Stockton Road Church News March 2026
Mark 12: 30-31
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your mind, and with all your strength, and you shall
love your neighbour as yourself”.
We are a union of Presbyterian and Congregational
churches at the heart of Sunderland city life, growing from
a past rich in mission and hospitality. We embrace this
heritage utilising the Five Marks of Mission to guide and
enable us to take forward current opportunities for mission
and service.
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March Reflection
Reading – John 4: 5 – 42
The Gospel’s scene takes place in the blazing heat of
midday in Samaria, where a woman is collecting water –
possibly in the heat of the day because she is something of
an outcast.
Jesus, a Jewish man, an itinerant rabbi, meets a Samaritan
woman tethered to domesticity. There is more that divides
than unites them. In the eyes of his people, she is ‘other’, a
mixed-race woman of impure blood. She sees Jesus as a
member of the race who not long ago destroyed her
people’s temple, which is now rebuilt on the mountain only
100 metres away. The history of hatred and bitterness
overshadow the context of their meeting.
Yet for all that separates them, they both need water. Their
conversation has hardly got going before Jesus begins
talking again in riddles, this time about ‘living water’. For her,
this is water that doesn’t need to be drawn because it
gushes out of the ground. For him, it’s a symbol of
something even more life-giving. Jesus catches her off
guard by alluding to the well’s legend as a pre-marital
meeting place. But she seizes the initiative by naming the
elephant in the room: their competing temples. He repeats
the standard Jewish line about Jews and their Temple and
salvation, before adding a twist: ‘The hour is coming, and is
now here’ when true worship will transcend tribal shrines.
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The returning disciples are shocked that their rabbi is talking
with a woman. She takes him to her village, where people,
surprisingly, welcome the Jew into their homes. But the
greatest audience is drawn by John the evangelist, whose
readers and hearers listen in, as each asks the other the
same fundamental questions: ‘Who are you? Who are we?’
Each character in the narrative learns something more about
the others – the woman learns that Jesus has something to
offer that is beyond her imagination. Jesus learns that
Samaritans, too, are thirsty for the gift of God, the eternal life
that he brings as ‘the Saviour of the world’, whose word
draws Jews and Samaritans together. We in the Gospel’s
greater audience are called to consider who we are, and
how what makes people ‘other’ is transcended by learning to
‘worship the Father in spirit and truth’.
Reflection: Spend a few moments thinking about what
stands out for you from the Bible reading.
The land where Jesus lived is described today as ‘water
stressed’ and sharing water among Middle Eastern peoples
has become a major problem. In Jesus’ day, villages owned
their own wells, but there were access issues in a different
way – travelling distances to draw water from a deep well
was a heavy job. Water drawn from unseen places is a
powerful symbol of the spirit of life: its hidden depths, the
relationships between those who drink it and whether it
should be seen as a commodity or a gift. Jesus’
conversations with the Samaritan woman and her village
touched on these issues, as he began to explore the true
identity of Jews and Samaritans before God, who is Spirit
and life.
Questions: How do you think Jesus ‘sees’ you?
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In what ways has your life been transformed by knowing
Jesus?
A Prayer – Lord, thank you that you choose to reveal
yourself to us and that you know us, love us, and sustain us.
Help us to return to you, again and again, to be refreshed
and renewed by your living water. Amen.
Lectionary Readings
1 – 7 March – Keep asking questions
Lent 2: Genesis 12.1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4.1-5,13
17; John 3.1-17
8 – 14 March – Who are you?
Lent 3: Exodus 17.1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5.1-11; John 4.5
42
15 – 21 March – What do you see?
Lent 4: 1 Samuel 16.1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5.8
14; John 9.1-41
22 – 28 March – Wake me up!
Lent 5: Ezekiel 37.1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8.6-11; John
11.1-45
29 March – 4 April – Journey to the cross
Palm Sunday: Matthew 21.1-11; Isaiah 50.4-9a; Psalm 31.9
16; Philippians 2.5-11; Matthew 27.11-54
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Church Services
Services at 10.45am in the Lower Hall unless indicated otherwise
March 1stRevd Jane Rowell. Communion service. Coffee and croissants.
March 8th Revd Peter Jordan
March 15th Barbara Ledger
March 22nd Elisabeth Meikle
March 29th Revd Jane Rowell. Palm Sunday. Joint
Pastorate service at Stockton Road. 10.45 in
the Lower Hall.
Weekly Church Activities (all welcome)
Bible Study Group
Food Cycle Lunch
Tuesdays at 10.30am
Tuesdays at 12.30pm
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Revd John Durell
Very sad news. Our former Minister, John Durell, died in
Durham on Sunday 22 February. Many of you may know
that John had been unwell for quite a long time, but recently
he had become frail. Funeral arrangements will be
announced in church when known. Our thoughts and our
prayers are with Hillian and the family.
Easter Services
March 29th Palm Sunday. Joint Pastorate service at
Stockton Road. 10.45 in the Lower Hall led by
Jane.
April 2nd
April 3rd
April 5th
Maundy Thursday. Lunch and service at
Stockton Road. 12 noon in the lower hall.
7pm at St Margaret’s, South Shields.
Good Friday. 10.30am. All Age Service at St
Margaret’s South Shields
3pm Service of Reflections and Readings at
Stockton Road.
7pm Service of Reflections and Readings at
Roker.
Easter Sunday. Sunrise Service 6am at the
Bandstand in South Shields followed by
breakfast at 8am at St Margaret’s
10.45am Easter Sunday at Stockton Road.
Barbara Ledger
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Love, Amelia
Please see current Wishlist below. If you have items to
donate, please bring them to Church and put them in the box
in the Vestry. There is also an Amazon Wishlist on the
website www.loveamelia.org.uk if you want to buy and donate
items direct.
Newsletters
Church Newsletter July 2025 final (1)
March Newsletter 2024