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These are extracts from the Parish magazine, if you would like to read the full magazine it is available from church priced £0.50 or £5 a year.
This magazine is the Parish magazine of the Parish of St Michael and All Angels, Abbey Wood. Material is not to be reproduced without permission of the copyright owners. Opinions expressed in this are not necessarily those of the Incumbent or the PCC and do not constitute an official opinion of the Parish.
September 2010
Jubilate
Gabija tells us about a treasure hunt Jubilate did earlier in the year.
When we did the treasure hunt we needed to get into pairs. It was really fun, because every time we found the sweets we got to have two of them because there were lots there. At the end of the game the winning team got two boxes of sweets, they weren’t all for you and your partner, it was one for you and your partner and one for the adult who helped you because otherwise the adult got nothing and you would get lots of sweets.
By Gabija aged 11
Walsingham - click for report
Walsingham Youth Pilgrimage 2010 -click for report
Unfortunately due to lack of space The Church Mouse was omitted from this magazine but will return next month.
Flowers in church
Flowers were sponsored by:
25th July - Michael and Janet Macey
1st August - Pat Kennets and the family of Kay Maddox in memory of her
8th August - Marjorie Gillespie in memory of her mother's birthday
15th and 22nd August - Norma Simpson for the Assumption of Our Lady
August 2010
The Church Mouse
I’ve noticed that there is a lot of activity after the Sunday morning Mass. There is a table where you can get tea or coffee while you chat to each other, one where you can buy cards, another for cakes and a last one which sells different things each week. This table can be booked (by signing on the sheet on the notice board) by anyone in the congregation to raise some money for the church; however I have noticed that it always seems to be the same people booking it. Sometimes they sell books, or bric a brac or religious items however, recently I noticed some of the young people with a tuck shop, selling canned drinks, sweets etc. and I hear a child has been busy painting stones to become door stops or paper weighs to sell. I’m sure there are a lot of other very talented people out there who could sometimes book the stall and wonder why they don’t.
Any way, I’ve noticed that when the religious items are on sale quiet a lot of Rosaries are sold. But aren’t they a Catholic thing? And what do you do with them? So I thought I’d ask the spiders in church to help me do some research and find out about them – they have access to the Web you know!
Tradition has it that the rosary was given to St Dominic in an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1214 in the church of Prouille. The Rosary is a popular and traditional way of praying. It is divided into five decades each consisting of ten small beads and separated by one larger bead. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the mysteries of the Rosary; these are events in the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary.
There are four different sets of mysteries. The praying of the Rosary is dedicated to one set of mysteries, usually praying the Joyful mysteries on Mondays and Saturdays, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Glorious mysteries on Wednesdays and Sundays and the Luminous Mysteries on Thursdays. Each of these sets of mysteries has five different mysteries to meditate on, one for each decade. For example, when praying the joyful mysteries you meditate on the annunciation in for the first decade, the visitation for the second, then the Nativity, the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and finally the finding of the child Jesus in the Temple.
To pray the Rosary you start at the crucifix by making the sign of the cross and saying the Creed. Next Our Father is said at the first large bead followed by 3 Hail Marys, and then the Glory Be. Each decade is then said by announcing the mystery then saying Our Father on the large bead, 10 Hail Mary’s on the 10 small beads and then the Glory Be. After the last decade the Rosary is completed by saying Hail Holy Queen.
But where does the Hail Mary come from? There are different classes of prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, for example, is a Liturgical prayer and comes straight from the Bible. The Hail Mary, however, is a devotional prayer and evolved from the practices of monks, nuns and lay Christians. The prayer falls into two parts: a salutation and a petition. Each of these consists of two smaller parts. The first sentence ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with you,’ is of course Gabriel’s salutation to Mary at the Annunciation (Luke 1:28). The second part ‘Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,’ is Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary at the Visitation (Lk 1:42).
The first part of the petitionary section of the prayer, ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God’ dates from the Council of Ephesus, in the year 431. Some scholars think that Mary lived out her days in Ephesus. In the fifth century some people were insisting that Mary was the mother of Christ, but not the mother of God. The people of Ephesus weren’t having any of this. They took to the streets and rioted whenever anyone tried to deny the title ‘Mother of God’. When the Council of Ephesus broke the news that they had decided that the title had always been proper for the Blessed Mother, the Ephesians took to the streets again, with torches, shouting, ‘Holy Mary! Mother of God! Pray of us sinners!’ giving us the other part of the petition.
The Rosary helped to win the battle of Lepanto. In October 1571, the Islamic Turks had swarmed across the Middle East and were now threatening the Christian kingdoms of the central Mediterranean. Pope Pius V called upon Europe to build a Christian fleet. Several countries joined to build a fleet under commanders of many languages but the Turks had one language, and one commander and they were already skilled in conquest and far out numbered the allied forces.
Pope Pius V wasn’t depending on earthly help alone. He was a Dominican, devoted to Our Lady and he called upon the Rosary confraternities of Rome and all over Europe to have special processions and public recitals of the Rosary. On the first Sunday of October the Christian fleet met the invading Turks off the coast of Greece. As Christians all over Europe recited the Rosary the Turks surrounded the Christian ships. But the European fleet broke through, at the end of the day’s fighting almost all of the Turks were driven shore or drowned. Europe was saved.
Have another look at the Rosary, if these prayers can turn back the Turkish fleet, think what they might do for you.
Jubilate
One evening we went up to Lesnes Abbey, first we looked at the toilets. Next we looked at the warming room and Father Derek read what it would be like to be a monk. Then we did a word search in the Undercroft. After that we went to the courtyard sat on benches, learnt more about monks then had a race. We then went to the kitchen and ate crackers with cheese and had water. Later on we went to the nave and sang a song all the way to the Lady Chapel; we carried banners, the Thurible and candles.
Our favourite part of the day was singing.
Seri & Conor (Aged 8 and 10)
Photos of our evening are displayed on the notice board.
10k Run
On Sunday 11th July Paul and I were up bright and early to set off for our 10k run. We got the train from Abbey Wood to Charing Cross, as we went through each station we could see it filling up with other people heading for the run. We then followed the crowd to Waterloo Place where we were to leave our bags.
Although it was only 8.30am and the race didn’t start until 9.35am we had been warned to go down to the start at Hyde Park Corner early. There were 27,000 runners this year so to get near the beginning you had to be there early (the ones at the back took about 40minutes to cross the start line). We were being held on the left hand side of the road, the queue going up to the end of the road and back down with the start line on the right hand side of the road. At about 9.15 we could hear music heading our way, it was the band of the Blues and Royals marching, playing on their way up to the start line. They were followed by the mounted band a couple of minutes later. All the runners clapped as the bands went past. About 10 minutes later both bands came back down the road, this time we were lucky as the band on foot stopped and played a couple of pieces right in front of us. At 9.25 the Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster addressed the runners; unfortunately we couldn’t actually hear what he was saying. Then at 9.30am all three verses of the National Anthem were played. The run was started with a cannon being shot at 9.35am.
Within a couple of minutes we could see the elite runners going past us on the other side of the road. We had a 10minute walk up to the start line, and then we were off. The pace started quiet fast (faster than I was planning to go) and Paul soon disappeared off into the distance. The run took us along Piccadilly and Pall Mall to the Embankment, up to Tower Bridge where we turned and headed back down the Embankment, cross over Westminster Bridge and back, down to the Houses of Parliament, along to Westminster Abbey then up to the finish in Whitehall. The route was crowded all the way round with us having to dodge other slower runners and faster ones overtaking us but a good pace was kept up.
Unfortunately, having stood at the start line for 1 hour (and having had plenty to drink the day before to make sure I was suitable hydrated in the hot weather) I had to stop at the toilets at the 2km mark for a comfort brake which lost me a couple of minutes. I was wearing my GPS watch, so was able to keep check of my pace. My plan was to try to stick to 7min per km but found the pace of the others runners pushing me along at a much faster 6min/ km at the start. I kept the pace at about 6 ½ min/ km until we got to 7km when, with it now turning hot and the tiredness setting in, it dropped to 7 ½ min/ km. There were crowds of people all along the route cheering us on and soon the finish line was in sight.
Once you passed the finish line you were given a drink and had to walk back to Waterloo place to collect our bags and be given a medal and goody bag. Here I met up with Paul again and found out that he had finished in 1hour 9 minutes and 18seconds (a new PB for him), with me finishing in 1hour 12 minutes and 20 seconds. Although I was 2 minutes slower than I hoped I was well pleased with my time and was surprised when I got home to see from my GPS that it had recorded that I had actually run 10.5km, meaning that when it said I crossed the 10k mark I was actually 2 minutes faster than my previous PB.
Thank you to everyone who guessed who would finish first and by how much, the winner was Sue Naylor with a guess of Paul finishing 3minutes before me. We will be keeping our training up with us doing the Half Marathon again at the end of September.
Carol Stead
Flowers
During July, flowers were sponsored as follows:
on 5th July by the Jarrett family in memory of their son Julian Ojo Jarrett, the 2nd anniversary.
July 2010
The Church Mouse
Hi, it’s church mouse again. Isn’t it great that the weather is warmer and I have now been able to take off my gloves and hat? I hear that the plans for the new heating system are going well and they hope to have new heating in church in time for the winter. I’ve been looking at the new display of photos of St. Michael’s church family and can now put names to some of you but there are still plenty of people coming to church who I can not see on the display, it would be great if everyone could be on it so I can tell who you all are.
I love to watch people coming into church and see what they do. Sunday is the busiest day with lots of people turning up for Mass in the morning and some returning later for the evening service. Sunday morning starts with Morning Prayer being said at 9.30am. This is a short service starting with a hymn (which is said not sung as Fr David can’t sing), followed by 2 psalms and a Canticle and a short reading. The Benedictus is then said followed by intercessions, the Lord’s Prayer and a final prayer. It only takes 15minutes but I think it is a good way to prepare yourself for Mass rather then rushing in at the last minute.
This is followed by a sung Mass at 10am. At Corpus Christi Fr David reminded us how important it is to come to the Mass prepared, that it is easy to just treat it is something we do, rather than preparing ourselves properly. Part of this is making sure you are in church to hear the Liturgy of the Word and not arriving after the gospel and still expecting to receive.
Each Sunday of the month the evening service is slightly different; on the first Sunday of every month is the Four O’clock service. I love the Four O’clock service; it is a lively family service and is suitable for all ages. These services have a different theme each month such as Christian Aid, Deserts, and the Last Supper and I always learn a lot at them. The children get involved with the service and Jubilate lead the singing with the music group playing for it.
On the second Sunday Evensong is sung at 6.30pm. The Book of Common Prayer is used for this and it includes hymns, a psalm, 2 readings, the Magnificat, prayers and a sermon. Every third Sunday this becomes Choral Evensong with the choir singing Anthems, this is often followed by an organ recital.
On the last Sunday of every month Evensong finishes with Benediction. At the end of the service Fr David goes into the Lady Chapel and comes back in carrying the Monstrance. This is a tall vessel that holds a consecrated host so that it can be seen by the congregation. It has a base and stem like those of a chalice, but at the top it has a circular glass case for the host, usually surrounded by rays of glory. As soon as Fr David returns with the Monstrance everyone kneels down, this is as a sign of respect because Jesus, present in the consecrated host, has been brought into our presence. After some prayers, the humeral veil is placed over Fr David’s shoulders and he takes the Monstrance and makes the sign of the cross in silence over the kneeling congregation, giving them Jesus’ blessing.
Occasionally, especially during Lent, the church is open for 1 hour before a weekday evening Mass for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Here the Host is placed in the Monstrance which is placed on the Altar. People then come into the church in silence to sit in the presence of Jesus; they use this time to pray.
Although Sunday is the busiest day in church you’d be surprised how much goes on in here during the week. There is a said Mass every day which several people come to. There is always a long queue of people to see Fr David after Monday’s Mass to book Weddings and Baptisms. On a Wednesday morning after Mass there is a group of people around busy cleaning brass and doing other odd jobs while an organ lesson goes on. The church door is open then for anyone who wants to come in to the church to look around, pray or come in for a chat and coffee is served, if I’m lucky they leave a few crumbs of biscuits for me. The children’s choir, Jubilate, meet every Wednesday evening followed by the adult choir practise. There is also coffee served after the Thursday Mass. On Friday evening the church is busy with people cleaning it and every other week the East Wickham Christian Fellowship meet in the Parish Room. Saturday morning sees the flower arrangers come in to make the church look nice. On top of all this there are the many weddings Fr David takes during the week plus a few funerals and the occasional committee meeting. There are also the people who come in and out all week to lay out the priests vestments, clean the silver, make up the parish magazine, change altar frontals and to practise the organ. A little mouse like me has to really keep his ears open all the time to make sure he doesn’t get seen with all this coming and going.
Jubilate Choir
Hello were from Jubilate choir we sing, play games, do art and craft, have drinks and we’re taught about church. We meet every Wednesday at church. Some of the songs we sing on Wednesday we sing at the Mass on Sunday and the family service. Sometimes we have parties like the bbq, Easter egg hunt and the Christmas party. Sometimes we come to the church bazaars and sing in front of our parents and other people. We also earn points for coming to Mass and answering question correctly then we can spend our points at the Jubilate shop.
This week we have been learning about Corpus Christi, corpus means body and Christi means Christ. So this Sunday we celebrated in Mass the body of Christ, by eating bread and wine. At family service Father David told us the story of the last supper where Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine saying this is my body and this is my blood. So when we have bread and wine at church we remember about Jesus. Jesus also washed the feet of the disciples at the last supper and told them to love one other as you have loved me.
Anna and Henry
Dragons, smudging and really bad vestments.
On the 15th May the Episcopal Church (USA) consecrated Canon Mary Glasspool and Diane Bruce as Bishop suffragans of the Diocese of Los Angeles. Canon Glasspool is an openly partnered lesbian and in consecrating her as a bishop the Episcopal Church openly defied the will of the Anglican Communion, but this article is not about the theological or moral problems with Canon Glasspool’s consecration; this article is about the consecration itself which I have watched via the internet.
The pre-consecration entertainment started (or at least the video started) with a group of native Americans standing on the stage praising “mother earth” and singing traditional Native American songs, at the end of their singing they proceeded to “smudge” the Diocesan Bishop of Los Angeles. Smudging involves the smudgee having burning plants wafted into his face. The point of smudging is, I am reliably informed, to enter into a relationship with the unseen powers of the plants. I’m not quite sure where smudging can be found in the Book of Common Prayer, but anyway...Next up were a group of Native American dancers who were not wearing a lot. The dance that they performed was very exotic, (to say the least). Following on from that was a Chinese dancing troupe who danced to what I think was an Irish folk tune.
At last we arrived at our first Christian act of worship (sort of) as a Mongolian 6-piece sang a Mongolian folk song based on Psalm 100, halfway through the song the conductor turned to the Congregation (or should that be audience?) and attempted to get them to wave their hands in the air; “brilliant”, I thought “a chance to engage the young people and liven up proceedings” at which point the camera panned to give a view of the audience, not only were the audience very mature but the venue was half full.
On stage walked a woman priest with a guitar who sang a song which has long been associated with the civil rights movement in America, the attempt here obviously to equate the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual (LGBT) agenda with the campaign against racial segregation (an attempt which is wrong on so many levels).
Next the choir sang a Hymn, which was followed by a procession, led by a Children’s band, of what I think were members of the Los Angeles House of Deputies (like diocesan Synod), by “procession” I really mean “leisurely stroll down the centre isle". After a short song sung by a children’s choir 2 Bishops processed in to a hip-hop/gospel/rap “worship song” (given the social make-up of the audience and indeed the bishops and the clergy such a song felt weird and out of place.) Next came a Brass band with the clergy in toe, like the procession of the Deputies the clergy sauntered in and at one point a priest reached into the audience and gave some-one (I’m hoping it was a member of his own congregation) a hug. I’m not sure what the liturgical colour is for Consecrations but I can bet that whatever it is the clergy weren’t wearing it. The Bishops (for reasons unclear) were led in by 2 Chinese dragons (not real dragons) and a dog (a real life dog). The Bishops, like the Clergy, wore an assortment of mostly red or white Chasubles with various odd patterns on (one bishop looked like he had found Joseph’s technicolour dreamcoat), and so the service (finally) got under way.
Of the service itself, there was nothing remarkable (by Episcopalian standards), the sermon was predictable (self-congratulation mixed with language about “inclusiveness” and how “loving” the Episcopal church was because they were able to forget that homosexuality is a sin). The service was interrupted at 2 points as protesters (who I’m amazed managed to sit through the banal pre-service entertainment) called on the Episcopal Church to turn away from their sins. The protesters were escorted from the building.
In the words of one commenter “This was a polyglot mishmash of absurdity mixed with heresy and apostasy, with an unhealthy dose of atavism thrown in for good measure.”
So what? You may be thinking, this is all happening in a far off and (quite clearly) strange land, how could this possibly affect us? Well, the truth is that this is where the Church of England will eventually end up if it continues upon its present course.
An unedited version of this article will appear shortly as well as a link to the video of the Consecration.
Paul Stead
Summer Fair - click for report
Sponsored Candles in church
The 7 day Blessed Sacrament candle was sponsored by Carol Stead in memory of her father, Alan Littlechild for the week of 13th June.
Flowers in Church
Unfortunately there were no sponsors for flowers this month but if you would like to sponsor a stand for only £15, please put your name on the list at the back of the church.
June 2010
The Church Mouse
Hello, I thought I’d introduce myself; I’m Church Mouse and I live with my family in St. Michael’s church. As I’m so small I can sit and watch what is going on in church without anyone noticing me.
I’ve been looking at the church diary and see that 6th June is Corpus Christi and that some of the children will be taking their first communion that day.
I remember Corpus Christi from last year and am looking forward to it again this year. It is the celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ and is held on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. At the end of the Mass, the Host is placed in the monstrance. A second Thurifer then joins the team of servers who are also joined by a couple of ‘flower girls’. The whole Altar party, with Fr David carrying the monstrance, and the ‘flower girls’ scattering rose petals, followed by the congregation, then process around the church and out to the church garden. Here they finish off with Benediction.
The day will be a very special day for some of the children I have watched grow up in the church, as they take their next step on their Christian journey. I’ve been listening in on their first communion lessons; they started off by exploring the Christian journey through life. This starts with their birth, then Baptism, followed by first communion and then confirmation. The following week was all about Baptism and there was a lot of squealing as the children got wet as Fr David ‘baptised’ each of them. In the next lesson they learnt about things used in church. Firstly, how the Eucharist is really a meal, with wine being given in a special cup called a Chalice and bread on a special plate called a Paten, both are made of silver; it is a very special meal so, just like at home, the best cups and plates that could be bought are used in church. Then they learnt about the robes the priest wears. Firstly he wears a cassock, over which he wears an Alb. This is white as we are all washed clean at baptism. Next he wears a Stole and a Chasuble. These come in different colours depending on the season. In Lent and Advent they are purple as they are sad times, at Pentecost or on a Martyrs day, red is worn as red represents blood or fire. Gold or white is worn for happy occasions such as Christmas and Easter, and finally green is worn on all the other days.
I’m looking forward to learning about the Passover feast with them and sharing in a Passover meal. Finally, they will learn about the last supper and then they will be ready to take their first communion on the feast of Corpus Christi.
Now, I must go and find something to eat, I hope someone left some crumbs after coffee on Sunday.
Church Mouse
The Piccolo
A few weeks ago we were staying with my mother for the weekend so attended a local church for Sunday Mass. We have attended a few times before and were greeted enthusiastically at the door with hugs and kisses and Paul was immediately asked if he would life to serve (some of them had seen us serving at Southwark cathedral).
They were having their APCM after Mass and instead of the usual sermon the priest gave his Chairman’s address. This I found very interesting; of course a lot of it didn’t concern us – they’ve nearly got their new heating system (sounds familiar) and stuff like that. Then Fr Ian went on to thank everyone, he explained that he never mentions names when thanking people and went on to tell us a story.
One day a big orchestra were playing, they were in full swing, in the middle of a loud piece, when suddenly the conductor stopped them.
‘Where is the piccolo?’ he asked. The piccolo, being the smallest instrument of the orchestra, thought that no one would miss him amongst the other noisy instruments and had sneaked off to the bar, but with his trained ear the conductor could pick out that he was missing.
Fr Ian went on to explain that the church is a bit like that. There are people who we see doing lots of jobs very visibly (church wardens, choir, sidesmen etc. ) but that there are also piccolos amongst us; ones who do the quiet, unnoticed jobs and those that support the church in prayer. Although there may be a bit of both in a lot of us, we must remember that everyone in important to the harmony of the church. The violins and drums (churchwardens, choir…) do a very important job but so does the piccolo (the person spending their time in quiet prayer or doing some unnoticed job). We should never think that we are more important than anyone else in the church or look down on someone because they aren’t doing anything visible, the church needs us all.
I went away thinking that he had a very good point and that maybe we don’t always appreciate the piccolos amongst us, especially those who may be supporting us in their prayers (however we could also do with a lot more trumpets). Are we making everyone feel needed and welcoming them with open arms (maybe not quite so enthusiastically with hugs and kisses) or are we making them feel they are not needed by the church and so no one will miss them if they stay away?
Carol Stead
The Parish dinner - April 17th click for report
Jubilate
In the Jubilate choir, we have done various things such as: Stations of the Cross, which we acted out, which in our opinion, was really fun. We also learn different things in the Christian year, such as Epiphany, Saint George, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost and many other things.
The Jubilate choir starts at 5:45 and ends at 7pm. Normally, when we get to Jubilate we open our lungs and sing joyful and up lifting hymns and use various amounts of instruments. We also go to our refreshments and play quizzes. Our refreshments are provided by Gwen, who comes every week, and have parties. We also have BBQ’s and go to the church Summer and Christmas fairs, which sometimes we win prizes at.
We earn points for our hard work, joining in, getting questions right and working well in groups. We also earn these points by finding the number of a hymn first. Our points are 1, 5and 10. At the end of every fortnight, Janet organises the Jubilate stall, which is where our points come in handy!! We can spend them on anything we like.
Some of us come to the 4 O’clock service which Father David leads. This service is held on the first Sunday of every month, which the Jubilate find really exciting because we can take part. Most children attend the weekly mass, which is held every Sunday. Some of us sing in the choir or sit in the congregation.
Gabriele (aged 13) and Katie (aged 11)
Flowers in church
Flowers were sponsored as follows:
16th May Peter Ludlow to celebrate his birthday
23rd May Christine Fern to celebrate her father's 90th birthday
May 2010
A quiet weekend
It was Friday afternoon and I was on my way to my first retreat staying at Malling Abbey, an enclosed Anglican Benedictine order of Nuns. I was nervous, not knowing quite what to expect, but also excited. I arrived shortly before 3pm, just in time to be shown my room in the guest house then to be taken to the chapel for the Office of None. I was then met by Sister Mary Owen, guest sister, who showed me around; there was the chapel where we joined the Nuns for the Offices, the old Pilgrim chapel where you could go to pray quietly, the guest house, where we stayed and ate our meals, and the grounds with a labyrinth and a small stream, the rest of the Convent in enclosed and not accessible to guests. Sister then took me back to the guest house in time for tea (with cake as it is Easter) and to meet my fellow guests. We were all introduced to each other and chatted for a while. The guest house is quiet small and sleeps only 10. A short time later and the bell rang for Vespers. The seven offices of the day (starting with Vigils at 4.30am, which guests were not invited to) are all chanted beautifully by the Nuns in a large modern chapel which I found surprisingly bare. The nuns all sit in the main part while the guests sit together in a small alcove to the side of the altar. There are 17 sisters at the convent plus a Novice and a Postulant (trainee nuns) with many of them being called Sister Mary (something). They wear the traditional black habit.
At 6.25pm it was time for supper which was self service and eaten in silence. All meals are take like this except lunch on weekdays when the meal is served and one of the nuns reads while you eat (I did not experience this as I was there for the weekend). The meals are all simple but there is plenty to go round. A kind old lady whispered to me and another guest who was there for the first time what to do at the meal and we all helped clear the table afterwards. Shortly after that the bell rang for Compline, the last Office of the day. As we arrived back in the guest house we had to tick our name off on a board so Sister could check everyone was back in before locking the door for the night at approximately 7.45pm. Silence is then kept until 10.30am.
I was up bright and early on the Saturday morning for Lauds at 6.50am, the only Office when they don’t ring the bell so as not to disturb the neighbours. This was followed by Eucharist at 7.30am during which everyone, guests and Sisters form a large circle around the altar for the Eucharistic prayer and to receive, the only time the guests cross over into the main part of the chapel. After breakfast, which was cereal and toast, we returned to the chapel for the Office of Terce. Guests are free to go to as many or as few of the Offices as they wish, a few of us went to all of them but some didn’t. Each Office consists of a hymn, 3 psalms and a short reading much like Morning Prayer we say before Mass on a Sunday, although they use their own version of the prayer book.
There was then plenty of time to explore the grounds, walk
the labyrinth, pop down to the village, and to spend some quiet time in prayer
in the old
pilgrim chapel. Sext was at 12noon followed by lunch after which
coffee was served in the lounge where the guests gathered and chatted until None
at 3pm. Most of the other guests were Oblates. These are men and woman, married
or single, who feel called to follow the Benedictine way in their lives outside
the cloister. After a 2 ½ year period of training and discernment they make a
promise of the conversion of their life. Their commitment is expressed in a
personal Benedictine rule of life, which balances their personal prayer and
worship with their responsibility to family and work.
After None the guests joined Sister Mary Owen for tea in the lounge. She originally came from New York; there are 4 American Sisters at Malling Abbey, as there are no contemplative Anglican communities in the states anyone who feels called to that life has to come over here! Soon it was time for Vespers after which I helped with the washing up from tea. The only jobs you are asked to do are to sign on a rota to wash up after tea (this rota was already full but I offered to help so that I would know where everything was another time I go) and to change the bed linen before you go. It is also a custom to pray for the person who made the bed for you and the person you are making the bed for. After supper it was off to Compline and another early night. It seemed strange creeping around to the bathroom in the dark at 8.30pm so as not to disturb anyone.
Sunday morning and we got a slight lay in, I lay there wondering if 6am was too early to get up and have a shower in the silence of the house. Sundays are slightly different, starting with breakfast at 7.30am before Lauds at 8.10am. The Eucharist was then at 9am, this was longer than on the other days with the usual readings, sermon and the creed but with no hymns. By now there were only 4 guests left but we were joined by 5 others from the village who regularly attend Mass there. Visitors and guests then joined Sister Mary Owen and the priest for coffee in the lounge, here I found out the priest, who lives in the gate house at the entrance to the grounds knew Fr David from before he was ordained.
There was then some time to go for a wonder to see the
bluebells in the small woods in the grounds which I hadn’t found the previous
day and for
some quiet time praying in the pilgrim chapel. The grounds of the
convent are large with the nuns keeping their own bees and growing their own
vegetables but most if it is within the enclosure. Sext was at 12noon, by this
time there were only me and the kind old lady left so we sat chatting in the
lounge until lunch at 1.05. Today’s meal was a very basic roast dinner of roast
beef, roast potatoes and lots of peas followed by strawberry mousse. I was
surprised as this was the first time we had meat. We then sat in the lounge
having our coffee before surprising Sister by doing the washing up for her, she
arrived just as we were finishing and was very grateful. We then said our good
byes and it was time to leave, having promised that I would return again soon.
I had a wonderful quiet, relaxing time and I would certainly recommend going to anyone who would like to spend some quiet time with God away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was interesting to get a glimpse of how the nuns live. It’s a good idea to take plenty of reading and some craft with you for the quiet times, especially in the evenings but there are books in the lounge which you can borrow to read while you are there. They do not charge you to stay at the guest house but appreciate it if you can leave a donation (this is slipped into a box in the doorway of the guest house so no-one knows if you have donated and how much).
Written by Carol S
Flowers in Church
During the month of April, flowers were sponsored as follows -
Easter Day Gwen and Mary Bailey in memory of Tom's birthday
Pat Annettes and family in memory of Kay Maddox
17th Michael Edwards in memory of his mother, Gwen Edwards
25th Marjorie Gillespie in memory of her sister Kitty and friend Mary Hughes, a long time member of St. Michael's church
Lillies sponsored for Easter in memory of loved ones by -
Sheila Owen, Irene Brown, Ann Veitch, Christine Fern, Bill Smith, Gwen Yeadon, Ann Carter, Barbara Callaghan, Phyllis Lewis, Susan Harper, Ros Turner, Mary Macey, Mary Robson, Michael Macey, Crimilda Jarrett, Gladys Williams, Penny Parsons, Adela Johnson.
Sponsored Candles for Easter
Our Lady's candles were sponsored by Carol Stead
April 2010
St. David's day in Wales
On a cold and frosty March 1st, I was up very early to catch the 5.30am train from Paddington to Swansea, and then the local train on to Haverford west, Pembrokeshire. Then after a short bus ride, I was joining the Welsh and English folk of the village of Roch, for a super celebration of St. David's Day!
Everyone dressed appropriately, some ladies in full Welsh national dress and some men with yellow ties etc. and most people sporting a daffodil, the flower of Wales! All the children from the local primary school looked resplendent, and they had spent the morning with their own Eisteddfod, as well as making 1000 welsh cakes, and learning more about St. David. They also produced an excellent display of their craft work on the theme, and very good it was too!
A team of ladies provided the adults with a very enjoyable celebratory lunch. Cawl (a Welsh soup) with bread and cheese, bread and butter pudding and custard, and Welsh cakes, washed down with tea or coffee, and all for a fiver!
After lunch each class from the school entertained us, and they were give tremendous applause, for their contributions were greatly appreciated. The school orchestra was first with three well known songs, followed by some violin solos and trios. The reception class recited a short poem in Welsh; quite an achievement for it is an English speaking school. Then the youngest infants class sang a song about healthy and unhealthy foods, complete with visual aids. The older infants went into action with "heads, shoulders, knees and toes", in Welsh, complete with percussion! The first junior class sang a brilliant song with quite a few characters, each acted out by pupils in fancy dress - very humorous! Quite a few of this class now sing in St David's Cathedral choir. The top class of the juniors proudly recited a poem in English on "What it means to be Welsh"; this was written by one of the teachers. entertainment concluded with some lively country dancing - great fun.
The whole event was a great success and it was good to see folk enjoying celebrating their patron saints day. The school and community all gave it their full support.
Let's hope that we can do as well in England on 23rd April - St George.
Written by Michael
The Argument against women’s ordination.
In last month’s magazine we answered the question “what is Anglicanorum Coetibus”? This month we will attempt to answer the question “why is Anglicanorum Coetibus needed?” Although not the only reason, the main reason as to why English Anglo-Catholics are disillusioned with the Church of England is the decision of the General Synod in 1992 to ordain women to the priesthood. The arguments against women’s ordination are long and numerous and could fill several parish magazines. In this article I will outline the main objections that Anglo-Catholics have.
Firstly and perhaps most obviously, none of the apostles were women, and when it came to choosing a replacement for Judas no women were chosen either. Instead the apostles through the Holy Spirit chose Matthias. Mary Magdalene was perhaps the most obvious choice, she was the “apostle to the apostles” and the first witness to the resurrection, but the Holy Spirit chose a man. Secondly there were no women bishops or presbyters (priests) in the early church, meaning that the church as a whole must have taken seriously St Paul’s commandment in 1 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent”. Thirdly, at the Eucharist the priest stands as the person of Christ, a woman cannot represent Christ because his maleness tells us something about God, he is God the son, to have a woman representing him at the altar would be plainly daft. Furthermore, Christ is described as the bride-groom with the church as his bride it would be to fundamentally confuse these roles if the church ordained women. In pagan religions of old, priestesses stood to represent “mother-God” who gave birth to creation, Judaism and Christianity believe that everything was created by God, not of God. Ordaining women as priests would be a return to pagan religion. Fourthly, God does not do U-turns, if the church has always taught that the ordination of women is unbiblical and unchristian then how can the C of E have the authority to sweep away 2000 years of theology? Simple, it doesn’t. Fifthly, if women’s ordination is a gift from God to his church why is it only the Reformed Churches (who make up at most 30% of all Christians) who have received this “gift”, why has God not given the same gift to the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Churches? The arguments for women’s ordination tend to rest on a priori arguments about “fairness” and “inclusivity”, terms which are fairly irrelevant in Christian theology. There are no convincing theological arguments for women’s ordination.
Anglo-Catholics have been able to stay inside the C of E since 1992 because of the provision given to them by General Synod, the statutory transfer of Episcopal powers to a “flying bishop” (indeed Anglo-Catholic parishes have been the only part of the C of E that has grown in attendance since 1992). However in July 2007 the General Synod decided that it would consecrate women to the episcopate without any satisfactory provision for Anglo-Catholics, who were told that they could not have the provision that they wanted because it would not be the “catholic” thing to do (i.e. parishes would be out of communion with their diocesan Bishop) I suspect that these people felt rather stupid when the Pope announced Anglicanorum Coetibus. The message that the General Synod is sending to Anglo-Catholics is clear: Conform to our way of thinking or die a slow painful death. The General Synod legislative process is expected to be completed in 2014 and although there is still a chance that the legislation may be altered at the upcoming July meeting of Synod the question we must ask is: why would we stay in a church that is acting against the will of God and that does not want us anymore?
This is just a summary and not an exhaustive work. Forward in Faith has published a book on the subject called “Consecrated Women?” which I would recommend for further reading on the controversy.
Written by Paul
Thank you
A huge Thank you to the beavers for the collection they made in their 'little pots' towards our Church heating fund. The total raised was £43.69.
What are you doing to raise funds for the heating?
March 2010
Passing the Driving Test... - St. Michael's Beetle Drive
What is this Anglicanorum Coetibus?
On 6th February Paul and I attended the Southwark Forward in Faith Mass and meeting at Southwark Cathedral. The morning started with a well attended Mass for which we had been asked to be Acolytes. After the Mass we gathered in the library where the meeting was to take place, when we arrived we found that there were no spare seats and had to wait for more to be brought in – they had informed the Cathedral staff to expect about 40 of us, in fact there were approximately 60 in attendance.
Fr David Waller from the Diocese of Chelmsford had been invited along to talk to us about Anglicanorum Coetibus, Pope Benedict XVI’s offer to groups of Anglicans who wished to be in full communion with the Roman Catholic church, he started off by reminding us that discussions have been going on for years between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church to bring them into full communion with each other. Indeed, the Pope, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, was involved, back in 1992, in such talks which were, at the time, broken up by the English Catholic Bishops who were not in agreement, so we should not be surprised at his offer as he is in effect completing unfinished business. He then explaining that this had come about from requests from 2 areas; one was from the flying Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, the other from The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), a church which broke away from the rest of the Anglican Communion, it is very small in this country but large in places like Australia and American, as such Anglicanorum Coetibus can be seen as an international response to an international request. He also assured us that the flying Bishops had kept the Archbishop of Canterbury fully informed of all discussions with the Catholic Church.
Fr David Waller then went on to explain that Anglicanorum Coetibus makes provision for an Ordinariate to be set up for Anglo-Catholics, an Ordinariate is effectively a non-geographical diocese. It will be lead by an Ordinary; this may be a Priest or a unmarried Bishop. This is likely to be one of the Bishops of Ebbsfleet, Richborough or Fulham, however as all of these are married they could not be Bishops in the Catholic Church but could become the Ordinary as a priest. This Ordinary would be appointed by the Pope and would act, in effect, as a diocesan Bishop. He would not come under the English Catholic Bishops but directly under the Pope. Congregations who join the Ordinariate will be former Anglican congregations, joining with their own Priests, who would be allowed to carry on using Vatican-approved Anglican Liturgy.
Fr David Waller then went on to explain that we don’t, at this time, know how all this will happen; discussions are ongoing between the Bishops and the Pope. He used the analogy of a sinking ship – we are on the sinking ship, usually you would have 2 kinds of life boats come to the rescue, the small dingy which would take you off the ship and the larger one from the land which would come out and take you to safety. At the moment we are on the sinking ship and have been given an offer of that larger ship but do not know how we are going to get from the sinking ship to the larger ship. As it stands, when converting individually, Anglican priests would need some additional training before being admitted into the Catholic Church. There are also a lot of questions about funding, buildings and other practical matters. It is thought that the first Congregations may join the Ordinariate in 18months, however it will be open ended and some congregations may not join for another 18years.
After a time of questions and answers the meeting continued with an update of what was happening in General Synod regards Women bishops. Synod, back in July 2007, voted in favour of women bishops with a provision for those opposed to women bishops in the form of a Code of Practice, this has now gone to the Revision committee stage, where it is to be debated and they will report back with their recommendations. It was hoped they would do this at the February General Synod meeting however they have not completed their work so will now go to Synod in June. However, it should be noted that it looks like those opposed to women bishops will be given no satisfactory provision.
There was concern at the meeting as to what would happen to those people who are opposed to Women’s ordination but who would not want to join the Ordinariate. As, under present proposals, the option to have Episcopal oversight transferred to a “flying Bishop” (which were set-up to give pastoral care for those opposed to women’s ordination) will be abolished and those who chose not to take the Pope’s offer but to stay in the Church of England could be forced to accept as their bishop a woman whose ordination and consecration they do not view as sacramentaly valid. Forward in Faith will continue to fight for satisfactory provision for these people.
Fr Andrew Stevens finished the meeting by reminding us that Lent was soon to start and we should be spending our time in fasting, prayer and study. He suggested that instead of reading the ‘fluffy’ books on Lenten observance written by the Archbishop of Canterbury we should all try to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. If we are saying we all believe in one faith, we should make sure we know what we are saying we believe. He suggested we try to read 2 pages a day. He explained it is an easy read and can be read from cover to cover or picking out chapters as you wish. Paul was a little worried that we would only get to page 80, out of approximately 700 pages, at the end of Lent; at that rate it would take us about 18 months to read.
Written by Carol S
Not Mea Culpa!
For the Ash Wednesday children's Liturgy, Fr David had prepared a little exercise based on and guided by the Lord's Prayer, encouraging the children in a little 'self-examination', and getting them to write down on a piece of paper all the things that they were sorry for. The pieces of paper they wrote on were, of course, private, and the children screwed them up before they were placed on a little bonfire behind the church, and went up in smoke. Symbolic, of course, of repentance and forgiveness.
The children took to the exercise with some relish, writing quite lengthy lists of things they were sorry for doing! One child, in particular, filled four sides of A4 paper! The writing was, however, large... which meant that careful though we were, the adults could not help but catch a glimpse of parts of what were written. The little girl concerned, is the middle child of three siblings, whom - changing the names to protect the innocent, we will call Grace, Charity and Mercy... And so, 'Charity' wrote on her piece of paper: JESUS, I AM SORRY THAT I AM SO MUCH BETTER THAN GRACE AND MERCY!
Written by Fr Derek
Flowers in church
On 24th January flowers were sponsored by Christine in memory of her mother
Sponsored Candles
On January 31st Carol S sponsored the 7 day Blessed Sacrament Candle in memory of Rev Ian Kitteringham