ESBVM

The Executive of the ESBVM notes the publication on November 9th 2009 of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus which provides a means by which groups of Anglicans may enter into the communion of the Catholic Church while preserving those aspects of the Anglican tradition that are compatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church. In respecting the conscience of those who freely wish to take up this offer of the Holy See the ESBVM remains committed to the wider unity that all Christians involved in the ecumenical movement continue to seek. The Executive will place this matter for further discussion on the agenda of the January 2010 meeting of the ESBVM Council.

ESBVM does not comment upon the internal life of particular churches and ecclesial communities, and notes that this Apostolic Constitution is similarly published not as a commentary on difficulties within the Anglican Communion in recent times but as a pastoral response by the Holy See to requests from bishops and groups of the Anglican tradition over a number of years.

Conscious that the Anglican tradition originated in England, known across the centuries as ‘Our Lady’s Dowry’, it is the sincere prayer of ESBVM that under the patronage of Our Lady, and building upon the work of many, including the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity & Mission (IARCCUM), the response by groups of Anglicans to Anglicanorum coetibus will make a significant contribution to the reconciliation of all Christians in one flock with one shepherd, that ‘they may all be one’.

We are sorry to record the deaths of the following faithful members.

Sister M. Joseph of the Carmelite monastery, Stillorgan, Republic of Ireland
Miss K.M. Pfister of Bloomesbury
Br. Francis Barker

May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

Br Francis Barker
Br Francis Barker was a member of the North West branch of the Society. Until ill health intervened, he attended our meetings. He was born in Ipswich in 1923 and was brought up as an Anglican. Educated at Stowe and Trinity College, Cambridge, he became a Roman Catholic at the age of 32 and, twenty years later joined the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He remained very ecumenically minded and never forgot the debt he owed to his Anglican roots.

Francis was a deeply cultured person and well-informed. He shared his gifts generously and befriended many. He will not be forgotten for the contribution that he made to the local society and the wider community. He died in Liverpool, aged 85.

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.

Once again, the Canterbury Branch has been busy with four meetings in the autumn. At the first, on Sept 17, Dr Mark Bateson, Senior Archivist to Canterbury Cathedral, gave a talk about the archives. These are particularly rich for the medieval period and we were shown signatures of such famous people as Archbishop Lanfranc and William the Conqueror and his queen.

The second talk was on the importance of ecumenism in today’s world by Mr. David Heap on October 1. He explained the origin of the word in the Greek oikoumene, meaning the whole inhabited world. He went on to explain some differences between the Catholic view of ecumenism, aiming at one visible church in union with the present Catholic Church and some Protestant views, aiming at spiritual unity. He talked about the German Lutheran theologian, Edmund Schlink who considered common focus on Christ as the key. He also talked about relations with other religions.

The meeting ended with a vigorous discussion.

On 29 October, Fr. Tony Cassidy, who is well known for his profound expositions of Scripture, talked to us about women in the early Church. He said that women were not always mentioned as being present at important events in Our Lord’s life, but that did not mean they were necessarily absent. They are not mentioned at the Last Supper, but as Passover was essentially a family celebration, then women and children would have been present at it as they still are today. After his talk, Fr. Tony tried to answer the questions posed by his appreciative audience.

Finally, on 3 December, Miss Barbara Markham gave a meditation on Isaiah’s prediction of the birth of Jesus. She used the medium of music to illustrate each prophecy, making particular use of relevant parts of Handel’s Messiah but also including some Latin plainchant and Hebrew hymns. Barbara ended her recital with a prophecy for Zephanaiah which directly refers to Our Lady’s role in the Incarnation. This was ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, they King cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak peace unto the heathen’. The meeting closed with tea and mince pies.

Our plans for the near future include.

Monday March 17th – 1pm in the Upper Room of St Thomas’ Church, Mr David Heap will talk about ‘Crusading for Mary, the mother of Jesus’.

The South Yorkshire branch was very active throughout 2007. In May, it joined in an Orthodox celebration of the divine liturgy and a pilgrimage to Harpham in East Yorkshire, birthplace of St John of Beverley, who became Bishop of Hexham in 687, being later translated to York as Archbishop in 705, from which he retired in 714, dying in 721. He founded a minster at Beverly, the present building being constructed around his tomb. After the Orthodox eucharist at Harpham, the party travelled to Beverley where they heard the Minster choir rehearsing for evensong in this beautiful setting.

After this, five new members joined the Society.

In the Autumn, there were no less than four events.

In September we joined the Orthodox pilgrimage to Lastingham in North Yorkshire, to celebrate ‘The Nativity of Our Lady’. A monastery was founded there on the edge of the Moors, in 654, by St Cedd. A leaflet was kindly provided by our Chairman outlining the Divine Liturgy, which proved to be very useful to the members of our group of 16. In addition, the Vicar, Fr Ferguson, welcomed us and spoke briefly about the history of the Crypt and the Church of St Mary. We later travelled to nearby Pickering in superb weather, where members relaxed in various ways. Some visited an interesting ‘open day’ exhibition in the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul, and to see the famous wall paintings of the 15th century, now fully restored. The return journey was enlivened by enthusiastic singing of hymns of Our Lady, and the reciting of the Rosary.

In October, a group of 14 made a pilgrimage to the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Egmanton near Tuxford, and just off the A1. This was led by Fr Kevin Smith, and attended by almost 100 pilgrims.

The Liturgy included The Angelus, Solemn Mass and Sermon. After lunch provided by the ladies of the village, we followed on with a solemn Magnificat, a procession into the village, and Benediction in the parish church and Shrine of our Lady, to conclude a most enjoyable ecumenical pilgrimage.

Also in October, we were invited to a talk in Sheffield entitled ‘Mary Grace and Hope in Christ’. This was given by Bishop Malcolm MacMahon of the RC Diocese of Nottingham, and he gave a stimulating insight into progress and the problems of ARCIC, of which he is a member. After the talk, group discussions followed by a Plenary Session, completed an excellent, informative and lively event. Bishop John Rawsthorne of the Diocese of Hallam, who chaired the meeting, had previously welcomed us and made mention of ESBVM before the talk. We made a number of ecumenical contacts, at this gathering.

Our AGM was held in November at the Orthodox Church of Saints Columba and Kentigern, in Edlington, Doncaster. Fr Dennis, our Chairman, led us as we prayed the Society’s Office. Our officers presented reviews on previous events, on our Finances (healthy), and on the input of a small ‘steering group’ which had been set up to recommend future Branch Strategy with particular regard for membership and activities. One early recommendation was to print a ‘Membership Leaflet’ more suited to Branch needs and local requirements. This has now been implemented, and has proved useful in publicising the Society, and in recruiting new members.

Our Officers were re-elected for another year, after which there was a short break for refreshments.

Our Chairman then gave an interesting talk on ‘The Mystical unity of the Church’, with emphasis on what we should be doing, and how we might work towards the unity for which Christ prayed. This was followed by a discussion on the current problems, with the view expressed that unity would only really move forward when it to become stronger at local church level. The meeting closed after over two hours of enthusiastic participation by those who attended what was in effect, a comprehensive and positive review of our Branch and its activities.

In the second week of Advent, we joined with the Mothers’ Union at St Oswald’s for an Advent devotion Beyond the Corridors of Grace, produced by our Treasurer, Merelina. This was a delightful service of readings, prayers and hymns, supported by organ, cello and piano music. Over fifty people attended, the Society being well represented. Over £100 was raised for a mother and baby home in Ghana.

Our plans for events in 2008 are as follows

Monday January 21st – Dunscroft St Edwin’s Church. Near Doncaster

To celebrate the ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’. We have an invitation from Father Alan Watson and our members at St Edwin’s to join them for Mass at 7.00pm. Refreshments afterwards and an opportunity to meet members and other interested parishioners. Rev. Fr. Richard Power, Vicar of Moorends, will preach.

February – Sheffield. 26 years under Mary’s mantle. Talk by Sister Ruth Bleakley OCV. Details later.

Tuesday March 11th – Mass at 12.45 including the Liturgy of Anointing, at St Marie’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Sheffield. This will be followed by refreshments, then a talk and short tour of the cathedral. This should be of historical interest, both marian and ecumenical.

Saturday May 10th – Pilgrimage to Mount Grace Priory and The Lady Chapel at Osmotherley in North Yorks. The Society Office in the restored Monks’ Cell at Mount Grace. At 12 Noon. Vigil Mass at the Lady Chapel 3.30pm. Refreshments afterwards. Tea in Thirsk on return. A special Invitation will be sent to individual members residing in North Yorkshire. We thank Fr Hilary Alflatt for setting up this event.

Saturday July 19th – Pilgrimage to Crowland Abbey near Peterborough.

August – Pilgrimage to Egmanton near Tuxford. Shrine of Our Lady.

September – Pilgrimage to Lastingham in North Yorks. Orthodox Eucharist. Visit to Pickering afterwards.

October – Sheffield. Talk, ‘The Methodist approach to Mary’. Provisional.
November – Branch AGM. To be arranged.

Tuesday December 16th – 2.00pm. Advent Service, St Oswald’s. Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. Invitation from the Mothers Union and our members at St. Oswald’s Anglican Church.

Ivan Kightley RIP

The funeral of Ivan Kightley was held last Wednesday at Westminster Cathedral. Bishop Alan Hopes was to have awarded him the Westminster Diocesan Medal for long service to the Church,a rare honour, on 6 January, but Mr. Kightley died on 27 December 2007 after a long battle with cancer.

He was born on 6 March 1928 in Coventry and worked in finance for many years .As a committed Anglican he joined the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin twenty five years ago and was Treasurer of the society for ten years until 1995 when he was thanked by Fr. Edward Yarnold S.J. for transforming the ESBVM account and his astute financial management .He was appointed Councillor Emeritus of the society.

He was received into the Roman Catholic church at Westminster Cathedral in 1989 and became an active member of the Cathedral community and assisted with financial administration. Fifteen years ago he began managing the finances for the Cathedral magazine. He became a Benedictine Oblate of Ealing Abbey and Honorary Treasurer of the Oblates. Fr. Timothy Gorman OSB,Oblate Master , was one of six priests concelebrating with Fr.Tim Dean of the Cathedral at the funeral.

Ivan Kightley was noted for his gentle demeanour, “always kind and courteous”with a serene smile. In 1988 he moved to St.Peters’ Residence,Vauxhall, living in one of the independent flats until the week before Christmas when he agreed to move into the residential part of the home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. Sr.Jarlath LSP, who looked after him in the last months of his life, considered him “thoughtful,spiritual and humble”He never failed to recite his Daily Office and faced his illness cheerfully being regarded as a “star patient” at St.Mary’s Hospital Paddington.

Four of the Little Sisters of the Poor followed his coffin into the Cathedral at his Requiem,attended by fellow Benedictine Oblates , members of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Cathedral friends.

By Ann Farrelly
Ivan was an only child born in Coventry & served most of his working life in the insurance industry.

He was a practising member of the Church of England for many years & joined the ESBVM inspired by his devotion to Mary.

He served the Society as Treasurer for several years and greatly improved its financial situation.

He was received into the Roman church in a private chapel in Westminster Cathedral. Thereafter he was active in cathedral administration being particularly interested in the Choir.

In later years his increasingly suffered from poor health but was sustained by his living in St Peters residence with several other clergy & members of the Society & from where he could often attend the Cathedral.

On a personal note, he was a good friend to Joe & myself, always remembering my birthday. When we last saw him it was at Joe’s 90th birthday celebration when he indicated his days were numbered but was resigned & grateful to the doctors who had enabled him to live longer than anticipated.

He was to receive the diocesan medal for services to the church in January but I am sure he will receive his reward in Heaven.

On Tuesday 23 January, several members accepted the kind invitation to attend a mass with the intention of praying for the unity of all Christians. This invitation came from Fr. Alan Watson , vicar of St Edwin’s, Dunscroft, near Doncaster.

The beautifully celebrated Mass was attended by about forty people. In addition to Fr. Alan’s congregation, representatives were present from the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Methodist churches. After Mass, there was a time for fellowship and an excellent buffet supper.

The UK launch in the Jerusalem Chamber of Westminster Abbey on 19th May 2005 of the 60 page ARCIC document entitled ‘Mary, Grace & Hope in Christ’ is seen by many as a a considerable achievement in advancing the understanding of the positions on the Blessed Virgin Mary by Anglicans and Catholics worldwide. It is not at this stage an authoritative statement but is meant for wider discussion by both communions. With nearly a third of the text devoted to Mary’s place in the Bible, the document concludes that “It is impossible to be faithful to Scripture without giving due attention to the person of Mary”. The document is a recognition of the importance of her place in life and Liturgy. It also addresses the issue of the Marian dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption in such a way that makes a clear distinction between the content of the dogmas versus the authority by which they were defined, thereby opening up the possibility between the communions of agreement on the issue.

Members of ARCIC, Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP, and The Rev’d Dr Nicholas Sagovsky both spoke at the launch, which was attended by invited guests including the Hon. General Secretary of the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr.Bill McLoughlin OSM, seen with them in the Jersualem Chamber in the photograph above.

Professor Sagovsky had given a paper at the Chester International ESBVM Congress in 2002 while working on ARCIC and acknowledged the contribution of the ESBVM to this important area of ecumenism in which it has been working over the past 37 years.