JUST THE ODD HALF

Here’s the proof we only had the odd half despite it being very moreish

DEVON HOLIDAY

We enjoyed the Scrumpy at this pub on Dartmoor on several occasions.

The lady behind the bar told us that the fire in the inglenook fireplace had been burning for 300+ years non-stop!

BACK FROM DEVON

We returned yesterday from a week in Devon where we stayed at one of the Lodges at Bovey Castle with our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters. We were blessed with great weather.

 

One of the advantages at staying in one of the Lodges is that you can use all the five star hotels facilities including the swimming pool and the children are able to go and collect eggs from their chickens and see the ferrets.

 

 

 

On Sunday we visited the Church of  St. John the Evangelist; we were there two years ago, just after their Parish Priest had joined the Ordinariate. Now they are looking forward to the arrival of new Parish Priest, Father Gregory Stanton who is being licensed on 20th September.

ILFORD HOSPITAL CHAPEL

REMINDER

CHAPEL END SAVOY PLAYERS are performing for us on SATURDAY, 20^th JULY AT 7 pm

GILBERT, SULLIVAN AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES with numbers from the G & S canon but also songs from some of the ‘curtain raisers’ they gave at the Buxton International G & S Festival, Tickets at £8

EVERY THURSDAY

12.35 p.m. MASS followed by refreshments

All welcome

15th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Today I was at St. Andrew’s, North Weald for their Parish Mass. In my sermon I talked about the question asked by the Lawyer which was the prompt for the story of the Good Samaritan. I pointed out that the Lawyer was not like our present day lawyers and if defined today we would call him a theologian. The story of the Good Samaritan is possibly one of the best known of the stories which Jesus told and it still has a strong meaning for us in the 21st century. It is all too easy to pass by on the other side but this is something we, as Christians can’t do, We are required to love God and to love our neighbour.

After the Communion of the people the Churchwarden gave out the notices, one of which was to tell those present that Father James Rodley has been appointed as the Priest-in-Charge of St Mary Magdalene, Harlow and St. Andrew’s North Weald. He is currently the Curate at All Saints & St. Clements, Bournemouth.

LIVERPOOL CARE PATHWAY

I welcome the announcement that it is expected that the review of the Liverpool Care Pathway,  led by Baroness Julia Neuberger, will recommend that it is to be phased out. I have never been very happy with it although I believe the intentions to be commendable. It is also expected to recommend that incentive payments for staff who put patients on end-of-life treatment plans should be banned, describing them as "totally unacceptable"

According to The Guardian report:”the regime was originally developed to allow terminally ill patients a peaceful and dignified death. But it came under intense criticism amid claims that it was being used to hasten deaths, clear beds and save money.”

You can read a 1st class article about this: click here and one by the RC Bishop of Portsmouth on this subject click here

A LETTER FROM THE COALITION FOR MARRIAGE

 

Party machines push Bill through

This week the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passed Report Stage in the House of Lords without including many of the robust protections that we have been supporting. This is very disappointing news.

The leaderships of the three main parties used their political machinery to force the Bill through without properly engaging in the debate. The Bill is now likely to pass its final stage in the Lords, Third Reading, and then clear Parliament after a final vote in the Commons.

The Bill was undemocratic from the start, introduced without a mandate from the voters and after a sham consultation which threw 500,000 legitimate responses in the bin. The Bill has been undemocratic to the very end, with the parties using their power to apply exceptional pressure on MPs and Peers. Whatever the parties may say, we know the votes on civil liberty protections were not truly free.

There is a very good case for reasonable and necessary safeguards to protect the civil liberties of people like you – people that believe in traditional marriage. Several courageous Peers tabled good civil liberty amendments, which we supported. But the Bill’s backers – including the leadership of the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and Labour – saw to it that none of them were voted into the Bill.

We have worked really hard to give our backing to over 25 amendments tabled by Peers including:

Teachers – we wanted to see them protected so that they wouldn’t be disciplined for their beliefs about marriage.

Workers – we argued for a ‘reasonable accommodation’ in the workplace for people who supported traditional marriage.

Chaplains – we backed calls for public sector chaplains to have the freedom to express their beliefs without fear of losing their jobs.

Councils – we wanted to stop local councils punishing people or organisations that disagree with same-sex marriage.

Free speech – we tried to make sure people could express themselves on this issue without being penalised under the civil law.

Siblings – we argued for fairness for family members and long-term carers who live in the same home.

We wanted Clauses on the face of the Bill to protect civil liberties. Instead Government ministers only agreed to a couple of amendments and gave verbal assurances that people should not be victimised, saying that people would be protected by equality laws.

We need to record our special thanks to Lord Dear and his colleagues for a valiant effort in standing up for marriage. Their amendments were all sensible, moderate and reasonable. Yet the Government and the Opposition objected, sometimes hysterically, and made sure none of them were added to the Bill. It’s shameful.

However, while it is right for us to be deeply upset at the way the three main parties have refused to listen, we should remember that over 300 MPs and Peers voted against this Bill. It has not had unanimous support. It has not been plain sailing for the Government. We have been effective at highlighting the many problems with this legislation.

Next year the Government will issue marriage certificates for same-sex couples which are perfectly lawful, but actually fake. Marriage can only be between one man and one woman. We should also remember that the Government said, during debates, that fidelity was not important in marriage and same-sex couples make better parents.

Let us be clear. Our quibble is not with gay people for this state of affairs. Most of them don’t want it. Some of them have backed C4M. Even Stonewall only recently decided to back same-sex marriage.

No. This policy was made in Downing Street as part of a political rebranding exercise which went badly wrong. Polling shows that people have seen through it: a majority of gay people think David Cameron redefined marriage for his own political reasons, rather than the principle.

It is David Cameron who rammed this through Parliament – and he did it only with the support of Labour and the Liberal Democrats. A majority of his own Conservative MPs rejected same-sex marriage.

Where do we go from here? Well, we have no plans to go away. Marriage is far too important for us to keep quiet about. The Coalition for Marriage is supported by two thirds of a million people in the UK. We have an army of 700 grassroots volunteers networked by regional co-ordinators (thank you again to all those who have gone door to door delivering leaflets and collecting petition signatures). We are one of the largest campaign groups in the nation. We have many more active supporters than the two main political parties have members.

• We will work to promote and defend marriage.
• We will hold politicians to account for their actions.
• We will highlight cases of injustice against people who believe in traditional marriage.

GENERAL SYNOD’S DECISION

So where does the decision of General Synod yesterday leave Catholic Anglicans? Although he disputes saying it, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been reported as saying once the legislation is passed and we have women Bishops those who don't like it can like it or lump it. Nothing new in that then; that has been the attitude of the supporters of women bishops all along to those of us who are opposed.

As far as I can see the new proposal offers traditionalists pretty well nothing except a vague promise that we “will be able to flourish”  All we need to do is put our trust in the Bishops. When I heard that I thought of::-

Psalm 146:3-5 King James Version (KJV)

³ Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

⁴ His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

⁵ Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

What the Bishops and the other supporters have not taken into account is that they still need a two thirds majority to finally bring this innovation into the church. Unless provision is made for traditionalists the necessary legislation could very well be defeated yet again.

CONGRATULATIONS

Many congratulations to Andy Murray on his success at Wimbledon. I am very interested in co-incidence. Andy Murray had his outstanding success on the 7th day of the 7th month 77 years after Fred Perry was the Wimbledon Men’s Champion. It was interesting today to hear the Prime Minister discussing the possibility of a knighthood for Murray.

14th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Today I presided at the Solemn Mass at St. Alban’s, Romford as their Vicar and several members of the congregation had gone to Walsingham for their annual Pilgrimage, and I will be officiating at Solemn Evensong and Benediction later. In my sermon I reminded people that we are all called to act as witnesses to Jesus – easy words but not so easy to put into practice. Romford has a large market several days a week; I posed the question: “how many would be prepared to go to the market to witness to Jesus as Lord?”

After Mass I drove back to St. Augustine’s as I had ‘borrowed’ Ann’s car as my car drinks petrol; so  not economical around town so we tend to use Ann’s Ka.

GENERAL SYNOD, YORK

The General Synod are meeting in York. Please keep the members in your prayers that in all they do and the decisions they make, may be inspired by the Grace of the Holy Spirit.

COME holy ghost eternall God procedinge from above,
Both from the father and the sonne, the God of peace and love:
Vysyte oure myndes, and into us, thy heavenly grace inspyre;
That in all trueth and godlynesse, we maye have true desyre.
Thou art the very comforter, in al woe and distresse:
The heavenly gyfte of God moste highe, whych no tongue can expresse.
The fountayne and the lively springe, of joye celestiall:
The fyre so brighte, the love so clere, and Unction spirituall.
Thou in thy gyftes arte manifolde, whereby Christes Churche doeth stande:
In faythfull heartes wrytinge thy lawe, the fynger of Goddes hande.
According to thy promes made, thou gevest speache of grace;
That throughe thy helpe, the prayse of God, may sounde in every place.
O holy ghoste, into oure wittes, sende downe thyne heavenly lyght;
Kyndle our heartes wyth fervent love, to serve God daye and nyght.
Strength and stablishe all oure weakenes, so feble and so frayle:
That neyther fleshe, the worlde, nor devyl, agaynste us do prevayle.
Put backe oure enemie farre from us, and graunte us to obtayne:
Peace in our heartes with God and man, withoute grudge or disdayne.
And graunt O Lorde that thou beyng, oure leader and oure guyde;
We may eschewe the snares of synne, and from thee never slyde.
To us such plentie of thy grace, good Lord graunt we thee praye:
That thou mayest bee oure comforter, at the laste dreadfull daye.
Of all stryfe and dissencion, O Lorde, dissolve the bandes:
And make the knottes of peace and love, throughoute all Christien landes.
Graunte us O Lorde, throughe thee to knowe the father most of myght;
That of hys deare beloved sonne we may attayne the syght.
And that wyth perfect fayth also, we may acknowledge thee;
The Spirite of them both alwaye, one God in persones three.
Laude and prayse be to the father, and to the sonne equall:
And to the holy spyryte also, one God coeternall.
And praye we that the onely sonne, vouchesafe hys spyryte to sende;
To all that do professe hys name, unto the worldes ende. Amen.

– Book of Common Prayer (1549)

THE LOWRY EXHIBITION

On Friday Ann and I went to the Lowry Exhibition at the Tate Britain. We have both been admirers of Lowry for many years and to have the chance to see so many of his paintings was an opportunity we couldn’t miss. We really enjoyed this and afterwards we had a look at the wonderful Turner Exhibition. If you get the chance to visit the Lowry Exhibition do so; it really is excellent.

Today at the Ilford Hospital Chapel

Today I celebrated a Mass of Healing at the Ilford Hospital Chapel with the Laying-on-of-Hands with Prayer and Holy Anointing for those who wished to receive this.

Pictured below are the magnificent and historically important west windows, in the baptistery, which were designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made by Morris and Company, depicting St. Clement and St. Valentine and dedicated in December 1891 by The Revd. Arthur Ingleby, chaplain from 1882 to 1892, in loving memory of his father Clement Mansfield Ingleby, M.A., LL.D. who lived in Valentines (now Valentines Mansion – the second oldest building in Ilford), and who was a former pew-holder of the Ilford Hospital Chapel.