Community
We hope you will find a home here.
‘Home is a place for the mother tongue, of basic soul food, of old stories told and treasured, of being at ease, known by name, belonging without qualifying for membership. The ministry of gathering is one to which God has been committed forever.’
–Walter Brueggemann, Mandate to Difference: An invitation to the Contemporary Church.
Our church isn’t just interested in what goes on inside our church, but in what goes on out there in our local community, our nation and the world. It also means we aren’t just interested in people who are Christians but anyone and everyone. We have a vision of our church as an agent for the common good within our local community. We believe Jesus called us into an open and expansive form of love, to be with people as Jesus sought to be with us. This is the way of working we want to embrace, building relationships of trust that can lead to lasting and long-term change. We now seek to live that ‘being with’ ministry alongside our neighbours.
Jesmond Repair Café is now in its second year and is a collaboration between JURC and Jesmond Library. Four sessions are held during the year on a Saturday afternoon. We are in a hugely privileged position of having a wonderful team of volunteer repairers and another team of bakers and kitchen helpers. We are able to offer repairs for ceramics, small electrical goods, fabrics, woodwork, clocks, bikes, and offer a garden tools sharpening service.
The café offers delicious home-made cakes, scones and biscuits, tea and coffee. Everyone is welcome whether they bring something to be repaired or simply come for a piece of cake and a natter. There is no charge but donations are welcomed. A grant from URC Northern Synod enabled us to set the Repair Café up and buy the necessary equipment but the Café is now self-financing.
The Repair Café encourages people to see their possessions in a new light and to appreciate their value. We hope that Repair Café helps to start to change people’s mindset and perhaps kindle people’s enthusiasm for a more sustainable society.
Find out the dates of future sessions on our What’s On page
For more info about Repair Cafes click
here
Community Garden
The Community Garden is a resource for anyone to enjoy. The entrance to the garden is at the end of the short path into Haldane House. at 51 Burdon Tce, 20 yards to the east of the church
You may like to visit and just wander, looking at the plants, perhaps resting on one of the seats for a moment or two – or more!
May your time here be blessed with real peace.
Wednesday Meeting
Every third Wednesday of most months.
Meetings are held in our cosy Foyer and begin with announcements and a short prayer. The talk usually begins at 2.10pm, ending at about 2.45pm, followed by a cup of tea/coffee and scone/cake; questions sometimes drift into tea-time.
The Wednesday meetings, pioneered by a former head of music at what is now Newcastle High School for Girls, have proved very popular. There is a regular audience of around 20 with talks on wide-ranging subjects and NEVER boring.
The programme covers a wide range of topics, of equal interest to men and women, and has included The art of China’s Buddhist Caves, Why is English spelling so weird?, The benefits of Physiotherapy, Mozambique Revisited, Training Detectives, The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Charles Dickens and the North East, Climate Change: Biblical Fact and Modern Myths, Living on the Farnes, Fire Safety in the Home. There is no charge for admission, but the speaker receives a small payment/fee/gift which is usually paid for out of voluntary donations by attendees.
Further details on our What’s on page
Come and join us. All are welcome!
Big Questions Café
A collaboration between Jesmond URC and the Jesmond Library, the BQC is an occasional offering with our community to reflect on ‘big questions’ facing our life and community around a delicious and nutritious meal.
Past topics have included:
· Artificial Intelligence,
· Community Architecture,
· the Living Wage,
· and Community Cohesion around Repair Cafés—which helped inspire the successful launch of our Repair Café!
Updates posted here: https://www.bigquestionscafe.org.uk/
