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Blue Plaque for 82 Ashley Road

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 13:55:03 +0000

Save England’s Ancient Forests

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:52:52 +0000

Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) is proposing a new approach to ownership and management of woodlands and forests, with a reducing role for the state and a growing role for the private sector and civil society.

The critical issue for the Woodland Trust is this: the future of the forests themselves, especially the ancient woods, and how to protect their value for wildlife and for people.

The threat created by possible sales of these ancient woods is two fold: some ancient woods may slip through the net of protection, while many others may go unrestored.
Government says they will be protected - The Woodland Trust has grave doubts about this in practice.

The Woodland Trust believes that:
Ancient woods should be treated as a special case in the Forestry Commission's sell-off plans.
There should be a restoration of all the Forestry Commission’s damaged ancient woods (defaced by conifers) to their rightful and valued place as essential to our native woodland heritage.
There should be a closure of loopholes in protection for all ancient woods, to guarantee their public access and wildlife value, no matter who owns them.

Want to know more/sign petition: go to www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

Holocaust Memorial Day

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:54:27 +0000

As a member Harrow Inter Faith Council, I was invited to attend the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration held in Harrow Civic Centre yesterday evening.

The Commemoration began with the lighting of the Yahrzeit Candle, traditionally lit to remember a loved one and, last night, to remember the millions who died in the Holocaust and other genocides. The theme for this year’s Commemoration was ‘Untold Stories’. There are millions of stories we will never know. Tonight we will hear one untold story from the Holocaust; may that one story awaken us to the consequences of exclusion and persecution so that we may learn from the past. (from the introduction)

Mrs Nelly Clynes told her story. Nelly is a Polish Jew who with some of her family survived the German Occupation, escaping the Lwow Ghetto and then a transport to Auschwitz. It was a remarkable story. Quietly and gently told. Nelly is a concert pianist and teacher. She attends a local synagogue in Northwood. We heard a recording her playing the piano - lovely.

Alderman Keith Toms, who works faithfully for inter faith understanding in the Harrow Area, spoke excellently on 'Anti-Semitism and the effect on the Development of Science in Nazi Germany'.

We also saw a video prepared by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust which included the testimony of several survivors of genocide and footage of the appalling conditions of those imprisoned in Nazi Concentration Camps. Also remembered in this video were those annihilated in the genocides of Cambodia, the Balkans, Rwanda and Darfur.

The Holocaust Day Memorial Trust has gathered together a group of genocide survivors who are telling 'the untold story' in schools, through videos, to politicians, and to any interested group - the idea being that truth releases us into a fresh determination to fight such appalling inhumanity.

The Commemoration was attended by the local Jewish community, which in this area is considerable ranging across the spectrum of Jewish tradition, and included the choir of the Moriah Jewish Day School. Members of other faiths were also there, including Mayor Counsellor Asad Omar. To end our time together a prayer was sung in Hebrew and the Shofar was blown.

In all of this I was reminded of the moving story told to us by Fr Francis and of a wonderful video we saw together of another Holocaust Survivor, Alice Herz Sommer. You may have seen the article in G2 yesterday in which Holocaust Survivors told their story. You can access this article on www.guardian.co.uk Stuart Jefferies 'Holocaust Survivors' Stories' 27 January, 2011

Social Justice Declaration

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 22:14:26 +0000

DECLARATION OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE FOUR RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF MELANESIA ON SOCIAL JUSTICE, HUMAN RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY

Tabalia, West Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, November 21-28, 2010

Beloved in Christ:
From November 21 through 28, 2010, we, 152 members of the four religious communities of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, have met together at Tabalia, West Guadalcanal, the headquarters of the Melanesian Brotherhood, for prayer, biblical reflection, discussion and planning on issues of social justice, human rights and advocacy in Solomon Islands and beyond.

We are members of the Community of the Sisters of Melanesia, the Society of St. Francis, the Community of the Sisters of the Church and the Melanesian Brotherhood. It is the first time in the history of the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) that the four religious communities have met together for such an event. We rejoice in the new friendship and cooperation that has emerged among us, breaking down old barriers and misunderstandings. We are also happy to be joined by some of our community members from Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

We thank the initiator and a facilitator of the event, Br. Clark Berge, SSF, Minister General of the Society of St. Francis; four facilitators provided by Franciscans International, Mateusz Tuniewicz, Sr. Odile Coirier, FMM, Morse Flores and Sanjay V. Gathia; and local facilitators Lanieta Leo and Bishop Terry Brown. We thank the 27 facilitators from the four religious communities trained the week before by the same facilitators. We also thank the Society of St. Francis Legacy Fund for financial support for the event.

In the context of the daily Eucharist and offices, we have reflected upon the biblical and theological roots of social justice and human rights; gained an understanding of the variety of United Nations human rights declarations, covenants and conventions; gained skills in advocacy; examined our local social, cultural, economic and political contexts; and tried to discern our future work in promoting justice and human rights in Solomon Islands and beyond. Particular themes for discussion were women, gender and children; respect for the environment; and good governance, transparency and rule of law. These themes were chosen in light of the country's high rate of family violence, ever increasing environmental degradation and widespread corruption.

We affirm the world as God's good creation in Christ, restored by Jesus Christ's death and resurrection (Genesis 1:1-25, Colossians 1:15-20). We affirm the equality of women and men as created in God's image and companions for one another (Genesis 1:18, 26-27). We affirm God's covenant with Noah, blessing and protecting the environment (Genesis 9:1-17). We affirm righteousness and justice as put forward in the Jewish Law and prophets. We affirm Jesus' loving solidarity with the poor and suffering, leading to his death on the Cross. We affirm the Cross as offering forgiveness for our sinful ways, and life in Christ as a new way forward (Ephesians 2:1-10, 2 Corinthians 5: 16-21). We affirm our faith in the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who leads us to advocacy for truth and justice (John 15: 26-27, 16:13). We affirm that the whole Church, the Body of Christ, is called to advocacy for justice and righteousness both within itself and in the world at large.

In light of these affirmations and our work together this week, we discern the following:

1. Family violence, particularly violence against women and children, remains a widespread practice in Solomon Islands. We reject any cultural defence of this practice. We believe that the root causes of family violence (cultural beliefs, poverty, forced and/or very early marriages, lack of Christian teaching about marriage, poor communication in marriage, misuse of alcohol, etc.) must be addressed. We, both women's and men's communities, pledge to continue to support the work of the Christian Care Centre as a shelter for women and children who are victims of abuse and as an educational centre on this issue. Within each of our communities we also promise to address this issue, for example, with direct intervention in situations of family violence, inclusion of teaching against family violence in mission programmes that go out to the dioceses and the development of training programmes on family counselling within our novitiates.

1. We note widespread complaints about how the Royal Solomon Islands Police (RSIP) deal with alleged situations of family violence, often ignoring them as "domestic disputes" and refusing to intervene. Some police even side with the perpetrator, especially if he is a relative or friend, blaming the victim. We urge better training of the police on this issue and more frequent deployment of women police officers. We are willing to assist in this training. We urge that the rule of law be observed rather than ignored in these cases. Where police refuse to act, they should be reported to higher authorities.

1. We are concerned that there is widespread abuse of the human rights of children, especially girls, in Solomon Islands. Despite the government's programme of free and universal primary education, many girls are not allowed to go to school but are kept home to work. Adopted children are especially vulnerable. Many children and young persons are subject to sexual and physical abuse in the home, usually by close relatives. The country's shortage of secondary schools and tertiary education further disadvantages children wishing to pursue education at higher levels. We promise to encourage parents to send their girls to school. We also promise not to let our households become refuges for children who should be in school.

1. We are deeply troubled by parents who allow their under-aged daughters and young daughters to become "wives" of foreign logging crews (usually from Asia) for payment of goods and/or money. These relationships are often forced, not permanent and are really a form of child prostitution and slavery. Children born out of such relationships are very vulnerable. Especially where our community houses are near such logging camps, we pledge to counsel the parents and children concerned and place pressure upon logging camp managers to halt this illegal practice, publicly exposing it where necessary. We urge dioceses, parish committees and clergy to do the same and not to accept gifts from the logging companies concerned. We support the recommendations of the Christian Care Centre's 2007 report, "Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in a Remote Region of the Solomon Islands". The same practice is also emerging in the fishing and mining industries. We also note with concern increasing urban prostitution employing local young women and the trafficking of women brought from Asia. We are also concerned about allegations that girls are earning their school fees through sex. We pledge to work against these practices and to minister to those involved. We urge the police to act in all situations where the law is being broken, particularly in remote rural areas.

1. While women are well represented in the civil service, including at the level of Permanent Secretary, only one woman has been elected to Parliament since Solomon Islands independence in 1978. We strongly believe we should have women Members of Parliament in Solomon Islands. Reasons for the absence of women in Parliament are largely cultural and economic, resulting in well-qualified women (of whom there are many) unable to get elected. We believe serious consideration should be given to 30 percent reserved seats for women in Parliament. We are pleased to see this development taking place in Bougainville and Papua New Guinea. We also pledge to encourage well-qualified women to run in national and provincial elections and, while not endorsing specific candidates, urge voters to give serious consideration to voting for women candidates. Men do not have the right to control women's votes. Each woman has the right to vote for the candidate of her choice.

1. We are pleased that Solomon Islands Government has become a party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). However, we are concerned that Solomon Islands government has not met its international obligations in both implementing and reporting back to the United Nations on the two conventions. We urge Solomon Islands government to make the required reports to the United Nations on CEDAW and CRC immediately. We also urge Solomon Islands government to be transparent in developing public awareness programmes to show the steps it has taken to implement these two conventions.

1. We are deeply concerned at the widespread degradation of the environment in Solomon Islands, particularly through unsustainable logging and fishing, often by foreign companies in collusion with local politicians. Despite years of warnings, the Solomon Islands government has refused to reduce the level of these activities. We urge Solomon Islands government to reduce logging and fishing to sustainable levels. We urge a complete ban on logging in Guadalcanal, Isabel, Makira and Malaita and other islands, where we have especially experienced its negative effects (land degradation, flooding, destruction of water supplies, rivers and reefs, land disputes and prostitution). As members of religious communities, we shall discourage local communities from entering into contracts with logging companies.

1. We are concerned about the environmental and social impact of gold mining about to begin again on Guadalcanal, proposed nickel mining on Isabel and other mining projects planned around the country. Some of us have witnessed major environmental destruction caused by the current nickel prospecting on Isabel and urge that prospecting not take place without an environmental impact study. Aware of the disastrous environmental and social effects of mining in Papua New Guinea, we urge Solomon Islands government to move cautiously in this area and maintain maximum transparency with all parties about proposed projects. As members of religious communities, we shall urge local landowners to proceed with the greatest caution.

1. We are also aware that there are local environmental practices that need to be challenged and resisted: over-harvesting of marine and land resources, dynamiting of reefs for fish, destruction of endangered species and their habitats, careless use of land and sea for disposal of rubbish, destruction of mangroves, fruit and nut trees; and lack of rubbish collection in urban areas. We confess that we have sometimes failed as religious communities in these areas and pledge to try to make our households good examples of respect for the environment. We also pledge to assist village people to address these issues through change of practice and advocacy. We are also aware that for some islands rising sea levels and over- population are major environmental issues. We have met as island and national groups and prepared appropriate action plans. We shall be implementing these.

1. We have discussed issues of good governance within our own religious communities. We recognize we have sometimes failed and pledge the greatest possible good governance, transparency and faithfulness to our Rules in the future. The governance of large religious communities is not easy and further training is needed, for example, in looking after money and assets.

1. We have discussed the corruption and violence that frequently accompany national and provincial elections in Solomon Islands. We believe we can exercise leadership in areas of developing accurate voters' lists, encouraging well qualified women candidates, discouraging bribery, monitoring elections for fraud and preventing violence at polling stations. We also recognize the urgent need for reform of the nation's electoral laws by Parliament.

1. We intend to take the concerns expressed in this Declaration back to our four religious communities and the Anglican Church of Melanesia for consideration and endorsement. We also wish to continue to meet together as religious communities on issues of social justice and human rights. We recommend that the ACOM Religious Life Advisory Council appoint a social justice committee comprised of representatives of our four religious communities. We pledge to work with the ACOM, other churches, the Solomon Islands Government, non-government organizations and all other organizations working on social justice issues. We also ask for the solidarity of church partners overseas, especially in countries from which our exploiters come.

For us, this has been an exciting week, full of new learning and new friendships. Sent out on Advent Sunday, we make a new beginning, incorporating and moving beyond the peace and reconciliation work we have done in the past and will continue to do. We shall continue to "lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light ... the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:12-14, Collect for Advent Sunday) and actively seek justice for all.

Agreed to by the consensus of all the participants and signed on their behalf by:

Sister Mary Lulo, CSM Head Sister, Community of the Sisters of Melanesia
Sister Phyllis Margaret Sau, CSC Sister Provincial, Solomon Islands Province, Community of the Sisters of the Church
Brother Clifton Henry, SSF Representing the Province of the Solomon Islands, Society of St. Francis
Brother Leonard Yanga, MBH Regional Head Brother, Solomon Islands Region, Melanesian Brotherhood.

Advent Sunday, 2010 Tabalia, West Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Getting Dug In

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:59:00 +0000

Roxbourne Rough is one of the places mentioned in the BBC guide ‘Breathing Places’; and that is what it is, a small space of green and peace amidst the suburbia of north west London. I have just spent a cold November morning there cutting back brambles and scrub to encourage fresh meadow growth in the Spring. I am a member of the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum which has several sites in the area. Because Roxbourne Rough is close to our house at West Harrow, working there feels integral to our local area and community.

Roxbourne Rough is a series of grassy meadows covering about 13 acres in an area of predominantly London clay. It is definitely a gum-boot area at this time of the year! The meadow is surrounded by woodland which includes oak, blackthorn, hawthorn and, in its wetter parts, willow. The Rough is also home to black poplars which I am told are something of a rarity; they sound and look beautiful in the wind. The Rough also includes a pond which has just been deepened to encourage frogs and newts and other water life. Some wetland meadow habit is also being nurtured and restored.

In the Spring and Summer the meadows are adrift with wild flowers. Today, with a sharp north wind blowing, although many of the taller trees had lost their leaves, those of the hedgerow were an array of wonderful autumn colours: russets, yellows and deep red.

Places to walk and places ‘to be’ are of increasing importance in the London area. People need a space to get in touch with nature, to stroll unfettered by traffic and in a landscape which, though managed, is as near to natural as possible.

Not far from Roxbourne Rough another environmental project is underway in an area of Harrow which has been beleaguered by social deprivation. As part of the rejuvenation of this locality a previously aborted environmental project is being revived. Several of us from my local church and the Roxbourne project are getting involved. Getting dug-in.

Social Justice Conference

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:20:19 +0000

Press release from the Solomon Islands...

RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF MELANESIA
MEET FOR TRAINING IN SOCIAL JUSTICE
AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY.

More than 150 members of the four religious communities of the Anglican Church of Melanesia are now gathered at Tabalia, West Guadalcanal, for the second week of training on Social Justice, Human Rights and Advocacy issues.

The workshop is organised by Franciscans International, an international NGO that supports the advocacy work of Franciscan religious communities, both Roman Catholic and Anglican, around the world.

Four Franciscan International staffs have come from their offices in Bangkok and Geneva to assist with the workshop.

The themes of the workshop are the theology and meaning of human rights, how to do advocacy for social justice, and the issues of gender equality (including violence against women and children), respecting the environment and promoting good governance.

The first week of the workshop was the training of 27 trainers from the four religious communities. They are now taking responsibility for training the large group of 120 who arrived on the weekend.

Communities participating in the workshop are the Melanesian Brotherhood, Sisters of Melanesia, the Society of St. Francis and the Community of the Sisters of the Church.

This is the first time such a large group as gathered from all four religious communities of the ACOM.

The workshop is the dream of Br. Clark Berge, SSF, Minister General of the Society of St. Francis. Support for the event has come from the Society of St. Francis Legacy Fund and the four ACOM religious communities in Solomon Islands.

On Monday, the workshop studied the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the various United Nations conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also looked at the biblical and theological roots of human rights.

The workshop is also examining human rights abuses in Solomon Islands and how the religious communities might address them. Issues identified have included sexual exploitation of children in logging camps; domestic violence; environmental destruction by logging, fishing and mining; and corruption, from the village to the national level, including problems in the electoral process.

One aim of the workshop is to enable religious communities to assist communities to do advocacy for social justice in the many local communities where they have households. The workshop will also prepare an action plan for their future social justice work.

The workshop will conclude with the issuing of an action plan and communiqué, awarding of certificates and feast on Saturday, and a closing sending out Eucharist on Sunday morning.

Press Release prepared by Bishop Terry Brown (terrymalaita@yahoo.com)
For further information, please contact him or Mr. Sanjay Gathia, mobile 8447477.

A Press Conference is to be held on Saturday, November 27th at Melanesian Brotherhood Headquarters, Tabalia, at 3:30 p.m. Journalists coming for the Press Conference are invited to stay for the awarding of certificates and feast early Saturday evening.

Identification of photographs provided:

DSC03596: Members of men's communities working with Bishop Terry Brown to prepare a report.

DSC03598: Brothers and sisters with Br. Clark Berge, SSF, working on human rights issues.

DSC03604: Members of four ACOM religious communities in a discussion group.

DSC03632: Brother Clark Berge, SSF, and community members presenting a report on the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

DSC03648: Group photo of Social Justice and Advocacy Trainers from the four ACOM religious communities at the end of the first week of training.

Composting

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:20:32 +0100

I struggle with one of those big green compost bins. It is glued to the gunky, steaming, odoriferous mess inside. Gnats feasting on rot and warmth, storm about my head. I heave at the bin and suddenly it and I tumble free. I am watched by a robin, his head tipped quizzically to one side: how ungainly this wingless one!

I spade up decomposing squelch, upset centipedes and mesmeric worms, pink and multitudinous in this paradise of earth being born. Deeper down I enter a strata of leaves and carrot peelings becoming almost the soil from which they grew. Beneath these is a fine tilth. I dig and separate and sieve, the robin busy beside me. We are concentrated, the two us, on matters of earth, together absorbed in nature’s tillage. In the stillness of this autumn afternoon, the light fading, beneath a pine tree stirring in the wind, we become lost in something timeless, utterly beyond self, profoundly at the heart of the matter.

Celebrating Jennifer

Sun, 1 Aug 2010 15:59:00 +0100

Jennifer has been working with the Sisters at Ham for nearly half a life-time - as cook and housekeeper, as well as providing a great deal of care in our Guest Area - so we were really thrilled that she chose to celebrate a recent ‘big number’ birthday with us. Several members of her family and a number of Sisters from across the Province gathered at Ham for the special occasion.

25th Anniversary for Marguerite Mae

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:21:41 +0100

A great crowd of well-wishers from many different periods of Marguerite’s life engaged in playful banter and offered a rousing, heartfelt cheer to celebrate with Marguerite Mae on the 25th anniversary of her Profession in CSC.

“For she’s a jolly good...”
“I’m not sure ‘fellow’ would be quite right for Marguerite Mae!”
“... ‘jolly good Sister’!”

Marguerite has been having some sabbatical time in the UK Province, and we were glad to have her with us at Ham to celebrate her special day.

As usual, our Associate and long-time colleague, Jennifer, worked her magic and created a wonderful feast and beautiful cake to mark the occasion.

If you would like to read the homily, please click here.

New Member of the Burlington House

Thu, 1 Jul 2010 14:08:03 +0100

My name is Dickens and I have come to live at the Burlington House, where there are three adequate servants who dote on me.

I arrived yesterday and knew right away that I was in my 'forever home'. Fortunately there are many places to hide from Etelvina and the cat-sucking monster (aka vacuum cleaner).

I had a house tour when I arrived and found a litter box on every floor, a convenience I really appreciate and the maid service is prompt.

I'm not a lap cat, like my people were expecting - I am a chest cat.

I enjoyed my first mass this morning, and it was very nice of the Dean to wait until I was settled on my chair before beginning the confession.

Here is a picture for you to admire:

Associate Barry ordained Deacon

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:36:19 +0100

Our associate Barry was ordained Deacon at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday 27th June. He is primarily working in the chaplaincy at Bolton Hospital and his supporters were inter faith as well as ecumenical. Our Sister Catherine was very pleased to be present to celebrate with Barry on this special day.

Notes from our House in Bristol

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:34:02 +0100

Last week was a particularly eventful week. We are in the midst of a promotional film about our ‘Loaves and Fishes’ project being made. It is being funded by a generous donation from the Archdeaconry fund, the encouragement of the Diocesan Education officer in conjunction with West Knowle Media Centre and our local primary school, St Barnabas. A lot of preliminary work had been done including Hilda Mary being filmed doing a school assembly about our Community and work and the Yr 6 children visiting here and some of them learning how to interview and film.

So last weekend we were ready for action. Three members of the media centre descended on us in time for breakfast last Sunday and spent the whole day engaged in and filming our usual Sunday happenings including lunch for 14 and food bags being handed out to over 200 hundred people! They plus year 6 pupils then spent the next 2 days with us. Marina the producer was very moved by all the people she met and stories she heard.

This would have been enough in itself but it happened to come at the same time as the quinquennial repairs to the house and a new boiler being installed. So the whole house is swathed with scaffolding and we have 6 men working outside and 2 inside. This involves much tea making and keeping our eyes and ears open to make sure all jobs are being progressed as we wish!
We nearly got shut out of the garden when the scaffolders asked a new volunteer if we needed to use the garden door. “Oh no its raining .The Sisters won’t need it” I overheard this just in time. “What? Not need it for the next 6 weeks? You must be joking!”
By some miracle the noisiest drilling and banging managed not to coincide with the children conducting interviews in the “Quiet Room”!

Many of the people who come to us were only too willing to share their stories and how we have helped them, and also to become film stars! And that was just the first 3 days of the week.

Rosina retreated to Clevedon to draw breath on Wednesday. Margaret escaped to her art class on Thursday. We had our evening Liturgy on Thursday in the main room, the chapel still being full of stuff because of the new boiler etc going in the sacristy. Fortunately the Quiet room was no longer needed for interviews by the time we needed it for a temporary chapel!
Well much more went on besides including rescuing a fledgling bird in the middle of the filming on the Sunday but this is enough for one week and comes with much love from us all till next time!

Hilda Mary CSC

Leaders Conference in Whitby

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:58:37 +0100

The Conference of Leaders of Anglican Religious Communities was held at Sneaton Castle Centre, Whitby, 14-18 June 2010.

Our Sister Linda Mary (far right) was able to attend on our behalf this year, and she enjoyed the opportunity to meet other Leaders and to hear The Right Reverend Dom Stephen Ortiger OSB, Worth Abbey, the guest speaker.

Solomons Archbishop David visits UK

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:33:45 +0100

Archbishop David and Mary from the Solomons visited me on the 16th May and spent a night here at Trinity. It was so lovely to have them and was a break from essays in order to host them.

I took them around the campus after having some tea and then we went out to see a bit of Bristol. It was good for them to have a space here, because they have a full time table and meeting lots of people that have some sort of connection to the Church of Melanesia.

On Monday morning, after breakfast, we went to the College chapel for morning prayer and then the Vice Principal and the Chaplain had a meeting with him, before Linda and Anita arrived for another meeting.

I was so proud to have five visitors on Monday, but then missed them all when they have left.

Veronica CSC

Visiting Clevedon

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:53:27 +0100

We are at Clevedon and we are going to Bishop James house today for a few days holiday.

Lillian Mary and Agnes CSC

UK Provincial Report 2010

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:48:18 +0100

If you would like to
download a copy of the report,
please click on the icon above.

For a slideshow of some of the highlights since the last Provincial’s Report to the UK Chapter in
May 2009, please click here.

Easter in Canada

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 11:31:18 +0100

We had a mostly quiet Holy Week.

On Thursday I attended the Maundy Thursday service at Church House at noon; all the other services we attended were at the Cathedral in Hamilton. Michael and Heather went on Thursday evening where instead of a sermon three people led reflections. Michael set up the altar of repose at home, and Heather and I took the 2:00 - 3:00 am slot at the Cathedral vigil. The three of us attended the Good Friday service, and last night Heather went to the Easter Vigil. We all went to the Festival Service this morning, where Heather and I read the lessons and the Primate preached. After the service we had Easter egg cookies and coffee, then home for a quiet dinner of barbecued lamb. We had no guests for Easter this year - we've had enough excitement for a while!

Margaret CSC (Canadian Provincial)

Easter Greetings from Elisa Helen

Sun, 4 Apr 2010 11:26:05 +0100

Hi folks,

I have just finished my last service of Easter Day and the services have again been stunning. Of the three Easter Services we had at least 200 people over all and the participation has been wonderful. Our Good Friday services were special also and we did a liturgy based around the Passover for Maundy Thursday which was also well appreciated.

We had a liturgy of the passion in the Church on Good Friday which was followed by an ecumenical stations of the cross which was also bilingual Dinka [Sudanese] English. We did this in a nearby park and I’d say there were over a 100 people present. The Sudanese drummed and sang as we moved between the stations and each reflection was in both English and Dinka. It was really special.

Our Easter vigil which we did at 11.30pm was also bilingual. We didn’t have so many at that although a number Sudanese turned out and everyone really enjoyed it. The Sudanese drums and singing were very joyous and our Easter hymns - the two we sang - seemed lifeless in comparison. Next year I think we’ll make it a dawn service.

The 10am was English and had over 80 people present and the music and energy in the worship was so inspired and full of life.

And I’ve just finished the Sudanese communion which I encourage them to do as much of the service as is appropriate in Dinka. I’m still trying to say ‘the Lord be with you’ but it is so different and I struggle every time.

I always keep on saying Tenebrae over the Triduum, I’ve grown to love it and it makes me feel really connected to the community. I advertise it so that if anyone wants to join me they can. This year I had between 6-8 people saying it with me each day which was lovely. I’ve created a little prayer corner in the church where we gather everyday for morning prayer and I have a very faithful little band of folk who join with me each day and it is lovely.

Blessings to you,
I hope your celebrations of the resurrection have touched and fed you also,
In Jesus Christ’s name,
Elisa

80th Birthday for Mary Jo

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 19:48:55 +0000

The people of the parish of St. Margaret of Antioch at St. Anne's-on-Sea in Lancashire enabled our Sister Mary Josephine to celebrate her 80th birthday in grand style! The church was filled with people for the 10am eucharist, and more than 80 stayed for the buffet lunch following the service. A helium-filled birthday balloon graced the place of honour and in addition to the many friends from the parish, friends from Mary Jo's school days and former colleagues also joined the celebration.

If you would like to read the homily, please click here.

Writing on Justice and Peace

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:35:41 +0000

In thanksgiving and celebration for 60 years in profession, Ann Mechtilde produced a booklet of poetry, entitled Imperfect Words. It is a wonderful collection and some of the Sisters enjoyed hearing Ann read aloud some of her poems on the Sunday afternoon following her special day. We were also each given a copy of the booklet -- and they were very much appreciated.

And if that wasn't enough to give us all a warm glow, Ann was then honoured by receiving a prize for her poems, in a special evening at St. Thomas Aquinas Church!

From the Programme:

A Celebration of Writing on Justice & Peace Issues
Supported by Music

Last autumn, our Justice and Peace Group here at St. Thomas' launched a writing competition in association with local churches, schools and other organisations.
The competition has been particularly aimed at lending encouragement to students' nurturing idealism and moreover their practical pursuit of social justice.
...
The competition has been sponsored by means of a fund specifically created for such purpose by the parishioners of St. Thomas'.

There were three categories for children and one for adults and we heard samples from works in each of the categories, and also enjoyed listening to a string quartet from the local German School, and songs by children from the Grey Court School.

Several Sisters attended to support Ann on this special occasion and we all enjoyed the evening very much.