Issue 63 - The Pilgrim - August 2017 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

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Editorial The Pilgrim August 2017 Crossrail and an early Christian saint By Greg Watts Becoming part of the story By Bishop Paul Hendricks At a place called Wintershall, not far from our seminary at Wonersh in Surrey, there’s a house with extensive grounds, where they put on an outdoor dramatisation of the Life of Christ around the middle of June. This year I decided it was time I went to see it for myself, and it gave me quite a lot to think about. The play took place in three acts, set in three separate areas of the grounds. The first went from the Annunciation to the finding in the Temple. It was introduced by the character of Luke, who acted as a narrator from time to time, though the story-line included material from all four Gospels. The majority of the audience were school children — and the play had been cleverly planned with this audience in mind. For example, after several fairly straightforward scenes concerning the infancy of Jesus, they had a very dramatic scene with the soldiers of Herod charging into Bethlehem. Some of the soldiers were on horseback, which added to the excitement. For the second act, covering the public life of Jesus up to just before the raising The Archdiocese of Southwark Archbishop Peter Smith 020 7928-2495 archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk www.rcsouthwark.co.uk Area bishops Episcopal vicar for Kent Bishop Paul Mason 01732 845486 bishoppaulmason@gmail.com of Lazarus, we were sitting on one side of a valley, while the action took place mostly on the other side. At certain points the actors came across to our side, so that the audience effectively became members of the crowd in the story. At the feeding of the five thousand, when Jesus challenged the disciples to find food for the crowd themselves, they came across to us to ask if we had any food. Then after Jesus had multiplied the loaves and fishes, the disciples (including a large number of children) came back across to us and passed around loaves of bread which they encouraged us to share. This got us all moving around a bit and also got us in the right frame for our lunch break, which followed fairly shortly afterwards. The last act started with the raising of Lazarus and continued in the same setting until the point where Jesus has to carry his cross. As Jesus was on trial before Pontius Pilate, the chief priests gathered a crowd, which was represented by a number of children from the cast. Before long a much larger number of children from the audience went across to join them, to the point where we didn’t need to use our imagination — it really was bishop.hendricks@gmail.com South-East London Bishop Patrick Lynch 020 8297 9219 bishoplynch7@btinternet.com The Pilgrim, Archbishop’s House 150 St George’s Road London SE1 6HX a crowd! For the final scenes, we walked back to the place (quite nearby) where we had the first act. This had been adapted to stage the crucifixion. We stayed there until the first appearances of Jesus after the Resurrection and then shifted to another spot for a short final scene by the Sea of Galilee, up to and including the Ascension. As for many experiences in life, sharing the enjoyment and excitement of the children also added to the experience for us adults. Peter Hutley, whose energy and imagination launched the whole dramatic enterprise at Wintershall, said something that stuck in my mind. He was referring mainly to the children, though I suppose it applies to all of us: “What they see, they remember.” I think I’d add that the way in which they’re drawn into the action at certain points is also significant. Though in a very different setting, the Mass is also a sort of acting-out of the events of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. As at Wintershall, though in an even more powerful way, we ourselves enter into the action and become ourselves a part of the story. The Pilgrim is now online, making it possible to read all the editions since it was launched in 2011. To view it, visit the diocesan website and click on a lick on the left hand side of the page. the 2012Pilgrim 50p December 2011/ January The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering s Advertising: Carol Malpass 0161 908 5301 carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com Distribution: Andrea Black 0161 908 5327 andrea.black@@thecatholicuniverse.com It would be hard to think of two more contrasting things than Crossrail, Europe’s largest construction project, and an obscure third century saint. Yet both feature in a new exhibition at the the Museum of London Docklands entitled Tunnel. Crossrail is the new 73-mile railway line which will run services from Abbey Wood, Heathrow, Reading, and Shenfield though central London. The first section of it is scheduled to open in December 2018. Saint Barbara is thought to have lived in Lebanon or Greece. When she converted to Christianity against the wishes of her father, he handed her over to the Roman authorities. She was tortured and eventually martyred. A cult soon grew up around her and she became the patron saint of engineers, tunnellers, miners and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives. The exhibition features a number of images of St Barbara. Some are thought to have come from shrines in Europe, while others might have been associated with the relic of St Barbara’s head which was located at Halesowen Abbey in the West Midlands. A small copper-alloy disc depicts St Barbara on one side holding the sword with which she was beheaded and the palm which symbolises her martyrdom. The reverse shows a letter ‘B’. The disc has been perforated and may have been sewn onto clothing or perhaps even into the pages of a prayer book. There is also part of a ceramic figurine of St Barbara, which dates from the late 15th to early 16th century. Figurines of saints would have been common in London homes in the medieval period. In December 2012 38 statues of St Barbara were blessed and installed at the entrances to the Crossrail tunnels. Several hundred contractors and senior management attended the St Barbara's Day ceremony at the Thames Tunnel, which will link Plumstead and North Woolwich. When the Museum of London Docklands asked if it could borrow one of the statues for its exhibition, construction company Dragados UK donated one. The statue is just under 32 cm in height and is made of plaster. It is slightly chipped from its four years, from in the main shaft at the Limmo Peninsula site in Canning Town. St Barbara holds a plastic chalice in one hand, but the sword that was in her other hand is now missing. Each day as the tunnellers and miners went to work they passed her. Now she is the first object that visitors to the exhibition walk past when they enter the exhibition. Tunnel at the Museum of London Docklands runs until 3rd September. Admission is free. South-West London Bishop Paul Hendricks 020 8643 8007 Editor: Greg Watts pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk 0208 776 9250 Print management, design and distribution by The Universe Media Group Ltd We want your news! Email your stories to pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk or telephone 0208 776 9250. Page 2
The Pilgrim August 2017 Bishop Paul visits port News Awards for Maidstone youngsters Youngsters at St Francis’ church in Maidstone have been presented with Faith in Action certificates and badges by Bishop Paul Mason. The Faith in Action awards were launched last year to encourage young Catholics to put their faith into action. Amongst other things, the young people in the parish of St Francis have raised awareness of the plight of Syrian refugees and the local homeless, led the living Stations of the Cross, visited care homes, and taken part in small pilgrimages. Charity closes A Mass was held at St George’s Cathedral to mark the closure of the charity Progressio after 75 years. Originally called the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR), the charity, which set up self-help projects in developing countries, has had to close down due to a lack of funding. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor led the Mass, which was followed by a reception at Romero House, the Cafod headquarters next door. Cafod director visits Dover Bishop Paul Mason visited the port of Tilbury in Essex to learn more about the work of Apostleship of the Sea (AoS). Earlier this year, Bishop Paul was appointed bishop promoter of AoS, with who he had previously served as a cruise chaplain. Pop duo with a message Electric pop duo Ooberfuse have held a workshop for pupils at St Ursula’s Convent school in Greenwich to encourage thinking about the importance of renewable energy. The duo, Cherrie Anderson and Hal St John, who live in Woolwich, ran four sessions for students in Years 8 and 9. Pupils began by learning about Power to Be, the aid agency Cafod’s latest campaign on the importance of renewable energy for the world’s poorest communities. Ooberfuse then held a song writing workshop, where students were encouraged to write their own lyrics on the importance of clean energy. To finish the day Ooberfuse performed for an hour, during which students were invited to sing and showcase their work. Hal St John said, “It is always a tall order to make scientific problems attractive to a young audience as usually their minds are anywhere else but it helped that we focused it around things that they already knew about. “The real test was when they were writing their own lyrics but when they read them back and they were such powerful lyrics, it was great to see.” He accompanied Wojciech Holub, AoS port chaplain to Tilbury and the Thames, on his visit to two ships. During his visit he prayed with some of the seafarers. “What surprised me was how few seafarers are needed to run these huge ships,” said Bishop Paul. “They don’t take days off and they’re working every day. “I met one seafarer from the Philippines who told me his brother had died the day before. But he couldn’t go home for the funeral because he couldn’t afford it. He had to earn money to provide for his family.” Six men training to be permanent deacons received the ministry of acolyte from Bishop Paul Hendricks at St Elphege Church in Wallington. Four other men received the ministry of acolyte. Do you have a religious vocation? Cafod director Chris Bain visited St Edmund’s School in Dover for its annual prize giving. He told the staff and pupils, “My education at a Catholic school shaped me and made me who I am. My PE teacher's words became my mantra: love yourself first, ask for God's help when you need it, and help others". Students at St Edmund's have been involved in fundraising throughout the school year to support Cafod's work to make the world a fairer place. Whitstable retreats Southwark Catholic Youth Service has limited dates available for residential retreats at St Vincent's in Whitstable next academic year. Bookings are open for schools and parishes for young people aged 11-18 with its in-house team providing the retreat programme. Contact Jean for more details on 01227 272900 or email jean@scys.org.uk Want to be a Jesuit volunteer? Jesuit Missions is offering volunteer placements in Africa, and South and Central Asia. The placements provide an opportunity to work alongside Jesuits in some of the poorest and most disadvantaged communities around the world. Volunteers might teach English in a Jesuit school, run holiday clubs and activities for children and young people, or be involved in community projects. Qualifications are not required and training is provided. For more information, email: volunteering@jesuitmissions.org.uk or visit www.jesuitmissions.org.uk The National Office for Vocation has launched the new season for vocation discernment to the religious life. Young people considering a vocation to be a nun, monk, sister, priest or brother can join a “Compass” group in October and work through the programme which runs over five residential weekends and the Easter Triduum, ending in May 2018. The course will take place at Milleret House in Kensington, which is run by the Religious of the Assumption sisters. The Compass group will spend Holy Week at Worth Abbey in West Sussex for a retreat. Alongside the group meetings, participants receive individual spiritual guidance. Topics covered include discernment, vocation, prayer, ministry, the vows and the nature of contemporary religious life. For more information, visit www.compass-points.org.uk Archdiocese on Facebook and Twitter The Archdiocese of Southwark now has a Facebook page and Twitter feed. It will also be using You Tube in the future. You can find links to them on the diocesan web site: www.rcsouthwark.co.uk Page 3
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Issue 63 - The Pilgrim - August 2017 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

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