As you will notice from the map, St. Anne’s RC Church is located near the Angel of the North, just off the A167 and its junction with the A1 which runs very close to it.
St. Anne’s Parish was founded 46 years ago, under the leadership of a progressive priest called Father Philip O’Brien. He was equipped only with a modest three-bedroom house and a plot of land and was told to get on with building a school, church and presbytery. The parishioners, while experienced and wise now, have grown with the parish and can boast of many groups serving God and the local community. These include: The Legion of Mary; Parish Prayer Group; Justice & Peace Group; Ladies’ Guild; St. Vincent de Paul; a Parish Choir and a Finance Committee.
Attached to the Church is our Parish Hall, which was built on to the back of the church and facilitates a warm, friendly tea and coffee morning after Sunday mass, during which many birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated.
We host a busy piety shop offering piety items and cards well below market prices. We also operate a Gift Aid scheme and a 200 Club. There is also a Children’s Liturgy during Sunday morning Mass, led by an experienced adult team, which helps children to understand and be inspired by the Word of God.
The Parish Priest, Father Paul Zielinski, has pastoral control of both the St Augustine’s Leam Lane and Saint Anne’s Church, Gateshead. He endeavours to serve them in accordance with Vatican II.
Returning to Church
Most people do not lose their faith – they simply get out of the habit of practising their faith. People often need a reminder that Jesus never says ‘goodbye’ to us but, rather, Jesus is ‘with us always’. Pope Francis gives us such a reminder in his recent Exhortation/ document ‘Joy of the Gospel’, when he invites all Christians to renew their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that when we come back to Him, He is always ‘waiting for us with open arms’ ready to take us ‘once more into His redeeming embrace’ and give us His ‘unfailing love’.