The canons (Ecclesiastical law) directs that we do the Annual Meeting of Parishioners from 1st January to 31st May. This meeting is supposed to be a joint meeting made up of those who have their names on the electoral roll of the parish, including individuals who are residents in the parish whose names appear on the local government register of electors. The purpose of this meeting is to elect Churchwardens. This meeting is followed by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), which is the meeting that elects PCC members and other agenda.
It is important to note that we must adhere to meeting all the legalities before these meetings because they are mandatory.
We are in a period where the church will need as many people as possible to take on specific roles in the church. Suppose you have gifts and expertise that will help in the spiritual growth and development of the church. In that case, God is calling you to present yourselves as Churchwardens, PCC Member, a deanery synod representative or for other Parish Church roles. Whatever God-given gift we have is to help develop and edify the body of Christ. Let us encourage each other, and also feel free to approach individuals we believe have gifts that can enhance the church’s work to present themselves for these roles.1 Peter 4:10 admonishes us, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: “
There is always a first time, but don’t worry and be assured of the help of the very experienced individuals in the parish who are ready to help you serve in whatever role you feel called into.
May God speak to all of us and move us to play our part in the growth and development of the body of Christ through the stirring up of the gifts of God in us.
Fr. Josiah
Other News
Please be informed that our Annual Meeting of Parishioners and APCM is scheduled to take place on 19th May, and as part of the processes leading to that, there will be revision of the Church’s Electoral Roll by the PCC. Please let them know if any names should be taken out and or take a form from Greta if you want your name on the electoral Roll.
The giving envelopes are ready so please speak to Nicholas or Julie for your pack.
We are planning a BBQ next week Sunday after Mass to give us the opportunity to socialise, so please come prepared.
We will need some donations for the Foodbank in the coming days. Your support will be appreciated.
Nomination Forms for election as Churchwarden of the Parish is ready. Please see the PCC Secretary Jackie for a form.
We need volunteers for the Boys’ Brigade, gentlemen and ladies are welcome. We planning on Launching in September and we need to get volunteers by end of April.
It is always joyful to come together as a church and sing hymns at the same pitch or, if you like, in unison. Most of us sing in our homes when we are with family and friends and sometimes when we are alone. When we pray, we sometimes sing to uplift our spirits.
Most of the time, singing in public is seen as the job of the professionals, but when we meet as a church, we all sing together, even when we have professionals leading. We currently do not have professional singers leading in the singing during worship; nevertheless, we have been blessed with individuals who have beautiful voices, which we all enjoy whenever we sing together in Church.
On page 43 of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, “Life Together”, he asks the question, “Why do Christians sing when they are together?” and the answer is inspiring: “The reason is, quite simply, because in singing together it is possible for them to speak and pray the same Word at the same time; in other words, because here they can unite in the Word.” Singing together unites us in worship and prayer, making us stay focused and devoid of interruptions.
A church that sings together is always edified because the presence of God is continuously manifested when we sing praises and hymns to him. In Ephesians 5:19, we are told, “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,”. Let us all sing together and praise the name of the LORD with all our hearts and voices.
Other News
Please be informed that our Annual Meeting of Parishioners and APCM is scheduled to take place on 19th May, and as part of the processes leading to that, there will be revision of the Church’s Electoral Roll by the PCC. Please let them know if any names should be taken out and or take a form from Greta if you want your name on the electoral Roll.
The giving envelopes are ready so please speak to Nicholas or Julie for your pack.
Five members of St. Anselm’s are going to be confirmed by Bishop Jonathan in St. Andrew’s in Holborn on Wednesday at 7pm. For more details speak to Fr. Josiah.
We need volunteers for the Boys’ Brigade, gentlemen and ladies are welcome. We planning on Launching in September and we need to get volunteers by end of April.
We are moving into a new chapter in the life of St Anselm’s Church, where a new vicar will be appointed to replace our current vacancy. It is a period of reflection and prayer for the parish and the new Vicar to be appointed. You may ask why a replacement should not be made now. We must know that we go through an interregnum, which simply means ‘vacancy between leaders’. It is so because there should always be a gap, which is excellent for planning, prayer, reflection, and preparation before a new appointment is made. Currently, the PCC will be very busy having mandatory meetings to set the ball rolling for the appointment. One thing is obvious: the process can only begin when the current Vicar has left.
At this point in the life of St. Anselm, we should do so because change is a part of human life. Sometimes, it brings a lot of anxiety, mixed feelings, and even fear. We must not allow the change that may come to St. Anselm to scare us, but know that God brings this change to bring personal and holistic development, new opportunities, growth, and increase in our ability to adapt, learn new things, and helps us become united more than ever. We must be ready to embrace the new things that God will bring to us. Jennifer Lynn Hatmaker, an American writer, puts it this way, “God does not change, but He uses change – to change us. He sends us on journeys that bring us to the end of ourselves. We often feel out of control, yet if we embrace His leading, we may find ourselves on the ride of our lives.” Let us wait patiently on the Lord; let us be still and know that He is God.
Other News
Our weekday Masses, Evening Prayer begins on Monday and Thursday Fun and Fellowship (TFF) continues this Thursday so please take note.
The giving envelopes are ready so please speak to Nicholas or Julie to get your pack.
Fr. Matthew, Catherine and Edmund express their sincere thanks to all of us for the love and support shown to them.
Please note that the Licensing and Institution of Fr. Matthew Cashmore is on Tuesday 9th April at 7pm. Poster is on the Notice Board.
We need volunteers for the Boys’ Brigade, gentlemen and ladies are welcome.
There is no Sunday School this Sunday because of the PCC Meeting. We will resume next week Sunday.
Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday are essential periods in the ecclesiastical calendar that we all look forward to. We have been fasting for some weeks with sober reflections, acts of penance, prayers, and almsgiving.
Palm Sunday is with us now, where the triumphal entry of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is re-enacted through the procession of palms. This event is recorded in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. People waving palm branches and shouting ‘hoshi’ana’ (Save Please) as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord is the first day of Holy Week, and it teaches us how important it is for all of us to welcome Jesus into our lives and always follow him.
Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday and other names, is when Jesus Christ washed his disciples’ feet and the institution of the Holy Eucharist, also called the Last Supper. This is a significant day in the life of the church. The Latin word ‘mandatum’ means commandment because, on this day, Jesus said to his disciples in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
Maundy Thursday is followed by Good Friday, the day our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified and died for all our sins. This day is a very solemn day and momentous day for all Christians because since Jesus was crucified, the message of the cross has been propagated throughout the world. The cross signifies man’s salvation, and it is only through it that hope is assured.
Holy Saturday is also known as Great Saturday; this is the day that the Paschal Lamb is blessed, the day of lights, and the day that the Gloria we have missed for some time is sung with bells tolling. This is the last day of the Holy Week. On this day, we wait for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Easter vigil service is celebrated. The vigil leads us to the climax, where Jesus Christ’s resurrection occurs.
This Easter will be unique as we thank God for the ministry of Fr. Matthew Cashmore, Catherine, and Edmund. They continue with the work of God in a new parish.
Other News
Chrism Mass is on Holy Tuesday, 26th March at 11am, St. Andrews, Holborn. Poster on the Notice Board.
We will do a little get together party in honour of Fr. Matthew, Catherine and Edmund as they move to their new parish on Easter Sunday. So, we are humbly encouraged to bring something to share with them.
If you want to be baptised or know someone who want to be baptised on Easter Sunday, please see Fr Josiah for a baptism form.
Please support us with donations for Easter Flowers
Services for Palm Sunday and Holy Week:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week – 3pm, Stations of the Cross, 7pm Confessions and 7:30pm High Mass.
28th – Maundy Thursday – 8pm High Mass of the Lord’s Supper with Washing of feet.
29th – Good Friday – 3pm Liturgy of the Passion with Veneration of the Cross
31st – Easter Sunday, Easter Mass with Procession – 10am
In the notices, we will realize that on the 24th of March (Palm Sunday), all the young people in St. Anselm and Sunday School teachers will work together to build the Easter Garden for us immediately after mass. It is important to note that last year, it was so exciting to see them share ideas to make the Garden beautiful, with interesting creative ideas coming from everyone. When we try to present the resurrection scene with kids, it becomes a privilege and an opportunity for them to be innovative and to picture the resurrection scene, which will linger in their minds for a long time.
If you do not know what the Easter Garden is about, I will encourage you to join them after mass on Palm Sunday. I bet there will be a lot to learn from them. Making the Easter Garden, apart from being exciting, is a Christian tradition that allows us to depict and retell the Easter story creatively. You may wonder what you will see at the Easter Garden. The Easter Garden always have the tomb, hill, cross, rock and all the wonderful flowers and grass that make it so beautiful and full of life.
A reflection on the Easter Garden brings a lot of scenes together and moves us to meditate on the start of the passion through Holy Week and, ultimately, the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Easter Garden is about hope and encouragement that even if things become complex or challenging, Jesus Christ will come to rescue us. It is a call to all of us to encourage all the kids to see this as an avenue to do the little they can for the church of God.
Other News
We will do a little get together party in honour of Fr. Matthew, Catherine and Edmund as they move to their new parish on Easter Sunday. So, we are humbly encouraged to bring something to share with them.
If you want to be baptized or know someone who want to be baptized on Easter Sunday, please see Fr Josiah for a baptism form.
Please support us with donations for Easter Flowers
Services for Palm Sunday and Holy Week:
24th March – Palm Sunday – 10am, The Children will be building the Easter Garden after Mass.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week – 3pm, Stations of the Cross, 7pm Confessions and 7:30pm High Mass.
28th – Maundy Thursday – 8pm High Mass of the Lord’s Supper with Washing of feet.
29th – Good Friday – 3pm Liturgy of the Passion with Veneration of the Cross
31st – Easter Sunday, Easter Mass with Procession – 10am
In our seminary years, one of the spiritual exercises we were constantly encouraged to do was a series of silent prayers and recollections. This was a discipline that all seminarians must master to build the habit of being still before the Lord, and we had the opportunity to do this at least once every week. In the initial stages, we had difficulty being still and being alone with God, but today, we appreciate how being still before God has helped and continues to shape our Christian and priestly life.
Mother Theresa tells us the importance and benefits of being alone with God, and she puts it this way, “We need silence to be alone with God, to speak to him, to listen to him, to ponder his words deep in our hearts. We must be alone with God in silence to be renewed and transformed. Silence gives us a new outlook on life. In it, we are filled with the energy of God himself that makes us do all things with joy.”
Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had to withdraw and spend time alone, praying or meditating. In Matthew 6:6, he said that when we pray, we must go into our rooms, shut the door, and pray in secret and that our Father who sees in secret will reward us. Jesus did the same: “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” (Luke 5:16)
Alone with God is spending time with God, having a chat, telling him your fears, joys, and challenges, thanking him, asking him what he expects from you, etc., without interruptions from the outside world. To know God and know him better, we must spend uninterrupted time with him, reading His Word, speaking, and listening.
Other News
Our gas & electric bill for December and January was over £2500. If you could make an additional one-off donation towards these costs we really need it. We have struggled to pay our bills this quarter, please do dig deep.
Please consider moving your donations to the Parish Giving Scheme. It automatically claims the Gift Aid for us adding an additional 25% to any money you give. You can set it up by calling 0333 002 1271 and quoting our parish reference 230 623 503. Other ways to donate can be found at stanselm.matthewcashmore.com/giving
Please check if you have a Christmas Card on the table at the back of church, because the table will be moved after Mass.
If we cannot cover our bills we could be in very serious trouble.
The Torfaen Male Voice Choir will be with us for another concert on the 9th March. This is a great fundraiser for us – we raised over £500 the last two times they came. Save the date, tickets available soon. Tell everyone!
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the final one:
“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.”
Ecclesiastes 7:14
It was with enormous trepidation that we entered into lockdown last March and I was forced to undertake what only 48 hours before had been unthinkable: to close the church to public worship indefinitely. Yet, even in those fearful and uncertain early days, the words of the Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes gave me hope. For so long we in the West have felt unnaturally secure in the world – masters of science and technology, in full control of nature and all within it. We had made ourselves into gods, even to the extent of accruing to ourselves the power of life and death. Yet now, suddenly, we were at the mercy of an unseen enemy with no cure and an exponentially rising death rate. The true powerlessness of man had been exposed, and in that I could see an opportunity to speak truth and comfort into this situation. How many times in the history of salvation has God humbled the pride of man, not out of spite, but out of love, in order to remind us that it is in him we find the source of life, hope and salvation? Jesus challenges us, asking, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36.
These thoughts characterised my own Christian response to the pandemic and how I sought to communicate that to others in my care. Immediately, along with thousands of churches across the country, we began livestreaming Mass online in order that, although tragically cut off from the sacraments, our people were still able to hear the word of God preached and gain a much-needed wider perspective on the events we were all living through. As the days and weeks progressed, our proficiency in this area increased, as we acquired better cameras and sound equipment, and the introduction of online singing improved the experience of worship.
In addition to online worship, our youth worker, Jordan, produced a series of interactive videos encouraging young people to take part in seasonal craft activities, and along with Fr Edward produced educational videos for use in school once the children had begun to go back. These included a tour of the church, explaining its various contents and features and how they relate to the worshipping life of the community. We also produced a video dedicated to explaining the Mass, its various parts and what they mean. These were accompanied by quiz sheets to help the children remember what they had learnt, and it’s our hope that this approach has kept them familiar with the building over was has been a long absence. We’ll see how much they remember when confirmation classes start in September!
Christmas 2020 was a particular high-point in the past year. Realising we couldn’t have our usual family Christingle Service in church, we had an outdoor family Carol Service in the churchyard, which brought over 150 people together at a time of great uncertainty and disappointment and brought the good news of Jesus’s birth to many in the parish who would otherwise not have heard it, since no other church in the town was open at all. Afterwards I was overwhelmed with the number of people who so clearly appreciated what we’d done, and the video we put together of the event quickly received several thousand views across the local area.
It has been hugely encouraging to see new people continue to join the church family over the course of these past difficult months. Since the beginning of lockdown last March we have eight new members of the congregation, with three confirmations in May and more to follow in November. It is astonishing to think that only now are they beginning to see what a ‘normal’ Mass looks like, with the resumption of singing and refreshments after Mass, allowing them to develop personal relationships with other members of the congregation. It was also important for me, personally, as a priest, to get back to the basics of what I was ordained to do. I must admit that the sense of purpose with which we began the pandemic, to which I alluded to above, began to give way somewhat to a sense of drift and lack of purpose, particularly with further restrictions imposed in January 2021. But to be able to sit down with confirmation candidates, none of whom had been to church before they started coming to St John’s, and teaching them about God, the relationship he wants to have with us, and the reconciliation we can have with him through faith in Jesus Christ in the family of the Church was a tonic to my soul. It was a great pleasure and a very happy occasion when Bishop Glyn visited the parish to conduct those confirmations on a glorious Sunday in May. It not only encouraged me, but gave a great lift to everyone, and renewed our determination to continue the work of the gospel unimpeded once the time comes fully.
I am sure that the small things God has done here in Mexborough against such a difficult backdrop were only possible because of our determination as a parish to cultivate an atmosphere of calm and perspective, reminding ourselves of our Easter faith, and taking sensible precautions that created a safe environment while avoiding creating panic – something which has sadly happened in all too many parishes, which as a result are now finding it difficult to transition to normality.
Nonetheless, we are looking forward to the future, particularly as we prepare to welcome our new Children and Families Worker, who will be instrumental in helping us to reach out to new people, relaunch some of the activities that were suspended, and discover new ways to reach those we have sometimes struggled to connect with. We are immensely grateful to ACS for their continued support for St John’s at a time of financial strain, and we ask for the prayers of all who read this that our parish may grow in number and in spirit as we go forward in faith.
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the third:
The support of the Additional Curates’ Society for an Assistant Curate in All Saints’, Monks Road, Lincoln has been a tremendous boost to the whole Church here- as well as the Vicar! All Saints is a fine Edwardian Church, close to the city centre but in its second most deprived area. Streets of terraced houses, multiple occupancy, ethnically very diverse, high levels of living on benefits and amidst it all and not atypically a beleaguered Anglo-Catholic Church. Since the departure of the last resident Vicar for just All Saints in 1993 the Church has been variously amalgamated with another parish, grouped into a federation which was then dissolved and then in a three year vacancy. After 1993 it did have Resolutions A & B in place- until one Vicar and his wife by their votes made up a majority to rescind them. After that only the valiant determination of the churchwardens and other key laity meant it was able to maintain a traditionalist stance over priestly ministry. But it was all far from easy and took its toll. Attendance at the Sung Mass often struggled to reach double figures. It could have been closed or handed over to the HTB Resource Church. To its great credit however the Diocese of Lincoln took the decision that to honour the Women Bishops Settlement of 2014, it was only right that the Cathedral City should have one traditionalist parish and that the church best suited was All Saints. The former Vicarage the previous incumbent had declined to live in was re-purchased and a Society Priest put in as Vicar!
A Vicar notwithstanding, a “Populous Parish” of over 7,000 with a massive work of rebuilding and mission before him, an Assistant Curate was more than a blessing. In 2020 Fr Ross Copley came to the parish to be ordained as soon as was allowed. An ACS grant to assist him and his work was a wonderful gift. We would have struggled financially without it! Despite Covid-19, and in some ways because of it, Fr Ross has been invaluable to me and the whole church community. Fr Ross will describe some of this work himself.
Beginning ministry was always going to be an adjustment, even from the cloisters of St Stephen’s House, moving into parish life was going to something very different. The pandemic supercharged this adjustment in ways I’d never imagined including a three-month delay to my ordination to the diaconate, a reduced liturgical role and opportunities to visit and meet with parishioners both in-and-out of church. Despite this, I have been keen to be involved in a variety of parochial projects and missional/pastoral opportunities.
In November I joined the Chaplaincy Team of Bishop Grosseteste University and although having being very infrequently on-campus, I have been able to connect with students and staff through various online sessions and be there as a reassuring face and support. I have really enjoyed seeing the chaplaincy side of ministry and its opportunities to be alongside others and to meet them where they are, especially as so few in a university setting would describe themselves as Christians.
Zoom has become a ubiquitous activity in a pandemic year – to this end, I planned and delivered, alongside Fr Paul and Fr Peter Green, a Lent course focussing on the role of St Joseph in scripture and by tradition. Having an online Lent course meant there was three times as much engagement from the faithful than an in-person session had been in previous years.
Given the absence of young people in our worshipping community, I’ve worked to establish a new young adults’ group Frassati & Goretti, undertaking a virtual trek of the Camino de Santiago to raise funds for its activities, securing £400 of sponsorship. There will be a monthly event from October and will aim to give an opportunity for discussion and discipleship, as well as grow the parish presence amongst students at both universities.
Since June 2021 the parish has partnered with another local church to support ten families from our local school with a bi-weekly food parcel and children’s craft pack. Serve thy neighbour has been particularly wonderful because it has allowed me walk the parish, chat with the families and to get to know the children, who are always excited to tell us about their week. Every pack is accompanied with a reminder of the next delivery, and more importantly a gentle nudge that Fr Paul and I are available for a chat, should they ever need to. This type of engagement was one of the key reasons I was so excited to be serving my Title at All Saints, as a parish of significant deprivation, I have been reminded of the work of the ritualist Fathers who not only worked to alleviate poverty and desperation, but also bring the faith and be amongst those in the community.
Finally, I was asked by the Diocesan Director of Ordinands to be a Young Vocations advocate and have been meeting online with the Ministry Team at Church House to discuss and learn how we could be growing lay and ordained vocations. This has been a real help in getting to know a diocese which was new to me and to make connections for good collegial relationships.
My first year in curacy has been a very mixed bag in terms of experience. We have very few opportunities for pastoral offices, so I have been glad to get some experience by covering other parishes, especially baptisms. I hope this has highlighted the foundations which we as a congregation have been developing this past year, and that my participation has in some way been a confidence boost to the church community. I am so privileged to serve the parish of All Saints and I am thankful for the support that the ACS has given, which has enabled me to flourish in my first year of ministry.
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the second:
I am Father Jay Hewitt and I am serving my titles’ curacy in the Benefice of Central Barnsley which incorporates four parishes with five churches which range in tradition from Anglo- Catholic to Charismatic Evangelical. The context in which I minister is therefore, one of variety and incredibly diverse. The town of Barnsley is a community of extremes in which you will see absolute wealth side by side with absolute poverty and this is reflected in the ministry of the Benefice, from all the Civic services involving the local elite to ministry to the homeless and those suffering with addiction or who are on the fringes of the local society.
There are a number of contexts within the boundaries of the various parishes in which I have ministered and become involved. These include the local the hospital, Care Homes, Hospice and the local Church of England School in which I sit on the governing body. Before the pandemic, I would lead Collective Worship and serve as Deacon at the celebration of Mass once a month.
The main town church, St Mary’s, is both at the heart of the town and our benefice and is open daily for private and public worship, which includes Morning Prayer, Mass & Evening Prayer. St Mary’s is also the place in which one will interact with and minister to the homeless and those caught in addiction who often sleep and seek shelter in the Church Porch. This can indeed be challenging at times, due to the cleaning up required sometimes with only minutes before an act of worship is due to take place.
The local food bank is also managed from one of our Churches: Saint George’s and is run via a mixture of local and parish volunteers. I have taken advantage of several opportunities in assisting in this ministry.
Some of the most profound moments in my priestly ministry will occur in the street or when a stranger knocks on the Vicarage door looking for a blessing or pastoral advice, in these moments I have realised, in most cases it is best to simply listen and not talk too much.
I have, since the arriving in the parish, hosted a small Bible study group which has enabled both new and old parishioners to grow and engage with the catholic faith. One of the greatest fruits of this particular ministry has been to see parishioners forming stronger bonds of friendship and community with one another as well as a visible increase in personal piety and devotion.
To be a priest in any context is challenging in this day and age but can be particularly so in such a busy and varied context as Barnsley, in which you have to be reflexive and adaptable in order to minister to so many needs. This can indeed be exhausting, but I find great strength in the privilege and beauty of celebrating the Holy Mass, be that in a simple manner at our Evangelical Parish or in the fullness of Catholic tradition at St Mary’s. Regardless, it is always beautiful and dignified. The Joy of being a Priest is also mingled with sorrow as you accompany God’s people through their life from baptism to the grave and I have often found myself reflecting on mortality as I have watched the sick and dying and ministered to them at their bedside.
I feel in all serenity that all I have experienced and what I have yet to for the remainder of time here, will have me prepared and grounded to continue serving God’s people and His Church for the rest of public ministry and beyond.
During Lent we are raising money for the Additional Curates Society. You can collect a box from church and bring the box in after Easter, or you can give online via https://additionalcurates.co.uk/support-us/
Each week I’ll be sending you the story of a Priest who was supported by the Society and what it means to the parishes involved. Here’s the first:
It is now almost two years since my Induction as Rector, and of course as many are aware, after less than only five months in post we were plunged into our first lockdown. We all recall how difficult it was to maintain any semblance of normality in parish life.
Our first response was to live stream Masses from an improvised chapel within the Rectory, and along with Stations of the Cross using posters on-line, we were able to assist many to continue with their spiritual journey even in isolation. Apart from the streamed Mass, we used our Musical Directors immediate family in lock down to provide music from their own home and often from a large cave on the beach in Ramsgate. The combination of Mass and superb four-part harmony Church music with the amazing acoustics of the cave soon saw our viewing figures top 2,000 week by week. This was an incredible outreach ministry with many viewers coming from my former parishes in the USA, but across our parish and far beyond.
I felt that it was vital to let the wider parish know we were still very much in business for pastoral care and Funeral ministry, and to that end I personally contacted all the local Funeral directors and offered my services to the bereaved, even though we could only have very small gatherings at the Crematorium. This ministry has cemented many new relationships with people who ordinarily would not have contact with our Church.
As the pandemic saw a little more relaxation of rules, we returned to the Church for livestreamed worship and our numbers continued to grow, and the emails we received were very encouraging. Even our Church School link was further enhanced by the regular weekly steaming of Collective Worship following the Diocesan plan of special themes, and again to our great surprise, we have had as many adults as possible watching week by week and giving us very positive feedback on what was essentially some basic Christian teaching. This has all served to remind us that even in tribulation the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always Good News!
We have also had the good news of two adults both new to our Church Confirmed by Bishop Norman, and we are just beginning a second Confirmation course, with many older and long-time members of the congregation doing the course as a “refresher course” there is a keenness to go ever deeper into their faith.
We have also tried very hard to make our faith practical during this difficult time, and a few our members have engaged with the local food bank, especially at a time when many families were desperate for basic groceries. The last eighteen months have highlighted for us that what we do within the Church building is to equip us for mission and service, we are reminded that at the end of every Mass we are sent out to be Christ to others. As parish priest I have become aware of just how vital this is for us all to remember, and I was deeply moved to hear a parishioner say in response to our restricted outreach during the worst of the pandemic, that “A Church that lives to itself will die to itself” and that I pray we have not done!
It is with the continued and much valued assistance from ACS that our daily work of prayer, worship and outreach continues in a relatively understated manner, with a small but very faithful group of people who make a great effort to attend Sunday Mass, serve at the altar and sing n the choir, not to mention look to us for inspiration and encouragement to live out their own active apostolate.
