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
Easter 2026 News!
The miniature daffodils in the Friends’ section of the Church garden provided a beautiful splash of spring sunshine while the cyclamens we planted there in the autumn are still flowering. 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 continued to flourish this year and has provided an attractive display. Our Spring Coffee Morning took place on Saturday 16th May and was for the Friends, the congregation and the community to enjoy a happy, social morning. It took place with the help and hard work of the Friends, members of the congregation and of the community – many thanks. It was lovely to hear the buzz of conversation, see the appreciation of tasty treats and watch everyone having a good time. Sincere thanks to all those who contributed in any way.
We have been raising funds for one of the bells in line with our stated aim to support the Parochial Church Council in maintaining, caring for and enhancing our beautiful Church buildings and grounds. The coffee morning was very well supported, busy and fun. In only 2 hours, we raised £807 thanks to the generosity of
all those who came. This profit was increased the following morning when we sold more cakes, books, vases and pretty plant pots, pens and cards at Parish Breakfast. I am truly delighted to report that we have raised the £12,500 needed to sponsor a bell, our 10th of 12. For centuries to come, we shall hear a Friends
of St Gabriel’s Bell ringing out across Heaton from our magnificent tower. Raising such a large sum was, at times, daunting, but thanks to the hard work and munificence of many people, WE DID IT! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped. What a triumph! The small surplus will go to the general Bells Fund as we
stated this event was a fund-raising for the Bells.
Spring 2026 News!
We were delighted to be invited to have a Friends’ Christmas tree on display at St Gabriel’s very first Christmas Tree Festival. We chose to have chains of paper people encircling the tree as we, the Friends, wrap our arms around St Gabriel’s. Baubles displayed our logo and Friends’ leaflets inviting people to join were around the tree’s base. As a result, we gained two new members bringing our current number of Friends to 74. We are an all-inclusive group, about half being regular members of the Church congregation and the others having an affinity with St Gabriel’s in another way, perhaps their parents or grandparents worshipped or were married here, their child was baptised or a family funeral took place in this church, or they live in the area, passing St Gabriel’s regularly and enjoying it as an important and significant Heaton landmark.
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. One of our Friends most generously gave £1,250 to cover the total cost of having the Lady Chapel redecorated. We appreciated this large donation and that the work was done quickly. Our Winter Coffee Morning was a popular, happy event and it was well supported by both the congregation and the community. Stalls selling cakes and other home produce, books, attractive home crafted greetings cards, the refreshment area from where drifted the smell of warm cheese scones, the raffle and the lucky card game were all busy. Sales of Friends’ pens in advance and on the day contributed £33. Sincere thanks must be given to all those who came, who baked, donated, set up and cleared away, or helped in any way. No expenses were taken, so the proceeds of £600 on that day and the following morning at Parish Breakfast will enable us to contribute to future Church developments and maintenance, particularly a Friends of St Gabriel’s Bell if our project to install a peal of twelve bells in our magnificent tower goes ahead successfully.
There has been great interest in this possibility and we are indebted to two Friends of St Gabriel’s who have donated £100 and £1,250 respectively, specifically to the Bell Project. Many thanks indeed for your generosity.
Autumn 2025 News!
We recently purchased a large quantity of gravel at the cost of £301 to extend the Memorial Garden behind Church. Thanks to the hard work of our gardening team, this area is now looking very tidy and attractive.
Also to help with garden maintenance, which is totally done by volunteers, we purchased a heavy duty battery strimmer, batteries and a battery charger, brow guard, ear defenders, harness, plastic blades, brush cutter blade and thread head, along with hooks, a box for storage and a padlock for the garage, the total bill being £481.21. We are so pleased the Friends can pay for such purchases to enable and enhance some of the activities which happen here.
On our September St Gabriel’s gardening morning, we planted another 200 tete a tete narcissi bulbs into our Friends’ area in readiness for the spring. We added 8 large bags of non-peat compost to improve the growing area then planted 30 cyclamen plants to give us autumn colour. The bulbs, plants and compost were donated and the labour was also freely given, so all this was achieved without touching our Friends’ account. Many thanks to all concerned.
The Autumn Coffee Morning organised by the Friends of St Gabriel’s took place on Saturday 20th September. Despite the torrential rain which lasted most of the morning, many Friends, church people and visitors from the wider community braved the downpour, perhaps in part thanks to the large poster on our outside noticeboard, information on our website and the 900 invitations posted through letterboxes in the streets closest to Church. It was a happy, busy morning. The
refreshments counter, cakes and produce stall, raffle and card game, and the jewellery stall all made good sales. Just as important were the levels of conversation and participation. The generosity of those able to come raised a grand total of £710 by the end of Parish Breakfast the next day, our best ever financial result.
At last, the large print edition of the Revised English Hymnal for use at Evensong was published and within a week, we received the 6 copies we had ordered. They all now bear book plates celebrating their donation to St Gabriel’s from the Friends, in gratitude to God for 125 years of St Gabriel’s Church, 1899 – 2024. So Friends have been able to buy all the Evensong hymn books for congregational use comprising 15 copies of the melody edition, 10 copies of the words only
edition and 6 copies of the large print edition. A generous grant reduced the total cost of all these books to £430. Father Jonathan has blessed the books and they are now in regular use.
The Friends offered up to £500 to improve the Children’s Corner in church, used every week by littlies during the Parish Eucharist and often during the week by visitors who are spending time enjoying the beauty and peace within our Church. Much thought is being given to this project. A starting point was considering better storage so Friends have paid for a new pine storage unit and a children’s bookcase with toy box, a total of £144.95. They look very smart.
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.
January 2025 update!
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.
