Sunday 29 August 2010

St. Mary’s, ILFORD

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The High Altar.

Today I had the pleasure of celebrating and preaching at St. Mary’s Ilford. I am at St. Mary’s several times during this week and again next Sunday. St. Mary’s is one of the oldest churches in Ilford and has a long history in the Catholic Tradition. The present Bishop of Richborough served his title here.

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The Lady Chapel

I helped during the Interregnum and it was great joy to see some of the people I got to know during that period. I preached on the Gospel and, as an introduction, used an anecdote I found some while ago which I am reproducing below:-

“There was panic in the airport. A flight had been cancelled. A slow-moving line of passengers was waiting to book on another plane. One man was getting increasingly annoyed. Finally he marched to the counter and demanded a first-class ticket on the next available flight. "Sorry," said the girl at the counter, "but I must serve the people in turn." The irate customer banged his fist on the counter: "Have you any idea who I am?" he roared. Without a moment's hesitation, the girl picked up the microphone and announced: "There's a gentlemen here who does not know who he is. If anyone in the airport can identify him, please come to the counter." The people waiting in line burst into applause, while the line-jumper experienced one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.”

Ann was able to come with me but we weren’t able to stay for coffee as she can’t manage stairs too well on crutches so we returned to St. Augustine’s and joined their congregation for coffee. Father Martin presented Ann with a “Get Well” card and a bouquet of flowers from the congregation and Father and Jan. Ann won’t be able to put any weight on her leg for 6 weeks but she is now getting to grips with moving around on crutches and does so very well.

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