in 2021 we created Friends of St Gabriel’s, Heaton, which is open to anyone and everyone who would like to join and who is prepared to support our aims, church buildings and grounds.
For only a nominal amount of £1 per month, less for concessionary membership, Friends will enjoy an on-going link with St Gabriel’s and the satisfaction of helping our parish church to thrive, both now and in the future.
It is easy to become a Friend of St Gabriel’s, simply pick up a Friends invitation leaflet from the back of church. In it you will find details of how to join and the relevant paper forms.
Or download the forms here:
(Please return the bankers draft form to your own bank)
We are greatly looking forward to welcoming members to Friends of St Gabriel’s and thank you in advance for your support.
Anne Pickering
Who are “Friends of St Gabriel’s”?
St Gabriel’s Church is a beautiful, historic building, a pivotal part of the Heaton community since 1899.
- Do you already have an affinity with St Gabriel’s?
- Would you like to know more about it and be kept in touch?
- Share in events and activities taking place?
- Enjoy being actively involved in its support?
- Develop its role in the community?
- Help to look after it for future generations?
If you answered yes, joining Friends of St Gabriel’s, an all-inclusive and welcoming community founded in 2021, is a great place to start!
What are we offering Friends of St Gabriel’s?
- An on-going link with St Gabriel’s
- The satisfaction of supporting our parish church to ensure its successful long term future
- The chance to have fun and to make new friends
- Opportunities to come to events, be fund-raisers, enjoy the building and grounds
- Invitations to special Friends events and other happenings in church
- Updates on St Gabriel’s Church news
- The feeling that you belong to a good organisation where you can be actively involved and are valued
What might our Friends offer to St Gabriel’s?
- Stronger links between Church and local communities
- Additional experience, skills and knowledge which already exists in the area
- Practical help with events, maintenance and repairs
- Publicising events and activities
- Help with fundraising
- More people on which to draw for support when large scale and additional projects are undertaken – our congregation are already willingly covering our regular running costs and routine expenses
- Greater use of the church and grounds
How to join Friends of St Gabriel’s, Heaton
Either collect an application from from the back of church or download the forms above.
Please return the Application Form and Gift Aid form to St Gabriel’s Parish Office in the Parish Centre next to church, or by post to Friends of St Gabriel’s, St Gabriel’s Parish Office, 2 St Gabriel’s Avenue, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 5QN (Bankers draft forms are to be sent to your own bank)
Current annual membership (January to December)
£12 per person
£18 for household membership
£10 concessionary membership
Free for under 18s
If you wish to add an extra donation, we would be most grateful.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to keeping in touch with you.
By submitting the enclosed forms you are consenting to St Gabriel’s holding and processing your personal data for the purpose of Friends of St Gabriel’s membership and related activities.
You can withdraw or change your communication options at any time by emailing the Parish Office at stgabriels.heaton@gmail.com
Spring 2025 News!
We have just welcomed our 70th and 71st Friends and are very pleased they have decided to join our growing group. We are grateful to everyone who has renewed their Friends membership subscriptions for 2025, many people generously allowing gift aid to be claimed and / or adding an additional donation. Currently, we have £5,294 in our Friends account as we still await the publication of hymn books and the associated invoice which is expected to be about £420. We have offered money for the improvement of the Children’s Corner in church; this is a project being undertaken by the Brownies. We have also offered money for the extension and improvement of the Memorial Garden in our grounds.
The cherry blossom tree, purchased by the Friends and planted in the Parish Centre garden as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy to commemorate Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in the summer of 2022, has really flourished this year and has provided a beautiful display.
Our Spring Coffee Morning took place on Saturday 10th May. These events, which take place three times a year, are for the Friends, the congregation and the community to enjoy a happy, social morning. They take place with the help and hard work of the Friends, members of the congregation and of the community, enabling us to raise funds to support the Parochial Church Council in maintaining, caring for and enhancing our beautiful Church buildings and grounds. Our most recent coffee morning was very well supported, busy and fun. In only 2 hours, we raised £530, thanks to the generosity of those who came. This profit was increased to a total of £609 when we sold more cakes, jewellery, pens and cards the following morning at Parish Breakfast. Sincere thanks to all those who contributed in any way.
In the light of such a successful event, please note in your diaries that our next Friends Coffee Morning will be on Saturday 20th September. It would be lovely to see you there, enjoying the morning and possibly offering to help too. All are welcome!
Many thanks to all of you for your on-going interest and encouragement.
January 2025 update!
The first St Gabriel’s Christmas card was a great success with 58 people / groups submitting a greeting to be included and many expressing thanks that they were saved the expense, energy and time needed to send individual cards to their many friends at St Gabriel’s. Donations received covered all costs, with a surplus of about £200 being left in the Friends’ account. Grateful thanks to all those who supported this initiative, and especially to Jeni, our Parish Administrator, for her IT skills and creativity to make its production possible. The PCC have agreed we should create another St Gabriel’s card for Christmas 2025, with the cover made of thin card instead of paper.
Friends of St Gabriel’s were pleased to donate £25 to St Mary Magdalene Church for kindly loaning us the display boards for the ‘125 Acts of Kindness’, part of our 125th anniversary celebrations. I wrote to all Friends recently, to update them on our news. I invited suggestions of Acts of Kindness that we could do. It was a wonderful surprise that two of our Friends offered to pay £2,500, the full cost for the redecoration of the Vestry, and the work has now been completed. This was a very kind and most generous ‘Act of Kindness’. We are all benefitting from the finished redecoration, and very grateful to have our Vestry, which is so well used, looking much more attractive.
Just before Christmas, all Friends were sent a card to greet them and to thank them for their continuing interest and support. Local members also received a small chocolate treat. Our New Year Coffee Morning on 18th January was a busy, happy, successful event and it was well supported by both the congregation and the community. Sincere thanks must be given to those who baked, donated, set up and cleared away, or helped in any way. No expenses were taken, so the proceeds of £450 will enable us to contribute to future Church developments and maintenance. Thank you to all! Please note the date of our Spring Coffee Morning which will be on Saturday 10th May. It would be lovely to see you there.
September 2024 Update!
Happy Birthday to us! Friends of St Gabriel’s, Heaton, was founded in October 2021, so by the time you read this, we shall be approaching our 3rd birthday. Membership is open to anyone and everyone who would like to be involved in supporting the life of our beautiful, historic church, a pivotal part of the Heaton community since 1899. Friends are invited to share in events and activities taking place at St Gabriel’s, whether or not they come to church services. Our aim is for the Friends of St Gabriel’s, currently 63 members of whom about half are regularly part of the congregation and half have an affinity with the Church in a different way, to develop its role in the community, and to care for our grade two listed buildings for current and future generations.
We held a summer coffee morning, with a raffle, cake stall and summer accessories stall on Saturday 15th June, continued at Parish Breakfast the following morning. Many thanks indeed to all those who helped, baked, donated or supported this event in any way. Although the numbers of helpers and those able to come were small, those who contributed were very generous so we were able to raise £452 for St Gabriel’s maintenance and development. A happy atmosphere prevailed and it was an enjoyable morning.
Following a site inspection, we were told that our church bell was in need of urgent and substantial work. We are fortunate that one of the country’s foremost experts in bell restoration is based in North Shields. The total invoice for repair work, refurbishment, new parts, descaling, cleaning and painting was £800. We were delighted that Friends were able to pay this in full; our bell is an integral part of St Gabriel’s life, linking us to the local community and signaling each approaching service; we missed hearing it so much while the work took place. It is a joy that the bell is now back in place and sounding better than ever!
Autumn 2023 update!
Friends of St Gabriel’s have purchased a large heavy duty hedge trimmer and battery. This will be very useful for the kind volunteers who work hard to maintain our large church grounds. Please contact the Parish Office if you might be able to join the gardening team with either regular or occasional help. We would love to hear from you!
Summer 2023
Friends of St Gabriel’s sponsored the new noticeboards!
Spring 2022 update
Easter greetings and small chocolate treats were given to the Friends as a personal thank you from me in recognition of their interest and support. On Saturday 30th April, Friends within and beyond our church congregation were invited to a Parish Ceilidh, a social event held in church and
a chance to have some fun together. Dorothy, one of our Friends, most kindly offered to host a coffee morning with cake stall and raffle in May. We all enjoyed this social event which raised over £400, which was shared equally between the Flush Fund for the improvement and development of the toilets,
and the relighting /rewiring project. While we must have the church rewired for safety, we are taking the opportunity to move to more practical and environmentally friendly lighting. When the new lighting is in place, it will be more versatile and enable us to use a wide variety of lighting
effects for different occasions and to enhance our beautiful, historic church building.
Following the success last November of the Come and Sing Faure Requiem directed by Tim Burke, Director of Music, another Come and Sing took place in St Gabriel’s on Saturday 28th May, when Tim rehearsed then led a performance with an even larger choir and also an orchestra.
Friends of St Gabriel’s were delighted to support this event by providing refreshments for the performers during the morning and the afternoon rehearsal breaks as well as at lunchtime. These were greatly appreciated by the participants. We also offered general help and ensured everyone
coming to sing and/or to enjoy the performance felt welcomed. The day was a wonderful musical and financial success, profits going towards Newcastle Youth Choir.
Friends of St Gabriel’s donated a flowering cherry tree to be planted in the Parish Centre garden as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy. With an accompanying plaque, this tree which was planted by Junior Church commemorates the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,
a unique national event celebrated over a four-day bank holiday weekend in June.
Bulb Planting September 2021
To celebrate the inauguration of our new group, Friends of St Gabriel’s, Heaton, those involved with its planning have planted 300 tete-a-tete miniature daffodil bulbs in the church garden. When coming down the main path to the front door of church, they are in the border to the left. We are most grateful to Ian Legge and John Pickering who came to help us dig holes in very dry, stony soil full of tree roots and brambles. We hope to see a mass of yellow blooms next and every spring, as well as looking forward to enjoying lots of tete-a-tete conversations with new and established Friends at events and activities.
