St Paul's Church, Whitley Bay

Parish church
name = St Paul's Church, Whitley Bay


caption = St Paul's Church in Whitley Bay Town Centre
dedication = Saint Paul
denomination = Church of England
deanery = Tynemouth
diocese = Newcastle
province = Province of York
vicar = Father Gavin Gilchrist
curate = Father Alex Faludy
honpriest = Father Leonard Skinner
honpriest1 = Father Harvey Walker
reader = Stan Edwards
organistdom = Dr Terry Mason
organist = June Gibbon
organschol = Nick Graham
warden = Ann Laing
warden1 = Pam MacKenzie
flowerguild = Joyce Marsh
musicgroup = Ann Laing & Celia Temple
parishadmin = Ceri Finn
serversguild = Arthur Thomas

St Paul's Church is the parish church of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, United Kingdom. The church was founded in 1864. Strictly speaking, the church's official title is 'St Paul's Church, Cullercoats', however because it is in the town of Whitley Bay it is more commonly known as the latter.

Management

Father Gavin Gilchrist of Hull is the resident priest, Father Alex Faludy of Portsmouth is the curate. Ann Laing and Pam MacKenzie are the Churchwardens. There is also a Parochial Church Council, Choir, music group, a newsletter and parish magazine. A Summer fair is held annually, as is the St Nicholas fair and festival during the first weekend in Advent. The Sunday Club meets every Sunday morning during the 10am mass and is suitable for babies upwards.

Parochial Church Council

The Parochial Church Council (or PCC), looks after the general running of the Church and overlook the finances. The membership is made up of a council of 22 members; 2 Clergy, 1 Lay Reader, 2 Churchwardens, 1 Treasurer, 1 Diocesan Synod Representative (who attends meetings with others from the Diocese of Newcastle and Tynemouth Deanery), 3 Deanery Synod Representatives (who attend meetings with others from the Tynemouth Deanery) and 12 Lay Members. All members except the Clergy and Lay Reader must go through a nominated election before they can stand. There is also a Standing Committee, made up of 5 members of the PCC, which deals with emergency issues that arise between meetings. They also set the agenda for the following PCC meeting. The PCC meets once a month.

Members:Father Gavin Gilchrist - Chairman [Clergy] ,Father Alex Faludy [Clergy] ,Stan Edwards [Lay Reader] ,Ann Laing [Churchwarden] ,Pam MacKenzie [Churchwarden & Deanery Synod Representative] ,Lillian Martin [Treasurer] ,Jill Eltringham [Diocesan Synod Representative] ,Pat Hylton [Deanery Synod Representative] ,Gerald Lang [Deanery Synod Representative] ,Nick Graham,Shirley Heptonstall,Joyce Marsh,Nicola McIntyre,David Nesbitt,Karen Potter,Joanne Rose,Kath Shepherd,Margaret Stokes,Sarah Teoh &Jean Wood

Music at St Paul's

The music at St Paul's is quite phenomenal, judging that the 15-strong choir is unpaid and almost all of the musicians play for free. The director of music is Dr Terry Mason, who is also the organist at the church. The deputy organist is June Gibbon. The organ scholar is Nick Graham. The choir conductor is Celia Temple, who also plays guitar in the church music group along with Ann Laing who plays keyboard instruments, and several students; Sarah Collin (flute), Andrew Graham (violin) and Ruth Porter (flute).

A former organist, John Percival Forster, was killed in the Battle of the Somme on July 1 1916. He was aged 28 at the time. He was organist at St Paul's for 6 years between 1912 and 1916 and there is a commemorative plaque to the right of the altar.

t Nicholas Festival

The church is well known in the region as the starting point of the annual St Nicholas Festival in December. It was started by the then Vicar, Reverend Norman Aidan Banks.

Vicars of St Paul's

Canon R.F Wheeler 1861 - 1885

Reverend E. Smith 1885 - 1916

Reverend F.L Cattell 1916 - 1924

Reverend F.J Burt 1924 - 1928

Reverend F.M Dowland 1928 - 1933

Reverend J.E Jenkins 1933 - 1941

Reverend F.R Hedley 1941 - 1955

Reverend R.H.C Henwood 1955 - 1963

Reverend J.H Chicken 1963 - 1972

Reverend R.O Stroud 1972 - 1977

Reverend P.V Rendell 1977 - 1989

Reverend N.A Banks 1990 - 2002

Reverend G. Gilchrist 2002 - present

External links

* [http://www.stpaulsbellringers.co.uk/ St Paul's Bell Ringers]