New Members for the Shrewsbury Ordinariate Group

Wednesday 25^th January, The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, saw the Reception and Confirmation of two new members of the Shrewsbury Group.

Father David Mawson received Hilary and Paul Miller into the full communion of the Catholic Church at the Church of St Milburga, Church Stretton, in Shropshire.   The day was particularly significant because, as well as being Paul Miller’s name-day, it was also Hilary Miller’s birthday!

The photograph taken at the party in the local hostelry after the service shows Hilary and Paul together with (from l to r) Fr John Pitchford (Ordinariate), Fr Ambrose Nicholson (Parish Priest of St Milburga’s), Fr Richard Smith (Ordinariate) and Fr David Mawson.

St John’s vision of the City of God

St John’s vision of the City of God is featured in a mural emblazoned on the walls of Brazil’s own City of God, a community once notorious for drug dealing and crime.

Local opinion remains divided on whether Fernando Mireilles’ 2002 film City of God was good news or bad news for the community. But without a doubt it brought the neighbourhood to international renown – and an image of Little Ze, the film’s most notorious drugs trafficker, has been included in the mural.

Overseeing the project is USPG Mission Companion Nicholas Wheeler, who has been working as priest missioner in the City of God.

Last year he commissioned international mural artist Joel Bergner to work with local teenagers to create murals of the Garden of Eden and the Last Supper on the Church of Christ the King’s boundary walls.

In November, Joel returned to depict the Book of Revelation’s vision of the City of God, and another 'timeline' mural telling the story of the neighbourhood since the first residents arrived in 1966.

Local people of all age groups and local organisations teamed up to help out. There were workshops on art and design and opportunities for the community to help agree on the content of the murals.

Speaking about the subject of the mural, Fr Nicholas said: ‘According to the Bible, humankind’s final destiny will be a city where healthcare, lighting and clean water are in plentiful supply and where there is no need for security. All very different from today’s City of God.’

However, there are hopes that the community is moving on from its notorious past. On 13 November 2008, police moved in. Thirteen people died that night and since then 300 policemen have remained to patrol the streets and keep order.

And this month, Fr Nicholas was installed as an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral of the Redeemer, in Rio de Janeiro. He said: ‘I believe this appointment to be a generous recognition of the transformative partnership that we are building together in one of Rio de Janeiro’s neediest communities.’

Click here for more images and information.

Appeal to authorities for Chinese New Year: release of three bishops and of six priests

Posted on 16 January 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I hope other bloggers will pick this up and share it with their own readers.
Perhaps after reading this you could stop for a moment and say a Memorare for the missing priests and bishops as well as for the softening of the hearts of the authorities who have them (hopefully alive) in custody.
From AsiaNews:

Appeal: Bishops and priests disappeared or in prison, home for the Chinese New Year
by Bernardo Cervellera
During the Year of the Dragon, AsiaNews asks President Hu Jintao and ambassador Ding Wei for the release of three bishops and six Chinese priests who have disappeared in police custody or are in forced labour camps.
Rome (AsiaNews) – In a letter to President Hu Jintao and the Chinese ambassador in Italy, AsiaNews has decided to ask for the release of three bishops and of six priests who have disappeared in police custody or are detained in prison without trial. Their release could be a gesture of friendship and hope for Catholics and human rights activists, as well as a sign of true hope for the upcoming Chinese New Year.
In just a few days, on January 23, the world of the Far East celebrates the Lunar New Year: we will enter the Year of the Dragon, a very positive year that promises many fruits. In China, hundreds of millions of people will travel to join their families: the dawn of the New Year is always celebrated by strengthening the bonds of family and friendships which help to face the future with an even more positive outlook.
For this reason, we ask that for these three bishops and six priests to be restored to their families and their communities.
They were never charged with any crime; given the opportunity of a trial or convicted by a court. And yet they have been interred in forced labour camps or were seized by the police of a country that is a member of the UN Security Council and that has signed the Charter of Human Rights.
[...]

Read the rest there.

Another tangled Church of England web!

A controversial gay dean has threatened to take the Church of  England to court after he was blocked from becoming a bishop.
The Very Rev Jeffrey John, Dean of St Albans, has instructed an eminent employment lawyer to complain to Church officials after being rejected for the role of Bishop of Southwark.
Sources say the dean, one of the most contentious figures in the Church, believes he could sue officials under the Equality Act 2010, which bans discrimination on the grounds of sexuality. Such a case could create a damaging new rift within the CoE.
Dr John was at the centre of a storm in 2003 when forced to step down as Bishop of Reading by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams after it became known that he was in a gay, though celibate, relationship. The furore fuelled a bitter civil war within the Anglican Church that has dominated Dr Williams’s decade in office.
The dean was again a cause of infighting in 2010 when he was a candidate for Bishop of Southwark. A respected theologian and former canon at Southwark Cathedral, he had strong backing from senior Church liberals and it was said even David Cameron was supportive.
But the Crown Nominations Commission, whose members are responsible for selecting bishops and include Dr Williams, appointed another candidate. Dr John was said to be furious and his supporters’ anger was stoked by a memo by another member of the commission, the late Dean of Southwark Colin Slee, claiming Dr Williams was one of those who tried to ‘wreck’ Dr John’s chances.

Challenge: Gay dean Dr Jeffrey John has said he will take action against the Church

Dr John has instructed Alison Downie, partner and head of employment at London lawyers Goodman Derrick, to write to the Commission to suggest it risks breaching gay equality laws if it is blocking the dean over his homosexuality.
Ms Downie previously acted for a gay youth worker who successfully sued the Church in 2008 after the Bishop of Hereford Anthony Priddis refused him a job.
It is understood there has been a lengthy correspondence between Ms Downie and Church lawyers in an attempt to resolve the dispute. No legal action has been launched but it is thought Dr John has not ruled out the possibility, although one source said Dr John suggested he would drop his legal threat if he felt he would not be ruled out for future posts.
Church lawyers published new guidelines last summer which said that under the Equality Act, candidates cannot be barred from senior Church posts because they are gay as long as they do not have sex. The guidance added that candidates could be blocked if they were regarded as divisive because their views or behaviour had angered  a significant number of their flock.
Ms Downie refused to comment last night.  A Church spokesman also refused to comment.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086720/Ill-sue-Church-England-bars-bishop-says-The-Very-Rev-Jeffrey-John-Dean-St-Albans.html#ixzz1jYu7DAIL

You are loved Stephen Lawrence, words and music Garth Hewitt