The Redbridge & Havering Ordinariate Exploratory Group Meeting Wednesday 16th May

Yesterday evening there was a meeting of the Redbridge & Havering Ordinariate Exploratory Group which started with a Mass offered for the Ordinary Monsignor Keith Newton, for all those who have joined the Ordinariate and for all those exploring if the Ordinariate is right for them. After tea and coffee we had a meeting in two parts: the first considered the impact of the Passover Meal we shared on Palm Sunday and then, in the second, we considered our future programme which will include spending some more time on the Evangelium Course

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NEW BISHOP OF CHICHESTER

It has been announced that the new Bishop of Chichester is to be the Rt. Revd. Dr Martin Warner, Bishop of Whitby. Many people will know Father Martin from the time he was the Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. Please keep Father Martin in your prayers as he takes up his new responsibilities.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The date of the next meeting is Wednesday 16th May at 7.30 p.m.

PASSOVER MEAL

On Sunday Evening, after attend Evensong in St. Augustine’s 12 members of the Ordinariate Group gathered for a Passover Meal in the Vicarage which had been prepared for us by Jan, Ann, Carol and Father Martin. After the ceremonial lighting of candles by Jan Father Mervyn began the Passover with the reading of the Haggadah during which we partook of Kosher wine, bitter herbs, matzah and heard the story of the Exodus. After following the Course of the development of the Eucharist through the Old Testament and into the new the Passover ceremony put The Eucharist very much into context. We were able to understand that the Rite we celebrate so frequently was firmly based on Scripture and that Jesus had brought the Seder, originally for Jewish people, to be something for us all. It was with gusto that we ended the meal with traditional shout of “NEXT YEAR IN JEREUSALEM”

Meeting 21st March 2012

Yesterday the 12 of us met for|Mass and, following refreshments, for a time studying the start of the Mass in the Lord’s Supper and its development. On Palm Sunday we will be meeting at St. Augustine’s Vicarage for a Passover Meal and we discussed some of the arrangements to make this as authentic as we can. This will begin with Evensong in Church and we will then go to the Vicarage for the Seder.

LENTEN MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY FATHER

In his Lenten message to the Church throughout the world, Pope Benedict XVI said: “The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favourable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter.”

Meeting 15th February

13 of us gathered for Mass on Wednesday 15th February and, following refreshments, we spent the rest of the evening learning how the Mass had been prefigured in the Old Testament. At our next meeting we will be studying the start of the Mass in the Lord’s Supper and its development. On Palm Sunday we will be meeting at St. Augustine’s Vicarage for a Passover Meal and we discussed some of the arrangements to make this as authentic as we can.