Belle Isle Consultation
URGENT INFORMATION

Presumably not in an attempt to scupper a worthwhile attendance at the LEEDS consultation, the authorities have taken it into their heads to renumber various roads and motorway junctions around the city. This is as a result of the completion of the new link road, south of Leeds, between the M1 and the A1.

What this means is that numbers of you have received tickets from us, bearing a map showing the location of S.Barnabas, Belle Isle, which is no longer as helpful as was intended! We have in Faith House a sheet detailing these changes, which we will be happy to send out to anyone who needs it. If you are planning on travelling to Belle Isle by car and are not already familiar with these changes, we recommend that you give us a call or drop us a line, asking for a copy of this sheet.

Forward in Faith Australia

The first National Conference of Forward in Faith Australia took place last month in Brisbane at St John’s College, University of Queensland. Priests and lay people came from all over Australia, literally overflowing the College. Speakers for the weekend were Bishop John Broadhurst and Fr Geoffrey Kirk from England, Dr Ann Young, a member of the Australian General Synod working group on Women Bishops and Alternative Episcopal Oversight from Sydney, Fr David Robarts of Christ Church, Brunswick in Melbourne and Fr David Chislett of All Saints, Wickham Terrace in Brisbane.

The Conference was preceded by a clergy day at All Saints, Wickham Terrace, for which over forty priests gathered to hear Bishop Broadhurst on “Faithful Priests in a Fractured Church”, Fr Robarts on “The Spiritual Life of the Clergy” and Fr Kirk on “Women Bishops and Communion”.

It was evident from the outset of the Conference that a high level of enthusiasm was being generated by this important new initiative. A Constitution was adopted and a National Council was elected, with Fr Robarts as its first National Chairman. Branches of Forward in Faith already exist in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, with Branches in formation in Sydney and Perth. Resolutions were passed, new friendships were forged and delegates returned to their dioceses with a new determination to see their worshipping communities renewed in the “Faith once delivered to the Saints”.

Members of Forward in Faith in the United Kingdom will want to hold the members of Forward in Faith Australia in their prayers at this vital time. Any readers wishing to contact Forward in Faith Australia can do so at PO Box 531, Spring Hill, Queensland 4004.

Sacred Synod

The Provincial Episcopal Visitors and the Bishop of Fulham are calling a Sacred Synod for all the priests of our integrity, which take place in London on 27 – 29 October. By now, all priest members of Forward in Faith should have received their invitations, but if any have not, they can contact the Synod Office on 0171 976 7976.

400 Days

The Eve of Pentecost in the year of Our Lord 2000 will witness the largest yet gathering of our integrity, as we meet to commit ourselves to His Gospel as we enter upon the third millennium of Christianity. Regular readers of New Directions will already know that, on Saturday, 10th June, 2000, the Archbishop of York will be presiding at a great Solemn Eucharist at 12.00 noon in the London Arena, in the heart of London’s Docklands (and just across the river from the Millennium Dome). Forward in Faith is extremely grateful to the Council General of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, and to other Catholic Societies, which have kindly agreed to provide substantial financial support for this event.

Seats will be £10, or £5 for senior citizens or children under the age of 16 on the day of the event. Although we are asking all those wishing to come to pay for their seats when they book them, tickets will not be sent out until the Spring of 2000. In the meantime, all those who book seats will in due course receive an acknowledgement only. Credit Card bookings for Priests who wish to concelebrate, please, to Forward in Faith on 0171 976 0727; for lay people (and priests who do not wish to concelebrate) to the London Arena on 0171 538 1212.

Are you a singer? If so, read on! But even if you’re not, read on and then show this item to those in your Church who do sing! For if there are members of your congregation, choir or music group who would like to sing on 10th June, 2000 in the Forward in Faith Millennial Choir, then we need to hear about them now. We ask only three things of potential singers: first, a reasonable competence in sight-reading, along with real enthusiasm for what we are planning; second, a willingness to attend one of a number of regional rehearsals which Fr Ronald Corp, our Director of Music for Christ our Future, will be organising at various locations during the early months of 2000; and, lastly, the ability to arrive at the London Arena on the day itself by 9.00 am for the final rehearsal. The mass will involve a wide selection of music, both traditional and modern – including a setting of the mass, which Forward in Faith has commissioned Ronald Corp to compose – and will present an enormous but rewarding challenge to all who take part. All those who volunteer to join the choir will be asked, on the day they attend their regional rehearsal, to pay the sum of £15 (or £10 for those under 16 on 10th June, 2000) to cover the cost of their entrance ticket to the Arena and to help to defray the costs of providing the printed music they will need for the mass. If you know of numbers of people who would like to sing on 10th June, 2000, please ask one of them (your Organist, perhaps) to act as the point of contact on their behalf and write to us at Faith House now, giving numbers involved for each “line” – SATB. Likewise, individuals who would like to sing should let us have a note of their name and address and their voice. Once we have an idea of where in the country our singers are coming from, we will arrange the rehearsals as conveniently as we are able. At the risk of stating the obvious, we need to set these regional rehearsals up sooner rather than later: so please deal with this now!

Names of Singers, please, to Faith House on 0171 976 0727, along with requests for additional copies of the Christ our Future Poster.

Our detractors would love to point to any empty seats in the Arena and use such spaces as evidence that our constituency is dying off – together, we must ensure that they have no such opportunity! After all, there are only 10,000 seats available, which represents just one 40 seat coach from each Forward in Faith Parish! We are confident that it really will be a case of “first come, first served”!

FF2000

FF2000 is an International Festival, running from Sunday 23rd July to Sunday 30th July, 2000, for all young people who will then be aged 13 or above. (Yes, it’s even further away than Christ our Future!) It will provide a marvellous opportunity for our young people to meet some of their brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world in the lovely setting of St Gabriel’s, at the Community of All Hallows, at Ditchingham. Activities will include Swimming, Tennis, Hockey, Football, Table Tennis, Wide Games and Treasure Hunts, Folk Dancing and a Disco! There will be Workshops on Art, Drama, Poetry, Printing, Performing Arts, Calligraphy and Pottery and Excursions during the week will include trips to Norwich and to Walsingham. Details: 0121 327 1461