THE
P RTAL
September 2018
of Durham University whose period is the Reformation
to Catholic Emancipation. Then we wanted someone
to gather all this information together and set the
Ordinariate in that context. There would be none
better at this than Geoffrey Kirk. However in the event
he was unable to attend because of illness. We turned
this to an advantage by arranging a Question Time for
the delegates.
All was set, and invitations went out to each
and every group, as well as those
Ordinariate members who were
not members of any group, usually
because of distance. The response
was disappointing. But we persevered
and we arrived at Worth Abbey with
seventy delegates booked. Not all
groups were represented, a sadness
given the amount of time they had to
arrange things.
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for London and Scotland), David Lashbrooke (for the
South West) and Simon Ellis (Acting Dean for the
Midlands and the North). After the presentation, the
three areas met with their Dean to discuss matters
pertaining to their local area. This proved to be such
a success that the time allocated had to be extended!
Eventually people realised that the bar was open, and
they carried on their chat over a drink or two.
Wednesday began with Breakfast
and Matins, before we made our
way to the Conference Room. Fr Ed
Tomlinson was our first speaker. He
was, as usual, erudite, informative,
and very funny. You may listen to
his talk by going to www.portalmag.
co.uk, to resources, then to audio and
video.
He traced the history of the Catholic
People arrived from Scotland, and
Faith in England from a deeply
Devon: from Essex and Lancashire;
devout country to the descent into
from London and the South. We were
Protestantism. His thesis was that
able to offer single or twin rooms.
the seeds of secular liberalism were
People were booked in and received
sown during the reformation. He
their welcome pack. This contained
was especially keen to impress upon
the programme and time-table, worship, a badge, his audience that merely going to church does not,
pencil, paper, and a map to find their was abut the of itself, make you Christian. His memorable phrase
site. Although it was very much a Lay Conference, the was “Going to church does not make you a Christian
Ordinary had been invited, as had the three Deans. any more than sitting in an hen house will make you
The Right Revd Mgr Robert Mercer had graciously a Chicken!”
agreed to be present and act as our Chaplain.
His three main points were 1) The Ordinariate needs
We began with prayer. Evensong was sung according control of the sanctuaries it inhabits. This may involve
to the Customary, and supper followed. By common holding worship in a shed or warehouse. 2) Cost. We
consent the food was excellent, with plenty of choice need to be honest about how much it costs to keep a
and generous portions.
priest. This will include such things as the pension. We
need to secure the funds to ensure a long-term future
That first evening we all met for an introduction and for the Ordinariate. 3) Divine Worship ought to be
welcome by Stephen Slack and Mgr Keith Newton. offered each Sunday morning at a comfortable hour
Jackie opened things under the title “Where have we by each Ordinariate priest and group. If we do not do
come from? She gave us some statistics. Telling us this, what is the point of the Ordinariate he asked?
about the total number of members of the Ordinariate
in the UK, where each family lived, and the total
After his stimulating, interesting and informative
number of groups.
talk, he took questions to which he gave answers as
interesting as had been his talk. As we approached
Prior to the Conference, each group (or isolated midday, we made our way to Chapel for the Mass
member) attending had been asked to submit two of St Dominic. Mgr Keith Newton was the principal
hundred words about their group. These were displayed celebrant, and Fr David Waller delivered the homily.
on a notice board, and Ronald gave a summary of their
contents, and together with Jackie, pinpointed four
After lunch the programme declared “Constitutional”,
such reports that seemed especially interesting.
which people interpreted in various ways. Jackie and
Ronald had to nip into Crawley to replenish the bar
Delegates had been asked to sit with their Deans, as stock.
we had invited The Revd Fathers David Waller (Dean
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