Newcastle Diocese (CofE)

The Church of England in Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, parts of Cumbria & County Durham. We're no longer active on X. Check out Facebook/LinkedIn.

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

A Collect for our ‘Year of Seeking’ 🙏
Find out more 👉 https://t.co/jjW7D23ubV

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

🌈 TOGETHER NEWCASTLE GATHERING 🌈
📅 Saturday 24th January
🕡 6:30 – 9:00 pm
📍 St. Wilfrid’s Church, Newcastle, NE5 4DA
Come and join other inclusive folk for an evening sharing a safe space for conversation. There will also be a chance to start thinking about upcoming Deanery and General Synod elections in 2026.
🍰 Please bring a dessert to share
☕ Hot drinks and soft drinks provided
The evening will end with Night Prayer together.
📩 For more information, contact:
Nic Denyer, [email protected]
Everyone welcome

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

JOB ALERT!
The Diocese of Newcastle is seeking a Fundraising Adviser to join our #NetZero team and there’s still time to apply! Find out more 👉 https://t.co/4q6jwY7QYL #EnvironmentJobs #ChurchJobs #ChristianJobs #NetZeroJobs #FundraisingJobs

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Huge congratulations to @Paulrickeard, CEO of the Durham and Newcastle Diocesan Learning Trust who has been awarded an OBE for Services to Education in His Majesty The King’s New Year 2026 Honours List. Paul is an ecumenical canon of @nclcathedral and until 2023 was also Diocesan Director of Education 🎉 Read more 👉https://t.co/uqguZ9KkiC @CofE_Education

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11
Happy New Year from the Diocese of Newcastle 🎉✝️🙏

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

If you haven’t managed to grab a copy of our Winter edition of printed LINK, don’t worry – it’s now available to read online.
* New Readers licensed at @nclcathedral
* Commissioning of LGBTQI+ Volunteer Chaplains
* @BishopNewcastle's Christmas Appeal in aid of The People’s Kitchen
* Baptism in the North Sea
And more 👉 https://t.co/4zOrWh5ljD

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

. @BishopNewcastle's Christmas Appeal for 2025 is in aid of The People's Kitchen , a local charity which supports those who are vulnerable, homeless, lonely or living in poverty. Find out more or donate (there's still time!) 👉 https://t.co/ZQakfs9Si4

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

“Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11
In the birth of Jesus, God gives us his greatest gift - a Saviour who brings hope to our world. We wish you a Happy Christmas from the Diocese of Newcastle.

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Bishop Helen-Ann @BishopNewcastle brings a message of hope this Christmas Eve ✝❤🎉

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

JOB ALERT!
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Chaplain to help provide spiritual, pastoral and religious support for patients, carers and staff.
https://t.co/3SbiSO4zdV

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Carol singing a plenty for Church of the Good Shepherd, Battle Hill, spreading festive joy with its local community and raising valuable funds for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Appeal at the same time. Read more 👉 https://t.co/5o7REWrLIs

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Gladys’ gift is still warming hearts 40 years on. Thanks to her legacy, St John’s Backworth can now offer a warm welcome to its community while stepping boldly into a #NetZero future, replacing fossil fuels with a 100% renewable heating system. This Christmas, Gladys’ generosity is helping a new generation feel at home in a church that cares for both people and for creation. Read more 👉 https://t.co/Hj3drt7Y9f

📸Bec Hughes | @churchofengland

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

St. Andrew’s Corbridge welcomed over 11,000 people to their annual Christmas Tree Festival, which saw 126 Christmas trees decorated by members of the local community. A wonderful celebration!
📸: Ian Wylie

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

+Helen-Ann @BishopNewcastle was pleased to be able to join volunteers from St John’s Percy Main on Tuesday evening, packing 1,150 Christmas bags which are being delivered to children in local primary schools.

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

An update from @BishopNewcastle regarding LLF following a meeting of the House of Bishops today, Tuesday 16 December 2025.

Dear siblings in Christ,

The House of Bishops met today, December 16th to discuss LLF. As we await published details of that meeting and any statement from the House of Bishops, in what follows, I simply wish to remind us of our own recent Synod motion and to express again my gratitude to our LGBTQI+ chaplaincy and in particular its lead chaplain, Emma Duff.

Our own Diocesan Synod met at the end of November and in a respectful and prayerful debate discussed a motion moved by the Rev’d Gill Alexander. The motion lamented the further hurt and pain experienced by LGBTQI+ people as a result of the House of Bishops’ announcement following its October meeting. The motion also called upon the House of Bishops to progress a path to inclusion for LGBTQI+ people, a path already agreed to by General Synod. The Newcastle motion was passed with an overwhelming majority. In my Presidential Address to the Synod at the end of November I framed a response to the LLF process with a question and a statement: who is my neighbour, and that we are living in an era of a crisis of welcome.

Some words from my Presidential Address on November 29th:

‘I acknowledge that we are a diocese that holds differing views on human sexuality while in the main desires progress and inclusion. It is my role as your bishop to hold this together. I have sought faithfully to do that, and I will continue to do so in a spirit of generosity and gratitude. But I need to make clear now my views which will not come as a surprise, that I in the firmest way possible want to see full inclusion for LGBTQI+ people…One of the saddest aspects of where we have reached as a Church, is the erosion of the witness of real lives and a disregard for the fear and distress our LGBTQI+ siblings live with…We have nothing to fear in implementing inclusion and everything to hope for’.

I am deeply grateful to serve as Bishop of Newcastle, and rejoice that as a diocese we are able to hold together in our differences. I am deeply grateful that we voted with clarity at our November Diocesan Synod meeting and know that this has offered hope to so many. I recommit myself to offering leadership that encourages more and different people to encounter the love of God, lifted by the dynamics of seeking, sharing and sending and ask for your prayers as you are assured of mine for you.

+Helen-Ann Newcastle.

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

A very successful Christmas Tree Festival for St Michael’s Alnwick as they welcomed more than 2,600 people into church over three days and nearly 80 trees uniquely and beautifully decorated. A wonderful community event!
📸 Colin Graham

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

This #Advent, voices from across our Diocese - and beyond - come together as one. Four choirs, four verses, one carol. Through the singing of #SilentNight, we are reminded of the peace and hope that #Christmas brings. A huge thank you to William Leech CofE Primary School, St Gabriel’s Heaton, Holy Trinity Jesmond and the Diocese of Møre for sharing their voices and bringing this carol to life. #TheJoyOfChristmas

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Congratulations to all who were baptised or confirmed by @BishopNewcastle during a special service at St Mary's Church Blyth on Sunday morning 🎉✝️🙏

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Bishop Helen-Ann was delighted to join the official launch of Baby Basics Alnwick today, where the Duchess of Northumberland cut the ribbon on this much-needed project which is widely supported by local churches. As a regional hub of @BabyBasicsUK, the team are now able to support vulnerable families in the local area with beautifully prepared Moses baskets filled with essentials for newborn babies.

[Newcastle Diocese (CofE) @NclDiocese]

Earlier this week, our Safeguarding Team hosted their first face-to-face Parish Safeguarding Officer event at Church House.

The afternoon began with a Christmas buffet and prayers of thanks for our PSOs from Bishop Mark before updates from the Diocesan Safeguarding Team. After Maggi Creese spoke on ‘Responding Well to Victims and Survivors’, Jill Thirlaway gave a presentation on how the Safeguarding Team and PSOs can work together to keep people safe in our parishes. A Christmas quiz finished the afternoon off.

Sharon Devlin, Director of Safeguarding, said: "It was a pleasure to meet everyone. We are incredibly grateful to all our PSOs who work hard to create a safer church."