ARCHIVES
FATHER GERRIT VERVENNE RETIRES AS PARISH PRIEST
Father Vervenne celebrates a marriage - 2009
Father Gerrit Vervenne will take his
final bow as Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish and St. Francis
of Assisi Parish at New Milton and Milford-on-Sea on 30th September 2011,
much to the deep chagrin of his parishioners.
Father Gerrit Vervenne, Dutch-born Catholic
priest, said his last Mass as Parish Priest to his congregation
in Milford last Sunday. He was given a Farewell Party earlier this month at
which a presentation was made to thank him for all the care he has taken
of the parish of St. Francis of Assisi since his arrival in 1999. Although he is retiring
he may still be seen in the area of both parishes as he will be living
in New Milton. It is hoped that members of the parishes will
respect the fact that he is retired! Once he has established that
fact, he hopes to be able to help out occasionally around the New Forest Pastoral
Area which includes Lymington and Brockenhurst as well as Milford and
New Milton. Father Vervenne will be very much missed from St.
Francis of Assisi and the same will apply to the parish of Our |Lady of
Lourdes.
Father Danny McAvoy, at present parish priest of
Lymington and Brockenhurst will, with the help of other priests in the
Portsmouth diocese, take care of the people in Milford and New Milton
until such time as a new priest is found to take over Father Vervenne's
duties. For Father Danny's sake we hope this will not be too long!
It is not a brilliant idea to work our priests into the ground. . .
We wish Father Vervenne a big improvement in his
health so that he can enjoy a long and happy retirement.
We are inserting here a copy of the body of a letter dated 5th
September 2011
and which came into our possession on Thursday 8th September,
which is of paramount interest to our Parishioners.
It is sent from Bishop House, Portsmouth and signed by
the Rt. Rev. Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth:
Pastoral Note
for
The Communities of New Milton and Milford on Sea
together with
The Communities of Lymington and Brockenhurst
Dear
Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,
On
September 30th, Fr. Gerrit Vervenne will retire from being parish
priest of New Milton and Milford on Sea and Deacon Michael Welch will
also be retiring. Together, and separately, they have ministered
to you all faithfully and generously and I know that you would want to
join me in saying how grateful we have been for all that they have
done. I pray that their time of retirement may be fruitful and
peaceful.
Their
moving on, however, leaves me, and all of you, with a problem because
there is no priest immediately available to step in to take up the
pastoral charge of the parish. It will, therefore, be a
difficult and demanding time for you all. I am not prepared to
leave your two communities without access to a priest for your
pastoral needs. I have therefore invited Fr. Danny McAvoy, your
neighbour in Lymington and Brockenhurst, to be priest in charge of New
Milton and Milford on Sea, in addition to his other responsibilities.
As priest
in charge, Fr. Danny will have all the responsibilities of a Parish
Priest for the four parishes for the time being. It is a
considerable challenge for him but I am sure that he is going to be
able to rely on the goodwill and cooperation of all of you, as you
work together for the good of the Church in the New Forest Pastoral
Area. He has generously agreed to do his best to look after your
pastoral needs, but he cannot do it on his own. Considerable
sacrifices are going to be needed from all of you and I know that you
will all want to play a full part in ensuring the continuing life of
your communities and their day-to-day running.
This is a
short-term solution to a long-term problem and I have asked Mgr.
Vincent Harvey, the Vicar General with overall responsibility for the
Pastoral Area, to work with the clergy and with you to try to find a
way through your present difficulties. Mgr. Vincent is away on a
well-deserved holiday at the moment but when he returns, he will be in
touch with you and will work with you to secure the future.
I have
asked Fr. Danny to make sure that there are sufficient priests to
supply all the current Sunday Masses until the end of October.
This will allow a period of time for him and the Pastoral Area Council
to consult with you, the people of the parishes of the New Forest, to
establish how best to make available Sunday Mass across the Pastoral
Area and to ensure that the best possible care can be provided for you
from lst November.
Although I
am going to be out of action from September 12th for at least two
months following surgery for cancer, I will be keeping you in my
prayers and I will continue to keep your best interests in my heart.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking you all for your
prayers and best wishes which have so supported and sustained me in my
illness.
With many
blessings and my prayers,
Signed:
Bishop Crispian Hollis
5th
September 2011
8th May 2011
Earlier arrivals among some of those who
attended the Mass of Anointing at
Our Lady of Lourdes Church in New Milton on 8th May 2011.
Fr. Gerrit Vervenne, Fr. Danny McAvoy
and Canon Peter Wilkie officiated
18th September
2010
Welcome to Pope
Benedict XVI
guest of the Queen and the British Government
who is making a State Visit to our country
on the occasion of honouring an English Man of God
John Henry Newman
1801 - 1890
MESSAGE from Fr. GERRIT VERVENNE:
RETIREMENT
'Towards the end of
March I informed the Bishop of my intention to retire this summer. In
view of my various health problems it seemed reasonable to him and he
accepted my decision. The Bishop was grateful for the early notice I had
given him. He would do his utmost to honour my wishes. Last Tuesday he
phoned me and said that at the moment he was unable to find a
replacement, and asked me to carry on. More clarification to come after
my meeting with one of the Vicar Generals of the Diocese.'
PS Since writing
the above I have no further news to give you.
Vale atque Vale to Fr.
Jamie McGrath and to Father Danny McEvoy respectively!
Since the last meeting
there have been changes in our Pastoral Area of New Forest which are not
yet completed. We send our best wishes to Fr. Jamie McGrath who has moved
to Abingdon and we welcome Fr. Danny McEvoy who has agreed to take up the
post of Parish Priest, currently responsible for Lymington and
Brockenhurst, joining Fr. Gerrit Vervenne as co-Parish Priest of New
Forest. Parishioners are gradually beginning to come to terms with the
new plans for moving into the future, something we hope will be initially
driven by shared social activities in both Sacred and Secular areas -
sounds better than 'profane' these days! Ed.
"Bye-bye
and hello!"
Haiti Emergency
We make no apology for
continuing to keep Haiti at the front of our pages: the damage there has been so
great that it is going to take years to help its people recover to something
resembling what was a normal life for them. It mightn't be a bad idea to
investigate how to make a monthly contribution to a charity, (
Cafod
-
Caritas -
Unicef ) which
is involved in the country of Haiti. Their rainy season is close to
starting and just turn your thoughts to what could happen with the arrival of a
hurricane. Hurricanes are forecast to be of increased severity this year
though the rain will come anyway. . .
The remains of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Second Thoughts:
There are other angles
to this whole problem of Haiti. It's well worth reading an extract
from a BBC web site which asks questions about the effects of donor aid to
Haiti since the earthquake and the shaky history of very generous charity
donations via NGOs over the years to poor little Haiti. . . [
Click here
] for further information.
But don't be
discouraged: [
Click
here ] to get an update
on what CAFOD is doing in the area - and don't always believe what the
media are writing about charities. Often they have an axe to grind. . .
and if you dig deep enough, you may well find that the critics actually
never give money to any charity themselves.
FUND RAISING FOR ST.
DOMINIC'S PRIORY - LATEST!
CLICK ON THE
PICTURE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED. . .
Nicholas
Steven, 61 and a friend of the Priory, set out on 8th April with two
friends to walk to Rome.
The trio are walking the
Via Francigena
-
an ancient pilgrimage route which involves climbing over the St. Bernard
Pass which is nearly 8.000 feet high. They were hoping to arrive in
Rome by 1st July but arrived on 26th June. Nicholas was hoping to raise £20,760 but the aim
has now been downsized and the new target is £4,000. The new total
is now 64% of that. If you would like to make a donation through JustGiving
to boost Nick's efforts for St. Dominic's Priory, please click on the picture above.
Press reports on the weather
they have been and are experiencing make the trip sound - to say the very
least - challenging!
Special Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes
in New Milton
9th May 2010
Our special Mass with Sacrament
of Anointing took place as planned at New Milton
and more of our frail parishioners in the Pastoral Area attended this service
than usual which was lovely.
Although we are a retirement area, many of our older parishioners who are still
in reasonable health
were not there, and one of our catechists has discovered that certainly among
those who did not come were many who were not aware
that this beautiful Sacrament was not just for those who were close to death,
but for all those who
were in need of healing, physical or spiritual. The old teaching of 'Extreme Unction' - or
'Extry Munction' as a Jesuit priest
once introduced it as an Religious Education subject - dies hard! Next year with
God's help
we will make more of an effort to bring a wider knowledge of this lovely gift
to our people in the New Forest Pastoral Area.
The afternoon finished with a
delicious tea and lots of socialisation in our Church Hall where many
people renewed friendships with others they discovered were still alive,
though unable to attend Mass as they had in the past.
LITURGY DAY AND MORE. . .
Report on ‘The Liturgy We Celebrate’
meeting - 15th May 2010
held at the School of Our Lady & St. Joseph in Pennington for our
Pastoral Area, based on material
gratefully received from Mr. Anthony Kirke – parishioner of St Francis of
Assisi, Milford-on-Sea
More than thirty people representing all
the parishes of the New Forest Pastoral Area came together on Saturday 15th
May 2010 at our local Catholic primary school in Lymington for a workshop
day with Paul Inwood, who is Diocesan Director of Liturgy and Music.
Those present were
offered the opportunity to enlarge their knowledge about our liturgy,
studying the Mass in particular.
In his inimitable way,
assisted by PowerPoint presentations, Paul filled us to the brim with
information, some absolutely vital and some not so vital, on how the Mass
should and should not be celebrated by both priest and people.
While Paul suggested
ways in which the congregation could assist in making the celebration more
likely to “nourish, strengthen and express faith” as he put it, Paul also
pointed out that virtually all the liturgy was in the hands of the priest.
It was good to see one of our priests in attendance!
Some of
those present had looked forward to hearing more about the planned new
Order of the Mass, originally due towards the end of this year but Paul
explained that all was not yet fixed and its introduction has now been
deferred for a further year.
Bishop’s House,
Edinburgh Rd.,
Portsmouth PO1 3HG
023 9282 0894
bishop@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
26th October 2009
SWINE
FLU RESTRICTIONS LIFTED
On
July 23rd 2009, I recommended certain restrictions on the
giving and receiving of Holy Communion and the exchange of the
greetings of peace in the celebration of Masses throughout the
diocese. My thanks go to all parishes and communities for their
generous co-operation in implementing these recommendations.
Advice now given me, and with the
onset of the vaccination programme, suggests that we can relax these
restrictions and return to normal and sensible precautions. I,
therefore ask all parish priests to announce this from next weekend,
October 31st/November 1st. This means reverting
to what was previously the normal practice in the diocese, with Holy
Communion being offered under both kinds and with the exchange of the
greeting of peace by handshake or other suitable ways.
I leave it to each parish priest
to make a judgement about re-imposing the restrictions should there be
a significant incidence of infection in his parish. In such
circumstances, it could be a sensible measure to do so.
The practice of receiving the
Sacred Host in the hand has great merit but I do not insist that this
has to be the case – Holy Communion may also be received on the
tongue. The practice of Ministers of the Sacred Host ensuring that
their hands are washed, either with soap and water or with the
sanitizers provided, before and after ministering has been a good
development and I encourage all Ministers to continue to do this.
Should any parishioners still feel
uncomfortable about receiving from the chalice, then they must feel
free to make the choice not to do so. It might just be worthwhile
reiterating the age-old teaching that the Body and Blood of the Lord
are fully present even when received under one kind. However, the
Church also teaches that it is a fuller sign when Holy Communion is
received under both kinds.
Bishop
of Portsmouth
Michael F Jones, a current member of New Forest
Leadership Team, has written an article that he and the Rev. Stephen
Morgan would like circulated through our area. They both feel that
it is important that all parishioners have access to the article and
arrangements are being made to circulate a paper copy/copies to
Lymington, Brockenhurst, New Milton and Milford:
'As part of its Pastoral Plans, the
Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth has grouped its existing parishes
into 24 Pastoral Areas. The long term aim is that each Area
should eventually become a parish with, in the words of Bishop
Crispian, ‘priests and people working even more closely together
for the spread of the Kingdom’.
However, and again to quote from
Bishop Crispian, ‘this does mean developing the collaboration and
communion between the various communities in each Pastoral Area so
that we can become more united as a diocesan family and more
effective in our witness to the Gospel’.
The New Forest Pastoral Area
consists of Brockenhurst, Lymington, Milford and New Milton and a
Leadership Team has been formed with representatives from each of
the parishes.
Following its recent meeting with
the Bishop, the Leadership Team has met to discuss the way forward
for this Area and will continue to meet on a regular basis so that
each of us can get to know each better and work towards a greater
unity for the greater glory of God.
Initial ideas put forward at the
last meeting included an occasional joint newsletter, shared
social events, ministers and lay ministers serving different
churches on an occasional basis, parishioners being invited to
attend different churches (staying for coffee afterwards) and
joint services for special events.
This will enable us to develop our
own concept of a Pastoral Area and to move at our own pace in
achieving it. The future is in our own hands.
The process is entirely open and
everyone is encouraged to participate and come up with their own
ideas and suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you.
This is an exciting challenge
and one that will materially strengthen the Church in this area.
Let us all go forward in confidence and with trust in The Lord –
He is always with us.' (Reproduced here on 13th October 2009.
Ed.)
Re-organisation of the Church at Root Level
Although the earlier web site which covered changes over the last
few years to Catholic life in the New Forest area, newcomers to
this site may not be aware of current changes which are going to
affect the way our Church is being administered during these times
when many fewer men are prepared to devote themselves to serving
God and his people through the ministry of the priesthood.
Obviously still in its infancy, the notion of Collaborative
Ministry came into the administrative mind of the Church towards
the end of the 2nd millennium. This was of course the way the
Church grew from the seed left by Jesus himself when he founded
the Church under the care of St. Peter. (Matthew 16:18-19).
However, with the growth of the Church, even with the fact that
Jesus promised to be with it and us to the end of time, man's
tendency to organise made the structures which supported it
resemble the bureaucracy of civil life. It became a hierarchic
system although an alternative title of the Pope is, as Jesus was,
the servant of the servants of God.
After Vatican II things began to change when it was perceived
that, with the increasing shortage of clergy, standing behind or
below them was 'the ;laity'. Even the devoted sisters whose help
in spreading the Kingdom had been so taken for granted were no
longer choosing to serve God from the cloisters. In a recent
quotation Cardinal Keith O'Brien referred to '. . .those
challenging words of the late Pope John Paul II to the lay
faithful: 'You have an exalted vocation and there are many and
varied forms of mission open to you.' '
In the mid-nineties bishops worldwide began to think of how they
were going to fill the gaps since it was becoming obvious that the
spreading of the Word could not be undertaken solely by the
diminishing number of priests available, particularly in the
Western World. Collaborative Ministry appeared to be the solution
but how to put it into effect?
In our diocese the first move was to do away with the idea of
'Deaneries'. Most parishioners, who had received very little
further formation or education in their faith since they left
school, or indeed virtually none if they had not attended Catholic
schools, had little or no idea of what a Deanery might be, even if
they knew that Deaneries existed.
A Deanery could be described as a grouping of parishes within the
Diocese set up to give the priests within a chance to exercise
mutual support and to give them the opportunity to plan and
implement diocesan decisions regarding the administration and
running of the churches in their Deanery. Parish Councils were
set up to help the priest in day-to-day matters, although these
councils were often in the hands of very few parishioners for long
periods. This was not because they wanted power so much as the
reluctance of other people to take over their duties.
Springing from the vision for the future of our Bishop Crispian
Hollis, great plans were made in our diocese to re-organise
administrative structures. There were meetings in the Churches
with discussions, forms to be filled etc and eventually Larger
Pastoral Areas - instead of mere parishes - were set up. These
grouped several small parishes together as the number of priests
required to serve the people was reduced. At the birth of the new
system there were seven parishes in our Deanery, a priest in
charge of each parish and several retired priests. This made it
possible for our churches to continue more or less in the way most
parishioners were used to.
We are now in the position where three of these parishes have
joined other groupings [
Pastoral Areas in the Diocese
]. Our own Pastoral Area now consists of
Brockenhurst, Lymington,
Milford
and New Milton. We are served by two parish priests - Father Jamie
McGrath and Father Gerrit Vervenne.
At present our grouping is known as New Forest Pastoral Area and
may well at some point revert to becoming once more 'a parish' -
but much larger and ministered to by only one priest. It is still
fluid in form and looked after by the New Forest Leadership Team.
At the moment representatives are drawn from each of the four
towns/villages. It is hoped that when everything settles down
regular reports will be available on this web site so that people
in the whole area will be aware of what is going on. This should
happen fairly shortly, but in the meantime, for all our sakes,
prayers to our dear Lord from all of us in our local
New Forest
churches for the plan’s
success are truly necessary.
As the months and years go by Church numbers continue to dwindle,
many in this retirement area due to death or people moving away to
be nearer their children. The high cost of housing prohibits many
younger families from moving, although it has to be pointed out
that local schools are full. . .
If our churches are to continue in existence the laity must take
more responsibility to ensure that the light of faith is passed on
to up-coming generations and to the world at large. It is no
longer enough to leave everything on the shoulders of our priests
who are also getting older.
We need something to wake us up to the whole point of our lives
and merely turning up at Mass on a Sunday does not give us an
automatic ticket to Heaven. This regrouping is an effort to move
forward into the light and we cannot just sit back passively.
Opportunities to extend our understanding of the faith we have
inherited are offered throughout the diocese but many people find
driving to the venue for these meetings too taxing, particularly
on dark evenings. When a course or a chance to spend time
expanding our knowledge and appreciation of our Faith is offered
locally, we must take it. At a time in the world's history when
darkness is increasing we must renew the light of our Faith for
the sake the world.
God, help us!
Amen.
The next meeting of the Leadership Pastoral Team will be at
Lymington on 25th June at 7.00 pm. Minutes of the last meeting
(13th May) will appear in time for people to have read them before
the Meeting. There will be a few copies available on paper for any
who might have had a problem downloading or forgotten to bring
their copies.
I am sorry to say
there is no agenda for the June meeting, but Fr. Jamie tells me it
is going to a be a 'brainstorming' evening and says in an email:
'No agenda. I will introduce the "brain storming" session, so bring
your brain'
Editor
Interesting
thoughts on our present political situation, especially in view of
the imminent voting for a new Speaker in the Common. [
Click here
]
Double
Celebration at Our Lady of Lourdes' Church in New Milton
The 17th June marked
the Silver Jubilee of Mike's Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate
and the people of Our Lady of Lourdes' Church in New Milton will be
celebrating the occasion at a joint Mass and Party on 24th June when
Bishop Crispian will be with the parishioners' and their much-loved
pastors, Father Gerrit Vervenne and Rev. Mike Deacon. On 27th
June it will be the 40th Anniversary of Father Vervenne's Ordination
to the Priesthood. Parishioners of Milford have also been invited
to share in the Ruby and Silver Jubilee party. They will be
celebrating in September in Milford to mark the 10th Anniversary of
Father Vervenne's arrival to rescue the Church of St Francis of
Assisi who had been left without a priest after Father Dunne retired
in 1999. Our Lady of Lourdes people now look forward in their turn
to sharing in those celebrations in Milford.
Father Vervenne's
arrival meant many changes at St. Francis - for a start all the
Milford Catholics finally discovered who each other were - since
each group had previously stuck to their chosen Mass timings and
many had no idea who their fellow Catholics in Milford were! The
Church itself was refurbished and turned into a warm, attractive and
welcoming environment where the parishioners became more relaxed,
all of which fitted very well into the increasingly ecumenical
grouping of the Churches of Milford.
Certainly the members
of both churches get along well together when they meet socially and
all are grateful to have been given such devoted men to look after
their spiritual welfare.
From period to end of
April 2009
The new site is
now up and running but still at a very early stage - It takes time
to get these things really at home on the internet. However, using
the links on the left will help you familiarise yourself with the
system. Members of the Leadership Team will have received by email
further information as it becomes available before putting it on
this site for general view, as earlier than that point most
communication will be in draft form. There will, however, be no
subsequent blacking out!* Sic:
................ sic!
*(Readers of the Parliament website will know what this means.)
The
original site has had to be shelved for various reasons, some
technical and others because of the recent changes to the New Forest
grouping in the Portsmouth Diocese. The diocesan web is also under
reconstruction. The virtual contents of the original site are held
in Milford-on-Sea and the hard copy will be lodged at the Church of
Our Lady of Lourdes in New Milton.
Your
webmaster is very sorry that the old site has been wiped. This one
will be much simpler because the Pastoral Area is already shrinking
and will eventually revert to the name 'Parish', albeit for a much
bigger area than formerly. This is, of course, due to the acute
shortage of priests in this country, and indeed in Western Europe as
a whole.
Many
existing parishioners are reluctant to accept that there are major
changes in the pipeline. Most go to Mass on Sundays, regularly or
occasionally, and appear to be under the illusion that things are
pretty much the same as they have always been. Maybe they do notice
there is only one Mass on Sunday and the time may be inconvenient.
They notice the priests are getting older - '...and we are too',
they think.
But
just like the words of the Bob Dylan song,
'The times they are a-changing'
