required a lot of self-

control. Neither concept

– patience or self-control

– has enjoyed popularity

in our modern world.

Patience loses out to a

culture of now. Next-day

delivery, on-demand TV,

answers now. Self-

control is often forgotten

in the rush to self-

identify or self-direct and

it may be lost entirely

when we become self-

centred. Moral choices

and life priorities are fre-

quently driven by what

we want for ourselves.

So here is a wise saying

from Proverbs that might

can go into battle against

adversity. In the case of

the COVID-19 pandem-

ic, it has been so im-

portant to have those

who are on the front line

fighting to save lives. It

was a joy to see St Paul’s

church lit up in blue on

Thursday 14th May to

honour the NHS, carers

and others who are sup-

porting national life and

saving lives.

However, many of us

will find ourselves cheer-

ing from the side-lines

and watching others on

the frontline. We have

been asked to play our

part by keeping social

distance and staying at

home or alert. It is quite a

test of patience and has

THE book of the bible

called ‘Proverbs’ is a

collection of wisdom. It

is made up of some

blocks of quite poetic

writing and collections of

wise sayings. The whole

book looks at life with a

realism that includes

both the joys of life when

it ‘goes well’ and of life

in adversity and com-

plexity. Proverbs are de-

signed to be thought up-

on. They’re not rules and

they don’t say everything

about a subject. They’re

like a tasty bit of food

that we allow to move

around the mouth so that

we get all the flavour.

During an internation-

al crisis it’s important to

have heroes, those who

June 2020 : Edition 483

25p where sold

crosswaysnewsletter@hotmail.co.uk

A test of patience

and self-control

By Revd Matt Tarling

get us thinking: “Better a

patient person than a war-

rior, one with self-control

than one who takes a

city” (Proverbs 16:32).

As we consider this

proverb we need to re-

member that it’s not say-

ing that we never need

warriors who can ‘take a

city’. There is always a

necessity for heroes who

can go into battle against

whatever adversity we

face. We know that from

current times. Neverthe-

less, those heroes need to

be surrounded by patient

and self-controlled peo-

continued on page 2

Our buildings may be closed for the time being,

but the Church continues to be alive and active!

THANKS BE TO GOD

JUNE 2020 PAGE 2

CHURCHWARDENS

St Paul’s Church Averre Cleary: 816527

Whitworth Church

June Wilson: 746002 Wayne Rhodes: 816643

CROSSWAYS EDITOR

Christopher Luke: 07796 137901

Copy deadline for July edition Friday 26th June

Newsletter Secretary: Pauline Storey 816153

St Paul’s Centre Bookings: 813404

CLERGY

Revd Matthew Tarling

01388 327603

The Vicarage, 30 Jubilee Close

Revd Anthony Smith

01388 304882

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A test of patience and self-control

continued from front page

ple! This was the case during WWII for example, and

it’s certainly the case during Lockdown. We’ve all had

to learn to be more patient and more self-controlled. But

perhaps that is good for us?

It’s possible, isn’t it, that patience and self-control are

good for us all the time, and not just during a crisis. We

will always benefit from slowing down and waiting to

see what is the best way forward in each situation. We

will always do well to control our own lives so that oth-

ers might gain.

This was the way of life modelled by Jesus and taught

in the New Testament. James, in his letter in the New

Testament writes, “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters,

until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for

the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for

the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and

stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t

grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you

will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Broth-

ers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of

suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of

the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who

have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance

and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The

Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:7-11).

Jesus patiently faced rejection, torture and death out

of compassion and mercy for us. His patience and self-

control took him to the cross so that others might benefit

from his self-sacrifice. We may feel that we are being

forced to be patient and act with self-control during

Lockdown. Things will change in the future. Maybe

we’ll still be patient and self-controlled people?

THE Shared Ministry Development Team (SMDT) is a

small group of St Paul’s church members who gather to

explore ministry and mission. The team are nominated

by the rest of the congregation and invited to join. This

nomination process recurs every 18 months and mem-

bers of the group stay on for three years. SMDT works

on the understanding that the ministry and mission of the

church are not just the activity of the clergy and other

leaders (church wardens for example). Instead, every

Christian has a ministry and is involved in mission. An-

other word for ministry is ‘service’. So the SMDT is in

the business of exploring how we can all serve using our

gifts and what it means to be involved in mission.

The main activity of the SMDT is to read the bible,

discuss it and pray together. This is because God is the

Introducing the new Shared

Ministry Development Team

one who gives us the gifts with which we serve and it is

his mission in the world. So we want to know what he

thinks about how we serve! The SMDT is not a commit-

tee and does not discuss PCC matters or individual situa-

tions in the church. Rather it is a prayerful ‘think-tank’

in which we have time to listen and be heard. The meet-

ings are designed to be relaxed and an opportunity for

the members to explore their own gifts and for us to con-

sider how the whole church can be encouraged in minis-

try and mission.

In January, nominations were received and three new

members were added to the group: Muriel Cliff, Liz

Lewarne and Sandra Clayton. The remaining team mem-

bers are Malcolm Marsden, Sarah Maxfield, Norma

Metcalfe, plus Anthony and Matt. The group will be

meeting on a monthly basis. We had hoped to introduce

the new group at a service around Easter time, but have

not been able to. So please do pray for the team as we

get to know each other and explore together

CROSSWAYS PAGE 3

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A small gesture to

say thank you

By Christopher Luke

and the idea to light up St

Paul’s church was that of

Chris Tindale from the

lighting company.

He said: “For us as a

company we wanted to

give something back to

the community and show

our appreciation to the

NHS for all the hard

work they’ve been doing

over recent months.”

The company set up a

JustGiving fundraising

page to support the NHS

Charities Together ap-

peal and succeeded in

raising their target.

There are many more

photographs and videos

available at face-

book.com/

stpaulsspennymoor

AS dusk fell on Thursday

14th May, St Paul’s

church was illuminated

in blue and rainbow col-

ours to say thank you to

those working in our

NHS, the care sector and

those in frontline ser-

vices as key workers.

The display was pro-

duced by Damascus

Road Technical Services

and a team of four took

around an hour to rig up

16 sets of lights ahead of

the weekly ‘clap for car-

ers’ initiative.

Over recent weeks,

buildings across the UK

have been turning blue in

support of those working

to help others during the

coronavirus pandemic

JUNE 2020 PAGE 4

Parish Registers

CHRISTIAN FUNERALS

Durham Crematorium

4th May Brian Long

4th May Carl Firmin

8th May Barbara Templeton

14th May Sheila Ryder

18th May Evelyn Crawford

18th May George Best

22nd May Jennie Hugall

26th May Veronica Dent

29th May Jean Allan

Wear Valley Crematorium

6th May Maureen Harrison

6th May Kenneth Shilvock

Follow Whitworth Church online

www.achurchnearyou.com/whitworthchurch

www.facebook.com/whitworthchurchspennymoor

A statement from Archbishop Justin

Welby and Archbishop John Sen-

tamu in response to events in the

United States of America

“RECENT events in the United States of America have

once again drawn public attention to the ongoing evil of

white supremacy. Systemic racism continues to cause

incalculable harm across the world. Our hearts weep for

the suffering caused – for those who have lost their

lives, those who have experienced persecution, those

who live in fear. God’s justice and love for all creation

demands that this evil is properly confronted and tack-

led. Let us be clear: racism is an affront to God. It is

born out of ignorance, and must be eradicated. We all

bear the responsibility and must play our part to elimi-

nate this scourge on humanity.

“As Dr Martin Luther King Jr said, ‘In a real sense,

we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuali-

ty, tied in a single garment of destiny. Therefore, injus-

tice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’

“We pray that God’s abounding wisdom, compas-

sion and love will guide leaders across the world to

forge a better society.”

AS well as our live-streamed services every Sunday

morning at 10am on the St Paul’s Facebook page, there

is also a weekly sermon published on a Wednesday at

4pm. A new sermon series has just got underway on

‘Songs of the Ascent’ (Psalms 120-134) and if you miss

it at 4pm, you can watch it on catch up!

FOR YOUR PRAYERS

For our NHS, key workers and care

staff.

For all those who live and work in

our parishes.

For peace and stability in the United States of America.

For the work of the Spennymoor foodbank.

For Archbishop John Sentamu as he retires this month.

For Revds Matt Tarling and Anthony Smith.

PRAYERS FOR JUNE

Abide with us, Lord, for it is evening,

and day is drawing to a close.

Abide with us and with your whole Church,

in the evening of the day,

in the evening of life,

in the evening of the world;

abide with us and with all your faithful ones, O Lord,

in time and in eternity. Amen.

Source: The Church of England

Weekly online sermons