THE
P RTAL
August 2017
little homily. Numbers are going up
all round, Sundays and weekdays.”
Terrance admitted he was unsure
about the many changes, “What I
needed to remember”, he said, “Was
– as Anne said – this is the Catholic
Church I grew up in!”
The silence prior to
Mass is being restored,
people are asked not
to talk. Anne reflected
that when she was a
child, there was silence
before Mass, no one
talked. Jackie returned
from photographer duty
and joined with the
interview.
Page 13
presence in their parish. After saying
goodbye to these lovely people, we
made our way to the Presbytery for
lunch with the Woolnoughs.
Fr Jeff told us, “We have put the
“M” in mission and made it more
Deacon Richard Cerson & Fr Jeff Woolnough obvious. That has changed things a
lot. We are also assisted
by Fr Michael Halsall, Fr
Bob White and Deacon
Richard Cerson. It is a
good team.
The
Ordinariate
group here has been
moved about a bit.
But we are settled for
now. It is important that the
Ordinariate people feel part of
the wider Catholic Church. We
have the Ordinariate Rite at Mass
on Tuesday evening and a lot of
parishioners like it.
Finlay, Megan and Lewis
They thought that after Vatican
II the church tried to be “trendy”.
Benediction and Reconciliation
were pushed back. Before then,
we had a Catholic upbringing
and education. Benediction and
Reconciliation were a normal part
of being Catholic.
Then it all changed. Fr Jeff has brought
back Benediction and Reconciliation as
well. The Angelus has been re-introduced
and the Regina Coeli in Eastertide.
We have about twenty fi ve to thirty
Julie and Fr Jeff Woolnough five people at Mass every day: six
hundred over the week. Numbers
are up all round, about 35%.
Teaching is very important here now.
They had just ended a four week course Helen Leonard
about Our Lady, and Bible study is a regular
feature of life at St Peter’s. “We do not try
to ‘dress up’ the faith. Now we tell it as it is”,
volunteered Margaret. They all agreed that
the repertoire of hymns is much expanded.
The people at St Peter’s were concerned
about ignorance of the Ordinariate in the
Catholic Church. They had discovered that,
in general, Ordinariate lay people know Leonore Burden
more about the Catholic faith than most
Diocesan Catholics!
The group we interviewed thought that,
after six years or so of the Ordinariate,
there ought to be more support for it
from the wider Catholic Church.
These lay folk were fully in favour
of the Ordinariate and thrilled at its Madge and Sid Woolnough
Tea and coffee after Mass is important.
There are a lot of lonely people about, so
social events are equally important. I try
to get into the wider community here. I am
chaplain to the Knights of Saint Columba in
Southend and clerical chaplain at St Thomas
More School. I love that! Also, I am in
Southend University Hospital all the time!
This may not be the typical Ordinariate,
or maybe it is, or perhaps ought to be?
Whatever the truth of that, what is certain is
that the Ordinariate is serving this particular
parish very well.
What is equally certain, is that the
Diocesan Catholics of St Peter’s
Eastwood know a great deal about the
Ordinariate, and what they see, they
like. The Ordinariate here is obviously
doing a very good job.
Thank you Fr Jeff, Julie, and the people
of St Peter’s, not forgetting Ordinariate
member Beverley Cooper, whose idea
this visit was.