ARCHIVES
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'
