THE P
RTAL
With a sprinkling of holy water
November 2017 Page 4
Auntie
Joanna
Joanna Bogle updates us on LOGS ’ plans
LOGS – the Ladies Ordinariate Group – was founded in what was then a distinctly bleak room at Church of the Most Precious Blood at London Bridge . The room was meant to be the sacristy , but had become a sort of general storage space and was also used for weekday Mass . writes
That soon changed when the parish was given into Ordinariate care – it ’ s now again a magnificent sacristy , its original lantern-roof restored to its glory , tall panelled cupboards of dark wood holding vestments , and a sense of prayer as this is where priests and servers prepare for Mass . ( Weekday Mass attendance is now substantial : the idea of even attempting to squeeze into the sacristy space is simply absurd ). And LOGS , growing and thriving , meets in the big parish Long Room at London Bridge , and also at the Ordinariate group ’ s room at Norwood – and at various other locations when we are on pilgrimage ( see below ). And we recently went to Walsingham to mark our fifth birthday .
It was a long-planned pilgrimage and it fulfilled all our hopes and expectations . LOGS set off from Precious Blood Church with a blessing and sprinkling with holy water from Fr C after a weekday lunchtime Mass . Walsingham was enchanting in mellow autumn sunshine . We were made very comfortable at Elmham House in the Friday Market , and made use of a quiet room at Dowry House – run by the delightful young Community of Our Lady of Walsingham – in the High Street for our meeting . We had daily Mass in the Church of the Annunciation , and also loved the simple chapel at Dowry House , reached across a pleasant courtyard , and we knelt there together to give all our plans and hopes to Our Lady in prayer .
LOGS had gathered in Walsingham for a longplanned time of reflection , and planning for the future . Sitting in Dowry House , reviewing LOGS activities since the foundation of the group some five years ago , we found much for which to give thanks :
• Primary schools across Greater London taking part in the Lord ’ s Prayer project annually
• A Prayer Book for children , published by
Gracewing , and funded by the Catholic Union of Greater Britain , produced as a prize for children in the Lord ’ s Prayer project , and also now available at Christian bookshops and via the internet .
• LOGS pilgrimages to Littlemore ( Bl John Henry Newman ); Whitstable ( Vocations centre ); Birmingham ( Sisters of the BVM ); Ham ( Bl . John Henry Newman ’ s childhood home ) and Pembury ( Ordinariate parish ).
• Regular meetings at London Bridge and Norwood with a variety of speakers
• Carol singing each year at London Bridge railway station ,
• a stall at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival ,
• and more …
We made plans for 2018 : the Lord ’ s Prayer project will take place again , with leaflets sent to primary schools in January , entries to arrive by the end of the Easter term . Every child taking part receives a card with the Lord ’ s Prayer on it , and a place for the child to sign his or her name … we will get a much larger number of these printed as we ran out last year .
We ’ ll have our usual meetings with guest speakers – and plan some pilgrimage trips , to the shrine of Our Lady at Willesden and to St Mary ’ s at Strawberry Hill . We booked dates for the mammoth task of posting and packing the prizes ( our own LOGS-designed prayer book !) for the Lord ’ s Prayer project - we make a day of it with lunchtime Mass , and some nice refreshments .
And while at Walsingham we walked the Holy Mile to pray at the shrine , and gathered the last Michaelmas blackberries as we wandered back , and had a cheery evening together over a good meal in traditional style .