Born in Ireland, Aidan came to England in the 7th century. Oswald, a member of the Northumbrian royal family, had lived in exile with the monks at Iona, during the Mercian invasion. While there he became a Christian, and when he regained his throne by defeating the Mercians in the Battle of Heavenfield, he invited his friends on Iona to send a monk to help him share his faith with his Northumbrian subjects. Aidan was not the first monk to come, but he got on well with Oswald, who would have welcomed Aidan to the the royal palace of Bamburgh, but he preferred instead the relative isolation of the island of Lindisfarne. With King Oswald initially assisting him as translator, Aidan was responsible for the conversion of many to the Christian faith. He founded churches and monasteries, liberated Anglo Saxon slaves and educated them. Aidan had a reputation for living very modestly. After Oswald's death, Aidan supported Oswald's brother King Oswin and the two became good friends. One day Oswin gave him a fine horse but almost immediately Aidan gave it away to a poor man. During Lent he went on retreat to the Inner Farne, from where in AD651, he saw Bamburgh being burnt by Fenda, another militant King of Mercia. He prayed successfully for the wind to change, but died later that year. The Vikings sacked Lindisfarne in AD793 and St Aidan was forgotten for a while, but in the 10th century the monks of Glastonbury obtained his supposed relics, reviving interest in him. The Venerable Bede praised him for his eloquence, his prayerfulness, peaceful nature, humility and care of the sick and poor.We acknowledge information provided by the Independent Catholic News and also by Chris Hudson, one of the original Brinkburn Lifepath team.
Message from Bishop Helen-Ann Petertide Ordinations 2023 A new Dean for Newcastle Cathedral New Director of Ordinands and Vocations appointed. Diocesan Synod summary Jarrow Arrow inspires education conference Church Commissioners to exclude oil and gas companies – a Diocesan perspective Making their mark – Shaun the Sheep and Little Shauns Kidz Rock! Seeking, sending and sharing in our communities Generous Giving / Like a Metaphor King’s Birthday honour for the Revd Fiona Focus on children, youth and families Eco talk, bread revolution Lifepath update Bell ringer Mark answers his call Silver success for eco-focused church Peace vigil for Ukraine and View From the Lantern Diamond weddings Mystery pre-war Bible Christian content on the airwaves Pele Trust adventures / Christian Aid
Revd Rich visits Longframlington - and challenges us to "Be the Change" to improve St Mary's and make us more welcoming to others. He describes some of his own experience from years ago - when he decided that if he wanted there to be something for families like his, then he could do something about it himself. And he also reminded me that the vision to establish the Community Room was all about being the church for the local communityClick here to see the video and here to visit the YouTube channel to check out all the videos.
Brinkburn was far from deserted in the last week of June, when each day around 100 children from Northumbrian primary schools were there at the Lifepath event, having a fun day learning about St Aidan and the Christian faith he helped to bring to Northumbria. A team from local churches and Christian organisations provide both mass events for everyone in the priory building as well as a variety of theatrical, musical, craft, arts and other activities designed to help them have fun learning about St Aidan and the faith he helped King Oswald bring to the Northumbrian people many centuries ago.As in previous years, there was enthusiastic and positive feedback from the children and their teachers, many of whom return year after year. If you missed it this year, do find out more about it and consider volunteering next year. The team is always friendly, encouraging and supportive A report by Kirstine Davis, Lifepath Co-Ordinator for Mustard Tree Trust and the Lifepath team, appeared in the Newcastle Diocese Link magazine for August/September
