St Joseph's Birtley

Catholic Parish of St Joseph's Birtley, Birtley Lane, Birtley DH3 1LJ

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SVP Bridge Over Troubled Water Appeal

Birtley St Joseph’s SVP member Brother Gary Bartlett has a very responsible job and often works away from home during the weekend and while listening to the radio on another long drive home one Friday night he heard the Simon and Garfunkel song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” being played on the radio. Brother Gary found himself listening to the song and pondering on the correlation between the lyrics and the work of the SVP and wondered how it would be possible to carry out the message of the song in a practical way.

Brother Gary brought the idea to the next meeting of the Birtley St Joseph’s conference and after discussion, the conference was unanimous on the idea of using the song along with a slideshow presentation to launch an appeal for items for the SVP Blackfriars Support Centre. It was decided to ask the ever generous St Joseph’s congregation for unneeded tents, sleeping bags, warm clothing and anything which they thought may help the homeless and needy of Newcastle.

Brother Gary enlisted the help of another parishioner Jim Taylor the chaplain at St Robert of Newminster, Washington to create a Microsoft Powerpoint presentation and to synchronise images with the song so that it could be played in church.

The opening images mirrored the first two verses by showing the desperation of people on the street and the faces of people who have been driven to the depths of despair.


When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

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When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

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The images for the last verse were chosen to correspond with the optimism shown in the verse which showed help being given to people on the street. Images were also shown to show the practical help which ordinary Christians could give to people in need at the Christmas season and to show that we can all help no matter how small our gifts are.



Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
Oh, if you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind



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The presentation was given in St Joseph’s on the weekend of 7th - 8th December and the response was absolutely phenomenal as people were really affected by it and pledged numerous items for the SVP. The following weekend the storeroom in the sacristy was piled high with items and a van was hired to take the items through to Blackfriars on December 18th in time for Christmas. Blackfriars was being hired by Crisis at Christmas for Christmas Day and Boxing Day and it was hoped that some of the items could be given to the large number of people who were due to attend the centre on those 2 days.

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As the appeal had been so successful and as items were still being brought in to St Joseph’s after the van had gone to Blackfriars on December 18th it was decided to move the appeal to another church in the St Benedict Partnership. With the help of the St Bede and St John Boste conference in Washington, Brother Gary delivered the appeal at the 9:30am Mass at St John Boste in Washington on December 22nd. The response to the appeal was again amazing and numerous parishioners pledged to bring items.

Chaplain Jim Taylor also showed the presentation to the teaching staff at St Robert’s and staff were so affected that they raised a large sum of money.

On the 9th of January another van was hired and 25 bags full of items which had been donated to the appeal at St John Boste were taken to the SVP Blackfriars Centre along with the numerous other items which had been donated to St Joseph’s since the original van had gone to Blackfriars on December 18th.

The SVP conferences at St Joseph’s and St Bede and St John Boste were absolutely amazed at the generosity of people and wish to thank everyone who contributed both items and money for their great kindness. It was truly a tremendous effort by everyone who was involved and a great example of practical Christianity at Christmas time.

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A list of items collected at St Josephs up to 9th January 2020 has been placed on the noticeboard at the back of the church.