From Fr Sean
I know that for many of you it was a great delight to be present at, or at least watch on the live stream, Damien’s ordination last Saturday, not least because you have had the opportunity in his years living here during his time of preparation to get to know him and nurture him, and I know that he in his turn has a high regard for this parish. It was a moving occasion, not least because at the centre of it all was the happy smiling face of Damien, but it also is powerfully inspiring when we witness somebody making such a public commitment. In these times of great uncertainty and change it feels like something to hold on to. Yet we need to be careful about the expectations we load on one person no matter how broad their shoulders may appear to be. I was reminded, when Kieran Dodd, a priest for sixty years including time in that parish, was helped forward to formally greet the new priest, that priests don’t grow on trees. They come from real families and grow up in real parishes like this one, and yet those parishes never benefit from the subsequent ministry. The way we are set up means that people in parishes continue to presume that they will always have a priest and when one moves on another will arrive (as if off the tree) but many parishes are finding that no longer true and are having to come to terms with the consequences. For nearly fifty years in this diocese, we have lived with a tiny number of homegrown new priests each year; fifty years when we could have been adapting to new ways of being Church that puts the congregation at the centre. Sadly, we have tried harder to keep that particular version of Church on the road, and now the pandemic has revealed how threadbare the cupboard is. But the Lord does not desert us and there are always signs of new life if we know where to look. We have a new priest who will bring life and energy wherever he serves, a life and energy to help us to be the Church that we are called to be for the world of today.
The Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS)
The Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS) provides parish leaders with knowledge and understanding of theology and the Catholic faith.
You can learn the course in person, by distance learning or online - details below:
Centres (in person learning)
http://brs-ccrs.org.uk/index.php/course-centres
Life-Light Home Study Courses (distance learning)
info@studylifelight.com
01844 351 514
CCRS Online (online learning)
ccrsonline@hope.ac.uk
0151 291 3055
Yours sincerely, Board of Religious Studies
Is God calling you to be a Priest?
To apply for the catholic priesthood in the U.K. you need to be a single practising catholic man who has never been married. Exceptions to this rule would be If you have received an annulment from a previous marriage or are an older man who has been widowed.
If you are married and you are a minister in another Christian denomination a provision for Episcopalian and other Protestant ministers who were married and wanted to remain active in their ministry after their conversion to Catholicism was made in 1980.
This provision has been continued and expanded by both Pope Emeritus Benedict and Pope Francis; however, these are exceptions to the rule of celibacy, if you are in this situation then please contact Fr. Michael Halsall on frmichaelhalsall@gmail.com
Tel: 01702 466998 – Mobile: 07967 498589