Despite the very cold weather, we've been relatively comfortable in church this December compared to last year. Remember the boiler breaking down last winter? John does.
The blog ought to apologise for calling him one of Santa's little elves when he boldly clambered down to the cellar under the parish rooms to fix the system every time it went wrong. This year with Fr Danny's support he's got it running smoothly and properly under the control of the groups who use the rooms, and the church is kept at a pleasant temperature. Thanks John. We think you're a giant now.
Throughout the year, many of our parishioners have got to know members of other parishes in our Pastoral Area through our mutual contacts with the Dominican Priory at Shirley Holmes. We were all delighted when Sr Michelle was elected Prioress, and our Blog proudly boasted that it had announced the result in the evening of the day on which the election was held. (In truth the congratulations should have gone to Fr Richard, who had already published the news on the sisters' web site that afternoon!)
All four parishes came together for the annual Mass for the sick and disadvantaged, held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in New Milton. Frances managed to snap Colin about to drive off in the minibus after the event, while Den tries to spoil his fun. (Better luck next time, Colin!) They consoled him with the biggest birthday party of the year, and on that occasion the commentary on our blog's photos was printed in large type to make it easier for Colin himself to read the text.
Among the notable joint ventures by the four parishes were the two all-day conferences on the liturgy, led by Paul Inwood and held at our Primary School. The effect of what was learned there was not only to enrich the experience of those of us who attended when partaking in liturgical acts, but also to enhance the quality of lay participation in them.
Parishioners are shy about showing us much of the charitable work done by them, unless it's a sponsored event, when we can help to publicise it. This was the case when we showed Ros, for once without her wheelchair, in mid air during her free fall for Orpheus, thanks to the skill of photographer Gary Aldwinckle.
Although one family kindly allowed us to take photographs during a relaxed coffee morning in their house, parishioners usually prefer not to have social events involving them and their families or friends publicly recorded, and our requests for holiday photos met with a marked lack of enthusiasm. In this area we are still feeling our way, and trying without hurting anyone's feelings to record our super parish as it really is, especially for the benefit of those who
do not have the opportunity to get to church or to participate in all its activities, so may not know what fun we are to be with!
For our parish the biggest event of the year was the farewell party for Fr Jamie, and nobody minded being snapped that evening. The crowd who packed the large hall and spilled out into the car park were testimony to his popularity. We send him our best wishes, and thank him for the support he gave us when the blog made its first uncertain entrance into parish life in November 2009.
Then Fr Danny arrived to take over as parish priest. Since his arrival no effort has been spared to ensure that the Church, and especially the sanctuary, has been cleaned, decorated and reorganised to best befit the sacred rites which take place there. The church office has been modernised and its organisation simplified, whilst advanced photocopying technology and feline facilities have been introduced.
We wait with eager anticipation to see what else will be achieved during the ongoing restoration of our lovely church, and we assure you that the blog will be there when it happens.
During the year the blog has also been made welcome at meetings of the parish and pastoral area clubs and societies. The Catholic Women's League organised a lively and varied programme, and have had, during the year, an impressive range of speakers on a good variety of subjects. (Of course, members' husbands have to be careful what they say!)
The local Catenian circle has members from several parishes, and this year they arranged a Mass in a superb setting in the New Forest, which John photographed for us.
Our parish conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, encouraged by the priority given to its work by Fr Danny, has grown in size, strength and effectiveness.
Despite the continued strength of these existing societies, two more were started this year, and both are proving to be successful. The first was the
Wednesday Word group, who meet weekly to meditate on and discuss the following Sunday's Gospel.
The second was the Knit and Stitch group, who scored a huge hit within weeks of their formation by completing a superb collage for the backcloth of our Christmas crib.
This is a very inadequate selection from the blog's presentation of our parish in the year 2010; all the reports and photos are still there, and can be found instantly by using our search facility. Please keep your comments coming - critical or not, they are always helpful. We do realise that there have been times when our camerawork has been a touch intrusive or the occasional bizarre caption has niggled. We know we should stop making inappropriate remarks, and ought to try to tackle our sensitive task much more seriously in future. We would have made a New Year's resolution about it, but it's too late now, isn't it.
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