St. Bertoline’s Church is usually open daily for private prayer, however, from 26th October 2026, until further notice, the Church Officers and the PCC have decided that the church will only be open on Sundays. Should anyone wish to visit…
The Summer months of July and August tend to bring a break for many people. Some people who do not have children at home often take a holiday at other times of the year – for those with children the…
I love the Spring Season when again we see the wonders of nature bursting into new life. The word “Lent” derives from the Old English word “lencten” meaning the spring – the time of lengthening days. As the Spring moves…
Through the coming weeks many Christmas Carols will be heard or sung. One of the most popular is “Silent Night, Holy Night” which is a lovely Carol. Yet the night Jesus was born was anything but silent! Bethlehem was packed…
“Death has no power over him any more” (Romans 6v9) There is poem by the seventeenth-century English poet John Donne that begins: “Death be not proud, though some have called thee/Mighty and dreadful…” And it finishes: “one short sleep past,…
“Then will your light shine like the dawn” (Isaiah 58.8) “How would you like to be remembered?” the interviewer asked her guest. I recall this question being asked of someone. There was a long pause as the guest seemed to…
I think that Christmas at St. Bertoline’s 2024 was rather special. Mind you, I suspect I say that every year! The church looked just wonderful with the vast and imaginative array of flower arrangements. There was such a warm and…
When a couple is expecting their first child, the father and mother-to-be often discuss the changes that they will have to make in their pattern of living, and the differences another person in the house will make. Yet, parents will…
“See I am making all things new” Those words come from the Book of Wisdom. The natural world shows forth God’s power to restore and renew. Autumn by autumn the leaves fall from the trees. “In the eyes of the…
It is a year since the The Sycamore Gap tree was cut down close to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland. This 150 year old tree was a very popular landmark and caused outrage and much anger at its illegal felling. In…