Newsletter - Conversion of Paul
25/01/26 (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
Next Sunday
11.15am - Candlemas Team service at St James
Dates for your diary
Sun 1 Feb
11.15am - Candlemas team service at St James
Tues 17 Feb
12-2pm Shrove Tuesday - pancakes at lunch club
Wed 18 Feb
10am-1pm - Ashes to go at St James
2pm - Ash Wednesday service at St John’s
Sun 29 Mar - Sun 5 Apr
Holy week
News
Candlemas 2026
Team Service at St James’, Benwell, (NE15 6RS)
Sunday 1 February
11.15am
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.
Shrove Tuesday Pancakes
17th February
12-2pm
Why not join us at our lunch club at St James on this Shrove Tuesday!
Along with a pay-what-you-feel lunch, tea and coffee, we will be offering the traditional pancakes on the last day before Lent begins.
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of penitence and preparation before Easter.
Traditionally, on this day people are marked with the sign of the cross in ash on their forehead. These words are also used: "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return".
This is an ancient sign of penitence, but also the forgiveness freely given to all by Christ on the cross.
Ashes to go
10am to 1pm on 18th February
At St James’ Benwell, NE15 6RS.
This a quick moment of prayer with our clergy, and an ash cross is drawn on your forehead.
You don’t need to prepare and you don’t need to do anything. It is an opportunity for anyone to reconnect with God, to leave behind the old and move forwards.
Holy communion with ashing
2pm on 18th February
At St John's Benwell Village, NE15 6NW.
Everyone is welcome at this service, especially if this is your first time.
Coffee, Cake and Craft women’s group
10am Wednesday 28th January
Venerable Bede, West Road, NE4 8AP
Continues last Wednesday of the month until June
(Morning prayer at 11am)
St John’s Coffee Morning
Saturday 7th Feb
(First Saturday of each month)
10am - 12pm
St John's Ferguson Lane, NE15 6NW
Meet the wonderful and welcoming community at St John's with this monthly coffee morning with incredible cakes.
Often with bric-a-brac, raffles, and more.
Dogs encouraged to attend!
Great news from the Lottery!
We have just received news that the National Lottery community fund have given the Something Wonderful project a grant of £20,000!
It means all the incredible work that our community does can keep running for the next year. All the money will go on keeping the space, open, safe, and warm.
This is a huge relief and it means we can now focus energy on searching for grants to renovate the building.
