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Saturday 5th October 2002 There was great anticipation in The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury as we awaited the start of the service, to celebrate the 'Stepping Out' programme by which the Diocese of Portsmouth marked its 75th anniversary.
This was the third and last of the three main services to celebrate the anniversary. (The first took place on May 4th in Winchester Cathedral and marked 75 years since the creation of the Portsmouth Diocese in 1927. To symbolise the event, more than 250 Churchwardens (St George's was represented by myself and Winifred Mancz) marched out the Cathedral and along Winchester's High Street. The second was the open air Eucharist and Family Day on Castle Field on July 14th.) Guests included the Deputy Lord Mayor of Portsmouth and the Mayors of Havant and Fareham. Representatives from the Methodist and Roman Catholic Church plus visiting clergy from Sweden were also present together with two familiar faces, Canon David Tomkinson and Archdeacon Ian Jagger. There was, however, one very special guest in the person of Reg Cockle. In 1927, Reg was one of four children chosen to represent St Peter's Church Sunday School in Bishop's Waltham at the service to celebrate the enthronement of the first Bishop of Portsmouth, Neville Lovett. Back to the present, the Cathedral Choir and organist were joined by the Choir of Guildford Cathedral together with their organist and we all joined in the rousing Processional Hymn, 'Praise To The Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.' The sermon reflected the thoughts in the two readings, (1 Corinthians 12, 4-12 and Luke 10, 17-24.) Bishop Kenneth commented that the 'Stepping Out' activities had been a chance to relate Christ to the World, to look at what we do in more depth. As a result more parishes had felt more confident of mission in the community. He cited St Paul who spoke of us being made for each other. All gifts come from God and every organisation needs all of them. The year 2002 would be a year when we listened to God and to each other in our common search as pilgrim parishes in the Diocese. God was recreating the Church in his own time and in his own Grace. Just as the 70 were sent out, we too are sent out to come back with renewed strength, sharper vision and renewed encouragement. A video presentation followed showing many of the innovative ideas from around the Diocese, including Toddler Groups, Men's breakfasts, drop-in centres and a presentation of 'Pilgrim's Progress' which took place around Godshill, Isle of Wight. After which the 'Stepping Out' reports from the various parishes were presented to the Bishop. Richard Spurgeon was our representative and duly presented the report for our 'Family Fun Day'. It was an encouraging service and encouraging too to see the many ways in which mission had been undertaken. I pray that having taken the courage to 'step out' we will continue to keep walking in faith. LYNN WINTER |
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page last updated 2 NOVEMBER 2002 |
