St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
Parish Priest: Father Tony Duffy.
Deacon: Peter Lavery.
Birtley Lane, Birtley, Tyne & Wear DH3 1LJ.
Telephone: (0191) 410 2923. Facsimile: (0191) 410 5843.
Web: www.stjosephs-birtley.co.uk

From: Mick Davison, Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council
From: Jim Tumelty, President of the Catholic Mens' Society
7th - 8th July 2007

We are writing to you this weekend about the Parish Centre – your parish centre.

When the Pastoral Council consulted widely with members of the parish to draw up our parish profile we were delighted to hear the Parish’s views about the Parish Centre. The profile presented to the Bishop noted, “The Parish Centre and the church together provides a hub for all parish activities, the meeting place, both formally, informally and socially for many of the parish groups and individual members of the parish community. The Parish Centre is regularly the focus for continuing celebration after we leave church and the place where many have been made to feel welcome and to take the first steps back towards the church or towards joining in full communion with the church.” These very positive comments were a strong endorsement of the efforts that have been made to ensure that the Parish Centre is very welcoming socially while at the same time maintaining a strong Catholic and Christian environment.

Unfortunately the Parish Centre finds itself operating in a difficult financial environment, in common with other licensed premises the advent of modern home entertainment systems (satellite television, home computers, etc) means that it is increasingly difficult to cover the overhead costs of the Centre and make a positive contribution to the finances of the parish.

The use, or should we say the lack of use, of the Parish Centre by members of the parish community often seems at odds with the fine words in the Parish Profile. It might be that as we have such a fine Parish Centre that is the envy of many other parishes, we have become complacent about the need to use and support the Parish Centre. If we as a parish community do not use the Parish Centre – your parish centre – we run the risk of losing it.

The management of the Parish Centre is undertaken by the Catholic Men’s Society (CMS) on behalf of the whole parish, but the Parish Centre is not there just for the CMS or the men of the parish it is for everyone, it is your parish centre.

Last weekend saw the rest of the country follow the Parish Centre’s lead. For many years we have had a partial smoking ban in the Parish Centre, now you can enjoy a smoke free environment throughout the Centre, and we will be erecting an external smoking facility for those who still want to enjoy a smoke while visiting the Parish Centre. We offer a full range of competitively priced alcoholic and soft drinks, we have introduced a new range of wine and we will soon make available a range of tea, coffee and other hot drinks. The Parish Centre is equipped with big screen televisions that show all the major sporting events from around the world. We have a function room that will provide an excellent venue for family celebrations and fund raising functions and it is an ideal place to relax in the company of family, friends and other members of our parish family. After all it is your parish centre.

If you have not been in the Parish Centre recently, call in and have a look round. We are sure that you, our fellow parishioners, will enjoy your time in the Parish Centre.

The Parish Centre is also the home of many other activities, the regular meeting place of the CWL, YMG and PM Club and the host for a variety of children’s and adult dancing classes, tai chi classes, lace makers and many other groups. To ensure that you are aware of what is happening in the Parish Centre we will be putting regular inserts in the parish bulletin to ensure that you are aware of what is going on in your parish centre in the following weeks.

We look forward to seeing you in the Parish Centre.