A Missionary Church

A Great Day Out

In my Anglican days we were often being encouraged to support missionary societies but we seldom heard about our need to be re-evangelised ourselves.

Fr Gerry in his Cloth of Silver

Then, when we were brought into the Catholic Church, we discovered that many parishes depended on priests from overseas. Our very first home as an Ordinariate Group was at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Southbourne, where the parish priest, Fr Gerry Onyejuluwa, made us greatly welcome. He is from Nigeria, one of a number of priests from the Missionary Society of St Paul working in this Portsmouth diocese.

Today was very special for him as he celebrated his twenty fifth anniversary of Ordination. He had friends from across the globe celebrating with him, and it was good to be there. Fr Gerry was surrounded by concelebrants, among them Fr Brian Copus of the Ordinariate. I arrived too late to concelebrate, but I had been able to offer the 9.30 Mass in Lymington for Fr Gerry. The preacher was Fr Ron Hishon. He spoke of his own time in Africa, and how despite his best efforts his first attempts at Pidgin produced gales of laughter. It helped us all to realise just how difficult it must be for mission priests in England, from Africa or from other parts of the world, to leave home and family and adapt to our curious ways.

The Altar Party surrounding Fr Gerry

It was good to catch up with friends from our time at Southbourne - we are now located down the hill in Iford. Good too to meet some of Father's friends and family. Like the congregation, the food was both African and English, and it was great - and plentiful. The rain kept off, and it was altogether a splendid occasion.

Food & Fellowship after Mass

Goodbye, Southbourne

The children enjoying the dedication festival

This was our last opportunity to worship with our host parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace, before we relocate (on Whitsunday, aka Pentecost June 8th) to St Thomas More, Iford. We couldn't have had a better farewell. Fr Brian and I concelebrated with Fr Gerry, the parish priest, and Fr Ben who is soon to move to a parish of his own. Both these priests are missionaries from Nigeria, working to evangelise our post-Christain country.

Photo-call after Mass

This was the seventy-fifth anniversary of the consecration of the church, and a very jolly occasion it was. The church was packed, with dozens of children participating happily in the liturgy with rattles and tambourines and all manner of instruments for shaking and banging. Besides them there was a keyboard and a saxophone and (of course) a guitar. None of this redolent of Anglican Patrimony (at least, not the sort that we knew) but very whole-hearted and enthusiastic.

What's more the sun shone for us (a rare event in these parts lately) and the party in the churchyard was great fun.

The Ordinariate enjoyed the party

           

A High Church

Now we look forward to the move down the hill to St Thomas More, where we understand they also throw great parties - doubtless with a Texan twist in view of their Parish Priest, Fr Darryl Jordan. But the shape of the two churches could hardly be more different. Our Lady Queen of Peace is tall and thin (a High Church, you might say) whereas St Thomas More is wide and light (a Broad Church maybe?) - but this is not about churchmanship, only architecture. The contrast, though, is very marked, and we shall take a little time to adapt before we can feel at home in our new surroundings.

St Thomas More: a  Broad Church

   

Back to the Future II

After a Lenten fast from blogging, here's an update on our Bournemouth Ordinariate. When I last blogged we were having misgivings about a projected move from the church where we have made our home for three years (Our Lady Queen of Peace, Southbourne - OLQP). Our new hosts are the parish of St Thomas More (STM) in Iford, where they are only just getting used to having on Ordinariate priest as their Parish Priest. How would things work out?

Happily, most of the problems we foresaw have already been resolved. Four of us were invited to a meeting of the Parish Council at STM, where everyone was very understanding of pur predicament and made us very welcome. Throughout our time in the Ordinariate an image of Our Lady of Walsingham has resided on a bracket at the back of church. It has been our custom at the end od Mass to turn to face it and sing the Angelus.There is already a similar but smaller image in STM. Would they find a place for ours? In fact they are offeringbus a prominent setting where we shall also be able to place a candle-stand

Then again we have the Organ which we are purchasing. Although final details have to be decided about the exact situation for the console we are assured a place will be found for it.

More important than these matters though hase been our worry that people?might be lost to us through the move.  There are several local Catholics who have worshipped with us - most of them have said they will continue, but we had worries for one ot two older people who walk to church. Now several friends have offered lifts so that worry is removed.

There have also been a few of our Ordinariate members who have found the idea of the move difficult. Most of us are going to do our best to make it work, though there are still three who have decided to worship in other Catholic churches. We will be very sorry not to have them with us, and I know they have had others pleading with them to reconsider. On a more cheerful note, we have heard of a couple in another Group who are moving to Bournemouth and who are likely to join us.

Over our years together we have lost two members through death, another two have moved away after University. Overall though we have grown a little with new members joining us. We believe that the church of St Thomas More with its Ordinariate parish priest will give us a great opportunity for becoming what Pope Benedict firt intended - a Mission, welcoming former Anglicans and others who are seeking reconciliation with the See of Peter

Right now we are heavily involved at both chuches, and are keeping Holy Week with them. Fr Brian preached movingly at the Maundy Mass, and Fr Gerry has very kindly invited me to preach at the Easter Vigil in his church. Later in the day we join STM for the 9.30 am Mass.

Looking forward we hope Mgr Keith willbe able to come to St Thomas More's for the 9.30 am Mass on May 11th If he and Fr Darryl are happy with the idea we hope we might join the congregation there that morning, so that together with our Ordinary we can give the people of Iford a better idea of just what the Ordinariate is. Pope Benedict had a great vision for creating a bridge by which Anglicans might share in the fullness of the Catholic Church, bringing with their special gifts and charisms - their 'PATRIMONY' as he termed it

It looks as though our first Sunday in  Iford will be  on the Feast of Pentecost, June 8th. Service times have yet to be finalised. They will be published on the Bournemouth page of the Ordinariate website, but it's likely we shall have Mass at 11.15 on Sundays and 10.30 on Wednesdays.

Please continue to pray for the Ordinariate, that it may fulfill the Holy Father's vision for us

A VERY HAPPY EASTER!

Phillip Biles R.I.P

Sad news today of the death of a member of our Ordinariate Mission. Phillip has been a member of our Bournemouth Group from the very beginning. He had been a long-time member of St Stephen's Bournemouth. On joining the Roman Communion he missed that lovely building very much - one of the great works of J.L.Pearson, architect of such other one-time shrines of Anglo-Catholicism as St John's Upper Norwood and St Michael's Croydon - and he also missed many of those who had worshipped there. Yet he committed himself totally to our Mission in Bournemouth, and was a most loyal member of our Group.  Phillip had been a Server at St Stephen's, and those skills be brought with him into the Ordinariate. He had also been a Churchwarden, serving at one time alongside another of our Ordinariate members, Brian Harrison. He kept contact, though, with many old friends at St Stephen's, and always assured them there would be a great welcome for them in the Ordinariate. As welcomer and sidesman,  lesson reader or server, he was entirely reliable and self-effacing. We shall miss him sorely.

The photograph was taken back in the summer, when we were preparing to meet Fr Allan Hawkins.

Phillip's funeral will, we expect, take place in Our Lady Queen of Peace early in the New Year.
    Our Lady of Walsingham, pray for him, Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for him.
                                                          May he rest in Peace.

Christmas in Southbourne

Not a post to say what we have been doing, rather what we are not going to do this year. Last Christmas it proved very difficult to arrange a Mass at a time when people could attend. We tried for 11.30 am, but the Parish's 10 o'clock was so popular and well attended that it was almost noon before we could begin. Fr Gerry has been very accommodating, but it would make life difficult for him and his people to abbreviate their Christmas morning mass. SO:-

We shall not be celebrating a separate Ordinariate Mass in Southbourne this year.
Fr Darryl, our most recent Ordinariate priest, will celebrate in his church of St Thomas More, Iford - the next door parish to Our Lady Queen of Peace, Southbourne - at 9.30am. Members of the Ordinariate will be very welcome at that Parish Mass; or, of course, in any other local churches.

There will be an Ordinariate Mass as usual at 9.30am in Our Lady Queen of Peace on both Sunday next, December 22nd, and on December 29th. On Wednesday January 1st we hope to celebrate the Mass of Mary, Mother of God, at 10.30am - our customary Wednesday time. If this has to be changed I shall use this blog to announce it.

A very Happy Christmas to all who read this blog regularly, or have just stumbled across it.

.

STOP PRESS! Good news, Mgr Keith comes to visit us on Sunday January 12th at our 9.30 Mass, and afterwards will talk with us about future plans for the Ordinariate, and for our Bournemouth Mission. Please put the date in your new diary and join us that day if you're able.