St. Thomas of Canterbury

Fr Adrian's written reflection for Sat 8 August/Sun 9 August

Catholic parish of St Thomas of Canterbury

Billingham - Updated Friday 14 August 2026

Father Adrian standing in the church sanctuary wearing green vestments, framed by two vertical red Chinese banners. The Chinese text on the left translates to 'Christ bestows blessings, and all things are at peace,' and the text on the right translates to 'The Lord protects, and the whole family is well.

Welcome message from Fr Adrian

Welcome to the website for the Catholic Church in Billingham. As you will see our parish is called Saint Thomas of Canterbury and our worship is currently based at two churches, Holy Rosary and Saint John’s.

If you are a newcomer or visitor to the area we would be delighted if you could join us for Mass and other services. Please see the weekly Newsletter for details.

As you browse our website you will find there are pages on what’s going on, how you can arrange Baptisms, Marriages etc. as well as prayers, reflections, and parish activities.

If you wish to become a regular worshipper and member of our parish we hope to make you feel at home as soon as possible. It would be good if you could get in touch with Father Adrian.

Perhaps you could complete a registration form which can be found at the back of each church. You could then hand it in at church or post it.

God bless you.

Fr. Adrian Dixon

Why is our website green?

Its leaves remain green

Jeremiah 17:8

The colour was chosen on purpose. Green belongs to living things. New shoots after a hard winter, ground that looked dead and turns out not to be.

There is renewal in it. The Church wears green right through Ordinary Time, that long stretch of the year when faith deepens quietly and the Gospel gets worked out week by week. No drama in it, just steady growth. Rebirth sits close by. Someone comes to the font and is reborn into a life that was not there before. A parish that keeps going is regrowth you can see, the roots holding while fresh shoots come up.

The Resurrection is underneath all of this. On Easter morning Mary Magdalene met the risen Christ and took him for the gardener (John 20:15). He had risen there, in a garden, the green pushing up around him.