Celebrating Family Diocesan Projects: Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle 

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The Diocese of Hexham & Newcastle received a grant of £71,000 over three years from the Celebrating Family Fund to employ a development worker to establish 18 local teams of trained and equipped lay people to provide marriage preparation and parenting support.

Hexham and Newcastle Diocese stretches from the Scottish border to the River Tees and is divided into 5 Episcopal areas and 18 deaneries from Northumberland to Cleveland and South Durham.  There are 162 Catholic Schools in the diocese and 53,000 pupils, 68% of whom are Catholic.  Since Deacon Peter Lavery was appointed MFL Diocesan Coordinator by the late Bishop Kevin Dunn in 2005, he and his wife Pauline have worked tirelessly to raise the profile of Marriage and Family Life ministry in the diocese. As a result, in 2007, a Diocesan MFL Commission was appointed to review pastoral care in MFL and offer practical support to the clergy. 

‘Families Helping Families’ Cherishing Marriage and Family Life.

The review highlighted the urgent need for locally-based MFL teams to extend the provision of pastoral care in collaboration with parish priests and the MFL Commission. This need was confirmed by the clergy and by requests for assistance from MFL volunteers in parishes and deaneries. So in 2008 the diocese applied to the Celebrating Family Fund for the resources to employ a development worker with the time to devote to addressing this need. The application was successful and the project, entitled, ‘Families Helping Families’ Cherishing Marriage and Family Life was launched later that year.  The principal aim of the project was to identify, train and provide on-going support to deanery based teams of MFL volunteers who would roll out the three key strands of the Celebrating Family initiative: Everybody’s Welcome, Home is a Holy Place and Passing on the Faith, across the Diocese.   Another objective was to build up a Diocesan Resource Library, containing a comprehensive collection of scriptural and other materials on marriage and family life. 

‘To Build up The Body of Christ Within the Marriage and Family Life of the Local Community’ 

The appointment of an MFL development worker suffered several setbacks including the sudden death of Bishop Kevin in March 2008 and an fruitless recruitment campaign later the same year. However, David Westgarth was finally appointed in April 2009.  He spent his first few months developing relationships and building effective partnerships across the diocese.  He worked closely with Peter and Pauline, supporting them in the delivery of the Diocese’s Marriage Preparation Programme, and promoting the Home is a Holy Place initiative in deaneries, parishes and schools. David established contact with the Passionist Retreat Centre at Minsteracres and successfully delivered Home is a Holy Place to their Parish Council - helping them to identify ways of incorporating the resource into their retreat programme.  Through his diaconate studies, David also developed contacts at the Northern Seminary of Ushaw College, where he spoke to the staff and students on one of their information evenings.  The participants commented that Home is a Holy Place was ‘A valuable resource for parish-based sacramental catechesis.’  David was invited to join the Diocesan Vocations Team and participated in the Diocese’s RCIA road show to promote MFL issues.

Successful Collaboration With Local Schools  

In preparation for the Feast of the Holy Family in 2009 David produced a number of Diocesan prayer resources, and for National Marriage Week he organised a Celebration Mass in his own Catholic Partnership Area.  The liturgy he developed was made available to the clergy, and they were encouraged to hold similar events in their own parishes.  David worked with School Chaplains, RE Co-ordinators and Head Teachers to introduce the Home is a Holy Place resource and to identify where this ministry could support specific areas of the curriculum.  He planned a vocations event with one comprehensive school in Durham, and worked with Newcastle High School to deliver a series of talks on ‘Home, Family and Vocations’ which was linked to the GCSE and A-Level Study Programme.  After a successful collaboration with St Joseph’s School, Hebburn during ‘Enrichment Week’ the Deputy Head of RE commented:   “To judge from the feedback from our children the mornings were very successful and really enjoyed, and your input was crucial to that, pitched just right for the different groups of  children and making an important point about the true meaning of holiness and how it is part of our everyday lives...”

Regrettably David’s resignation from the post in 2010 meant that the Diocese was unable to reap the benefits of the work he had begun.  During his short tenure David did however facilitate the recruitment of four deanery-based volunteer teams; the delivery of several marriage preparation courses and encouraged closer Diocesan cooperation with local schools and parishes.  Peter and Pauline continue to work for the Diocese in a voluntary capacity supporting and promoting the Celebrating Family initiative and providing a comprehensive range of MFL services, including Days of Reflection on the richness of the church’s teachings on married life. 

The Hexham and Newcastle Project was funded by the Celebrating Family Fund from 2009-2010.  The project is currently on hold.  For more information please contact Elizabeth Davies at the Marriage and Family Life Project Office.

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