THE
P RTAL
June 2016
May is
Mary’s month
Page 11
Anglican
News
The Revd Paul Benfield keeps us up to date with goings on in the CofE
May is,
of course, Our Lady’s month. As has been the custom for many years, on the Late Spring
Bank Holiday the National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham will take place. Many
readers will have enjoyed the day in the past.
This year the Bishop of Wakefield will preside. I may
need to remind readers of The Portal that Bishop Tony
Robinson was Bishop of Pontefract in the old Diocese
of Wakefield. In 2014, the new Diocese of Leeds came
into being and the diocesan see of Wakefield ceased to
exist.
It was always envisaged that the name of the See of
Pontefract should be changed to the See of Wakefield,
but for legal reasons this could not happen straight way
until the necessary formalities had been completed
and the Queen petitioned. All this happened so that
last year Bishop Tony became Bishop of Wakefield. He
is chairman of Forward in Faith and Chairman of the
Catholic bishops.
The preacher is to be Fr Andrew Mitcham, a
Guardian of the Shrine and Vicar of Walsingham. He
is no stranger to Walsingham, having been Shrine
Priest from 1994 to 1996.
On the first bank holiday Monday in May, a new
event took place at Whalley Abbey in Lancashire. The
Cistercian Abbey at Stanlow in Cheshire moved to
Whalley in 1296. The church was built between 1330
and 1380, but is now in ruins. The Abbot’s lodging
and infirmary were not completed until about 1440,
but the Abbey was dissolved in 1537, less than a
hundred years after it was completed. The site was
then adapted to become an Elizabethan manor house
and it remained a private house until 1923, when it
was acquired by the Diocese of Manchester under
the leadership of Bishop William Temple, who saw its
potential as a retreat house.
In quires and places...
continued from page 10
do no better than make your way to the Ordinariate
and Parish Church of the Most Precious Blood near
to London Bridge on a Thursday evening at 6pm in
term time (Dates in June are 9th, 16th, 23rd and
30th). Choral Evensong is followed by Mass in the
Ordinariate Use and the opportunity to have a drink
contents page
The property passed to the newly created Diocese of
Blackburn in 1926 and it has remained as a resource
for the diocese ever since. Like many such houses it
has sometimes found it difficult to steer the course
between retreat house, conference centre and wedding
reception and function venue. The event on May Day
was part of initiative to try to recall the place to its true
purpose.
Bishop Philip, Bishop of Burnley, presided at a
Mass of Our Lady at which the preacher was Fr
Gareth Powell, who spoke about forming a new
religious community in South London. Hymns were
accompanied by Burnley Silver Band and a choir of
male and female priests led other parts of the liturgy.
It was not concelebration so that all could receive Holy
Communion since all accept that Bishop Philip is an
ordained priest in the apostolic succession. Mass was
held in a marquee (which was just as well given the
weather) and after a picnic lunch eaten there and in
the grounds the sun came out.
Fr John Hall, my neighbour in Fleetwood, led wet
and wild games in the grounds. I did not take part in
these but went for a walk round the village with my
wife. Fortunately, the expensive dress shop was closed!
At 4pm we assembled in the Parish Church for
Choral Evensong led by a scratch choir which had
rehearsed earlier in the afternoon. People went home
in their cars and buses, happy and tired, but realising
that, with sensitivity, we can all worship together
and honour Our Lady. It was an example of mutual
flourishing.
and a chat afterwards. See www.preciousblood.org.
uk for the current music list.
(If you are outside London then you can find your
nearest Ordinariate group at www.ordinariate.org.
uk Some are quite small but you will be sure of
receiving both a warm welcome and the sacraments of
the Catholic Church celebrated with dignity.)