Parish groups
[Badminton|Bridge|Brownies|Catholic Women's League|Children's Liturgy|Collection counting team|Flower arranging|Justice and Peace|Keep fit|Language classes|Legion of Mary|Mothers and toddlers|Music group and choir|Northern Cross reading for the blind|Parish 200 club|St. Vincent de Paul Society|Vaulting Ambition Theatre Company]
The players meet every Wednesday in the church hall from 7 to 9 pm. All levels of players from 16 years old are welcome. Most games are mixed doubles. We have been going for about 5 years, although St. Robert’s has a long history of badminton playing. Subs are £1 per week, which go towards equipment and the upkeep of the church hall. If you would like to play, just turn up at the hall on any Wednesday evening. Equipment can be provided. Formal sportswear is not needed but suitable footwear is essential.
Contact: Frank Keegan
Parishioners and friends get together in the meeting room every Monday from 1.30-3.30 pm to play bridge (but not too seriously!!...). The bridge club would be pleased to welcome new faces.
Contact: Joan Garvey
Brownie Guides (13th Newcastle)
Brownies have been around for 90 years
and the 13th Newcastle Brownies is one of the eldest running
groups in Newcastle. We meet every Monday during Term time in St. Robert's
Church Hall. To be a Brownie you just need to be a girl Between the age of 7
& 10 years of age.
Brownies is always packed with fun and
there is always masses happening.... just have a look at the
photos! You may do things as a whole Pack, or with
your Six. Brownies decide what they are going to do in a Pow-wow. This is
when everyone in the Pack talks about their ideas and make plans.
There are also loads of different
badges you can choose to do. They cover lots of different interests -
Agility, Artist, Computer, Entertainer, First Aid, Friend to animals,
Swimmer, Wildlife explorer and Writer are just a few.
We also regularly meet up with other
Brownie, Rainbow and Guide groups within the local area. If you are
interested in joining and want more information please feel free to e-mail
Gillian Hardy.
Contact: Gill Hardy (Brown Owl)
The Catholic Women's League (CWL) has over 5 million members worldwide. We promote the advancement of women all over the world, support Human Rights and give support to those unjustly imprisoned.
The CWL is a founder of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations. The CWL offers the opportunity to its members to train and learn new skills. The skills learnt can be applied to Parish and Community work, helping with Catechetics, visiting the sick, counselling and ecumenism.
The CWL is one of the leading Refugee Agencies in England. We give small donations to help provide refugees and asylum seekers basic essentials of life, for example teaching English and helping those new to our country to integrate into their surroundings.
The CWL has been established here in St Robert's for over fifty years, we meet every Tuesday morning after the 10am Mass.
We endeavour to live up to our motto of Charity, Work and Loyalty.
We currently have 23 members.
Why not come join us?
You will be warmly welcomed.
Contact: Mary Thornton
At 10.30 am Sunday Mass, the children's liturgy group share the Gospel with young children from 4+ to first Holy Communion age. Each week we read and discuss the Gospel together. This is followed by a short activity like drawing or painting, related with that week’s Gospel theme.
Contact: Bridey Rutherford
This is an opportunity to help in a purely practical aspect of running St. Roberts parish affairs. Volunteers in teams of four gather in St. Roberts presbytery during the 10.30 am Sunday mass and count the money from the Offertory collections, most teams completing the task within an hour. Apart from the necessary work of counting, this has become an opportunity to meet a complete cross-section of the parish and enlarge acquaintance circles. Volunteers would be very welcome!
Contact: Sue Milburn
When you next go into St. Robert’s, take time to notice the flowers which decorate the church. They have been arranged by the teams in our rota; each week (usually on a Friday) two or three volunteers give an hour or two to prepare the displays which enhance our church.
At Christmas and Easter, teams join together and put in extra time and effort to create the beautiful arrangements which celebrate those special seasons.
Often we are asked to decorate the church for a wedding and we work especially hard to prepare displays which fulfil the bride’s wishes for her special day.
Our weekly budget is £10, brides are charged £65 and Christmas and Easter are expensive times, so donations are always welcome. This creative and relaxing task gives great satisfaction and glorifies God by demonstrating the beauty of his creation. New volunteers are always welcome, no experience necessary.
Contact: Polly Nicolson or Margaret Green
The Justice and Peace group aims to raise awareness within our parish community of justice and peace issues and to take action whenever possible. Our activities are varied and include:
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Justice involvement in parish liturgies
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Sunday afternoon liturgies at St. Oswald’s Hospice
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Stations of the Cross in Holy Week
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Annual June Garden Morning and Plant sale to support the Mill Hill Fathers Mission to the Karamajong in St. Joseph's Parish, Kotido, Uganda
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Christmas card sale for Br. James Kimpton’s work with “Reaching the Unreached” of Village India.
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Amnesty Christmas card campaign.
We have 6 parish collections a year and alternate Friday Coffee Mornings to fund our commitments both locally and to the Missions. We try to respond to calls for urgent action on justice and peace issues both at home and worldwide.
We need you to move us forward in this cause.
Have you any ideas to offer us?
Contact: Marie Brown
Do you want to improve your health and fitness? Then join our club! We meet most Mondays in the hall at 8.30 pm when we turn on our favourite music and do some “gentle” exercise. New members always welcome!
Contact: Anne Bailey
Classes are held every week in the porch of the church. These classes have been running for three years and are held on Tuesday evenings from 7.00 to 8.30pm. Initially set up for asylum seekers and refugees, but everybody is welcome. We follow the Pitman courses at Basic, Elementary and Intermediate level. Children and parents most welcome! Contact Theresa Hodskinson if you would like to join or just come along one Tuesday evening.
Contact: Theresa Hodgkinson
Our concern is spiritual welfare. We seek out and befriend the lapsed, keeping them in touch with the Church. We visit the sick and the housebound. As well as active members, we have a large number of praying members. We meet every Thursday at 2.00 pm in the Narthex. New members are always welcome.
Contact: Val Adams
St. Robert's Toddler group meets in the church hall every Monday and Friday from 9.30 to 11.30am to have a good time and get to know everyone that comes along. Refreshments are provided and there is a charge of 70p to cover costs. New members are always welcome as well as volunteer helpers.
Contact: Teresa Kime
Music group
The Music group leads the singing at 10.30 am Mass on alternate Sundays and we would like to invite any musicians and singers to join us. We meet weekly to practise, though rehearsal times can vary. If you are interested, please come and talk to a member of the group after 10.30am Mass.
Contact: Cath Batey
Church choir
The vigil singers meet every Saturday to lead the singing at the Vigil Mass. Some members take it in turn to sing the psalm. Each year, the singers meet for extra practices to prepare for Easter and Christmas and other liturgical occasions. New singers are very welcome. If you are interested in helping with the singing, please contact the parish organist, Tom Johnston.
Contact: Tom Johnston
Northern Cross reading for the blind
We are a group of volunteer readers who tape and distribute the Northern Cross to blind and partially sighted people in our Diocese. We were the first group in the country to set up a diocesan talking newspaper for print denied people and currently 292 people receive the paper. We always welcome new readers, especially young people. Recordings usually take place on the Tuesday morning, following the publication date (the first of the month) but once in every four months on the following Monday evening.
Contact: Kath Bowman
The 200 Club was originally set up to help raise funds for the building of the Narthex and integration of the Meeting Room. The 200 Club continues to raise money today for Parish funds, whilst creating winners, with a monthly draw of £100, £50 and £15. A big draw takes place each year, at Christmas, with a BIG prize money of £1000 and several other prizes. If you would like the chance to win big prizes, please join us as some numbers are still available.
Contact: Cecilia Waldron
Parish Conference
We aim to follow the vision and mission given by the Gospels and instituted by Frederic Ozanam There are many people in our parish whose needs are unmet and who need our help and support. We urgently need people who are willing to carry out the work of the Gospels. We need people of all ages, both men and women, to help us carry on our work. We need you to help us help others in need. Members are in the Narthex after each Sunday Mass or come along to the Meeting Room any Monday night at 6.30 pm.
Contact: George Thornton
Hospital Conference
Our Conference, a mixture of men and women, meets every Monday in the General Hospital Chapel at 7.45 pm. After a short meeting, we visit and have a social chat (perhaps also a prayer) with patients in about 9 or 10 wards over about one hour. We welcome new members prepared to respect the dignity of each patient and who can help, by word or deed, to comfort the sick. We believe our work also engenders friendliness, cooperation and spirituality among our members.
Contact: Michael Swales
Vaulting Ambition Theatre Company
The Vaulting Ambition Theatre Company began in 2002 as a drama group supported through the West End Musicians Cooperative. In March 2003, it became a voluntary group in its own right and works tirelessly to raise funds for it to continue.
The young people who make up the numbers come from Fenham and the Wingrove wards of Newcastle and it is easy to join and fun to run. We meet on Sunday afternoons in St. Robert's Hall during school term time. Any young person in the catchment area can join (under 16's need parental permission) and there is only a £5 membership fee. The most important thing needed is a desire to join and a willingness to cooperate with others.
There are no audition for the plays and anyone who wants a part will be given one. It may not be the one you wanted, but no-one is left out! On the other hand, you may not want to be on stage. For you, there are also plenty of other ways to be involved, including painting, lighting, sound, costumes, music, etc... we will find an opening for your particular talent! Each play is the obvious product of the group, but undoubtedly the greatest value to the members are the many weeks of group activities preparing for and rehearsing the productions.
Contact: Cath Batey, Cecilia Waldron or John Arthurs.
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Church address: Cedar Road, Fenham NE4 9PH Phone: (0191) 273 3903
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