Rev’d Claire Todd 01642 294582 curate@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Associate Minister Rev’d Sam Tyndall 07562 593474 sam@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Churchwardens Alan Proudler 01642 975419 alanp@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Gordon Mallory 01642 313551 gordon@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Newsletter Editor Alan Proudler 01642 975419 news@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
P.C.C. Officers
Secretary Lindsay Gibson 01642 316201 secretary@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Treasurer Linda Proudler 01642 975419 treasurer@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk
Electoral Roll Linda Proudler 01642 975419 treasurer@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

Parish Office Answer machine only 01642 316201 ask@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

Office Manager Carole Paylor 01642 316201 admin@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk

Middlesbrough Council Advice & Support Did you know?

Hotline: 01642 729777 The Middlesbrough Council HelpBoro service can pro-
www.middlesbrough.gov.uk vide food parcels to people who are:
Email: helpboro@middlesbrough.gov.uk · ill with no support
Twitter: @covid19boro · self isolating with no support
Facebook: @covid19boro · On the NHS at risk register with no support
Useful Telephone Numbers · Provide foodbank vouchers for those in financial
Age UK Teesside 01642 805 500 hardship
Citizens Advice 03444 111444 Contact details are on the left.
Debt Advice 0800 138 1111 Citizens Advice can also provide Foodbank e-vouchers
Universal Credit 0800 328 5644 nationally which can be exchanged for food at the Middles-
EVA Women’s Aid 01642 490677 brough Foodbank Coulby Newham distribution Centre.
Foundation (Domestic Violence): 0300 4562214
 We want to make this a regular feature of stories
from you so please get in touch with anything you
want to tell your friends either by email:
news@stcuthbertmarton.org.uk or by telephone:
07488 347708
We would love to hear from you.

I received a nice card from Doreen Revell last week thanking me for sending her a newsletter, she said she was shocked
at the cost of postage when she recently purchased a book of second class stamps and enclosed a cheque with a gener-
ous donation towards our postage costs, thank you Doreen.
Linda, our treasurer has been using a wonderful app from Lloyds Bank which allows us to pay cheques into the Church
account without going to the bank. The service is pretty much instant with cheques being credited that day and without
the risk of exposure to the dreaded virus. So far she has used the service successfully eight times during lockdown.
My apologies to Rev’d Claire for suggesting in last weeks newsletter that she had taken two weeks holiday. This is what
she was actually doing during that time! Claire said:
“I only had 5 days off, not two weeks (if only). I was off from the Wed to the Sunday inclusive and had much to do with zoom
meetings for curates (including prep reading), vocations advisors (preparing for the changes in the process for discerning ordinands,
and the changes in the way the Bishop's Advisory Panels are done), clergy chapter, and other diocesan communications, along with
p/cs, admin, etc. In addition, preparing for my end of curacy interview, and getting my portfolio ready.
Perhaps you might include me being signed off by the diocese and beginning to discern where God wants me to be in the near fu-
ture. This might begin to prepare people for my impending departure, which, depending on how the pandemic situation evolves,
could well be before the end of the year.” Thanks Claire for that, we thought you only worked Sundays! J

Congratulations on being signed off your Curacy by the diocese, there will be sadness when you do depart St Cuthbert’s
where you are doing great work.

Frances Iseton is still in East Cleveland Hospital in Brotton for rehabilitation following treatment for her eye in the
James Cook University Hospital . When Revd Andy last spoke to her, she was in good spirits but would value every-
one's prayers for a good recovery.
Rev’d Dominic Black – Lets also remember Dominic in our prayers as he stepped down as Area Dean last week.
Dominic has served as Area Dean of Middlesbrough Deanery for 9 years during which time I served with him as Financial
Advisor (only giving up to take over as Chair of Middlesbrough Foodbank earlier this year). During his service as Area
Dean the change from Parish Share to Freewill Offer helped him to change the atmosphere and tone of Synod meetings
and focus on other things than finance. He put in a lot of effort to shape proposals for the future of our Deanery and
has worked very hard to for us all. I am sure we all wish him well as he moves back to Hull to take up his new post at
the minster after spending 30 years in Middlesbrough. He will be a very hard act to follow.
I had a nasty fright last week when one morning Linda woke me to reminded me it was our anniversary! Rapidly trying
to think had I missed something, not our wedding anniversary? No! Perhaps an important birthday? No! What then, 50
years since we got engaged to be married. How is a mere man supposed to remember that? I might have got away with
it, I’m still breathing!
Tom Jones - Its his birthday on 22nd May– Happy Birthday Tom!

Not Linda & I, we don’t

have a tandem!
 Prayer During the Day in Easter
Prayer During the Day in Easter The Collect of the day or the following prayer is said

O God, make speed to save us. Christ yesterday and today,

All O Lord, make haste to help us. the beginning and the end.
If I climb up to heaven, you are there. Alpha and Omega,
All If I make the grave my bed, you are there All time belongs to you,
also. and all ages;
to you be glory and power
Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; through every age and for ever.
today I am glorified with him.
Yesterday I was dead with Christ; All Amen.
today I am sharing in his resurrection.
Yesterday I was buried with him;
The Lord’s Prayer is said
today I am waking with him from the
sleep of death.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Sunday Psalm 114 hallowed be thy Name;
Monday Psalm 30 thy kingdom come;
Tuesday Psalm 66.1-11 thy will be done
Wednesday Psalm 106.1-12 in earth, as it is in heaven:
Thursday Psalm 111 Give us this day our daily bread;
Friday Psalm 145.1-8 and forgive us our trespasses,
Saturday Psalm 146 as we forgive them that trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
All Glory to the Father and to the Son
but deliver us from evil:
and to the Holy Spirit;
For thine is the kingdom,
as it was in the beginning is now
the power, and the glory,
and shall be for ever. Amen. for ever and ever.

Silence, study, music, or words from Scripture, such as May the risen Christ give us his peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers, All Alleluia. Amen.

All for they will be called children of God.
Copyright © The Archbishop’s Council 2006

Scams
Advice from our local MP Simon Clarke
Watch out for Coronavirus scams. Trust and seek family and friends. Never give bank or card details to
strangers to do shopping. Seek advice from trusted government sources.

Middlesbrough Foodbank is managing to maintain distribution of emergency food through five centres, St Barnabas Church, Holy
Trinity Church, Coulby Baptist Church, Grove Hill Methodist Church and MCC (Middlesbrough Community Church). Many of our
agents who issue vouchers are working from home during the crisis so are not issuing vouchers. Those centres are issuing code
numbers which they are texting to the distribution centres.
The Salvation Army in Southfield Road are the only agents still issuing vouchers. Citizens Advice Bureau are issuing foodbank e-
vouchers nationally, at the moment e-vouchers can only be exchanged at Coulby Newham as none of the other centres are set up to
receive them. Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation are handling emergency home deliveries for us for folk who are self isolating
and have no other way of collecting food.
Soroush our Foodbank manager reports that in normal times we have 10.5 tonnes of food at our depot ready for distribution, cur-
rently we are down to 1.5tonnes and relying on weekly donations of food from the major food retailers to keep us going. We are
supplementing this with purchases of additional food totalling £3,000 per week. We now have three vans delivering food to the dis-
tribution centres, demand is so great!
Donations of food and cash are gratefully accepted at our depot at Unit 5, Wear Court, Wallis Road, Skippers
Lane Industrial Estate, Middlesbrough, TS6 6DU, Monday to Wednesday each week, cash can be donated on
our web site: www.middlesbrough.foodbank.org.uk.