Are there any talented young artists/ musicians/ creatives in your family? St. Paul’s Church is introducing a new Young Artist in Residence scheme.- Applicants must be aged 14 - 17 year olds on 1 September 2024 (the project start date).- To be eligible, applicants must live in an SR2 postcode area.- Residencies last up to 4 months.- Applicants must have permission from their parent/ guardian to participate.Interested? Send us an email on or before 5 August 2024, and we will arrange an informal chat: stpauls.air@gmail.com
Are you interested in arts, crafting or have an artistic hobby?Could you be our next applicant for our 18+ Artist in Residence programme.You must be 18+ and live in the SR2 postcode area to apply.No qualifications or experience needed.If you want to apply, please send us an email at stpauls.air@gmail.com by the 5th August 2024, to express your interest. You will then be invited to an informal chat to introduce your ideas and any examples of your work.Crafters, photographers, writers, painters, printmakers, musicians and more are all very welcome to apply.Email: stpauls.air@gmail.com to apply or ask questions Under 18? For the first time we are running a Young Artist in Residence scheme for 14 - 17 year olds. (See separate post)
Dear All,Unbelievably St Paul’s Shop is ten years old! This seems like a miracle to me, as does the fact that we have a shop in the first place. The story of how it came to be goes like this: in 2013 the bishop and I had a very bad conversation. It was meant to be encouraging, but it really wasn’t. It left me feeling like all my plans for the parish had run out of steam. So, I was in a low mood when I came home. I wondered if I’d come to the end of the road with Ryhope.But around then I got a phone call from Rev’d David Goodacre, who was the vicar of Ryhope during the 1970s. I told him all about it, and he wondered how long I’d been in the parish. Was it about seven years, he wondered. ‘Yes, seven years exactly,’I said. ‘Well, it seems to me that these things happen at seven years,’ he said, ‘you come to the end of one cycle, and then another one starts. Itdoesn’t mean you should leave. It just means you need to make a new beginning.’ David’s words resonated, and seemed true, though I wasn’t surewhat was coming next. Things became clearer after I spoke to anotherfriend, also called David. This was the Rev’d David Kennedy, former vicar of Christchurch, Seaham but then was living in Bradford. He enjoyed my story,because it was the sort of thing that happened to him. But then he said to me, ‘Have you thought about opening a shop?’ And he went on to explain to me how a shop had been opened in his parish, and how it had become a great focal point for thecommunity, as well as bringing in much needed funds. As he was speaking, I could feel a connection.Somehow, I knew that this was the thing that we needed to do. Also, we had the right people in the church who could make it happen. Within a matter of months, we were holding consultation talks in the parish (called ‘Talking Shop’ meetings), a property was acquired, and St Paul’s Shop was suddenly open. I still can’t believe that it happened so quickly or even that we have a shop at all. But for ten years now that’s been the reality.During those ten years we’ve been served by a great number of volunteers, all of whom have given their time for free. It’s this generosity that’s enabled us to continue. Our longest serving manager was Margaret Barkess who worked alongside Linda Woolley as her deputy for many years. These days we don’t have a manager as such, and the jobs are shared out between the volunteers. Our volunteers throughout 2024 have been Joan Amer, Mary Cobon, Avril Collins, June Davis, Sue Davis, Betty Dawson, Chris Dunn, Norma Hibbert, John Lucas, Trish Martin, Sylvia Nicholson, Pamela Surtees, Sharon Surtees, and Sheila Vincent. You can see their smiling faces next time you come to see us!I hope that having our shop has enabled the parish to weather some storms. Through it we’ve been able to offer assistance to people affected by Covid as well as during the Cost of Living Crisis. It’s still the best place to go for a bargain. But best of all is thecommunity that has developed around it. Customers have become friends, and some have become volunteers. We’ve even had people start to come along to church.My favourite story, though, is about a wedding. One customer loved a wedding dress in our window, bought it and took it home to show her partner. ‘Well, I suppose I’d better marry you now,’ he said. It was a privilege for me to take the service a few months later.People sometimes ask me what St Paul’s S.H.O.P stands for. If you look closely at the sign above the door, you’ll see: Supporting and Helping Our Parish. That’s been abundantly true for the last ten years. Only God knows what the next ten will bring. But we look forward to finding out.Your friend and vicar,David.A Message from Our Volunteers:The volunteers of St Paul’s Charity Shop would like to say a special thank you to all our customers, for your custom, donations of cleaning items, refreshments, biscuits, sweets. They are very much appreciated. Thank you from us all.
On Sunday 25th February St Paul’s welcomed back the Reverend Canon David Goodacre as a guest to deliver a very thought-provoking sermon about how we can pray for those in war zones around the world. I caught up with Rev’d Goodacre after the service and we spoke about his time in Ryhope and what he has been up to in recent years.Recently he has slowed down a little work wise as he is now in his late eighties but still works mornings, though now he does have some days off. He stopped services after the Covid pandemic, but still writes (he is currently writing another book). He is interested in the spiritual direction of the Anglican Church and is part of a project to rediscover a spiritual way of life for those living in a family, rather than those living a single, celibate life alone which he believes the church has largely modelled its approach on. He now lives in Kingston Park near Newcastle and does like to travel. Both his daughters, Christine and Mary, live in Kent and teach at the same school there. He visits them several times a year. His son in law had been Dean of Chelmsford until last year.Rev’d Goodacre arrived in the area in 1969. St Paul’s was a big parish, so he was surprised to be offered a position. He first worked as a hospital chaplain in Ryhope although nobody was informed that he was starting when he arrived. This gave him the chance to settle in and get to know everybody first though before he had to start work properly. He loved his six years at St Paul’s. He and his wife loved the beach going almost every day. They used to live in the old vicarage on Stockton Road before moving into the lovely new vicarage. He likes the changes which have been made to the church interior, especially the raised floor at the front with the altar. He used to preach from the pulpit which hasn’t been used for many years now. He introduced Ryhope Views magazine and saw it as community magazine rather than just a magazine for the Church. Hopefully, we are continuing his good work in the same way. After the SAFC FA Cup victory of 1973 he invited one of the players to give a talk about the spirituality of sport and he shared some of the tactics the team used to win the cup but they were not very edifying!A few people who attended the service enjoyed talking and reminiscing to Rev’d Goodacre afterwards, including some who were married by him in St Paul’s back in the 1970s. We all very much enjoyed his visit and he has left us with some interesting thoughts about prayer and the state of the world at the moment, leaving us feeling less futile in the face of conflict.Rev’d Goodacre’s book: Morning Prayer in Urumqi is available at The Church House Book Shop currently priced £16.99.https://chbookshop.hymnsam.co.uk/books/9781789592610/morning-prayer-in-urumqiby Elaine Shanks
