Join us for our annual Christmas Market on Saturday 26th November from 10am, there is all the usual local produce, crafts, tea, coffee, hot soup and cakes, tombola, raffle and of course, our free Santa’s Grotto!
See you there!
Enjoy the amazing acoustics in our historic church for another fantastic piano concert this Wednesday 16th November at 1pm.
The next performer in our concert series is Konstantinos Destounis, from Greece. He will play works by Chopin, Liszt, Antoniou and Psathas.
Entry £7
Our All Souls Eucharist at which we remember those that have died in the faith of Christ will be held at 6.00pm on Sunday 30th October.
Please add names of loved ones to the list at the back of church (this will be available on the evening) to be read out during the service. Please note that only the names on this list will be read out.
Our Field of Remembrance will be opened in a short ceremony on Wednesday 26th October at 11am in St Michael’s churchyard. Tea and coffee will be served in the Kepier Hall following the service.
Our Remembrance Sunday service is at 10.15am on 13th November.
Get online with Get Online Week!
Get Online Week is coming back to Space4 in Houghton-le-Spring from 17th – 21st October. Co-ordinator Bryony Taylor said “the 2016 campaign is the tenth Get Online Week, last time we ran it in Houghton one woman said that she felt like she ‘had wings’ after been shown how to skype and email her family abroad”.
Whether you’re looking for help making better use of the internet to find work or save money, or if you’d like support getting a friend or family member online, go down to Space4, on the ground floor of Houghton Library and you’ll be given a helping hand.
The team can always help you to get online during normal opening hours (10am-2pm, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) but in Get Online Week Space4 is running these special free sessions:
Monday 16th October: 11am-12noon Getting the most from your Tablet or Smartphone
Bring your tablet, ipad, iphone or smartphone along with you and we’ll give you some hints and tips on taking and saving photos, sharing them on Facebook and email and much more!
Friday 21st October: 11am-12noon Get an email address and learn to use email
These days you need an email address for a lot of things – come along to this free session and get your own email address and learn how to use email. No need to bring a computer – you can use ours.
If you can’t make these dates but would still like some help please ring Space4 on 0191 5120676 to book an appointment.
Unfortunately the planned piano concert for this Friday 14th October at 1pm has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. There is alternatively a Brass Band Concert on Saturday night at 7pm.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Finishing up our Houghton Feast celebrations we have Houghton Brass Band in Concert with guest soloist Jim Hayes on Saturday 15th October at 7pm. Tickets available on the door at £5 (£3 concessions).
Join us once again for our Michaelmas celebrations of Houghton Feast this October. The theme this year is Hollywood and the Movies. Hear our very own Gilpin Singers perform at the opening ceremony at 7.00pm on Friday 7th October. Grab a bargain at our Craft and Produce Market on Saturday 8th October from 10.00am. Look out for members of Space4 in the parade on the Broadway dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz! Mark the centre of the feast with our Feast Civic Service at 10.30am on Sunday 9th October. Join us for our community hymn singing – enjoying hymns from the movies at 6.00pm. Finish up the festivities with a piano concert from virtuoso player William Bracken at 1.00pm on Friday 14th October.
Bring your friends and enjoy!
Come and hear accomplished Hungarian pianist Syuzannah Kaso playing a selection of music by Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy and Rachmaninoff in the beautiful setting of St Michael and All Angels church. The acoustics of the building really add to the experience of hearing an internationally renowned musician. Tickets are £8 payable at the door.
Thursday 22nd September at 7.30 pm – see you there.
For the second year in a row a group of around 50 young people from across Durham Diocese descended on Auckland Castle for a weekend camp. Our curate, Rev’d Bryony and our Young Church leader Clare helped to lead the camp alongside colleagues from Shildon Parish.
The kids arrived on Friday afternoon and we camped in the grounds of the castle which was a beautiful setting at night as we enjoyed a campfire, toasting marshmallows and singing (led by Rev’d Bryony – her time with the Girl Guides coming in useful!) After that we allowed the kids to stay up to watch the fireworks from the nearby Kynren show.
Clare leading the aikido workshop
Saturday, the weather still staying good for us, involved a series of workshops with Bryony offering a juggling workshop and Clare running an Aikido martial arts workshop – complete with swords! We also had a wide game and a samba drumming session (look on Facebook for the video).
Samba Drumming
The day finished with a disco at which the curate embarrassed herself trying to learn the ‘whip nae nae’ dance (if you’re not sure, ask a young person what that is!)
Sunday morning involved a special service led by the young people in the chapel of the castle. Our theme was ‘Who is my neighbour?’
Service in Auckland Castle Chapel
The kids put on a drama interpretation of the Good Samaritan set at our camp – with the ‘Good Samaritan’ being the naughtiest child on camp who’d kept everyone awake! We then considered how God works in the world through each of us, as Teresa of Avila said:
‘Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the earth, yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.’
After the service we did a Treasure Hunt in the beautiful deer park at Auckland Castle.
This yearly youth camp is part of philanthropist and committed Christian Jonathan Ruffer’s vision to regenerate the area of Bishop Auckland and beyond, involving the community in the life of Auckland Castle. Many of the young people on the trip had never been camping before and indeed many of their parents can’t afford to take them on a holiday. This was an incredible experience that we were able to offer these young people.
A big thank you to Alison Tweddle of Auckland Castle, Lucy Mann, Youth Worker and Rev’d David Tomlinson from St John’s Shildon for making it all happen and especially to our very own Clare Taylor for giving up part of her precious summer holiday to volunteer.
– Rev’d Bryony Taylor, Curate