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A&B News History

Newspaper for the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton

Mar 2019 edition of the A&B News - Page

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To read A&B NEWS on line please visit www.abdiocese.org.uk/publications The Catholic Newspaper for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton M arc h 2019 L ENT - No. 338 A&B News FREE BBC Songs of Praise wit h Jo h n and Tina - Page 5 Benemerenti Medal awarded - Page 9 Bosco CET Welcomes Annecy Primary Sc h ool - Page 6 Trafficking & Slavery in 2019 St Philip Howard Centre, Crawley, hosts a Conference on Human Trafficking: Slavery on our Doorstep M ODERN SLAVERY is ‘`a hidden crime in plain view’ according to the Conference’s ﬁrst speaker, Richard Lan- cashire, a former police ofﬁcer for 30 years, now a manager for Sussex Police, specialising in modern slavery. Public aware- ness and vigilance will signiﬁ- cantly help the police and other agencies tackle this crime, and Richard provided a number of examples and suggestions from his experience. In the UK, more British na- tionals are the subjects of mod- ern slavery than non-British people. The second speaker was Mick Duthie, another 30-year police veteran and Deputy Director of the Santa Marta Group, which was set up by Pope Francis to bring the Church and law en- forcement agencies together to tackle human trafﬁcking. He mentioned that the number of modern slaves worldwide was es- timated at 40 million by the UN, while estimates for the UK range from 10,000-13,000. He spoke of the wonderful work done by Catholic religious sisters in tackling this issue and working with the police. The next speaker, Brigidine sis- ter Pat Mulhall, has worked on human trafﬁcking for the past 15 years, including working with the Medaille Trust, which sup- ports victims of trafﬁcking. She now works at Bakhita House in London, which houses and supports women who have been trafﬁcked. Perhaps the most emotionally striking part of the day was a video of ‘Kadie,’ a young African girl who was trafﬁcked to the UK. She spoke very movingly of her daily chore of going to the shops, hoping and praying that someone would speak to her - giving her an opportunity to ask for help. No one did. Deacon Roger Stone, then spoke of his work with the Catholic charity supporting sea- farers, Apostleship of the Seas, also known as Stella Maris. (continued on page 3)

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2 A&B NEWS March 2019 FUNERAL FUNERAL SERVICES SERVICES Helping with all your needs Helping with all your needs To a d v e r t i s e To a d v e r t i s e Te l e p h o n e Te l e p h o n e Janet Janet 01440 01440 730399 730399 07931 07931 836907 836907 In support of Bishop Richard’s Pastoral Plan, the Diocese is planning the launch of a CCRS course, starting in September 2019. The Catholic Certiﬁcate in Religious Studies (CCRS) has been established since 1991 and has been successfully run in the Diocese. It aims to provide an introduction to Catholic theology and an understanding of the central truths of our Faith. It will be open to teachers working in Catholic schools, Catechists, people involved in pastoral and liturgical work and other interested adults. Full details of the course can be found at: http://www.brs-ccrs.org.uk/index.php CCRS Opportunity For more information and to express an interest in attending the course, please contact Jon Harman, Adviser for Formation and Spiri- tuality, at the St Philip Howard Centre: 01293 651157 or email jon.harman@dabnet.org T h e Diocese of Arundel and Brig h ton Formation Team Serving the communities of our Diocese ‘ Walking together with Jesus: Lent Retreat ’ published by the Jesuits. More information available on Pathways to God website www.pathwaystogod.org ’ 40 days and 40 ways’ by Dom Henry Wansbrough – CTS books. Go to www.ctsbooks.org and search for Lent & Easter. Will also be available as a daily extra to subscribers of Universalis ‘ Global Healing’ - a ﬁlm-based resource for parishes, groups and individuals, responding to Laudato Si and Pope Francis’ vital call to ‘care for our common home’. Further details from www.ourcommonhome.co.uk ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ by Paula Gooder – This six part course for parishes and Lent groups is based on Pope Francis’ much acclaimed recent reﬂections on mission and evangelism, published as Evangelii Gaudium (available from Amazon and other websites) ‘The Mystery of God’ – Published by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland ctbi.org.uk/lent ‘Living Christ’ – Published by the Diocese of Chichester alongside their Year for Vocation. (Uses references to the Anglican Rite of Baptism in the texts) www.chichester.anglican.org/yov2019 More to follow as they become available If you have suggestions to share, please email jon.harman@dabnet.org Lent Small Group Materials 2019 The following are suggestions that you may wish to consider for Lent Annual Formation Day for those who Support the Bereaved in their Parish Planning Liturgies to Support the Bereaved Wednesday 15 May, from10am until 4pm St Bernadette’s Church, Tilgate, Crawley. Booking Essential : rosie.read@dabnet.org 01293 651161 Advance Notice of Marriage & Family Life Events Pentecost Family Day at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh Saturday 9 June from 1pm (Entertainers needed, contact Katherine Bergin) Grandparents Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead Wednesday 12 June Diocesan Adviser: Katherine Bergin katherine.bergin@dabnet.org

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A&B NEWS March 2019 3 Youth SVP Visit Franciscan Friars We arrived at The Friary just in time to help Father Christmas hand out gifts to the homeless and to enjoy the atmo- sphere and music of the lunch party. Brother Jacob then invited us into the chapel for the day’s gospel reading and a short sermon about how Jesus is always there; all we have to do is talk to him, listen for him and be guided by the Holy Spirit. We then returned to Shoreham for a meal and to reﬂect upon our year together and future plans. In 2019 we are looking forward to helping with the newly set up ‘mini vinnies’ group at our local primary school and supporting an overseas Conference from our parish’s adult Conference. We are also hoping to recruit some new members. Story: Penny Richardson with George Carter O NE OF THE MAIN GOALS of the youth SVP from Our Lady Queen of Peace, Adur Valley, during 2018 was to visit the Friary in Canning Town. Georgina Carter was able ﬁnally to get in touch with the brothers and we were invited to visit them in December to help with their annual Christmas party and lunch for the homeless. We decided to hold a fund raiser to pay for the trip and to buy useful items for the friary to give to the homeless, such as socks, hats, gloves and toiletries. So, we organised a Youth Bake Off where each member baked and decorated something to be judged by three inde- pendent and secret judges. The cakes were then sold. We had two awards, one for taste - the winner was a gingerbread tray bake - and one for decoration - won by melting snowmen! We also held a rafﬂe, raising altogether £90. T ALKING TO FRIENDS with young teenagers recently about the difﬁ- culty of talking to our children about prayer, it was heartening to hear from one mum who had found a way to have a discussion with her children about prayer and with her children’s active engagement. St Joseph of Cupertino Her secret turned out to be the saints! Or one saint in particular: St Joseph of Cupertino, a saint invoked by students taking exams. According to Wikipedia, he was said to have been ‘remark ably unclever’ and struggled in the seminary but during his exams he was asked only those things that he knew well so was able to pass his exams and be ordained. Getting Teenagers Interested So, how did the mum in question get her teenagers interested and praying? She explained that she took the oppor- tunity to listen to her children and their anxieties. Exam pressure seems to be rife for our young and she started off by listening to their concerns. Then she suggested that praying about these anxieties would be a good thing. A typi- cal response was ‘Well you can pray, Mum’; so she said she would. Developing that Interest Next came an introduction to the saint himself. She directed them to Catholic websites and books and they shared the information that they found. This conversation enabled her to say that part of the richness of our Catholic faith is the gift of saints who can signpost us to God, saints who un- derstand the real world; people, just like us, who lived and struggled in the world but who found a way, with God’s help, to progress in faith and have prayers answered. St Joseph of Cupertino Prayer Then she printed the St Joseph of Cupertino prayer off and put it on the fridge door in the kitchen. (Anyone with teenagers will understand this placement!) She told the family that she was saying this prayer but that for it to be effective the person taking the exam should say it too. (Blatant self-interest is not a bad starting point for prayer, and this seems to have been quite effec- tive.) Saying the Prayer: Interest Grows Around exam time she would remind the family and the child taking the exam to say the prayer. On exam days she would do a ‘double whammy’ by texting: ‘I’m thinking of you, praying for you...and don’t forget to say the prayer yourself.’ This technique seems to have worked and started off all sorts of conversations about faith. My friend now has all her teenagers at various stages of school and univer- sity exams and they still say this prayer. Her children have shared the prayer with friends and boyfriends/girlfriends too, and because of this, other families have started say- ing the prayer for their exam-taking children. What about disappointing results? I wondered about praying and not get- ting the results a person might want… She said that this was another opportu- nity to discuss attitudes towards God and renewed efforts at prayer. So, I attach the prayer that her family has used so successfully over the years and thank God for his saints and for this ‘remark ably unclever’ saint who still seems able to draw people to God... The Prayer O Great St Joseph of Cupertino, who while on earth did obtain from God the grace to be asked at your examination only the questions you knew, obtain for me a like favour in the examinations for which I am now preparing. In return, I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked. I will also imitate your life of prayer and devotion. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. St Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us. Amen Story: Jackie Ballard A Saint for Students (and Exams) Who ARE the Saints? S OME REPORTS say there may be more than ten thousand saints. For centuries, saints were simply recog- nised by popular acclaim. By the eleventh century, Pope John XV had begun to take the process in hand and in 1243 Pope Gregory IX declared that only a pope had the authority to de- clare someone a saint. Canonised saints are exceptionally holy people who are recognised as hav- ing lived lives of heroic Christian virtue and are worthy of imitation. They are now in heaven and may be the object of general veneration. The list of saints includes martyrs, kings, popes, missionaries, wid ows, theologians, nuns and priests – and normal people who lived lives of re- markable holiness during their pilgrimage on earth. The recent Communications & Media Day recommended that we share the wonderful story of the saints for two reasons: they lived lives of ‘heroic sanctity’ and, as page 4 says in the ‘Communion of Saints’, they are avail- able for intercession through prayer. Our ﬁrst saint is St Joseph of Cuper- tino, and we read below how a resourceful mother found a way to make the saint a gateway to prayer and reﬂection for her children. A 17th century Italian Franciscan Friar, Joseph was prone to miraculous levitation and for this reason is the pa- tron saint of pilots, astronauts and air travellers, as well as students and test- takers. Trafficking & Slavery in 2019 ( continued from page 1 ) As Port Chaplain for Southampton and the south coast of England, Roger is part of the UK team that visits more than 10,000 ships a year. For many peo- ple, the human trafﬁcking and modern slavery of seafarers is an ‘invisible world’ but to Roger and his colleagues, it is a very real one. Other presentations followed from Kia Kelly-Hollin, Pathways to Indepen- dence UK Operations Manage, which supports young asylum-seekers, and Shereen Hazman, Sussex & Surrey Co- ordinator for Streetlight UK , which supports vulnerable women impacted by sex trafﬁcking and exploitation. In conclusion, the speakers and the audience of more than 150 were thanked by Bishop Richard, who then spoke of the conference as an important stepping stone for further work in A&B Diocese in support of Pope Francis’ call for the Church to tackle the twin evils of human traf- ﬁcking and modern slavery. Story & Photo: A&B News Team ( more photos are on the Diocese’s Flickr site; to locate it, enter ‘Flickr’ and ‘Dio- cese of Arundel & Brighton’ in Google or another search engine). Modern Slavery Helpline - 08000 121 700

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4 A&B NEWS March 2019 gether a better future for our country and to resist all that is merely xenopho- bic, prejudicial, narrow-minded or founded in fear. We tend to think of peace-making as something which needs to be done over- seas – and surely there will be bridges to be rebuilt with our European neigh- bours, whatever the next few months may bring. Yet it seems that our calling to be peacemakers may be nearer to home. As we head for March 29 (assum- ing anything will actually change on that date!) our task becomes clearer – at least in the form of the questions we must ask. How can I personally reach out to peo- ple who think differently from me? How together can we rebuild community? How can we protect those left vulnerable or hurt? How can we rebuild our national conversation, our national politics and our national identity to create a space where all can thrive and fear is no longer the motor of debate or the deciding fac- tor in policy decisions? We need new peace-making skills right here at home. Fortunately we can turn to the Catholic Peace Movement, Pax Christi, which has a long history of pro- moting conﬂict-resolution and sharing the Gospel of Peace. To ﬁnd out more about their work or to join, contact: Pax Christi UK, Christian Peace Education Centre, St Joseph`s, Watford Way, Hendon London NW4 4TY Web: http://paxchristi.org.uk/ Email: info@paxchristi.org.uk Fr. Rob Esdaile Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes, Thames Ditton, Surrey A&B NEWS The official monthly paper of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton E ditor: Harry Robertson Deputy E ditor: David White E ditorial A ssistants: J ackie Ballard, Melinda Heathcote, John Lodge, Veronica Peppiatt Special Correspondents: Peter Burholt, Pauline Groves A dministrative A ssistant: Ruth Gerun E ditorial Office: St Philip Howard Centre, 4 Southgate Drive, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 6RP Telephone: 01293 513052 E mail: abnews@dabnet.org Website: www.abdiocese.org.uk Distribution en q uiries: Ruth Gerun, Editorial Office Publication date: Last Sunday of the month for the follow- ing month. Opinions expressed by contributors are not nec- essarily those of the Editor or the Diocese. The Arundel and Brighton Diocesan Trust is a registered charity: No. 252878. A dvertising: Janet, janett@cathcom.org 01440 730399 or 07931 836907 Publishers: Bellcourt Limited, Business Centre, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7BN E DITORI A L BO A RD of A &B N E WS Canon Kieron O’Brien, Harry Robertson, Dr Kate Williamson, Rev Mark Woods T HE THEME chosen by Pope Francis for this year’s Peace Sunday mes- sage, ‘Good Politics Serves Peace,’ seems amazingly appropriate to the situation in England & Wales as we approach Brexit’s March 29 deadline. A nd whatever your view of the 2016 ref- erendum, the last two years of negotia- tion or the current state of play, it is obvious that we need such ‘Good Politics’ right now. People are hurting. The UK is divided. Our national conversation has broken down. Whether you’re one of the 52% or the 48%, or someone who wishes you’d voted the other way, or someone who simply wishes you’d voted; whether you’re a younger voter who blames the old or an older voter who feels misunder- stood by the young, I can’t remember a time when we have felt so at odds with each other, so angry with each other. It isn’t simply that there are ‘Brexit’ and ‘Remain’ parts of the country. It is fami- lies and friendship groups which are di- vided. What is the Christian response to this Making Peace In Britain Today situation? Many believers have a strong conﬂict-avoiding reﬂex. We shrink from the ding-dong of party-politics. We seek the middle-of-the-road, remembering the beatitudes of meekness and mercy. But some of the other beatitudes are less tractable: hunger and thirst for justice, persecution in the cause of right, even the mourning for something lost which touches many at the moment. What do these ask of us in the midst of our cur- rent national disunity? Do they call us to stand up and be counted, whatever oth- ers think? What response does that sixth beatitude – of purity in heart – require of us? Is it a searing honesty about our take on things or keeping our counsel? And what of the seventh one, blessed are the peacemakers? Perhaps our ﬁrst contribution as Chris- tians really ought to be to shut up. Not in a quietist, ‘keep-your-head-down-and- don’t-make-trouble’ sort of way, but in the silence of prayer. Before we can help others we need to address our own jan- gling nerves, listen to our own hearts and hear therein a voice that speaks of peace. There is a profound prayer prayed by Di- etrich von Bonhoeffer during his impris- onment by the Nazis: ‘ I do not understand your ways, but you know the way for me … Lord, what ever this day may bring, your name be praised.’ Praying in this way we can hope to be freed from the tyranny of our own emo- tions and political reﬂexes. Then we can begin to see that those who disagree with us also voted honestly and sought the good as they saw it. In sorrow rather than anger, we can begin to recognise what has been badly argued and what should never have been said (by our- selves or by others). We can reach out to rebuild shattered trust, to imagine to- B Y OUR FASTING , or whatever little offering we make to the Lord during Lent may be, we enter into solidarity with the hardship under- gone by Jesus in his passion. Of course Lent is not a matter of testing out how far we can push our- selves (a sort of macho self-torture). Rather it is a period of preparation for the Passion and Resurrection, like the forty years of Israel in the desert, preparing for the Promised Land, or the prophet Elijah’s forty day prepa- ration, or the forty days during which Christ prepared the apostles between Easter and the Ascension. The point of Jesus’ forty day fast is to give some force to the devil’s ﬁrst taunt. To each of the devil’s taunts Jesus replies with a word of Scrip- ture: if you rely on God’s word you are unshake ably safe, for God has cre- ated and arranged everything. Matthew and Mark have a different order for second and third tempta- tions: Matthew climaxes with Jesus as the second Moses, like Moses see- ing all the territories from a high mountain. Luke ends the scene as he begins and ends his Gospel, at Jerusalem, the turning point of the Gospel. Author: Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB Extracted from ‘40 Days & 40 Ways’, published by Catholic Truth Society wwwctsbooks.org JUST A THOUGHT The Significance of Number 40 Bishop Richard’s Skydive Success Helps Lourdes Pilgrims H EARTFELT THANKS GO OUT to Bishop Richard and Lucy Barnes for taking on the challenge of throwing themselves out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. Our prayers were answered and they returned to earth safely! Many thanks too for all of those throughout the Diocese who supported them with prayers and donations. The Pilgrimage Ofﬁce (DLP) reports that over £10,500 was raised in total, having in- creased the target three times during the fund raising programme! Not least, we should also thank the intrepid Nancy Sackwood for instigating the original idea. Rev Deacon Mike Thoms, director of DLP, added his appreciation when he said “I am sure that all of our assisted pil- grims and their helpers who beneﬁt from some ﬁnancial support to make their dream of joining us in Lourdes a reality, join me in sending our heartfelt thanks to Bishop Richard, Lucy and all those who supported them in this endeavour. With- out help, many would struggle to fund their trip to Lourdes, and I am certain that they will join me in prayer at the Grotto in July 2019 for all of those who helped make the Skydive such a success.’ Applications are open now, so if you would like to apply to join us in Lourdes please contact us to receive an application form. Telephone: 01403 740110 Website: www.ablourdes.org Email: ofﬁce@ablourdes.org Story: The Clinical Team Picture by Lacaze, Lourdes TAXING TERMS (explained) I N THE APOSTLES’ CREED, we say that we believe in the ‘communion of saints.’ The communion of saints is the Church (CCC946), the mystical body of Christ, which, under its head Jesus Christ, has three parts: the living who are still on their pilgrim journey on earth; the faithful departed who are in purgatory, being puriﬁed; and those now in Heaven who are in the pres- ence of God, enjoying eternal glory (CCC954). There is a unity, a fellowship among all these saints, spanning all time, all geography, all states of being. On earth, the ‘saints-in-training’ are united, sharing one baptism, one faith, one authority, praying, receiv- ing the sacraments and performing good works. They support the faithful departed by praying for those in pur- gatory to speed their journey to heaven, and pray to those saints al- ready in heaven to intervene on their behalf before God. In turn, the saints in heaven watch over the ‘saints in training,’ ready to offer prayers of in- tercession. As St Thérèse of Lisieux said before her death, ‘ I will spend my heaven doing good on earth .’ ( CCC, Catechism of the Catholic Church ) LAST MONTH Pope Francis attended World Youth Day (WYD) in Panama. In an inspiring speech at the Saturday Vigil, he challenged young people to ac- cept that life is not a salvation ‘up in the cloud’ waiting to be downloaded, or a new ‘app’ to be discovered, or a tech- nique of mental self improvement... Rather, it is an invitation to be part of a love story interwoven with our personal stories…it is alive and wants to be born in our midst so that we can bear fruit just as we are, wherever we are and with everyone all around us. Saying ‘yes’ to the Lord means prepar- ing to embrace life as it comes, with all its fragility, its simplicity, and often enough too, with its conﬂicts and annoy- ances - and to do so with love. Why? Because only what is loved can be saved. Only what is embraced can be transformed. The Lord’s love is greater than all our problems, frailties and ﬂaws. Yet, it is precisely through our problems, frailties and ﬂaws that He wants to write this love story The Pope added: ‘How hard it is at times to understand God’s love! But what a gift it is to know that we have a Father who embraces us despite all our imperfections!’

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D R JOHN AND TINA NICHOLS , from the Parish of Guildford, have recently featured in a special edi- tion of the ever-popular BBC Show, Songs of Praise, to celebrate Valentine`s Day. Aired on 10 February, the show included the couple, who have been married for 50 years and have been active in the parish Marriage Preparation programme for 30 years. They are also members of the Diocesan Marriage & Family Life Commission, and are recent recipients of the St Philip Howard medal for their work as marriage catechists. Being selected to be part of Songs of Praise was ‘a surprise and fun to do’ Tina recently said. The BBC crew spent a day with the couple in January ﬁlming them at home, and then at St Pius Church where they were ﬁlmed presenting a part of ‘a Marriage Prepara- tion session with three other couples. The programme makers were interested in the cou- ple not just because of their long marriage but also be- cause of their experience of marriage catechesis (a conservative estimate is that they have supported 750 engaged couples over 30 years). Married in 1968 in the crypt chapel of Liverpool Cathedral, after having met at University, agnostic John very quickly ‘fell in love with Tina and pretty much in love with her family too’. They moved to Guildford with baby son Michael, and soon after an- other baby, Anna, was on the way but they tragically lost her in 1970. It was at this point that they particularly experi- enced ‘Christian love in action’ from the parishioners of St Joseph`s Church and in such a way as to pro- foundly deepen Tina`s faith. Children Anthony, Tim and Lucy followed in relatively quick succession. Mar- ried and family life was busy along with their respec- tive careers in medicine and pharmacy. Regulars at St Joseph`s Church, they were invited to a talk run by `Marriage Encounter` in 1984 and then joined a local group that they are still a part of today. John said it was a means of ‘making a good marriage better’, and that this and the Marriage Preparation courses helped them to make time for conversation, managing conﬂict, and to continue to understand each other better. They both feel that these marriage programmes have supported them through the ups and downs of family life and a marriage where one partner is not Catholic. It has also given them insight to help engaged couples in similar mixed faith relationships, which is a strength acknowledged by the Marriage and Family Life Commission. Discussing their life with the Songs of Praise team and reﬂecting on their experiences, the couple ex- pressed their love for each other, their children and their seven grandchildren who keep them busy in re- tirement. They said that they ‘never stop learning about each other’ and that they still enjoy the Mar- riage Preparation courses and have so much enthusi- asm for it as it is ‘such a joyful ministry’. Our congratulations to John and Tina. (You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer.) Story: Jackie Ballard T EAMS OF OUR LADY (French: Equipes Notre Dame) is a lay organi- sation and Movement of ‘Married Spiri- tuality.’ Founded in France in 1939 by Father Henry Caffarel and established on De- cember 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the movement is placed under the special patronage of the Blessed Mother. In 2018 there were Teams in over 92 countries worldwide, with a local, re- gional, national and international struc- ture to ensure consistency of the Movement and its spiritual foundations. The aim for the Teams Movement is es- sentially quite simple: to help married couples develop a relationship with God both personally and as a couple. In prac- tice this means between four and six couples and a spiritual counsellor (priest or religious) meeting together every month for a meal and to discuss, pray and share the ups and downs of everyday life. The group gather in each other`s homes and start with sharing the Word of God and praying together. The spe- ciﬁc bible readings are supplied and this is a time for reﬂection on scripture fol- lowed by prayer. Next comes supper, with a ‘responsible couple’ chosen by the group who manage the evening`s busi- ness/work/sharing along with the host couple.This ensures that certain topics are covered and that the evening follows the Teams format. The ‘Endeavours’ are key: these are methods or tools for deepening relation- ship with God and with spouse and in- clude personal prayer, couple prayer, reading the Bible, a study topic (on an agreed faith-enhancing subject), per- sonal ‘highs and lows’ and ‘the sit down’ (a structured way of a couple communi- cating with one another). These ‘Endeav- ours’ take place between meetings, in daily life, and give the couple a template for spiritual growth and sharing faith. Other helpful tools are an annual Re- treat and `The Rule of Life` (an individ- ual examination of conscience leading to speciﬁc resolution(s) to enable change and spiritual growth e.g. am I resisting God`s call to contribute more to my parish community?) The meeting always ﬁnishes with the Magniﬁcat in honour of Our Lady. A newly established Team in the Surrey Sector includes the Abbot of The Benedictine Monastery: St Augustine`s Abbey, Chilworth, who says: ‘ I was ap- proached quite out-of-the blue, and asked to consider being the Spiritual Counsellor to a newly organised Team of Our Lady, which I had never heard of before. I agreed, and I ` m so glad I did. This is a precious movement within the Church, and the monthly gatherings are both stimulating and humbling, and a source of grace for all concerned. The de ﬁ nite, but at the same time ﬂ exible, structure of the meetings, allows for varying levels of mutual sharing, with an emphasis on the Word of God in Sacred Scripture, prayer of intercession, and an openness to dis- cuss the challenges and rewards of mar- ried life, all within the convivial context of a shared meal’. For more information on Teams of Our Lady please go to: www.teamsgb.org.uk Story: Jackie Ballard A&B NEWS March 2019 5 Guildford Parishioners in BBC Songs of Praise Valentine’s Day Programme Teams of Our Lady

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6 A&B NEWS March 2019 T h e Diocese of Arundel and Brig h ton Education Service Placing Christ at the centre and empowered by the Spirit, we serve and support our schools in the name of the Bishop, by aspiri ng to be the very best we can, identifying, encouraging, nurturing and developing excellence in all aspects of Catholic education. A s the Diocesan E ducation Service, inspired by the Gospel, we are committed to serving in partnership with our family of schools to be the visib le face of Christ and to promote the Common Good through the ministry of education. MI SS IO N STATE M ENT N EARLY 30,000 YOUNG PEOPLE at- tend our 64 government funded schools and academies every day; around 4,000 adults help their learning. The oldest of our schools were built in 1880; the most recent in 2005. All of them are subject to the wear and tear that accompanies even our well-behaved children. Caretakers, cleaners and Business Managers/Bursars do an amazing job of keeping the buildings not only safe, dry and warm but, as any visitor to one of our schools will quickly see, places which stimulate the imagination of pupils and provide a variety of learning environments. There are modest sums of government money available to schools for minor buildings works - £6,000 for a typical primary school, £25,000 for a typical secondary. But in return for being able to deliver a particularly faith-centred education, our Voluntary Aided schools have to top this up with an extra 10% of the project costs - and they aren’t funded for this. For this year, parents across the diocese have had to raise over £63,000 so that schools can access this funding for small works. The design life of a school is often quoted at 60 years, but there just isn’t enough money available to rebuild each school as they get to that age. Major el- ements have a shorter life anyway, and roofs (particularly ﬂat ones), heating systems and wind ows, are all expen- sive, if infrequent projects that schools have to face. A new roof for a primary school costing perhaps £170,000 is not something that can be funded from their usual budgets. There is govern- ment funding for these larger items – but there are always more projects we would like to do than money available. Working with the Local Authorities where relevant, the Education Service prioritises the most urgent and impor- tant works; this year, over ﬁve million pounds was allocated to schools for larger projects such as boilers, roofs, windows – and a sports hall and chapel! Parents have had to ﬁnd 10% of that, too – a whopping half a million pounds! So, on behalf of the children in our diocesan schools, we offer a huge ‘Thank You’ to all those who organise Christmas fêtes and Summer fairs, bar- becues, quiz evenings, fashion sh ows, ﬁrework displays and many other imag- inative fund-raisers - and also to those parents who give regular contributions to schools. It is because of you that Catholic schools are not only safe, warm and dry but places where our young people are formed into the best that they can be. Safe, Warm and Dry... B OSCO CET IS DELIGHTED to welcome Annecy Catholic Pri- mary School, Seaford into the family of schools in the Sussex-wide Catholic Education Trust. Annecy is a wonderful school com- munity who should be rightly proud of their recent success. Through the hard work of staff, governors and of course the children, results are now the best of all schools in Seaford and in the Top 10 in East Sussex for progress in Reading. Team work and collegiality between Catholic schools and the Diocesan Education Service has been the hall- mark of many areas of improvement. St Paul’s Catholic College provided support, guidance and resources to school leaders last year, enabling children to achieve such excellent re- sults. More recently, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Haywards Heath has been providing specialist exper- tise, sharing Inset and undertaking joint planning. The relationship is far from one-sided with those provid- ing outreach being able to learn about, reﬂect upon and develop their own practice. It is this sort of working, where the needs of the children are put ﬁrst, which can bear such great fruit. Bosco CET was formed in April 2017 to serve the Catholic schools of Sus- sex, facilitate collaboration and cele- brate all that we stand for as Catholic schools. There is plenty to celebrate too! In the government’s most recently pub- lished performance tables both Bosco CET schools: St Philip Howard Catholic School in Barnham; and St Mary’s Primary School in Worthing have fared well. St Philip Howard has again topped West Sussex tables for student progress at both GCSE and A Level performance. St Mary’s has more than doubled the percentage of chil- dren achieving the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths since joining the Trust and Progress Scores are now in line with the na- tional average. We are indeed greater than the sum of our individual parts and we look forward to another year of great ad- venture in 2019! Bosco Catholic Education Trust Welcomes Annecy Catholic Primary School Christmas Prayer Service T WENTY CHILDREN from St Thomas a Becket Catholic Primary School organised and led a prayer ser- vice on 16 December. The children read, retold the Christmas Story, sang carols and said prayers. The programme was broadcast live and was also broadcast on Christmas Day. The chapel was full with the children, their families and people from the wards. It was a wonder- ful occasion and appreciated by all who were there and listened. Story and picture: Sr Mary Rose Winter Festival of Faiths and Cultures H ASTINGS AND DISTRICT Interfaith Forum and The Council of Chris- tians and Jews held this festival on Sunday 9 December in the Concordia Hall, St Leonards on Sea (pictured below). International food was enjoyed and entertainment of music and dance was provided by a variety of local indi- viduals and communities, including the Kerala young people from Bexhill Catholic Church, Chinese children, an ecumenical Gospel choir and young people from the Pestalozzi international multicultural village in Seddlescombe, Hastings (pictured). Story and pictures:Gillian Meyer Chair CCJ Bexhill/Hastings

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A&B NEWS March 2019 7 St Dunstan’s Fair Supports Local Charities I N RECENT YEARS St Dunstan’s, Woking, has shared the proceeds from its an- nual Christmas Fair between different local charities, rather than using the money for its own needs. This past Christmas, St Dunstan’s raised over £7,000, with parishioners generously donating many gifts to the fair and giving their time to run stalls. And lots of people came along to just enjoy the occasion and spend, spend, spend to beneﬁt the local good causes! The photos show cheques being presented to each of the three nominated chari- ties to beneﬁt this time from the funds raised at the Fair: - (TOP LEFT) to Mandy Dhingra, Marketing and Fundraising Manager, Woking MIND at MIND’s Courtenay Road ofﬁce by Rev Fr Peter Andrews, Parish Priest of St Dunstan’s and, (BOTTOM LEFT) at St Dunstan’s Church, to Trudy Waites, Se- nior Coordinator for Surrey Young Carers (NW Surrey Team). - (ABOVE) to Julie Jones, Chairperson of Quest Riding for the Disabled and Paul Gardner, their Lead Fundraiser by Rev Fr Simon Hall, Assistant Priest at St Dun- stan’s. Jackie Clements and Thereza MacNamara, two of the principal organisers of the Christmas Fair, also attended. The three charities expressed their sincere gratitude to St Dunstan’s. Mandy Dhin- gra of Woking MIND said: ‘ We are very grateful to St Dunstan’s Catholic Church for their generous donation, which couldn’t have come at a better time for us. Our fund- ing was recently cut by 60% so this will help towards our shortfall and enable us to continue to support some of our community’s most isolated and vulnerable adults. We would also like to thank everyone involved for their incredible fundraising efforts.’ Story: Mark Potter Pictures: John Sexton & Kevin Wallace ...and St Dunstans also supports the re-settlement of refugees in Woking Borough T EN SYRIAN MEN, refugees who were resettled in Woking Borough, came to the Civic Ofﬁces at Christmas- time with gifts for the team and to thank everyone for their help and support. They were happy and excited and said that they are in contact with families across the UK - and now realise that Woking is best! So, well done to St Dunstan’s and the other churches and agencies that have worked hard to welcome refugees, to help resettle families and enable them to live independent and fulﬁulling lives in the UK. BOOKING NOT REQUIRED

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8 A&B NEWS March 2019 BISHOP’S DIARY FEBRUARY/MARCH February Sat 23 10am A&B NBCW meeting, St Philip Howard Centre, Crawley Tue 25 8.30am Meeting at High Oaks Wed 26 6.30pm St Wilfrid’s School Production of ‘Cats’, Crawley Thu 28 8.30am St Mary’s University Governors’ Away Day March Fri 1 9am Meeting at High Oaks Sat 2 Flame Conference, Wembley Sun 3 10.30am Parish Family Group Event, St Philip Howard Centre Mon 4t 12noon Retired Clergy Pre-Lenten Lunch, High Oaks Tue 5 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent Wed 6 10am Mass at Arundel Cathedral 11am Meeting at Arundel Cathedral Sat 9 Rite of Election, Arundel Cathedral Tue 12 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent 3pm Refugee Steering Group, High Oaks Wed 13 6pm Mass in Brighton Grand Hotel, for DSC Conference Thu 14 11am Chapter Mass at Arundel Cathedral Fri 15 5pm Mass and Confirmations at Woldingham School Sat 16 11am Knights of the Holy Sepulchre Mass, Bosham 3pm NCSF Mass at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark Tues 19 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent 1.30pm Meeting at High Oaks 2pm Episcopal Council Meeting, High Oaks Wed 20 10.30am Education Committee Meeting, St Philip Howard Centre Thu 21 10.30am Council of Priests’ Meeting, St Philip Howard Centre 6.30pm Vespers at Worth Abbey Sat 23 7pm Evening of Reflection, St Mary Magdalene’s, Bexhill Mon 25 11am St Dominic’s Platinum Jubilee Mass, Littlehampton 4pm Meeting, Brighton 6pm Wellspring Mass, Brighton Tue 26 7.30am Mass at Gossops Green Convent 10am VI Form Theology Gathering, St Peter’s School, Merrow Wed 27 5pm Lenten talk at Mayfield School Thu 28 10am Clergy Lenten Day of Recollection, Worth Abbey Fri 29-Sat 30 Graduations at St Mary’s University, Twickenham NOTICE BOARD CAFOD supporters prepare to support Lent Family Fast Day C AFOD SUPPORTERS will hold ‘Family Fast Days’ around England and Wales in sup- port of the charity’s annual Lent campaign on Friday 15 March. Catholics in parishes across England and Wales will be eat- ing a simple meal of bread and soup and donating the money they save to CAFOD. The money they raise will go to helping people whose lives are being devastated by changing weather, including Mahinur in Bangladesh. Drought, ﬂoods and storms are having a devastating im- pact on our global family. Mahinur makes a living from ﬁshing but a drought last year killed all the ﬁsh, leaving her struggling to support her disabled husband and son. Mahinur cooks and cleans in neighbours’ homes for a bit of cash but it’s never enough. There are days the family have nothing to eat. But Mahinur’s experience is just one of many. The chang- ing climate is wreaking havoc on hundreds of thousands of lives around the world. CAFOD’s Head of Volunteer- ing, Jo Kitterick, said: ‘The changing weather is devastating lives. The donations of parishioners in England and Wales will help people around the world to support themselves, whatever the weather brings. Our work is made possible by the support of our vol- unteers and we are so grateful. They do so much to make sure that the needs of the poorest are close to our hearts when we are so busy with our own concerns. This Lent, it is your generosity which will help ensure no one is beyond reach of the love and care they need. Thank you’. Donate to C A FOD’s Lent A ppeal at cafod.org.uk/lent Rosie Heaton - Regional News Ofﬁcer CAFOD CAFOD A&B 01483 898866 arundelandbrighton@cafod.org.uk FAIRTRADE NEWS………. Recently, Traidcraft Exchange sent a very nice letter of thanks to Fairtrade Lingﬁeld & Dormansland for a do- nation of £250. The money was raised at ‘Stir Up Sunday’ November 2018, when Christmas puddings were made with Fairtrade ingredients that came from Traidcraft – a win-win event! Traidcraft Exchange helps people have a livelihood, like Suﬁa in Bangladesh who set up a stall selling cakes and hot drinks. Each year, Traidcraft Exchange encourages us to hold a Big Brew and offer refreshments to our friends and communities for a donation, to help those in the developing world. Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 UK Fairtrade Fortnight is 25 February-10 March, when we celebrate our connection with those in the developing world who grow and make lots of the things we enjoy. Every- one can help by continuing to buy products with the Fairtrade MARK. This year, and the next two years, will focus on cocoa and the crisis that has caused the world market price to plummet. The causes need multiple solutions. Fairtrade has made real progress, but knows that certiﬁcation alone can’t solve all the problems. Choose Fair- trade and together we can do more. Please support the peti- tion in Fairtrade Fortnight at www.fairtrade.org.uk . Masses for Deaf and Hard of Hearing St John The Evangelist Church, Springfield Road Horsham, RH12 2PJ on the first Saturday in each month at 1 pm. Next Mass 2 March 2019 A&B Spirituality Network We meet at different venues around the Diocese Next meeting Monday 17 June 12noon – 2pm St Michael’s Parish Hall The Marld, Ashtead KT21 1RS Please bring a packed lunch, tea and coffee provided A donation of £5 at each meeting is requested from our members towards cost of room hire. If you would be interested in joining the Network or would like further information please contact Teresa Brooks of the Core Group teresa_brooks_bisley@hotmail.com 01483 481245 CAFOD Information Meeting St Bernadette’s Church, Tilgate Way, Crawley RH10 5BS Saturday 2 March 10:00-12:00 noon Lent Family Fast Day Planning and Volunteer Involvement Hear about the team’s work in Myanmar, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, helping partners to prepare for emergencies and past experiences supporting work in DRC and Eritrea from Laura Donkin - Humanitarian Capacity Strengthening Manager Contact: Jenny Finlayson 01483 898866 jfinlayson@cafod.org.uk Wintershall Needs Volunteers Coffee Morning 11am on 16 March - Wintershall Estate, Bramley, Guildford The Passion of Christ is being staged in: - Trafalgar Square on 19 April, and - Guildford High Street 20 April. Extra ‘hands’ needed, and relevant training given. Join existing volunteers and cast ‘old’ and new to find out about all the interesting possibilities to help out front of house, and back stage too. For more information Finola: 01483 892167 admin@wintershall-estate.com/call Partially sighted or blind - or know someone who is? You can now sign up for a monthly memory stick of audio recordings from three top Sussex Magazines FREE! Wealden Talking News are delighted to offer audio recordings of Sussex Life and Sussex Living Magazines and a WTN compilation featuring Sussex history, wildlife and lots more, entitled Listeners Sussex - to play on your own stick player, computer or tablet. The offer is available if you live in East or WestSussex. To be added to our mailing list, please call our answer- phone 01435 862304 or email secretarywtn@gmail.com www.wealdentalkingnews.org.uk

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A&B NEWS March 2019 9 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, During the months before Christmas last year, together with Sarah Kilmartin and Clare Wordsworth, I visited the Deaner- ies to present the Pastoral Plan. This was the fruit of a pro- cess that had begun over a year before and I wish to thank all those who attended those meetings. Thanks go, too, to Mgr Tony Barry and Fr Peter Newsam, the Episcopal Vicars for Surrey and Sussex who attended the meetings in their re- spective areas. By the time the round of meetings was com- plete, some 3,500 people from across the Diocese had heard the presentations. This is a wonderful beginning to a new stage in the life of our Diocese. Today’s Readings present some themes that will bear our re- ﬂection as we look to the future and the place that each of us has in the mission the Lord has given to us. We must reﬂect that, like Jeremiah, we are known by God be- fore ever we came to be. Like Jeremiah, we have a prophetic role to play. Both as individuals and as a community of faith, we must live out the message of the Gospel – not simply for our own good, but for the good of the world around us. Like Jeremiah, we may be fearful, feel that we are incapable of such a responsibility. However, we can – and must – be conﬁ- dent. There is no need for fear. We must not be dismayed. We must be people of action. God Himself will give us all the strength that we need, and more. As the psalmist reminds us: the Lord is our hope, we trust in Him. In today’s Gospel, the Lord is at ﬁrst welcomed. However, when the import of His message becomes clear to his hearers, he is rejected. This may be our experience at times. There will be many of us who walked the path of misunderstanding and rejection on account of our Faith. This is difﬁcult and can be a very great cross to bear. However, we know too that the way of Christ is one of victory, even over death itself. As St Paul reminds us in the Letter to the Romans, nothing ‘can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus, our Lord’. The Lord is with us and His love overcomes all things, even death itself. In today’s second Reading, St Paul writing to the Corinthi- ans, speaks of the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. All these are gifts. Faith must be experienced by others in our actions. If not, as St James states clearly in his letter, our Faith will be a dead thing. Our Hope will be evident in our persevering prayer that is born of Faith and leads us to complete Trust. The Love that is the greatest of these three, is authentic when we open ourselves to the call of Christ and the power of the Spirit. These three gifts – when we are truly open to them – will enable us to be truly the Lord’s disciples, courageous in witness and with minds and hearts devoted to the Mission He has given to His Church. As we look to the future, then, let us be conﬁdent. There will be difﬁculties along the way for we are called to take up the Cross, but it is the Lord’s work that we are doing and His strength will always be far greater than our fears, worries and concerns. Let us, as individuals and as a community of Faith, be people of action. May we all be open to the changes that will be nec- essary for the work that lies ahead. Through a renewed com- mitment to daily prayer and to an ever deepening understanding of all that the Lord has done for us, may we truly embrace the Mission that the Lord, in his Love, has en- trusted to us. With every Blessing, Yours sincerely in Christ, Bishop of Arundel & Brighton Pastoral Letter for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 3 February 2019 Benemerenti? It Runs in the Harvey Family T HERE WAS CAUSE FOR CELEBRA- TION at St Dunstan’s Catholic Church, Woking, in late November when Nick Harvey was awarded the Benemerenti Medal for his long devoted service over 30 years to the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. St Dunstan’s welcomed Nick’s family and many friends from the Lourdes pilgrimage, including Sylvie Bordes, who had travelled from Lourdes for the occasion. Nick was completely overwhelmed and taken by surprise; he was totally unaware that the award was for him. Concelebrating Mass with Fr Peter Pictures: above: Nick and Karin below: Friends and family (with a special guest appearance! Andrews, parish priest, was Father Simon Hall, Assistant Priest, Canon Séamus Hester, former director of the Diocesan Pilgrimage and Father David Parmiter, current Spiritual Director. Rev Mike Thoms, current Director of the Pilgrimage, assisted as Deacon. Papal Awards run in the family! Karin Harvey also received the Benemerenti in 2014 for her services to the pilgrim- age. Refreshments followed after Mass. Warm congratulations to both Nick and Karin. Story & Pictures: John Sexton Parishes! Advertise your Easter Mass Times in next month’s edition Janet Took on 07931 836907 or email janett@cathcom.org Please support our Advertisers

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10 A&B NEWS March 2019 FR OM THE PAR I SHES ADUR VALLEY HAVING ENJOYED a wonderful Christ- mas with huge attendances at all the Masses we now settle into the New Year with renewed grace and enthusiasm. Antonia and her Secret Singers group held an entertaining singalong raising funds for the SVP. The Youth SVP ar- ranged a Christmas Lunch for those on their own. Following the Christmas card appeal we have been able to send Turn- ing Tides and the Shoreham Foodbank £500. The First Holy Communion group, those preparing for Conﬁrmation and the Enquirers group are all meeting again. The weekly Lunch Club at St Peter’s has re-started. The Youth SVP have been doing great things again. We have new kneelers at St Peter’s in Shoreham and some new cleaners have thankfully added their names to our rota. A recent Poetry and Music evening was held at Christ the King in Steyning. The week of Prayer for Christian Unity con- tinued with a service in each of the churches daily and concluded with an Agape at the Methodist Church in Steyning. Penny Richardson BRIGHTON AND HOVE St Mary’s Preston Park THE SOCIAL CONCERNS GROUP held a quiz night on 2 November, had ﬁve en- thusiastic teams and raised £185 for CAFOD. The annual Catholaity Fair was held at the new venue of Cardinal Newman Sixth Form College on 10 November and The Social Concerns Group ran their usual stall which, with rafﬂe ticket sales plus proceeds of a coffee morning, raised a total of £295.27 for the charity Uganda Hands For Hope. The weekend of 24/25 November was a busy one for the parish with our Christ- mas Fair on the Saturday and a visita- tion from Bishop Richard. As well as celebrating Masses, visits to the sick and meetings with Conﬁrmation and First Communion candidates, he met parishioners over tea, coffee and cake after the 10am Sunday Mass. Our Advent Carol Service on 23 Decem- ber was a beautiful occasion and a great preparation for Christmas. We had mulled wine and mince pies in the hall afterwards. A collection raised £581 which was divided between the charities Mary’s Meals and St Barts. Our joyful celebration of Christmas has now ended and we look forward to all that the New Year brings. Claire Shelton-Jones CATERHAM OUR CONTINUING THANKS to those Priests who have been helping Fr Sean during his recovery and our thanks also to Fr Gerry Devlin from Woldingham School whose girls served at the New Year’s lunch for the older members of the Parish on 12 January. It was a very happy occasion, a chance for old friends to meet and we were very grateful to Jo Waiton for organising it so well. We are sad to report the death of Chris- tine Vernon, a long serving member of the Parish. Our congratulations to Mrs Hilary Meyer for her appointment as Head Teacher of Virgo Fidelis School in Upper Norwood. Our St Francis School is seeking to have more Foundation Governors. Peace Sunday with its theme Good poli- tics deserve peace underlines the help we are committed to give to the Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan in the Parish of St John the Baptist in Madaba. Peter Paterson EASTBOURNE Our Lady of Ransom OUR SVP GROUP gave a huge thank you to everyone who brought a gift for the Christmas Giving Tree. 280 presents were delivered to the needy, homeless and disadvantaged people of the parish; it was a real spreading of God’s love and put a smile on a lot of people’s faces. An Epiphany procession was held directly after 10.30am Mass with the Blessed Sacrament, banners and the Three Kings around the neighbouring streets. Parishioners were encouraged to bring plates of food to share in the parish cen- tre afterwards. St Agnes held their Pa- tronal Feast day with Mass and a get together in the parish hall afterwards. Fr Tristan celebrated the Feast day again at Our Lady of Ransom on the Monday Mass. A new signing group for people with dementia was started at St Agnes hall on the ﬁrst Tuesday of the month. Fr Tristan and our Seminarian, Stephen, along with the conﬁrmation catechists and candidates held their Re- treat weekend at Worth Abbey. It was a very rewarding weekend for them all and they continue to respond well to their important preparation sessions. Mary Stafﬁere GODALMING THE RECENT parish Barn Dance was a fun evening which raised funds for the SVP, and the 4th Parish Quiz Night was a sell-out, and raised £820 for CAFOD; both events succeeded in getting parish- ioners from three Mass centres to so- cialise together. Two Alpha courses, attended by 100+ parishioners, have also provided oppor- tunities for parishioners to meet, enjoy a shared supper and deepen their faith through group discussions and the Holy Spirit days. Subsequently, many infor- mal groups have been formed, enabling people to discuss Fr Mallon’s book Divine Renovation and consider how the principles of Divine Renovation can be put in to practice in our parish. Our monthly Know Your Neighbour Masses, where we all wear name badges, introduce ourselves and pray for each other during Mass, are going well and we are building up our Ministry of Wel- coming with input from A&B’s inclusion advisor, Margaret Fraher. Sarah Stilwell PETWORTH AND MIDHURST OUR PARISH PRIEST, Fr Peter Newsam continued the old tradition of Blessing of Chalk at Epiphany. Pieces of chalk were blessed and then distributed to the Mass attenders, who use it to bless their homes. 20+C+M+B+19 is written on the lintel or the door itself. CMB, of course, are the initials of the Magi, but also stand for Christus Mansionem Benedi- cat, (May Christ bless this house). The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, organised by PACT, started with an ecumenical service in Graffham. Holocaust Memorial Day fell on the Sun- day immediately after. Fr Peter’s homily was thought provoking and reminded us that anti-semitism still exists in the cor- ridors of power. Paula Dempsey TO A LL OUR CORR E SPOND E NTS ITEMS for the A pril 2019 issue must reach the Editorial Ofﬁce at Crawley by 10am on Monday 4 March 2019 and for the May 2019 issue by Monday 1 A pril 2019. Contributions may be sent by e- mail to abnews@dabnet.org and if so please always include a contact telephone number. It is helpful to us if Correspondents can type their contributions, keep them to no more than 200 words and include a word count. Please use the highest resolution possible when taking photographs and do not reduce the q uality when you send them to us. Original good quality digital pictures are very welcome. They should be sent as e-mail attachments. We regret we are unable to use photocopies or copies printed directly from computers. Please tell us who gave permission and what evidence do you have for children’s photos to be published. EGHAM PARISHIONERS of Egham welcomed back recently, as part of his Jubilee Celebra- tions, their past priest Fr Michael Creech CssR for a concelebrated Mass with our current Priest Fr Chris Spain. Fr Michael was parish priest for ﬁve years and made popular, during his sermons a little character called Tommy Tadpole. The little boy got into lots of scrapes and the ﬁnal ‘throwaway’ line was always, ‘Find out what happens next week’ Result? A full congregation, adults and children, eager to hear more! We also beneﬁtted from his generosity towards the Parish – a Wendy house for the children in our grounds, goal posts on the back lawn and lots of toys for the After Mass Coffee and play times. Congratulations dear Fr Michael on 60 years of service. Story: Fran Thomas Picture: Maria Jedla I N OUR FEBRUARY ISSUE, on page 7, we published an article about the amazing Ted Kortens, from Selsey Parish, who served on the altar from the age of six to his current age of 92. Unfortunately, our publishers cropped the accompanying photo - not realising that they had cropped Ted completely out of it. So, apologies to Ted - and fellow server Bill Collins, who was pr obably mistaken for Ted - and we are happ y to publish two pictures that we guarantee are the real Ted Kortens. Our thanks to Ted and best wishes for a complete recovery from his recent ailments. Editor THE REA L TED K O RTENS HORSHAM ST JOHN`S in Horsham held their annual Burns Night Supper on Saturday 26 January. The team led by Trish Fitzsimmons spent the morning peeling and chopping neeps and tatties and preparing the church hall. Over 80 assembled in the evening which commenced with piping in the haggis followed by the address to the haggis and supper. Pictured are Bill Wickham addressing the haggis, piper Robin Landells and Trish. After expenses were deducted a total of £600 was raised and this year it is to be donated to The Scottish Charity Air Ambulance. This was agreed by acclamation as Patrick, the husband of Trish, had a serious accident in Orkney last year and was helicoptered to Ab- erdeen Royal Inﬁrmary. He is con- tinuing to make progress. Story and picture: David White

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12 A&B NEWS March 2019 WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SCHOOLS ON THIS PAGE FOR SUPPORTING THE PAPER If your School would like to wish our readers a Happy and Holy Easter in the next edition, please get in touch by Monday 18th March. Contact Janet on 07931 836907 or email janett@cathcom.org

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