From the Parish Priest

What a fantastic three months! During the Study Leave kindly granted to me by the Bishop of Portsmouth, I have had time to read, to study, to visit new places and to worship in different Churches. During the first half of the study leave I spent a week at Westminster Abbey as Duty Chaplain. This was a great experience hearing from people their thoughts about Westminster, about England and about the Church in general! What impressed me most was the very warm feelings people express towards the Church and how willing some of them were to talk to me as a stranger. My role was to welcome pilgrims to the Abbey; to listen to people’s worries and to answer their questions, but I also found myself hearing confessions and offering spiritual advice to people whose party was about to leave. The most striking conversation was with an American mother who was trying to come to terms with the murder of her young daughter. I listened and very quickly prayed with her as her coach was waiting to move on to the Tower of London. As the lady left she said that in those few minutes she had “found” God again. To minister in and celebrate the Eucharist at Westminster was a great privilege and a great experience.

Another week was spent at the Shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. Although as a village and a shrine Walsingham is not new to me, it was the first time I was there by myself rather than leading a group of pilgrims. The experience was fascinating. I had time to read and write a good deal towards the Lent Course I am compiling, and I found it very useful to join in the daily worship of the Shrine. It was, however, a very lonely week despite there being some hundred or so other pilgrims around. It taught me just how much I rely on others - family, friends and Church members - for company and for motivation. During the week I read the book “Sacred Space”, which although based on the Shrine and edited by the administrator, is more about pilgrimages people make in their Christian lives. It examines the whole concept of making a journey in faith, both at Christian sites and in parish Churches.

One aspect of the Study Leave that I did not expect was the privilege of being able to worship in Churches other than St. George’s. Apart from those places already mentioned, I also visited Churches in Hampshire, Dorset and Essex, and in the second part of the Study Leave worshipped in the Cathedrals of Singapore, Wellington and Christchurch. This provided an opportunity to experience worship rather than to lead it, and it also gave a chance to learn from both the positive and the negative experiences.

A lot of people at St. George’s Church and in the wider Diocese made it possible for Lynda and I to take Study Leave, and especially to visit New Zealand. My thanks to you all.

Fr. Mike