Priory PCC

The next meeting of the PCC will be on Thursday 30 th September.

Following PCC the away day and the extensive consultation process the following plan has been drawn up for the next five years. At the meeting in September we will be setting priorities and beginning our action plans. If you have any comments or something you wish us to discuss please let one of the members know by the Standing Committee, which is on the 23 rd .

PRAYER:

•  To offer a specific time of guided prayer and to encourage more people to take advantage of the ample opportunities for prayer and worship already available at the Priory.

•  To explore the possibilities of a Prayer Group with specific goals and intentions initially supported by the Clergy but not dependent upon them.

•  To form a Pastoral Prayer Group with the intention of encountering people that may enter the Priory to pray.

•  AVAILABILTY:

•  To endeavour to open the church more often, that more people may encounter God through the beauty of the building and the availability of people to respond to Pastoral need.

•  To acknowledge that we need not ‘bite off more than we can chew'

•  Make church more inviting and less challenging both on Sundays and week-days.

•  Improve accessibility to both the place and the people.

•  THE TOWN

•  To develop partnerships which will have the benefit of increased funding and the growth in opportunity to touch the lives of more people.

•  To present ourselves more professionally by improving our self image and advertising, investing where necessary.

•  To be prepared to sacrifice some level of control for the greater good.

•  MINISTRY

•  To encourage a ministry which is shared by every member.

•  To encourage all to take part in the teaching and learning ministry of the Priory.

•  To engender a sense of shred responsibility for the Mission of the Church.

•  Encourage people to want to learn more about the Christian Faith.

•  To enable people to feel free to share their faith story.

•  To be prepared to give up the things which may not work well in order to replace them with those which do work.

General Synod Elections 2010

The membership of the General synod is up for complete re-election during this month, something which will determine the future of the Church here in England. Strangely the only people who have a vote are the non-retired clergy and the parish's representatives to the Deanery Synod, which here are Peter Klonowski, Mary Howe and George Hyslop.

After much prayer and encouragement Mary Howe and Fr Spicer have agreed to stand in the elections; Fr Corbett is their Campaign Manager! This involves preparing an election address, attending two hustings and getting people to use their vote for you! Both Mary and Fr Spicer think that they need to stand to show a commitment to the synodical process and to be able to say that “well we gave it a go”.

The results will be known on October 12 th and if either of them get elected they will certainly need your prayers then! Please use this prayer as part of your contribution and if you know of anyone from outside of the parish who has a vote, encourage them to give their first preference to Fr Spicer or Mary.

Heavenly Father,

you have called us in the Body of your Son Jesus Christ

to continue his work of reconciliation and reveal you to the world:

as we prepare to elect a new General Synod

forgive us the sins which tear us apart;

give us the courage to overcome our fears and to seek that unity

which is your gift and your will.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

Soup Lunches

The soup lunches after the Friday12nnon Mass have been a great success in the past at raising money and providing a time of fun and fellowship. They will begin again on Friday 3 rd ; and if you would like to be involved in the catering please tell Fr Spicer. Unless new charities are suggested the ACS, Children Society and Zimbabwe appeal will be the beneficiaries

Blessed John Henry Newman

As part of the process of his beatification new propers (prayers used at Mass) have been written for Blessed John Henry Newman. His beatification is very exciting for all Christians in Britain but most especially for Anglicans.

O' God, who bestowed on the Priest Blessed John Henry Newman the grace to follow your kindly light and find peace in your Church; graciously grant that, through his intercession and example, we may be led out of shadows and images into the fulness of your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Words written by Blessed John Henry Newman in 1833

  Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom,
lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
the distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
pride ruled my will: remember not past years!

So long thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Born in London in 1801, he was for over twenty years an Anglican clergyman and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. His studies of the early Church led him progressively towards Catholicism, and in 1845 he embraced “the one true fold of the Redeemer”. In 1847 he was ordained priest and went on to found the Oratory of St Philip Neri in England. He was a prolific and influential writer on a variety of subjects. In 1879 he was created Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII. Praised for his humility, unstinting care of souls and contributions to the intellectual life of the Church, he died in Birmingham on 11 August 1890.

Blessed John Henry Newman : Pray for Us!