THE
P RTAL
December 2015
Joanna Bogle says Who wants them?
As you
get older, clichés become more irritating. “Oooh,
children today don’t know anything about Christianity. Have
you heard about the child who …said that Christmas marked the
annual birthday of Santa Claus?” … asked in a jeweller’s shop why
the cross had a little man on it?” … thought the name Jesus was
just a swear-word?”
Auntie Jo a n
Ditch the clichés
Page 4
na
Liverpool,
Yorkshire and
Somerset taking
part. The project involves inviting pupils to copy out
the Lord’s Prayer in good handwriting and decorate
it, and to answer some simple questions to set it in
context and show some understanding of it.
wri tes
Want to know more? Contact me at auntiejoanna@
portalmag.co.uk
What is LOGS up to?
Yes, I’ve heard all about them and I don’t mind
the stories being repeated – (the jeweller’s shop one
crops up again and again; can there really be that
many children asking that question?) - so much as I
mind the shrugged shoulders, the “Oh, well, it’s the
times we live in...” that follows. Then the clichés: “You
can’t do anything about it, really.” “Well, when I was
young we were taught all about that at school”. And,
among Catholics, “If you ask me, it’s all the fault of the
Bishops.”
I once attended a talk on improving communication
– not because I particularly wanted to do so, but
because I was covering it for a newspaper. A lot of it
was rather silly, or too obvious to bear repeating, but
one thing stayed in my mind: every complaint should
come with a recommendation. I would add: and a
commitment to some personal action. Thus: “This
office is untidy. We should clean it up. I will start with
my desk.”
So – with reference to the “Oooh, children today...”
remark above, here’s a recommendation: children in
Britain should be taught the Lord’s Prayer. And here’s
the commitment: a number of Ordinariate groups are
teaming up with other people in various parts of the
country to make it happen.
So far, plans for 2016 will see schools in London, Kent,
Coventry, Surrey, Lancashire, Greater Manchester,
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As you read this, the Ladies Ordinariate Group will
be involved in its now traditional carol singing at
London Bridge station during the London rush-hour.
The acoustics are great, and people seem to like our
efforts – last year some passengers came to join us, and
one lady gave us an enormous bouquet of flowers!
The coming year looks set to be a busy one for
the LOGS. Things start with a talk from Benedict
Rogers of Christian Solidarity Worldwide at our
January meeting: all welcome, 6.30pm, Parish Room,
22 Redcross Way London SE1 1TA ... nearest Tube:
London Bridge. During the year we’ve got a pilgrimage,
educational projects, and our programme of talks. We
don’t think LOGS should be London-based and would
like to team up with Ordinariate ladies nationwide to
plan something biggish. Interested? Contact me at
[email protected]