The woman says she was attacked at St Mark's Church grounds in Shiremoor last Monday evening at around 8pm.
Police believe a man, thought to be in his early teens, dragged the woman from nearby Park Lane into the church grounds and raped her.
A special service was held at the church on Sunday.
Fr Tony Curtis told ITV News: "Most people have found out over the weekend about what happened, most people are deeply in shock and very sad about what's happened here in Shiremoor, which is a really strong, close-knit community
"We held a church service on Sunday evening once the news broke to pray for the local community, for the victim and her family, and for healing in our community.
"But also, there is a lot of work with children and young people that goes on at St Mark's and that will be continuing and we want to make sure that people know that we're here to bring the community together and that we'll be helping them look after each other.
Detective sergeant Donna Rose from Northumbria Police said: "Reports of this nature are obviously concerning and we're doing everything possible to establish exactly what happened.
"We also know that these incidents can be concerning to the local community, there are extra patrols in the area."