Lionel Waite

Lionel relaxing





















Lionel at the Sandhurst
Donkey Derby in his young days

On Monday evening I was sorry to hear of the death of Lionel Waite age 89. On behalf of the Parish I want to give our heartfelt condolences to Lionel’s family at this time. A family he loved dearly. I also want to say thank you for the life of Lionel and how thankful we are as a parish community for all he has done for not only our parish but also for the larger community of Crowthorne and Sandhurst. Lionel has been a great servant to us all.

Lionel along with a few others in the early years was instrumental in building a good solid catholic community. A community that had no Church in Sandhurst and only a tin hut in Crowthorne. Now we have two lovely Churches because of all the fund raising that went on in the early formation of the parish. Lionel with the help of others started in the sixties, what was to be the biggest fund raising event not only for our parish but also for the community in Sandhurst, the Sandhurst Donkey Derby. This year was the fortieth anniversary of its beginning and it was so good to have Lionel there to soak in the day and to give him a special thank you for all the work and effort he had put into it over the years.

When Addie his wife died last year Lionel was very brave but one could sense that part of him had gone with her. After Addie died Lionel would come to the six O’clock Mass at Sandhurst brought there by Shane. I would go and speak and ask him how he was and he would always say ‘I’m still here’. Eventual I turned it round so that when I saw him I would say, ‘You’re still here then’ and he would laugh. I’m sure Lionel was only waiting for the day when the Lord would call him to himself. That day has come, as it will with all of us. I know that Lionel will be greatly missed by his family and all his friends in the parish and in the community. We are grateful to the Lord for giving us a wonderful servant and example of Christian love and Charity. As Christians we are sure that he and Addie are back together again in the heavenly Kingdom of God.

One last thought. I remember saying about a small man I knew that he was a small man trying to be big. With Lionel he was a big man who was small only in size. Fr Kevin

The Holy Name Parish Ashburton

The Holy Name Church Ashburton
















House and grounds of the Holy Name Parish

Monsignor Jim Harrington is the parish priest of Ashburton, Rakia and Methven. I first met him at the funeral of a priest in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Christchurch. Monsignor reminded me a little of Canon Hetherington and his dry sense of humour. He gave me directions to His Church and at the end he said you turn into Sealy Rd, pass the first church, then the second and then you come on to the real thing. He wasn’t kidding either as it was big. The inside was also very beautiful and tastefully re-ordered though over here they are into electric sanctuary lamps which looks a bit vulgar because of its size. The other thing that irks me here is that they have a fixation with white screens to display the hymns on. It wouldn’t be too bad if they were discrete but they are not. I’m afraid that it takes ones eye off the Altar and if you are the priest you have no idea of what the words are of the hymns as you cannot see the screen. I certainly hope it does not catch on in England. I think we might take it a little further and have a bouncing angel indicating what words to sing next.


The Church is the only grade one listed building in the town. It seems so out of place here and it tower dominates the town skyline but in a good way. It reminds me a little like the Holy Ghost Church in Crowthorne but on a much larger scale. Very Italian in nature. Inside lots of wood panelling and the décor is tasteful. The tabernacle is a little subdued but I think that is more to do with it surrounding wood which seems to get lost in all the wood panelling as does the Altar which is also wood. I personally would have had a cream marble Altar with a matching Stand for the tabernacle. The presidential chair gives one the impression of the priest is apart or even other from the congregation. But these are only minor details and the Church is well worth a visit if you are around Ashburton.


The parish here is totally different than the one at Christ the King it is very quiet and I am learning to be quiet myself, and not trying to fill every moment of the day with doing things. I suppose one feels a little guilty at having nothing to do but I am filling up my time with reading, praying and meditating on the wonder of God. I am reading the biography of Edith Stein which has been very enlightening. She, herself who was highly intelligent, well educated and well read, said that there was no better way to reach God than by sitting in front of the tabernacle and praying. My old abbot said a similar thing, “ There is nothing better to get nearer to God than bending your knees in prayers.” Books, retreats, lectures and studying ect are only there to help you get on your knees and pray. (My words) Edith Stein said that one of the reasons why she became a Catholic is unlike many other denominations Catholics use their places of worship, (Churches) to pop in at any time and pray. It is not just for Sundays


The people are very different from the Burnside parish who we would call the city slickers who’s nails are well trimmed and filed. The hands you shake here, the nails would be cracked and dirt engrained into the rough palms, through years of hard work on the land. There is none of your soft textured handshakes here, but a firm grasp that breaks my soft putty hand and that’s just the women. (I jest.) No here they are down to earth and keep themselves to themselves. One can see that they will find it very hard to change because they are set in their ways. Change especially in the Church’s set up would be abhorrent to them. The Monsignor here is seventy four and he is one of the younger old ones. I said to some of the elder parishioners that they have been retired since they were sixty five and yet you want Monsignor to do the work of a young man and is that really fair on him? Shouldn’t he now be able to put his feet up and enjoy the few years left to him, rather than taking on more parishes?

After the weekend Masses Monsignor says that I can go and see a little of the country so I phone Fr Kevin Wai in Whataroa who is please to have me stay with him for a few days.

Ashburton Town

These are Happy Cattle over 1000 in this field
















Typical Ashburton Road note how wide it is.

I am now in Ashburton and the journey down here was on a boring road that is flat, trees lined and full of fields with thousands upon thousand of diary cattle and sheep. The only relief from the monotony was after every 15 kilometres a slight bend in the road would appear. I think they put them in to stop you falling asleep. The Ashburton Parish also looks after the parishes of Rakaia and Methven so on the way to Ashburton I drive through the villages to see what they look like. Rakaia is a small village with about 800-1000 people. Methven is at the bottom of Mount Hut and is a ski village with about 1500 people. But as it is the spring and the snows fast receding the town is virtually empty. They are now waiting for the summer ramblers to appear. Methven is less than twenty minutes from the Rakaia gorge which is very beautiful and ideal for rambling, which I seem to be doing writing this passage.

The Ashburton town is a small country town. 99.9% of the houses are bungalows. So it is a very flat town in more ways than one. The only three floored building is the home defence. (Don’t even go there) The main industry around the area of Ashburton is farming dairy and beef herds and sheep and deer. At the last count there were 35 million cattle and 40 million sheep. Its statistics like this that helps you understand why the hole in the ozone layer around New Zealand is bigger than anywhere else. The methane level here is so high because of the high amount of cattle and sheep effluent . On top of that rearing cattle is the most inefficient and wasteful of the worlds resources than any other form of food gathering.

I was taken to a farm operated by a Japanese company and I must say that our animal rights activists would have a fit if we ran anything like this in England. The company sells their meat only to the Japanese market. The cattle are black Aberdeen Angus. No white or other colour is allowed. The young calves are brought to the factory and are fed day and night with a rich feed mix that is chemically grown around the local area. Over a thousand cattle are made to stay in lines no wider than three meters wide and there are rows and rows of them. On either side of the rows are troughs where food is constantly supplied and this is all built on concrete. There are no sheds for the cattle and they are open to all the elements, from the blazing sun, the torrential rain or the really cold weather that occurs here. Once the calves arrive here they never again see or eat a blade of grass. There is no such thing as chewing the cud for these poor beasts. As you are well aware when you have had a big meal one likes to sit down and rest but these poor animals are not allowed to. The simple reason being that they are so obese if they were allowed to lie down they would never be able to get up again. Therefore there are men who spend their working hours on a horse prodding those cattle who try to lay down to get on their feet. The Japanese by all accounts like their beef meat red and marble looking but if this is the only way to produce it, I’ll stick to my beans thank you very much!