Greetings from the ESBVM in the USA! This is to announce our October 2009 meeting which will be held at Zion Lutheran Church, 2215 Brandywine Lane,  in York, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, 10 October, 2009! (Registration, presentations and lunch, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm / business meeting 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.)  Rev. Janyce Jorgensen, pastor at Zion Church, will  host the meeting.

Our schedule will include presentations by Dr. Carl Winderl, Professor of Writing at Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, California, who will recount his spiritual journey and share his Marian poetry; Dr. Frank Romance, Vice-President of the ESBVM-USA, who will speak on ”Mary and the Knights of Columbus”;  and a presentation by Sr. Regina Vieyra MGSpS of Immaculate Conception Church / Old St. Mary’s in York, Pennsylvania, on “Blessed Virgin Mary in the Latino tradition.”

The meeting is open to the public and there is no entry fee. Lunceon will be served. A business meeting will follow and all are welcome to attend.

Please contact ESBVM-USA Chapter President Virginia M. Kimball at vkimball@assumption.edu for further information.

The meeting is reached via Harrisburg Internationall Airport (25 minutes away  by car) or Baltimore Washington International Airport (one hour and 15 minutes away by car.) Lodging will be available at Comfort Inn Corporate Gateway (PA 257), 2250 North George Street, York, Pennsylvania 17406 ( Phone 717-699-1919 / Fax 717-864-7209) or Homewood Suites by Hilton, 200 Masonic Drive, York, Pennsylvania, United States 17406 (Tel: 1-717-434-1800   Fax: 1-717-434-1848.)

Our sincere apologies to Mr Bernard V. A. Woods of Co Dublin, Republic of Ireland and current Chairman of the Dublin Branch for the erroneous report of his demise in the August ESBVM Newsletter which seems to have arisen as a confusion of information.

The report is premature as he is still happily with us. His dear wife Anita’s death had been recorded earlier by the Society RIP. We deeply regret any distress caused to friends in this misreporting. Our only hope is that Bernard will see himself ranked now with the famous Mark Twain who said ‘The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.’

In the February edition of the Newsletter, I reported that the North-West branch had visited Waddington, near Clitheroe to hear a talk on Fr Arthur Wagner, the apostle of Anglo-Catholicism in Brighton. Since the report appeared, I have had several stories about Fr Wagner, including the one about his father, also a clergyman, who became so distressed at the amount of the family fortune Fr Arthur was spending on building churches that he preached a sermon with the text “Lord have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic.”! As Colin Stephenson points out in his “Merrily On High” texts were much used in this way, so that when Fr Arthur fired two of his curates after some trouble, the older one preached on the text “Stay ye here with the ass, while the lad and I go yonder.”

For our Spring meeting the North-West branch indeed “went yonder” to Carnforth in the north of Lancashire and which just sneaks into the Southern Lakes. It is a beautiful part of the country, even in the depths of winter. We had gone for a Lenten Day of Mediation to the monastery of Our Lady of Hyning. We began with coffee and a talk by Sister Mary Stella on icons. Every Wednesday Sister Mary Stella runs an icon painting class and we saw many examples of her work and that of her students before she took one icon to explain to us. It was the Icon of the Nativity after Rublev, an icon painter of the early 15th Century. Our tutor patiently explained the composition of the painting: the mountain is a favourite image as a place where God converses with Man; the symbolism of the Cave, the Old Testament echoes with the ox and the ass, the rays coming down from Heaven onto the Christ-Child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. She then explained the various groups of figures – angels, shepherds, and midwives washing the newborn Child, St Joseph in conversation with the Tempter, the Magi galloping towards Bethlehem. As the end of her short talk, we had gained a fuller, better idea of what the icon was meant to signify.

We joined the nuns for their Midday Office in the simple chapel before having our packed lunch in one of the sitting rooms they provide for guests. They also have an extensive bookshop and piety stall for visitors. It is possible to book in for a stay and enjoy good food but the Sisters are an enclosed Order and so don’t join guests for meals.

After lunch and some recreational time, Canon Brenda Harding led us on a meditation. She argues that if Lent is about our journey towards God, we could consider four of the journeys Mary made and see what they tell us. The first was the Annunciation and from this we learn to echo Mary as she cries out, Be it done unto me according to Thy word. The second event was losing Jesus in Jerusalem and then finding Him three days later in the Temple. The thing we learn here is that like Mary and Joseph, we too must go on searching for the Lord until we find Him. The third episode was the wedding at Cana and Mary’s instructions to the servants should be our watchword, Do whatever He tells you. Finally Brenda took us to the Foot of the Cross where we could do no better than echo Jesus’ words, Behold your mother! After saying the Evening Office, we set off home after a productive day at Hyning.

Our Summer outing took place on Saturday 30th May when we teamed up with the Walsingham cells of St Peter’s Oughtrington and St Chrysostom’s Manchester to visit Ladyewell for the day. All in the area were urged to join us.

Our step to promote awareness of the work of the society among young people initiated last year with the first annual prize by the ESBVM Council to students who have made an outstanding contribution to Ecumenism made its 2nd award in July.

The award in the form of a tasteful glass trophy within which is embedded the engraved logo of the society was once again presented at Prior Park College in Bath and the 2nd recipient was Tegan Lloyd-Williams who joined Prior Park College in the 6th form after an exemplary school career at St Gregory’s Catholic College in Bath.

She was Head Girl at St Gregory’s and outstanding in support of the religious life of her Catholic schools where she has been a committed Christian in the Church of England. (Her father is the vicar of St Michael’s in Bath.) At Prior Park, as at St Gregory’s, her support for the Catholic life of the colleges in all kinds of ways has been matched by her personal Christian commitment to the Anglican tradition and demonstrated how much can and should be achieved by Christians working together in an educational community. Once again the winner is an Anglican student.

Tegan had shown significant ecumenical efforts during her 6th Form years at the College and has received a certificate, a copy of the ESBVM Constitution and a book token prize and will be allowed to retain the award trophy. Awards have been considered in other schools and it is hoped this might be another way of involving young people in the work of the society. If this could develop nationally and internationally it might be very valuable. This is a much needed effort of promotion of the ESBVM.

The new international web site of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been launched and is in the process of being built and populated with information from the previously existing ESBVM separate sites before the URLs are transferred. The content and URLs of the previous sites – run from the UK and the USA – are in the process of being transferred to this new site hosted on WordPress, and WordPress being a blog platform, the new content will be more timely and will allow interaction between all those who are devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Unity of the Church, one flock and one shepherd, resonating with our aim to show that, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, Christians of many traditions may find a focus in their search for unity.

This step was taken after the discussions between the Hon Gen Secretary and the USA Branch [traditionally referred to in the ESBVM as a Chapter] at the PAMI Congress in Lourdes in August 2008, which managed to clarify and resolve a number of misunderstandings that had arisen and which had perhaps inadvertently suggested the existence of two parallel societies on the opposite sides of the Atlantic. The ESBVM Council is very pleased that this united website is now being put in place and deeply grateful to Revd Giles Pinnock our ESBVM Website Master and Dr.Virginia Kimball Chair of the USA Chapter who have devoted much time to the resolution of this matter. We are sure that it will serve the promotion and work of the ESBVM internationally in a most helpful and fresh way.

The May 2009 ESBVM USA meeting was held in Walton, New York, a small mountain village in the Catskill mountains. We met at a lovely, historic UCC church. The topic of the day was a discussion on the merits of developing a model for a “Day of reflection and prayer on Mary” in any church who would be interested including Protestant churches. Such days were held at this church in Walton the Fall 2007 and 2008.

At the May ESBVM USA meeting, a panel discussion was held with representatives of the church and ESBVM USA board members. The discussion was taped. It is included here in an audio podcast, with many thanks to audio engineer Pat Gohn who volunteered her time and efforts to make this possible. We invite anyone who listens to provide a comment. Would this be a worthy endeavor for ESBVM USA to do – to develop a model for a day of prayer and reflection for churches to use?

An audio podcast of this forum can be accessed here.

BE PATIENT … it may take five to ten minutes on some computers to load this audiopod.

Member Pat Gohn, who now coordinates a Catholic radio program for women, Among Women graciously volunteered to record and produce this audio podcast. [Be sure to click on image.] We thank her for her many efforts.

ESBVM USA members who participated were Rev. Jennifer Juliano (pastor of the Walton UCC church), Rev. Donald Lacy (Methodist minister and author), Dr. Maura Hearden (Roman Catholic mariologist at DeSales University), Dr. Janyce Jorgensen (Lutheran pastor and professor of ecumenical theology at St. Mary’s Catholic Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland), and Dr. Virginia M. Kimball (Eastern Orthodox.)

If you listen to the audiopod, please comment on the ideas presented. We are most interested in what ESBVM members have to say.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols took part in a Service of Solemn Vespers at Westminster Cathedral on the evening before his Installation as the 11th Archbishop of Westminster. Members of the ESBVM were invited and attended including Mr Pat O’Sullivan and the Hon Gen Secretary. It was a beautiful occasion and prayerful.

The following day saw the installation of the new Archbishop wearing a mitre depicting the Annunciation, the central truth of our shared Christian faith that God was made Man. Once again members of the ESBVM were invited and attended including the Sr.Teresa Burke, Bishop Christopher Hill, Mr Pat O’Sullivan and our Hon Gen Secretary. As a new co-President of Churches Together in England, the new Archbishop of Westminster was greeted by other co-Presidents of CTE including The Archbishop of Canterbury and The Free Churches Moderator. The installation took place in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor along with many other Bishops of England and Wales and ecumenical guests. Four of our ESBVM patrons were present among the invited guests.

The Society has established itself in promoting ecumenical Marian activity over four decades through organising international congresses, national conferences and pilgrimages, arranging publication of theological papers and liturgical material as well as other activities through a network of local branches. This has been achieved through a dedicated membership drawn from across the main Christian traditions.

The Society’s existence precedes the current national ecumenical instruments by twenty years and could be regarded as an ecumenical pioneer in an area considered by many to be an obstacle to Christian unity. Although having had an independent existence with no formal links to any other ecumenical bodies it was felt that the Society’s profile could be raised and a specific contribution made to the wider ecumenical effort through a more formal link with the ecumenical structures in the United Kingdom. To this end an approach was made during 2007 to explore the possibility of the Society becoming a Body in Association with Churches Together in England. Such an association with CTE would not only allow the Society to participate in CTE’s sponsored events but would also be a gateway to a formal link with the umbrella ecumenical instrument, Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI) and, through CTBI, with the European ecumenical scene.

In December 2007 Sr Teresa Burke, Fr Mark Woodruff and Paul Paniccia of the Society met with Rev Bill Snelson, the then CTE General Secretary, and Rev Mark Fisher, CTE executive officer with responsibility for Bodies in Association with CTE. This meeting established the bona fides of the Society and paved the way for a formal application to be made to CTE. In February 2008 the application was approved by the board of CTE and in March 2008 the CTE Enabling Group also approved the application. The application also needed the approval of 75% of the member churches of CTE. Notification that this had been achieved was received in mid-May and the Society formally became a Body in Association with CTE with immediate effect. This was quickly followed by a communication from CTBI that the Society had been formally accepted as a Body in Association with CTBI as well.

The Society has already made a contribution through initiating the idea of a special commemoration of the centenary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, organised by CTE, which took place at Westminster Abbey on 18th January 2008. A number of Society members were present with Fr Bill McLoughlin and Sr Teresa Burke taking an active part in the liturgy. A spirituality day at the Abbey on 19th January to reflect this year’s Week of Prayer’s theme, Pray without ceasing, included a workshop, Praying with Mary, run by the Society and the Society’s Morning Office was publicly prayed in the Abbey. The new General Secretary of CTE, Rev Dr David Cornick, will be presenting a paper at the Society’s Aylesford conference this September. Such events, early on in the relationship, help to establish and build up the link between the Society and the national ecumenical instruments.

Nearly 1,200 people attended a special service at Westminster Abbey on Friday January 18th to celebrate the centenary of the week of prayer for Christian unity. Christians from many traditions were led in a service of commitment by the Dean of Westminster Abbey, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Armenian Primate and representatives of the Orthodox, Korean and other Churches of Great Britain participated. Apart from the Abbey choir, Armenian and Gospel choirs also sang. The epistle was read in Korean by a minister from New Malden’s United Reform Church.

The Salvation Army Commissioner, Elizabeth Matear, gave the sermon on this year’s theme “Pray Without Ceasing”, saying that Jesus said we must always pray, “Through prayer we come together,” she said, “Prayer is dialogue ,not a one way street.” The Cardinal commended her for expressing “so beautifully” that we must never give up on praying and working for unity. “God’s power sustains us,” he said “on our ecumenical pilgrimage, deepening unity.” He led a prayer of commitment over Dr David Cornick of the United Reform Church, newly appointed General Secretary for Churches Together in England, with the Archbishop of Canterbury at his side, giving thanks that “the triune God has drawn our churches closer together in faith and life, witness and service.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury before giving the Dismissal spoke of the importance of recogniisng and giving thanks for the unique gifts of other believers.

American priest, Fr Paul Watson, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and English vicar, Rev. Spencer Jones , conceived the idea of the January week of prayer in 1908. In 1934, Abbe Paul Couturier gave renewed impetus to the week of prayer for the unity of all Christians which inspired the World Council of Churches and was enshrined in the life of the Catholic Church at Vatican II.

Fr William McCloughlin OSM,General Secretary of The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ESBVM council member Sr Teresa Burke, a Sister of Charity of St. Paul, and Atonement Friar, Fr Michael Seed ,the Cardinal’s ecumenical advisor, an Anglican sister and a young evangelical lay man from Sword of the Spirit were amongst those reading prayers of intercession. Following a prayer of commitment said by everyone,affirming “that what unites us is stronger than what separates us” the Lord’s Prayer was recited in many languages.

Introducing the final prayer and sign of peace the Archbishop of Canterbury said that we should give thanks for the unique gifts of other believers and be open to receive them.

The following day a special day of prayer was held at the Abbey and Fr Mark Woodruff, of the Society for Ecumenical Studies, and ESBVM Council member, gave an inspiring talk about the history of the ecumenical movement. Various workshops were held including one on praying with Icons with an Orthodox priest and two led by Fr Bill McLoughlin and members of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The afternoon session was particuarly well attended and extra chairs had to be found. At midday the Society’s Ecumenical Office was recited and sung by the youth choir from the Servite Church, Kensington and London and All Saints school, Blackheath led by Mr Ben Saul, Director of Music. The day concluded with Evensong sung by the Abbey choir.

The latest in the series of ‘Our Lady on Saturday’ ESBVM talks on Our Lady took place at St Mary-the-Virgin, Kenton on Saturday December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, given by Dr Desmond Miller, a Catholic layman, retired GP, and writer and speaker on Our Lady.

A weekend of unpleasant weather may have dissuaded some who might otherwise have come, but those who braved the elements were well-rewarded with an excellent talk and discussion in which the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, and the development of doctrine in the Catholic Church each served as a case-study for the other – demonstrating on the one hand the process by which the Catholic Church discerns and receives doctrine, and on the other hand that the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM has been properly and fully discerned and received over a significant period in the life of the Church, originating long before the divisions between Christians which we currently experience, and is not the nineteenth-century innovation as which it is sometimes misrepresented.

The next ‘Our Lady on Saturday’ talk will take place on Saturday April 5th at 1.30pm at St Mary-the-Virgin, Kenton. The speaker will be Fr Geoffrey Kirk, Vicar of St Stephen’s, Lewisham. His talk will be entitled ‘Mary: Image of Woman’.

Enquiries should be directed to Fr Giles Pinnock SSC, St Mary-the-Virgin, Kenton – 020 8907 2914.