ABOUT
OUR CHURCH |

The official
title of our
parish church is
The Parish Church of
St John The Divine
Acklington
but it is often referred to locally as St John's Church.
All denominations (and those of no particular faith) are very
welcome to visit the church and join in with the services and
celebrations.
Sunday School for children takes place every fortnight during
school term times.
|
REGULAR SERVICES |
SUNDAYS
10.45 a.m.
Parish Communion
_______________________
WEDNESDAYS
9.30 a.m.
Morning Prayers
 |
MUSIC |
The hymn book that is used
for the vast majority of services in the church is the
very popular 'Anglican Hymns Old & New'.

There are 858 hymns and worship songs in the book making
it one of the most comprehensive collections available.
It contains a vibrant mix of favourite traditional hymns
and the best of the new worship songs.

John Davison has played the church organ for
services for the past 38
years. John says,
"For each service we always try to select a good balance
of hymns…
* usually
at least a couple from
the suggested list for each
Sunday,
*
often
an old traditional
favourite,
* often
a more modern hymn,
*
occasionally
a children’s
hymn,
* occasionally a new
hymn.
Hopefully there are always hymns to please everyone."
|
SPECIAL SERVICES |
As well as our
Sunday Services
already mentioned,
we have a number of
additional services
on special occasions
throughout the year.
Two examples are
shown here.
PALM SUNDAY PRAISE

HARVEST
FESTIVAL

We are also
fortunate that staff
and pupils from our
village school
regularly use the
church for their
services of worship.

Watch out for these
additional services
and please support
where you can.
Everyone is always
welcome. |
BRIEF HISTORY |
The church was erected in
1861 and is one of the largest buildings
in the parish. The stones of which the
church is built were tooled and dressed
within the walls of Alnwick Castle. All
the woodwork was also prepared there.
For this is one of the churches built by
Algernon, fourth Duke of Northumberland,
in the last few years of his life. When
the stones were ready, and the woodwork
was fashioned, masons and joiners were
sent from the castle works to Acklington
to set them in their appointed places.
The Duke & Duchess were
present at the consecration which was
performed by the Lord Bishop of Durham.

Both the church and the old
vicarage were built from the
designs of Mr. James Deason. The
church is in the early English
style and is a fine Victorian
Gothic building with a plain
exterior and an unexpectedly
pleasing interior. Some good
modern woodwork includes an
altar and reredos and
communion rails, given as memorials to various
members of the Milburn family of Guyzance.

The oak Lych Gate itself is very attractive and interesting.
It was opened in 1921
as a war memorial dedicated
in honour of those from this
district who took part in
the Great War 1914 - 1918.
There
was quite a ceremony which
was attended by His Grace
the Duke of Northumberland.
The Lych Gate
was renovated on the
occasion of the coronation
of Queen.
You can read a fuller
version of the history of
the church by clicking on
the book below.
 |
SUNDAY SCHOOL |
Sadly, at the
current time, there
is not sufficient
demand for regular
Sunday School
classes. The
Sunday School has
therefore been put
on hold until
numbers pick up.
When Sunday School
is in operation it
usually takes
place every
other Sunday
from
10.45 a.m. - 11.45
a.m.
In the past the
children have produced
some excellent
work
under the
supervision
of our
Sunday School
leaders Mrs Pam
Coils and
Mrs
Margaret Hammond.
Each term the work
was very carefully planned
and the teaching was
based around stories
- usually followed up
by art and craft
activities.
Just as soon as numbers are healthier and the demand
is there, the
teachers and
facilities are
available for Sunday
School to re-open.
Some examples of the art
and craft work produced at
our Sunday School are
shown below:




 |
ARTEFACTS |
Housed in the church of St. John The
Divine, Acklington, are the four ancient relics pictured below.

The sanctus bell came from the old Brainshaugh Priory.
It is thought this was the bell that the nuns rang to
signify a death in Guyzance village - and it was
frequently used during the great plague of 1349 which
killed off two thirds of the local population. The
bell survived the plague (although it has been fitted
with another handle at a later date) but the priory and
its inhabitants never recovered and the buildings fell
into ruin.

The second picture above shows a mortar which
has also come from the priory. It was used in the preparation of
food. The frog like picture below is in fact a 16th century
breastplate of Italian design which was ploughed up not far from the
priory.

the final picture shows the Acklington Warrior Stone which
was discovered in the garden of the Old Vicarage.

There
is still considerable mystery around the Acklington
Warrior Stone and its discovery. It is believed to
be linked to the famous medieval Lindisfarne Warrior Stone which was found on Holy Island.
More can be read about the Warrior Stone on the history pages of this
website. Just click the "Pelican" link below and you can get more
of the story.
 |
SPECIAL GIFTS |

Members of Acklington Church try to support poor
communities overseas (particularly around Christmas
time) by buying unusual but useful presents.

So far the
special gifts we have purchased include: a cow, pigs,
turkeys, sacks of maize, bees, goats, bicycles, a tap, some young sapling trees
and a sheep.

 |
|
|
C |
 |
CLERGY |
Our last
vicar was the Revd Michael Leslie Dent.
Mike has now retired and left the parish.
We have a vacancy until another priest is appointed. This
period is called an ‘interregnum’. |

Revd Mike Dent |
Should you
require a priest for a baptism, wedding or funeral
service, please contact Revd Christine Shield.
Christine
can be contacted on 01665 711141 |

Revd Christine Shield |
|
VICARS OF
ST JOHN THE DIVINE
ACKLINGTON
1861 |
Henry
Miles |
1865 |
George
Thompson |
1883 |
William
Rudge |
1902 |
John
Maughan |
1903 |
John
Robertson |
1925 |
Thomas
Dunscombe |
1930 |
A. H.
Nicholson |
1938 |
H. G.
Cutter |
1946 |
W. Hume |
1956 |
Henry
Ball |
1960 |
William
Barry Hicks |
1967 |
Bernard
Gurney Fox |
1974 |
Stephen
Huxley |
1979 |
Anthony
Duncan |
1987 |
Graham
Newman |
1995 |
Janet
Brearley |
2013 |
Michael
Dent |
|
|
CHURCHWARDENS |
Churchwardens have a very responsible jobs in the life of
their parish church. They are expected to be
leaders in the church and have many important duties to
carry out. If you want to know more about the
chief responsibilities of a churchwarden, please click
on the logo to the right.
The current churchwardens of St John The Divine,
Acklington are Mr William Rowntree (known as
Bill) and Mr Peter Wright.
The two churchwardens are pictured below.
Should you need to contact either of the wardens then
their telephone numbers
are as follows:
Bill - 01670 761458.
Peter - 01670 761347 |
 |
 |
PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) |
All Anglican churches have a
Parochial Church Council. A PCC has the important responsibility
of co-operating with the vicar, or priest in charge (known as
the incumbent) in promoting the mission of the Church in its
parish. It is also responsible for the financial affairs of the
church and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its
contents.
A PCC consists of the clergy and churchwardens of the parish,
together with a number of representatives of the laity elected
at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The incumbent is the
chairman of the PCC and a lay member is appointed vice-chairman.
The PCC must meet at least four times a year.
Our PCC currently meets every second month and the twelve members who
currently make up our PCC are shown below.
Ex-Officio Members:
Vicar & Chairperson
Churchwarden
Churchwarden
Deanery Synod Representative
Deanery Synod Representative
|
Ex
-Officio
Members:
- vacancy -
Mr Bill Rowntree
Mr Peter Wright
Mrs Moira Peden
Mr Peter Wright |
ACKLINGTON PCC

11 MEMBERS
|
Elected Lay Representatives
Lay Vice Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
|
-Officio Members:
Mr John Davison
Miss Barbara Lamb
Miss Joan Davison
Mrs Barbara Cock
Mrs June Davison
Mrs Audrey Lamb
Mrs Shirley Rowntree
Mrs Val Sharp |
 |
The
Parish Safeguarding Officer
The Parish Safeguarding Officer is Mrs Janet Bell. The
officer (who is accountable to the PCC) works
co-operatively with the incumbent to make sure all
policies, procedures and guidelines are in place to
safeguard children and vulnerable adults.
|
|
PARISH PROFILE OF 2017 |
PARISH
PROFILE
Our
PCC members have created a
Parish Profile - a detailed statement
describing the church's ministry and mission
within the parish. The profile includes
fifteen different sections as listed below:
01 Introduction
02 Description of the Parish & boundary map
03 The Church Community
04 Statistics
05 Church Buildings
06 Patterns of Worship
07 Church Activities
08 Ministry
09 Finance
10 Community Involvement
11 Relationships with neighbouring
Parishes
12 Ecumenical Relationships
13 The Parish and the future
14 The new incumbent
15 Parsonage
To read the profile in full, please click on the
cover opposite. |
 |
|
CHURCH NEWS
AND NOTICES |
 |
Church members are
kept well informed
of church events and activities. There is a
busy noticeboard in
the church porch (pictured left) and
the
parish magazine
"The Pelican" is
extremely popular
with
parishioners.

|
|
BAPTISMS,
WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS |
|
FUNDRAISING
EVENTS |
Members of Acklington Church need to raise substantial funds
each year in order to meet their expenditure, including:
- paying their parish share (quota);
- maintaining and heating the large
church building;
- upkeep of churchyard;
- insurance payments;
- charity giving;
- missionary work. |
 |
Fundraising events are usually well supported and varied
in their nature.
Over recent years, the following fund-raising events have taken
place:
Cream Teas / Soup Kitchens / Coffee Mornings / Table Top
Sales / Wine & Cheese Evenings / Sponsored Slims / Art
Evenings / Harvest Suppers / Alnwick Fair Stalls /
Steeplechases / Christmas Fairs / Harvest Bounty Days /
Summer Fairs / Musical Concerts / Sponsored Walks/
Barbecues / 100 Club / Winter Warmer Lunches / Auctions
/ Pudding Club Evening / Quizzes
The posters below show some of this year's fund-raising
activities:
|
|
FUNDRAISING EVENTS DURING 2018...

|
THE DIOCESE
AND THE DEANERY |

The Church of St John The Divine
Acklington is in the Diocese of Newcastle.
 |

The Diocese of Newcastle is made up of 13 Deaneries, as
follows:
Alnwick
Bamburgh &
Glendale
Bedlington
Bellingham
Corbridge
Hexham East
Hexham West
Morpeth
Newcastle Central
Newcastle East
Newcastle West
Norham
Tynemouth. |
There are 27 Anglican churches in the Alnwick Deanery,
as follows:
Acklington, St John The Divine
Alnham, St Michael & All Angels
Alnwick, St Michael
Alnmouth, St John The Baptist
Alwinton, St Michael & All Angels
Amble, St Cuthbert
Bolton, Bolton Chapel of Ease
Boulmer, St Andrew the
Fisherman
Chevington, St John The Divine
Craster, St Peter The Fisherman
Edlingham, St John The Baptist
Embleton, Holy Trinity
Felton, St Michael & All Angels
Hepple, Christ Church
Holystone, St Mary The Virgin
Howick, St Michael
Lesbury, St Mary
Longframlington, St Mary
Longhoughton, St Peter & St
Paul
Newton By The Sea, St Mary
Rennington, All Saints
Rock, St Philip & St James
Rothbury, All Saints
Shilbottle, St James
Thropton, St Andrew
Warkworth, St Lawrence
Whittingham, St Bartholomew |
|
ART WORK DEPICTING
THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE, ACKLINGTON |
The church
of St John The Divine, Acklington, has been sketched and painted
many times. Below are just a few examples.

St John's Snow Scene by Sarah Sells |

Acklington Church by Charles Evans
|

Line Drawing by Dennis Sweetman |

Sketch of St John The Divine by
Hazel Charlton
|

Church Lych Gate by
June Pirie |

St John The Divine by Charles Evans
|
During April 2008 there was
an
exhibition of art work by inmates from Acklington Prison held in
the Parish Church. Click on the art palette to see a
flavour of the excellent work that was on show.
|
 |
|
|
CLOSE UP QUIZ |
Five close ups of
items you will find in our church. Have you any idea what
they are?

CLICK
HERE FOR ANSWERS
|
|
|