St. Brandon’s is the parish church serving Brancepeth village and the surrounding area. (See map.)
Our purpose as a church is both to worship God and to share the love of God that we celebrate here, through our activities as a church and as individual Christians. Church members meet to worship God each week and at special times throughout the
Christian year, and all are always welcome.
Our Priest-in-charge is Anna Brooker. She can be contacted on 0191 378 0578 or on rector@stbrandon.org.uk.
Christmas Services
You are warmly invited to celebrate Christmas with us.
Sunday 12th December, 3.00pm-5.00pm
Messy Church with Christingle Service
Sunday 19th December, 6.30 pm
Carol Service with seasonal choir, followed by refreshments
23rd December and Christmas Eve, from 6:30pm
Village Carol Singing: meet at the crossroads
Christmas Eve, 5.00 pm
Crib Service for all the family
Christmas Eve, 11.30 pm
Midnight Communion
Christmas Day, 10.15 am
Family Eucharist with children’s activities
COVID Precautions
As a church, we are committed to caring for our neighbours and doing our part to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Our Sunday morning services take place in the church building, and are also livestreamed on our church Facebook page. For those in the building, we have plenty of socially distanced seating available, and we also recommend that people wear masks during services. We do now have congregational singing, but ask that people keep their masks on throughout.
Morning Prayer (8.15 am) and Midday Eucharist (12 noon) are celebrated Monday to Friday online. Please email Anna Brooker for the details of how to access these services.
Evening Prayer is hosted online on alternate Thursdays at 7.30 pm. Please email Anna Brooker if you would like to be included in the invitations for this service.
St Brandon’s church building remains open for individual private prayer. We are open every day from 9.30 am until dusk. Please do visit us: make use of the prayer stations in the church, take photos to remind you of the space, or simply sit calmly in the stillness.
You can also see a recent brief video of the church on YouTube.
The clergy and other members of the St Brandon’s congregation continue to pray for our community, with a particular focus on praying for those who are self-isolating or ill. If you have a prayer request, please email it to Alison Moore.
In all this, we are working within the current Church of England guidelines.
Visits, Prayer and Care
If you are new to the area or the church, and would like a visit from a church member, please let us know, by contacting Alison Moore on 0191 373 5674.
Please also do let us know if you are ever unwell or troubled, and would value a visit from a church member, or home communion. To arrange this, please contact Alison Moore.
Safeguarding
At St Brandon’s, we are committed to creating and maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for everyone: children, young people and adults. We have adopted and approved the Church of England policy for promoting a safer church, and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO). The Diocese of Durham’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advises our PSO. A full text of the parish safeguarding policy and other safeguarding information can be found under the ‘Safeguarding’ link in the main menu above.
If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA. If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.
The Church of England offers a simple online tutorial promoting basic awareness of safeguarding issues. St Brandon’s Parochial Church Council recommend that all members of the congregation take this tutorial.
Giving
St Brandon’s runs on generosity.
Everything we do together is possible only because people are generous with their time, their energy, and their skills.
We also depend upon people being generous with their money.
- It costs more than £1,000 a week to keep St Brandon’s open, and to sustain our life together.
- We depend entirely upon donations, and on the money we raise ourselves.
- We don’t get any financial support from the diocese or the national church.
Please consider setting up a regular gift, or making a one-off donation.