Dear friends,
(Fr Richard remains on retreat until this evening – in consequence of which there will be no public Morning Prayer today. A reminder also that the parquet flooring in church is being sanded and resealed this week, which may impact access to the building today and tomorrow: please take care, and follow any instructions given.)
Greetings from Ampleforth Abbey, in north Yorkshire! Since 1802, the Abbey has been home to a community of Benedictine monks (now 39 in number) – who also serve three parishes across the north of England, and founded a daughter house in Zimbabwe, in 1996. The monks live a life in which they are called to ora and labora (prayer and work), and likewise welcome several thousand guests a year – to spend a day or longer in the peace and tranquillity of the monastery surroundings.
This weekend will be the final opportunity to contribute to August’s appeal in aid of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF): please complete a Gift Aid Declaration, and place with your donation into the basket at the back of church.
This week coming, the kalendar is populated by a host of English saints – reminding us, as does the community at Ampleforth – that ours is a land of prayer and Christian faith, and – of course – Our Lady’s Dowry. On Monday next week, as a large group of us make our way to Walsingham for the annual Pilgrimage for Healing and Renewal, the Church celebrates St Aidan – a missionary bishop and monk of Iona, who (in the seventh century) established the famous monastery on Lindisfarne, as a base for the evangelisation of the kingdom of Northumbria. On Thursday, we will commemorate St Gregory the Great – who sent St Augustine of Canterbury to this land in 596, at the beginning of the English Mission. And on Friday, we rejoice in the prayers of St Cuthbert, also a prior and bishop of Lindisfarne – whose relics are enshrined in Durham Cathedral. Let further saints of England be added to their number, in this our day!
Those coming to Walsingham should gather in church on Monday no later than 7.15am, and bring a packed lunch – or purchase one en route, or in the village. Although seating is provided for the Mass, it may be helpful also to bring a camping stool, or a picnic blanket.
All are welcome to the funeral of the late Phil Edwards, in church on Thursday next week, 3 September, at 11am.
Please continue to invite family and friends to join us for our Macmillan Coffee Morning, in the Hall on Saturday, 12 September (11am-4pm) – fliers available in church. Please let Denise know if you can contribute a cake: help will also be required to set up the Hall, on Friday 11 at 6pm.
We will celebrate our Patronal Festival (in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham) on Sunday, 27 September – when our guest preacher and principal celebrant will be the Rt Rev’d Tony Robinson, Emeritus Bishop of Wakefield. This Mass will include Sprinkling with Walsingham well water, and will be followed by a bring-and-share parish lunch in the Hall: please likewise let Denise know what you can bring, to share. (There will be a very brief planning meeting to discuss this parish lunch, next week after Mass, on Sunday, 6 September.)
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God,
Fr Richard