Monday, September 08, 2014

At the weekend...

...Saturday saw the "Called to be One" events  in various parts of Britain organised by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. You can  read a general round-up here,  and there is an informative and useful interview with Mgr Keith Newton, which you can view here...

The event arranged in South London went well and was held at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. There was a good gathering, with people from various local churches including St George’s Cathedral, Southwark. The DVD featuring Mgr Keith Newton and Catherine Utley proved an excellent opening, and was followed by Father Scott Anderson presenting “Part Two” which told the story of the Anglican /Catholic ventures for unity over the past two centuries, finishing with the formation of the Ordinariate .  This led on perfectly to the question-and-answer session with a panel on which he was joined by the two churchwardens of the parish, Bernadette Josiah-John and Christopher Smith.   Questions covered topics ranging from Evensong, married clergy, and  liturgy, to parish life and the nature of “Anglican patrimony”.  No one seemed to feel shy about raising any topic, and the mood was open, friendly, and frank – and  all accepted with similar enthusiasm the invitation to Tea in the Long Room in the Rectory: a magnificent spread in the best tradition, with sandwiches and lavish cakes. Then followed sung Evensong in the church, possibly the most memorable part of the day: glowing candles, fine singing, and the golden light of a September evening,  gently rounded off with a meditation by Antonia Lynn, before the final Blessing.

 A good day, and one which blended information, hospitality and prayer – and perhaps enabled  a number of Londoners to understand something of what the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham seeks to offer.

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