Lent Lectures 2010
Churches Together in North Shields has organised a varied series of 4 lectures during the season of Lent, which runs from Ash Wednesday (17 February) to Holy Saturday (3 April). The first lecture, on 23 February, was held at North Shields Methodist Church in Hawkeys Lane. The speaker, Revd Elaine Lindridge, Evangelism Coordinator for the Newcastle Methodist District, gave an engaging presentation on practical evangelism. With use of personal stories and PowerPoint slides, Mrs Lindridge emphasised that the heart of evangelism was love for our neighbours. In some ways, 21st century Britain may be regarded as a post-Christian society, and it ...
Churches Together in Unity
Over a hundred Christians from diverse traditions came together for worship on Sunday 24 January. Clergy and worshippers representing Churches Together in North Shields met in Christ Church, the parish church near the town centre. The joint evening service marked the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an annual event organised by the World Council of Churches. The large congregation sang enthusiastically, accompanied by a music group from Holy Saviour’s, Tynemouth. Readings and prayers were given by men and women from several churches, including our own St Columba’s. This year, the readings all came from the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke’s gospel ...
Christmas Eve
(originally posted 29/12/2009; reinstated after crash 15/1/2010) St Columba’s Church was packed to capacity for a candle-lit carol service on Christmas Eve. The early evening service included 9 Christmas carols and 9 Christmas Bible readings. It also featured a sung duet, a violin and keyboard duet, a clarinet and keyboard duet, and an organ and keyboard duet. Christingles were lit, and “Silent Night” was sung by candlelight alone, with the aid of the church’s new data projector, used today for the first time. An offering was taken in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society, raising over £300.
Nativity
(originally posted 21/12/2009; reinstated after crash 15/1/2010) St Columba’s young people presented a different angle on the Nativity service to a packed church on Sunday 20 December. The children and young people sang, read and acted out the story of Jesus’ birth beautifully, but this year with an extra dimension. We were invited to consider how the story might have played out from the point of view of a slightly less wise man, who spent so long on various distractions that he missed the opportunity to visit Jesus. Our minister, Revd Liz Blair, summed up by challenging listeners not to miss out ...
Welcome to our Winter Wonderland
(originally posted 14/12/2009; reinstated after crash 14/1/2010) St Columba’s Church was transformed into a winter wonderland for our seasonal flower festival. The church was decorated with four large and a dozen small displays of flowers to coincide with North Shields’ annual Victorian Christmas Market, taking place in Northumberland Square in front of the church on 12 and 13 December. The display included white roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, gypsophila, and variegated holly, along with five large white ’snowballs’. Our doors were opened to visitors, who were able to enjoy soup, scones and tea in the church hall, and visit fair trade and handicrafts stalls, in ...
Church Sends Love for Christmas
St Columba's has collected 230 boxes of Christmas presents for children in poor countries. Our church has supported the annual shoebox appeal for 10 years, and 2009 was no exception. Operation Christmas Child is a project run by British charity Samaritan's Purse. Last year, over 1.2 million presents, gift-wrapped in shoeboxes, were sent from the UK to children in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, regardless of their background or beliefs. St Columba's Church sees its mission in showing the love of God as he is known to us through Jesus Christ. By enabling children in impoverished parts of the world to experience ...
Welcome to St Columba’s Church
