Newsletter - Baptism of Christ
11/01/26 (Year A)
Your weekly e-newsletter from the Benwell & Scotswood Team.
Services this week
Sunday
10am - St John's Holy Communion
10am - St Margaret's Holy Communion
11.15am - St James Parish Eucharist
Tuesday
4.30pm - Persian bible study at St James
Thursday
12pm - Venerable Bede Holy Communion
Dates for your diary
Tues 13 Jan
7pm - Standing committee online
Tues 20 Jan
7pm - PCC at St Margaret’s
Sun 1 Feb
11.15am - Candlemas team service at St James
Tues 17 Feb
Shrove Tuesday
Wed 18 Feb
Ash Wednesday (Lent begins)
Sun 29 Mar - Sun 5 Apr
Holy week
News
Candlemas 2026
Service at St James’, Benwell
11.15am - Sunday 1 February
St James’ Church, Benwell (NE15 6RS)
Lasting about 1 hour
Each year, we invite everyone baptised in our churches — along with their families and godparents — to come together for this special service.
If you still have your baptism candle, please bring it to light during the service (if not, don’t worry — we’ll have candles ready!).
Candlemas marks the time Jesus’ parents brought him to the Temple as a baby to give thanks to God. Traditionally, this occasion was when all the candles were blessed for use in church for the coming year. It is a celebration of light, new beginnings, and being part of God’s family.
P.S. If you have photos from baptisms in our churches — old or new — we’d love to see and share them.
MODS - mental health support group returns this Wednesday
St James Benwell Church hall, NE15 6RS
Wednesdays
Group starts at 1.30pm (arrive from 1.10pm). Finish by 2.30pm
MODS (Made of Diverse Stuff) is an ongoing mental health peer support group — helping us to help ourselves!
You can start and finish whenever you like, and rejoin at any time. This is an open and safe space to share whatever is going on for you - and you won’t be made to share anything you don’t want to.
Together, we’ll learn about our own mental health through visual aids, journaling, and discussion, discovering ways to improve our lives.
Kathy Germain, our Reader (Licensed Lay Minister), leads the group. She has many years of experience running mental health peer support groups and volunteering with Citizens Advice.
“Mental health has been part of my life and my family’s life since I was very young. It is a personal journey. This won’t be about me telling people what to do, but about helping you to improve your mental health. This is something that is very close to my heart.” — Kathy Germain
Bible study restarts this Tuesday
Tuesday 4.30pm to 6pm
At St James Benwell
A supportive group to build community and learn more about faith.
Everything happens in English with live Persian translation, but speakers of any language are welcome.
If you are curious about faith, if you are new to the country, or if you want a chance to deepen you faith, then this is a welcoming group where you can ask questions without judgment.
