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.
Give Thanks for Your Vaccination!
The Diocese of Durham has partnered with aid and development charity Christian Aid to give people an opportunity to give thanks for their Covid-19 vaccine and help others in crisis across the world.
Recognising the deep sense of relief and gratitude experienced by many people after being vaccinated, the two organisations have come together to enable people to pass the blessing on by making a donation to Christian Aid’s Coronavirus Appeal.
Funds from the appeal are helping vulnerable communities around the world access soap, water, food and vital health information in the face of the pandemic. Many communities around the world face an uncertain wait for a vaccine as questions remain around the cost and timing of a global vaccine programme.
You can read more about the story on the diocesan website.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
The meeting to elect churchwardens and the APCM will be held on Sunday 25 April immediately after the service (approximately 11.20), both in church and on Zoom. All are welcome to attend. Those who are on the electoral roll are eligible to vote in both meetings. All people resident in the parish are eligible to vote in the election of churchwardens.
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Precautions
As a church, we are committed to caring for our neighbours and doing our part to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The church is now open once again for communal worship as part of the hybrid format of services (in church and on Zoom). If you would like to join us on Zoom, please email Anna Brooker. More information is available on our online worship page.
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 8.15 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. All surfaces are wiped down once a day with appropriate cleaning materials.
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 following 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 take the safety of children, young people, and vulnerable adults very seriously. You can find our safeguarding policies via the ‘Safeguarding’ link in the menu above.
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.*