Fr Kevin Jones' Blog

I'm back

2007-09-25T21:41:00.000+01:00

Sr Anne making her appeal

Sr Marie and myself in Oxford.

Srs Marie, Anne and Jennifer at Bowdon

Hello everyone. (My new e-mail address is mailto:frkjones(@)btinternet.com)

I am so sorry that I have left it so long to up date my blog. Since I have been back I havn't really stopped. I have had a lot of visitors and I have been trying unsuccessfully to re-connect with a lot of old friends. I think it is a sign of old age when there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to do all I want, and yet at the same time think that I havn't really done much at all. I remember in my young days getting up at half past four in the morning for work and being out of the house by 4.45 am and by that time I would have had a wash, cup of coffee and a biscuit. Now it takes me half an hour just to get out of bed.The last three months has been a busy time. Soon after the three fathers from Australia left at the end of July two sisters from Myanmar arrived on my door step. They were expected so my two old Burmese friends came over to my place to look after them and feed them while I decamped to the Sandhurst house which was and still is under renovation. (I am assured that it will be finished in two to three weeks. I wait in anticipation though it is starting to look good.)

The two sisters are from the order of St Joseph of the Apparition. A teaching order that was specifically for the poor and for orphans. It was started by a St Emily of France in the 19th century and spread all over the world. The sisters made a foundation in Myanmar in the late 19th century and were doing a lot of good work and vocations to the order were very good. But as we know the military Junta took over in the sixties and expelled all westerners and their dependants. All the western sisters had to leave and it was left to the Burmese sisters to carry on St Emily’s vision. The Military Junta confiscated all the sister’s schools and left them with no money or income. They were allowed to keep their living quarters and the chapels they had but nothing more. Yet even out of this loss the sisters regrouped and again began to look after the poor and orphans and educate them. Our Parish in Sandhurst and Crowthorne have adopted them and we support them with money so that they can feed, clothe and educate the children under their care. At the moment we are sponsoring and collecting to build and orphanage in Hmauby an extremely poor area just outside Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon). We hope to raise £25,000 and I have just sent the sisters £10,000 that our parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst have just raised. so only £15,000 to go. If you would like to help in this parish project any cheques would be welcomed made payable to the Burma Orphanage Appeal c/o Immaculate Conception Church 63/67 York Town Rd Sandhurst Berks GU74 9BS.

Sr Marie and Sr Anne came to our parish to make an appeal and they were very well received and enjoyed their stay. They met the Burma Orphanage Appeal committee and thanked them for all they were doing and how much they appreciated all their hard work. I ask you all to keep them in your prayers at this present time as their community house is very near The Shwedagon Pagoda where all the trouble is. It must be a very worrying time for them as it is for all their friends here in the Uk. We are all keeping them in our prayers here in Sandhurst and Crowthorne. Sisters I know they have blocked your e-mail but you maybe able to see the blog if so we are all thinking of you and praying hard that peace will come to your country soon and that you will be able to get on with the good work that you are doing in the Lord's vineyard

During my stay in Burma I was sadden and angry at the mis-use of power there. You have the extremely rich who are mainly the ruling Junta and the very very poor. The ruling Army chiefs have no concern for the majority of the people and all they are worried about is keeping control of the reins of power so that they and their families can live privileged lives on the riches that belong to all the people. Hopefully their mis-rule will come to an end quickly, but I am afraid history tells us a different story as they will hang on to it as long as they can. However history also tells us that these despots rules always come to an end as we have seen in Russia in our modern times. All we pray for that it will soon be over for the people of Myanmar and that this peaceful and lovely people will have the peace and justice that they deserve.

Summer Time!!

2007-07-13T07:55:00.000+01:00

A little blue sky at the London Eye!!

The Place where they seem to make a mess of our country.

Martin with an old Alexandre Harmonium in fairly good condition.
If any one wants it they can take it away free.

Hello everyone, bit late as ever. It has been one of those months which has been all go and no stop. I have had no time to read or catch up with friends that I have not seen for over a year. I thought the summer months would give me a little space, but no such luck. Next week here in England it is the start of the school holidays so things might slacken off a little. I wouldn't mind if I was busy doing priestly work for that is my vocation but all I seem to be doing is running after tradesmen getting quotes for plumbers, electricians, tilers, plasterers, decorators, kitchen fitter and so on. Finally after six weeks I have got all the quotes in and selected what I feel is the best. Now I have to co-ordinate them all to work together. This however has been put on hold because of the summer holidays. So it looks like I will not be moving in here until October at the earliest. But Christmas time looks a better day.

This week in England we have been confronted with the stark reality of how lucky many people were, that the would be suicide bombers failed in their attempt to kill and maim. Yet the lasting impression for me was a brave fireman who stood in front of the woman and her baby to protect her from the blast that passengers in the carriage thought was imminent. His heroic action of standing in front of the mother and child was the complete opposite of the bomber who actually turned round to face the mother and child to detonate the bomb. (It is beyond normal human beings to comprehend such hate that would blow up innocent children.) Two men thrown together in history, in time and space. One a religious fanatic, the other an ordinary man. One intent on killing and maiming in the name of God, the other just going about his ordinary life and ends up being a Good Samaritan. A man who puts his own life on the line to save others rather than put his life on the line to kill others as the fanatic did. We know which one would have been the real martyr and would have been truly welcomed into the Kingdom.

Its not all bad here the other day we actually had two hours of sunshine with no rain. It didn't last long. As I look out of the window now it is drizzling, so much for global warming here in England. On one or two days I have had to put on the central heating and even the birds have stopped singing. Yet saying all that I am glad to be home and working in the vineyard of the Lord. The parish is moving along quite well and I have notice the people have more involvement in the running of their Church. This gives me hope for the future as it will mean that even if they do not have a regular parish priest like myself they will be able to survive as a parish. Therefore I can honestly say that my sabbatical has not only refreshed me it has taught the parish to stand on its own two feet.

Looking forward to Fr Thi from Perth coming to stay with me for a few days with two other priests. Heres me going on to the parishioners about the shortage of priests and there will be four of us staying in the parish in a couple of weeks. Fr Thi was the priest in Perth who was very kind to me so his stay here will give me a chance to repay his kindness. I do hope the weather changes for the better. There is nothing better in the world than to see the English countryside in glorious sunshine after a long spat of rain.

Thats all from me at the moment will write again in a few weeks.

Settling in

2007-06-06T08:04:00.000+01:00

Winnie Ripley Evelyn Quin and Elaine in an English country Garden

Hello every one on this Trinity Sunday. Just a few lines about the Trinity. As we Christians know the Trinity is a very hard subject to preach about. Many preachers use props to try and explain the great mystery of the Three distinct persons, but one God. I myself have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to explain This mystery so I stopped using such props, as three bottles of wine that are a third full, then pouring them in one bottle so that the three become one. Not only did it confuse my parishioners it confused me! Another priest friend of my divided three in to 100 on the computer and and the result was 33.3333… and he printed it out and showed the results to the congregation with reams and reams of paper. At the time I thought it was a waste of paper as it didn’t make much sense to me. I think the point he was trying to make was that no matter how hard you try, you cannot actually explain the Trinity.

The reason why I am going on about the Trinity is because on Saturday night I watched a programme on the TV we have over here called Gavin and Stacy. The couple are getting married and they went to the local Anglican Church for a service. It so happened that it was Trinity Sunday and the Anglican priest was trying to explain it by the different sandwiches people liked. Eventually it got so ludicrous and the vicar got himself into such a mess, that he completely losses his cool. It was very funny but it did make my mind up that I would never again try to explain the Trinity by using analogies.

Well I have been back for a month now and I have not stopped. There was so much to catch up with. On top of that I am in the process of moving from Crowthorne to Sandhurst. When I got back my lodger in Sandhurst, who was very helpful in keeping a presence there, had decided that he had to move. We then came to the decision that it would be easier to rent the flat in Crowthorne which is quiet compared to Sandhurst, so I offered to move. The only trouble is that the house in Sandhurst really needs decorating and refurbishing. So it is paint brush in hands again I’m afraid.

Every late May bank holiday we have a fund raising event called the Donkey Derby so I and a lot of the parishioners had been preparing for that. The weather before the bank holiday had been dry and sunny. That, however changed on the Saturday the heavens opened and it rained for three days solid so that the field we use was flooded. There was nothing we could do but postpone it until the 24th June. Since that postponement there has been nothing but good June weather. Its what you would call sods law. Well we will try again.

I phoned uncle Arnett and he said that they have had the most glorious beginning of winter in Christchurch NZ that he can ever remember. It has been wall to wall sunshine with the temp up in the twenties. I think the rain is following me around the globe. Maybe I have the wrong vocation and I should really be a rain ambassador. When I started my sabbatical it flooded in Thailand and Myanmar. In New Zealand they had the worse summer for years. When I went to Sydney it rained as it did in Melbourne when I got there. In Perth I was only there for a day before the heavens opened. I think you get my drift.

At the weekend I took my old friends down to a place called Old Alsford in Hampshire to see Elaine who was the wife of their nephew who died last year. Elaine has a lovely English garden which I have photographed and put on the blog. Thats all for now God Bless.

Arriving home

2007-05-08T22:06:00.000+01:00

Immaculate Conception Church Sandhurst.
(New Zealanders see no music screen)

The Holy Ghost Church in Crowthorne

Uncle Arnett

Hello everyone, after a long flight from Perth I am now at home in Crowthorne and Sandhurst. I have been here a week and I must say that I am really glad to be home. I think any more than six months and I would have got really home sick. That is not to say that New Zealand is not a nice place because I did enjoy my time there but I am getting to that age where home is sweet. I think one can only live out of a suitcase for so long then it becomes tiring. I want to thank all those who have befriended me during my time in New Zealand especially Fr Bill and the parishioners of Christ the King.

I will miss seeing my uncle Arnett every week and spending quality time with him. He is a great man who is very funny at times we had many laughs. I have included my favourite photo of him. Though in one sense it is not very flattering to him in another it sums him up as he is, a very natural man who is quick to see the funny side of life and laugh about it. A man who cares about others and doesn’t hold grudges against people. Everyone who met him said what a delightful person he was and how easy it was to get on with him. The only advice I will give to him is that before I come again to see him that he must get a new mattress for the old bed that I slept in. The mattresses that he has got now are the same ones that he got when he first got married in 1952. They are as nearly old as me. The one that I slept on, its sides had given up the ghost, so one was always sliding off the bed. Arnett’s mattress always reminds me of the one in the Hitchcock film Psycho. Here if you have seen the film the mattress bears the imprint of the dead mother of Bates. But as Arnett says he is happy with it so why should he get another one. There is not much argument against that. Any way I shall miss him and his sense of humour. Thanks Arnett for a lovely and great time. May God bless you.

The last time I wrote to you I had just landed in Perth. I liked Perth a lot and found it was my favourite place in Australia. It was a clean and laid-back city with a good city centre that was easy to access. The people were friendly and there was a good ethnic mix of people, which I feel always gives a city an extra ingredient. But saying that it was also good because of the great host I was with Fr Thi. He actually went beyond the call of duty with me taking me everywhere I wanted to go and showing me all the good things of Perth. And on top of that he would not let me pay a penny towards anything. Through him I saw all that was good in Perth. Charles and Moira friends of Winnie and Evelyn’s also were very good to me and had me for dinner. (not literally because I am still here). Fr Thi took me to the airport and saw me off and after twenty one hours I landed in England and was met by Bill my sacristan.

It was really lovely to get back and to top it all it was a lovely spring morning and everything was shinning. After the dryness of Australia it was lovely to see the lush green countryside of home with the May blossom blooming in so many different colours. It was good to be home. Before we went to Crowthorne for a Mass of thanksgiving to Our Lady for my safe return we stopped off at Winnie and Evelyn’s place for a quick hello and breakfast. Then it has been all go from there; business as usual.

I want to thank you all for calling into my blog. I will keep on writing it but not so often maybe once a month for my overseas friends and visitors so that they can keep up with what I am doing even though it will be the mundane things of life. May God bless you all Fr Kevin.

Perth Australia

2007-04-29T03:30:00.000+01:00

A Quokka on Rottnest Island Freemantle

Dinner with Charles, Moira and friends

Perth City

Fr Thi ( pronounced Tee) my host in Perth

Hi everyone I am on the last day of my journey and I will be returning home on Tuesday morning the 1st of May a bit jet lagged but hopefully awake enough to celebrate Mass at 9.30 in the Holy Ghost Church in Crowthorne, in thanks giving to Our Lady for bringing me home safely. It has been a long time and I have learnt quite a lot about myself and my vocation, but more about that later when I have had time to settle back home and reflect on my seven months away form the parish.

I have found Perth a lovely city and if I was to emigrate to Australasia it would be here I would settle. The city is very clean and they have made a good job of integrating the old with the new. As usual the worst offenders of integrating new and old buildings are the banks and the government building. However now there is a good control on all building and a heritage committee intent of preserving the lovely old buildings they have in Perth.

I went to New Norcia to see the monastery that I had heard about at Quarr Abbey but they were not really interested in me and I had to take a guided tour with everyone else. Listening to the guide you could see that really it was a big business with a wage bill of over a million dollars. There were only seven monks residing and two of them were over eighty. What did surprise me was the amount of women who worked there. I think they out numbered the monks by two to one. The abbot even had his own personal PA. How things have changed since my days in the monastery. And how they must have changed since the days of the founder who in the middle of the 1800s came to start a mission to teach and preach the Aboriginals and help them. It was an interesting day. One little aside that made me laugh was in the local hotel which is owned by the monks. Charles, Moira and myself went for coffee there but we could only have it black as there was no milk. The abbey owns 32,000 sq acres with lots of cattle, sheep and dairy herds, but no milk for their local hotel, not even long life or powered milk. It just reminded me of the other world that monks and those who work for them live in. It was the same at Quarr. There is always tomorrow and does it really matter?

Saw other parts of Perth and Freemantle Fr Thi has been a great host while I have been here taking me here there and everywhere, as far as Margaret river which at the time of our visit was a little creek. On the way we went to a place called Mannapuh which was lovely and part of it has been built on a canal system. Mind you according to Fr Thi it cost you an arm and a leg to live there.

Well thats all from me until I arrive home God Bless and thanks for all your support and prayers Fr Kevin

Reflections in Melbourne and Perth

2007-04-23T12:42:00.000+01:00

Margie, Mark, Connor and myself and Ryan

The extended Family in Melbourne

The beautiful Victorian Baths in Melbourne.

Hello everyone I am now in Perth which is a lovely city. I am staying in St Joseph's Church in Subiaco which is a suburb of Perth. A strange thing happened at Perth's Airport. I was under the wrong impression that I was being met there. I waited half an hour and there was no sign of anybody meeting me. There was a man there with a St Francis cross on so I went over to him and asked if he was meeting a Fr Kevin. No he said I have just dropped somebody off. I told him my situation and he said that he belonged to a catholic order and would take me to St Joseph's. The night before I left however I had no idea what the address was or even the telephone number. Margy who I was staying with in Melbourne said it was a very bad move to go to an airport with no address or contact number, so she went onto the internet and got them both. I am so glad that she did otherwise I would have been in the mire knowing no one and not having a clue where to stay. But as the saying goes the Spirit moves in mysterious ways.

I have left New Zealand for over a week now and have had time to reflect on my time there. I have been shown many kindnesses and have been let into peoples lives and been accepted into their homes in New Zealand. I have been impressed with a lot of people there especially in the Church. Many people here have asked me to stay or would I consisder moving over here. First and foremost I think it would be a bit crass of me to ask my Bishop to let me leave his diocese after he has generously gave me time away. Another thing is my age if I was twentyfive years younger I may have consisder it but now it would be too much of an upheaval, having to make new friends and contacts and to live life a little different than what it is in England. I think I am too much a european as well. To be so far from all that cultral mix could be demanding. New Zealand is very beautiful but once you have seen it you have seen it. I have politely refused their invitation to stay there on a permanant basis but obviously return there in a few years to see uncle Arnett. I phoned him up the other day and he is doing fine. I think he is having a little rest after all the comings and goings of the last few weeks. A few of the parishioners are going to stay in touch with him and take him out for lunch have a chat with him. We will make a catholic out of him yet.

After leaving New Zealand I was met in Melbourne by Mark and his son Connor and whisked off to their place in Berwick an outer suburb of Melbourne. There I met Margie and the new baby Ryan who I Baptised the next. There I met the rest of the family who I had heard of from AuntNellie and seen their photographs. We had a good time at the baptism and the following party. On the Monday I went to stay with Ian in Richmond Melbourne for a few nights. Ian was working all day so I went an explored Melbourne. I felt that it had changed a lot since I last visited it in 1989 a lot of the lovel victorian buildings had gone and the ones that had remained seem to be over powered by the big new glass buildings that are sprouting up everywhere. I went and saw the cathedrals of the religion of sport, the MCG, the Rod Laver arena and the big footie stadiums that seem to be all over the place. The one thing you have to say about Melbourne is the amount of independant clothes shops there are. If you are a woman and you like shopping then this is the place for you but don't take your husband as it will bore him to death as it did to me. There are literally thousands of small fasion shops how on earth they survive I don't know. Mind you try and find a specialised food store and you will find it hard. It is so different than England, where you fall over bakeries and food stores everywhere you look.

(to be continued)

Goodbye to New Zealand

2007-04-20T06:38:00.000+01:00

Arnett, Sylvia and Joan at the airport

Arnett and myself

Goodbye from Christ the King

Good day to you all, I am in Australia. The weather is nearly as hot as it is in the UK. Everyone is telling me over here what a lovely spring I am missing.

Well I left the cathedral on the Thursday before I left NZ and spent the rest of my time with Arnett. It was quite sad as you can imagine. It didn't seem like six months ago that Arnett with his blue blazer and Joan, met me at Christchurch Airport to welcome me and here we are getting ready to say goodbye. The two days Arnett and myself spent with each other was great and we did nothing but talk. I actually finished the tapes that I started about his life. The last part was about his emigration to N.Z. which was interesting but Arnett wasn't really very enthusiastic and I had to give him a lot of encouragement. We did, however, talked a lot about my time in N.Z. and how much we had both enjoyed it. On the Thursday we went and had a meal with Sylvia, Jim and Megan at the Water Shed near Sumner. We had a great time and the food was good.

Friday started the day with Mass at Christ the King which was apt as it was the place where I celebrated Mass when I first came to N.Z. There was a lot of people there who wished me a good trip home and I thanked them all for all their kindness while I have been in N.Z. I told them that they were a very welcoming parish and that was because their parish priest, Fr Bill, was a very welcoming priest. After Mass myself and Arnett were invited in for morning coffee with a few parishioners that I have become friendly with. After the morning coffee I returned Arnett home and then took the car back to the cathedral had lunch with the bishop and said my good byes to everyone there then spent the rest of the day with Arnett.

On Saturday morning it was packing and trying to keep the weight down with very little success. Still it wasn't as much as I went out with as I was down to 30 kilos which was a lot better than 45 that I came out with. At the airport I had to take my books out of the luggage and put them in my hand luggage which got me down to 25 kilos which was passed. Sylvia, Jim, Megan, Michael, Shelly, Joan, Siobhan and Arnett came to wish me Bon Voyage. As you can imagine it was sad, but not as bad as I expected as I promised I would return in a few years but not for so long. Then I said good bye to New Zealand and thanked God for the wonderful time that I had there.

My time in New Zealand has been very fruitful not only in spending time with my uncle but also refreshing my vocation to the priesthood. Here because I have had no responsibility in running a parish and all that goes with it I realise how much I like the ministry of priesthood. Practising my ministry in a parish and meeting all types of people and being open to their needs has been fulfilling. The hospital ministry, though I feel wouldn't be my first choice, showed me how important the hospital chaplaincy is. I think in this very material world we forget that there is a spiritual side that also needs addressing and a lot of the time needs healing, because of the church, or rather their perception of the Church. I always thank the Lord when someone takes up their faith again after years of mis-understanding what belonging to the Church really means. What I have also found is how consoling the faith is to people, especially when death is near at hand. The sacraments that they receive always seems to give them courage and helps them to accept what is happening to them. I have had many moving experiences with the sick and have been greatly assisted in my ministry by them. Their Faith has been an inspiration to me and I thank them for that. Hopefully I will come back to my ministry in Sandhurst and Crowthorne renewed and refreshed and ready to carry out God's work to all I meet. I want to thank all who have helped me during the last six months.

Easter and the Last days in New Zealand

2007-04-11T22:36:00.000+01:00

Sisters of Carmel in the Palour.

Arnett, Sylvia, Margaret and myself at the Cathedral

The Sister's seating place in the Carmel Church

Carmel Monastry and Church Christchurch.

Happy Easter Everyone. The Lord has truly Risen indeed Alleluia Alleluia.

I had a wonderful celebration of the Easter Triduum with the Sisters of Carmel in Christchurch. It was quite different from my usual parish celebration. There are only Ten sisters in the monastery and they are totally enclosed and they main work is the prayer of the church and the celebration of the Mass. I have been privileged this year to celebrate the Easter mysteries with them. There was a small congregation who also celebrated these mysteries with us and they were made up of mainly Samoans. The Choir was made up of Samoans who sang beautifully, so beautifully that I asked them to move over to our parish, they declined saying that they were quite happy where they were.

It must be hard for the sisters to control what is going on as the are totally enclosed, yet they manage quite well though when the altar servers turn up with only a few minutes to go it made it a little scary. However we managed. The sister are seated at the side of the altar and behind a grill. This makes it a little awkward when reading and preaching as one is always aware of them but somehow not being able to talk to them directly without turning away from the congregation in the front. The celebrations went really well and was prayerful and meaningful. It reminded me of my days as a monk in Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight. There is something peaceful about people who devote themselves to a life of prayer. There is also a sense of serenity and joy in their habitat which draws people to them. It is not an easy life for the sisters but it is one they embrace with the love of God which sustains them in the dark night of the soul.

After the Easter liturgy had finished I met the sisters in their parlour and had a good and at times amusing talk with them. It was here that I learnt that some of the sisters had been in there for over sixty years and had never been out of the enclosure. It is amazing to our society that there are people who are still willing to give themselves totally to God. They survive by making altar breads, Mass vestments and raising a few cattle. They are totally vegetarian and grow many of their own vegetables and fruit themselves. So in one sense one could call them very eco friendly.

They were very interested in what I was doing in New Zealand. However like all enclosed orders they knew what was happening in the local Church. It is amazing how much information they seem to glean from everyone. The sisters sat in front of me behind a grill the prioress first and the sub prioress at the front then in seniority going back to the most junior. We had a good laugh about the end of the service when I made all the congregation and them as well shout at the top of their voices with joy, That Christ has truly Risen indeed Alleluia Alleluia. We had to do it four time before we got the desired affect. So all in all fairly different from my usual parish celebration but just as moving as Easter always is for devoted Christians. Alleluia Alleluia.

After the 8.00am Sunday Morning Mass with the sisters I moved on towards the cathedral where I concelebrated the High Easter Mass with two bishops and the Cathedral Administrator. There was a small orchestra and a big choir who sang and played Mozart’s Mass for Easter Sunday. (Totally different from my warbling efforts.) It was magnificent and all carried out with great dignity, pomp and ceremony. It was a great occasion and the cathedral was pack to the gunnels. But saying all that I liked the celebration at Carmel for all its musical imperfections as it was homely. When one thinks of it one can not really compare the two. What it does say is that the Church is very broad and can encompass all forms of worship as long as it is done with reverence to God.

At the moment I am very busy saying goodbye to people who have befriended me in the parishes and packing up but I will tell you more of that in the next blog. Suffice to say that it is a sad time for Arnett and myself. We have spent a lot of time together and enjoyed each others company. It has been good for me to spend time with my only living close relation, which has helped us both to get to know each other very well and I will miss him. On Saturday I am off to Melbourne to Baptise a second cousin’s baby which I think makes Ryan my third cousin so will write to you all from there. God Bless you all. Alleluia Alleluia.

Leaving the Hospital and Preparing for Easter

2007-04-04T09:19:00.000+01:00

Palm Sunday Vestments Of the Cathedral

Ecumenical Prayer meeting in Christchurch Hospital

Sr Mary The New Pastoral Chaplain

Hello every one I want to send my Easter greetings and blessings to you all. I will offer my Easter Sunday High Mass for all your spiritual well beings. Easter is a wonderful and Spiritual time. A time for rejoicing because our Saviour Jesus Christ has truly risen from the dead and has won for us the gift of eternal life. Out of the darkness of Good Friday comes the light of Easter. A light that leads us to the eternal light of heaven. No wonder we sing our Alleluias with great gusto. Though this Easter I will not be with you, you will be in my thoughts and prayers.

Over the last few months I have been reading the lives and works of St Therese and St Benedicta of the Cross of the Carmelite order so it is very fitting that I will celebrate the Easter Liturgy with the Carmelite order here in Christchurch. When I was asked to do this some how I felt there was a guiding hand at the back of it. I feel it will be a fitting way to finish my sabbatical here in New Zealand and prepare me to come home to my parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst, and in my small way carry out the little way of St Therese and St Benedicta. The little way of accepting and loving.

I am looking forward to coming home and in one way I am very glad that it wasn't a year. The six months was quite enough. I will miss the company and friendship of my Uncle and his family and all those who I have made friends with here, but I will be compensated by having your company again and catching up with old friends..

So once again have a joyful and prayerful Easter keep me in your prayers as I will keep you in mine. God Bless you all Fr Kevin.

Leaving Christchurch Hospital Preparing for Holy Week

On Monday I signed off as the acting Priest Chaplain at the hospital. My time there has been a source of spiritual blessing. Saying that if it was a full time ministry I would have found it quite draining. It was good to have contact with the cathedral parish and its parishioners, which helped to put things into perspective. I feel that you have a certain blessing to be a full time Chaplain otherwise it could wear you down quite quickly. I always remember a chaplain advising me about my ministry in Broadmoor, he said; ‘When you shut the gates as you are leaving Broadmoor, remember to shut the gates of your mind to what has gone on there.’ In other words don’t take the worries and cares of the institution away with you, leave them at the gate. In one sense that is fairly easy to do at Broadmoor but much harder in a public hospital as people are suffering in so many different ways. How can you forget the dying baby or child and the suffering parents; the people who have just been told they have a terminal illness. The answer is you can’t you can only place that suffering before the Lord in prayer and ask for his help, and the prayers and help of your parishioners or community. I think three to five years as a chaplain would be enough and then I feel I would need to move on.

I must say that the staff at the hospital were excellent who had a much better understanding of the spiritual needs of their patients than their counterparts in England. Here they seem to have a better holistic approach to nursing especially top management. The Chaplaincy team here in Christchurch is large mainly volunteers, but there are eight paid chaplains catering for all beliefs and ethnic origins. I went for a goodbye meal with a group of them and had a good time. Sister Mary and Fr Peter now have taken over the catholic arm of the chaplaincy and I think it is in good hands and may the Lord bless their ministry.

Well Holy Week is upon us and I started it by celebrating the 7.30am Mass of Palm Sunday which went very well. Though here they don’t use palms; I suppose it is to far to ship them. As this is the land of the silver fern it seems more appropriate to use them. Another thing that is different is the weather. Now it is getting on to late autumn and already the trees are changing colour and losing their leaves, the opposite to Europe, where everything is starting to have new life, which Easter signifies. I believe there are people who say over here that Easter should be around the beginning of October which is the start of spring. Don’t know what Rome would say to that?

On Monday we had the Chrism Mass, this was a beautiful ceremony. It started with just the priest meeting together in the cathedral for a penitential service with the three bishops that reside in this diocese. We had hymns, readings, homily and an examination of conscience especially for priest. Then a bishop and six priests, which I was one, were dotted around the sanctuary and all the priest go for individual confession. It was moving to see the brotherhood of the presbytrate together acknowledging their weaknesses. After that we had a meal together and this gave time for priest to catch up with each other and have a good old chat. After the meal we had the solemn Mass of Chrism which was a wonderful and very prayerful occasion. They had it at 7.30pm which gave a chance for the parishioners of all parishes to attend and the cathedral was full. I was asked to bring the Oil of the Sick up with Sister Mary and Kerry Haines a nurse. It was all very moving and celebrated with much dignity and gravetas. There was a nice touch at the end when parishioners from each parish of the diocese were called up to come and collect the oils to take back to their parishes.

Camper Van Part 11

2007-03-26T09:51:00.000+01:00

The Sacred Heart in Reefton

A day at the races in Greymouth

Anett and Camper Van

The weather during our trip was very varied, mostly all sunshine but we did have two days of heavy rain. When it rains here it rains.

Our first stop was Kaikoura. This brought many memories to Arnett as he and auntie Evelyn came here often as it was the route to the top of the South Island and Wellington. This is the place where you can go and whale watch for a $150 dollars. Arnett said you get a better view on the telly and it is a few miles out to sea and if its rough it is not worth the money to get sea sick. As I love the sea only to look at rather than being on it or in it, I quite agree. The beach itself is all pebbles and is very hard to walk on but while trying to we manage to catch a school of dolphins playing just 300 yards away. The campsite though near the beach was near the train lines. During the night Arnett woke up and said that there was an earthquake happening as the van shook from side to side. I told him to go back to sleep as it was only the goods train passing through. Why are campsites invariable near train lines and motor ways?

Our next stop was Blenheim which used to be a lovely little town with a good train station. I am afraid that the only good thing in Blenheim, was the train station. Because of development the town has actually become very ugly. Whereas before there was a typical old worldly New Zealand rural town there is now a hotchpotch of ugly warehouse buildings all linked together with unkempt and treacherous footpaths. I am afraid to say it was here that we met the most impolite drivers towards pedestrians. I actually remonstrated with one young girl for not being polite to an old person trying to dodge the rain. I was answered back in a tirade of bad language, which seems to be a trait of the young white drivers in the South Island. There seems to be no sense of respect or helpfulness, for other road users. As for giving way to anyone forget it. We were quite happy to get out of Blenheim and felt it was a big mistake even stopping there, though the country side out of the town is fine, though even that is being spoilt as miles and miles of vineyards are quickly appearing and usurping the local terrain and fauna.

The weather spoilt our day in Picton. Picton is a lovely little town and is really the port where the Wellington ferry goes from. However before the ferry crosses the Cook Straits it has to go slowly through the Marlborough sounds. On a sunny day there wouldn't be anything nicer to do at Picton than to get on the mail boat and cruise along to all the little islands, coves and inlets that the boat takes the mail to. It is very relaxing and picturesque but on a wet and drizzly day it would be awful. We sat in the camper van for an hour and watched the big ferry come in then made are way to Nelson taking the scenic route on Queens Charlotte Drive. Though very scenic it was a hard drive because of the wind and rain, though there were some bright spots now and again. Very beautiful in parts despite the weather and it is superb in the Sunshine.

Reached Nelson and the weather cheered up. Nelson again used to be a lovely town but yet again is being spoilt with the random building policy that seems to be everywhere in New Zealand, though thankfully they have not touched the core centre of the town, but slowly the centre is being circled by the warehouse mindset that is over here. They have a beautiful cathedral square here with the cathedral dominating as it sits on a small hill. There are some traditional colonial building that thankfully have been restore and they enhance the town. I have been to Nelson before and we only stopped here to catch up with some people I knew from Guernsey but they were away and we missed each other.

After spending a night in the campsite watching the rain, in the morning we went to Rabbit Island, Molueka and Kaiteriteri. Kaiteriteri was outstanding with the campsite just next to the beach which had golden sand. The day was beautiful with hot sunny weather and we spent the day on the beach just relaxing and talking. If you ever come over here this is a must place to visit as it is relaxing, the campsite is good and the people friendly, there are good walks and you can take a cruise for $50 around all the little bays that surround the area which takes eight hours. We didn't know this until it was too late otherwise we would have done it. I watched a beautiful sunrise here at six in the morning which was stunning. After breakfast we went touring up to the top of the island through Takata and the last village Collingwood. The drive was spectacular and we went up Takata mountain which here they only call a big hill. On the top there were stunning views of the whole Takata valley, which need to be seen. Takata was a one street town in many senses and has managed to keep it identity. it reminds me of the New Zealand township that places like Blenheim and Nelson used to be like. Well worth a visit more so than Nelson and Richmond which are losing their identity.

We returned to Nelson and Richmond but still failed to catch up with Louise, maybe next time! Stayed in a campsite that was very boring and the only thing that I can relate to you about it was a silly thing that I did. In the morning I had to fill the water tank in the van so I got in the cab and drove away only to observe that people trying to stop me and waving at me frantically. When I stopped I realised that I had left the electric lead plugged in and now it was tugged out and in bits. It was only the night before that I was saying I cannot understand how you could do that. Murphy's law! I was lucky as there was a young Bavarian electrician on the campsite who repaired everything for me.

Our tour today took us to Murchison and again it was raining. Arnie said we were heading for Reefton and the sun has always shone when he had been there. It rained and rained all the way there and when we arrived it stopped as though to prove Arnett right. The sun came out but only briefly and before long there was another deluge. Eventually it eased and we were able to call into the Church and meet Fr Philip and brother Martin who seemed to have been expecting us last week so were surprised to see us, but that didn't phase them out and they invited us for supper. Had a lovely evening with them talking about all and sundry until the rugby came on and then the first religion of New Zealand took over.

Reefton is a country town in the valley at the bottom of the Lewis pass. Again it is a one street township and if the sun was shining one would think that we were in a wild west town in America. All the buildings are one or two story high all different colours and shapes but unlike Blenhielm all blend in with each other to give a good period feel about the place. Surrounded by lush green hills and bush it makes for a pleasant oasis in the valley. The next day after celebrating Mass in the Sacred Heart Church we went to Greymouth for a day at the races of trotting. Did not pick one winner but enjoyed ourselves. A real country meeting far removed from Ascot, here everybody knew everyone and even somebody knew me from Ashburton. They gave me a tip Shamrock Girl but it went for a gallop and that was the end of my $4. (about £1.50) The weather here was lovely and sunny though the wind was a little bit bitting. Stayed in a quaint little campsite in Ikamatua then in the morning through Reefton which was ablaze with sunshine through the Lewis Pass and Hamner Springs and back to Christchurch. All in glorious Technicolour as it was a beautiful day. So our little holiday had finished. Though tiring at times for Arnett we both enjoyed it as it gave us great quality time together and enjoy each others company. Thank you Lord.

I'm back from Campervan Break

2007-03-22T02:05:00.000Z

Sunrise in Kaiteriteri

Quiet breakfast in Camper Van

Arnett overlooking Picton Harbour.

Hello everyone,

I'm back safe and sound from the Camper van Holiday. (sorry priests don't have holidays they have rests, that's what I was told. I always remember my Prior in Quarr Abbey saying that he loved to go away often because it was always nice to have happy returns. I digress) The whole Camper van experience was really great. I thoroughly enjoyed travelling that way. The van was much easier to drive than a car because one has a much better view of of the whole road and could anticipate potential dangers a lot more early than you could in a car, and here in New Zealand you need to. The driving though fairly sedate, (too sedate at times) can be dangerous. In England we are taught in driving lessons, mirror, signal mirror and manoeuvre, here they do the opposite without the mirrors. In other words they manoeuvre then if you are lucky they signal.

People very rarely stop behind the white lines at give ways signs, if they stop at all. They very rarely stop and let you through, there is very little courtesy, and they would rather block you in then let you out. If you try to overtake on a narrow stretch of road, instead of slowing down to assist you they invariably put their foot down to make it harder. There are so many head on crashes in this part of the world and that is one of the reasons. Another trait of the New Zealand motorist is to eyeball you especially if you are a pedestrian. One day the devil got into me and as somebody was eyeballing me I pulled out my tongue and shook my head. The good thing about it was that it was before Lent.

One of the main sources of accidents or as the new PC word is collisions (Hot Fuzz) are the young people. Here in New Zealand the driving age is 15, yes that is right 15. Can you imagine a 15 year old in charge of a supped up motor car, its a lethal combination. One hears so much about the deaths of young people or the accidents that they cause. Another added incentive for the young to be wild is because the laws in New Zealand makes it virtually impossible for them to be touched by the police. There is a great problem here with boy racers with cars that sound as if they have blown a gasket. After twelve o'clock the boy racers come out fueled up with alchol and let rip. The early planners of the town unknowingly made a race track for them and the police seem to have no ability to stop them. The roads are full of doughnuts and skid marks. There is a streach in Moorhouse Avenue where the gutter is full of broken beer bottles which are thrown out of the boy racers windows.

The reason for this outburst by me is just to warn people that this lovely country is not all sweetness and light. There are many dangers lurking in the background. After saying all that, because one is aware of the dangers one can avoid them. It is best not to drive too far at night and if at all possible do your driving during school hours when most of the young drivers are at school. Once you get out of the main centers driving is much easier and can be enjoyed as there is not too much traffic on the road.

Back to the Camper van break. It was great and we saw lots of places. I took Uncle Arnett to many of the places that he and Aunty Evelyn travelled to when she was alive. Kaikoura, Blenheim, Picton, , Havelock, Nelson, Rabbit Island, Molueka, Kaiteriteri, Takata, Collingwood, Murchison, Reefton, Greymouth, Hamner Springs and back to ChristChurch. We did well over a thousand miles in eight days, which wasn't too bad. Each time we saw the old places uncle had been too he would tell me stories of what happened to him and Aunty Evelyn. Usually about how his old Morris with the side valve got him everywhere. It would chug along slowly but with purpose getting over one hill after another and through one scenic reserve after another, prompting the girls to keep saying 'Not another scenic reserve.' It was good to see uncle smile and laugh as he remembered all the things that happened to him and aunty. Getting flooded out in Greymouth; the car being hit by falling rocks, being held up by landslides, the car boiling over as it went over hills which in England we would call mountians.

They main thing that comes across with all these stories is how much they enjoyed all these holidays and the adventures that came through them. Arnetts eyes sparkle with happiness as he relives them in his mind's eye. Most of the places have changed and not for the best as they have grown modern. The one thing Arnett was most impressed with was the modern campsites which had great washing, toilets, (which he told me was just a hole in the ground in the old days) and cooking facilities. He felt that they were a joy to be in and made the break a lot more enjoyable than in his day. (to be continued)

Going up in the world

2007-03-08T09:44:00.000Z

Bathroom after painting

Blue doesn't look all that bad but believe me it was

Fr Bill, Teresa, Paul and Arnett enjoying the company

Hello everyone.

I just want to say how sorry I was to hear of the death of Shirley Haydon. Many of you in the parish will know Shirley as she was always larger than life and full of fun. I know she will be missed by many people especially those who are connected to Our Lady’s school. We thank the Lord for all the gifts Shirley gave to us and shared with us. For the last few years Shirley has headed the team that has been going out to our housebound parishioners and keeping them in touch with what is happening in our parish. On top of that she has been a good member of the parish pastoral council and helped enormously in the amalgamation of the two parishes. Shirley will be greatly missed by all, and may the Lord grant her rest and peace in His Heavenly Kingdom. Our condolences go out to her Husband Ted who has always supported her in everyway he can in all Shirley’s endeavours.

This week has been another busy week with one thing and another. Much the same as last week. This week I finished decorating Arnett’s bathroom and toilet so now his house has changed from predominantly turquoise colour to a pale daffodil. I did tone the bathroom down a bit by putting half a can of white paint into the mixture. While I was painting the toilet I was overcome with the smell of the paint being in such a small space. It was awful and how anyone can sniff glue I don’t know. However Arnett is really pleased with the decorating. When I first started he said to me, ‘No matter what you say I’m going to give you some money for what you are doing, I’m going to give you a thousand dollars. Obviously I said I don’t want anything and that it was my birthday present to him. The day after the conversation started again but this time it had gone down to only $500 dollars. I said to him if we go another day it will only be $250!! He started to laugh. It is not that Arnett is mean with his money he is just extra careful with it, which is a sign of the hard times he had when he was a child. One learnt to be thrifty in those days because there was no such thing as a credit card or bankers cards. If you had no money then you went without, so one had to be thrifty.

This week I have moved up in the world as I am the administrator of the Cathedral as well as being the hospital chaplain. The administrator Fr John has gone to Auckland for a few days, and Fr Dennis is still on his monthly holiday so I am left on my own holding the fort. Today I entertained three bishops for lunch a fourth couldn’t make it, Bishops John, Barry and Owen. I said to the bishops afterwards that when priests get together they talk about the news of the diocese and what other priest’s are doing. You notice I didn’t say gossip, as if we would. However what the bishops talked about was what was happening to other bishops and what committees they were on, and reminiscing about how other bishops had acted in the pass, who was on the verge of retiring and who was taking over. So they are just human like us. Thanks be to God.

Well there will be no blog next week as Arnett and myself are off in a campervan touring the top of the South Island, seeing the whales in Kaikoura, the people of Blenhiem, the Marlebrough Sounds in Picton, the beautiful sands of Nelson and the lovely country village of Reefton. It will be the first time that I have driven a campervan so say a little prayer for me, though saying that they are not as big as the post office vans I used to drive. Yet I have to admit that was over thirty years ago when the vans had ‘double de clutch.’ I bet there is not many people who will know what I am writing about. It will be good to spend some quality time with Arnett. I am taking a tape recorder and I am going to get down all his memories of our family and his experiences during his army days especially the D-Day landing and the aftermath. He is now one of the few surviving ex-soldiers of his regiment and so it will be good to get his account of those horrendous days. He was in the St Albans regiment and if he had been able to come to England he wanted to go to St Albans to see it for one last time and to remember all his pals who did not make it back to base. God Bless

Ps I have just noticed that last week I said I would mention something about Genesis it’s a good read is the best I can say at the moment. A great insight to human nature and all its foibles and yet God still loves us, blessed be God for ever. Amen

A Busy Week

2007-03-03T10:25:00.000Z

Sue and Margery with Arnett beore leaving for Aussie

Arnett's Kitchen before the make over

Me in Arnett's kitchen after the make over.
Arnett said I am the spitting image of my granddad

Hello everyone, I’m a bit late this week on account of the work load I have had this week. I can hear you all saying tell us another one. It has been fairly hot this week and the summer has arrived here in Christchurch three months late. One day it reached 32 degrees very nice. But I hear you are having a very mild winter on the whole.

On Sunday we said goodbye to Sue and Margery who were heading home to Sydney after a lovely week touring the south Island. But before they went trying to get a snack after two on a Sunday in Christchurch is very difficult. Some times I wonder if they want tourist to come. They seem to have the attitude that they are doing a big favour by letting tourists into the country. The towns do not seem to cater for the everyday needs of tourist. I wont go on.

It has been a busy week in the hospital as I have been showing Sister Mary around the hospital and introducing her to the ward staff. When I first went there I was just shown the hospital, where the chapel and office were, the lifts to the floor and then was left to get on with it. So I thought it would be a good idea to take sister around so that she wouldn’t have to go in to the job cold. It worked out very well, even though it took us three mornings to get round all the wards as well as see the patients.

Sister Mary was the principle of a big Catholic girl’s school in Christchurch called Villa Maria. It was amazing just ho many people knew her and this was a great asset in breaking down barriers. On our first trip round the wards we were stopped by three people who recognised her, and wanted our prayers and the sacrament of the Eucharist and Anointing. They would have slipped through the net only for sister as they were not down on our list as RCs. I personally feel sister Mary will be an excellent chaplain as she knows so many people and has a lovely sympathetic and homely way about her and is also a woman of the world.

I had a very sad but enriching experience this week. I was called up to one of the wards to see a young person who was suffering from an eating disorder. Before I went into the ward I was warned to be prepared for a shock as the poor person had been suffering from the disease for many years. I was glad as the poor sight before me if I had not been warned would have drew a gasp of pity from me. The person before me was just a skeleton with skin on, hardly breathing at all. I anointed the person and the minute I had finished celebrating the sacrament with her and her family than she stopped breathing and died. It was all very peaceful but sad. I felt so sad for the parents who had lived with this illness of their child for so many years. But as the father said their child now wasn’t suffering any more at was at peace with the Lord.

On a lighter note, when I first came to New Zealand I said to my uncle that I would decorate his kitchen. The reason for this was when uncle Arnett decorated it over twenty years ago his eye sight was not at is best to say the least. He could not see the patchwork quilt he had made with the colours. To him one coat of paint was enough but the fact was it wasn’t as you could see the dark pink patches shinning through the turquoise blue that was on top. He still swears that the paint he put on was green! By all accounts the whole kitchen was that colour until he wanted to lighten it up with a couple of the walls painted white. But by the time he was doing this his eye sight was even worse so he could distinguish what he had painted first so the thing was a bit of a mess. When I asked him what Evelyn thought about it all he said she just said “That’s lovely love.” Which was just what aunty Evelyn was like. Everything was lovely and nice. Therefore this last Tuesday and Wednesday I painted the kitchen a lovely pale daffodil colour. I let him pick the colour as he has to live with it. It wouldn’t have been my choice but as he said with only one eye truly working and that only at half speed, it needs a sharp colour for him to notice it. It was hard work but I did manage it and uncle watched me all the time. At first I thought it was too much but after a few days it has toned down. Now for the toilet and the bathroom and then thats it.

Well that’s all for this week I am still trying to get through Genesis but more about that next week.

Lenten Service

2007-02-23T09:05:00.000Z

Ash Wednesday Service at Anglican Cathedral

Catholic Cathedral Christchurch NZ

Arnett Trying to pick out winners no success!

On Ash Wednesday we began our Lenten journey again travelling along the troublesome and hard road to Calvary with Jesus. We know however, that this road will eventually lead us to the glory of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. It is the knowledge of the glory at the end of the road that should help us see that Lent far from being a time of guilt and self flagellation is a time for joy: a time to prepare our selves by prayer, fasting and almsgiving, so that we too can have some share in that glory.

It always amazes me that as Christians we have been given a great privileged, and that is, we know the end of the story of the ‘Road to Calvary.’ We know the hard road to Calvary doesn’t end in the destruction of our hero Jesus Christ, but exactly the opposite his complete victory over sin and death; a victory we to can share. How blessed and graced are we to have this knowledge and believe it. It something the disciples didn’t have at first, or understand when Jesus first told them. This is why Peter denied that he ever knew Christ, for what he first saw at Calvary with his own eyes, was the death and destruction of Jesus on a cross. If Judas would have fully understood who Jesus was and what he had told him would he have betrayed him?

However even with this knowledge, because of our human frailties, we wander off the straight and hard road to Calvary. Lent, therefore is a time when we remind ourselves of the great privilege Jesus has given us and try to get back on the straight and narrow road that leads to the Kingdom that Christ has won for us.

On Wednesday we had Mass with Ashes in the morning and in the evening there was an ecumenical service of Ashes in the Anglican Cathedral which I found very moving. Both the Anglican and Catholic Bishops jointly presided, helped by the clergy of both Cathedral. The music was performed by both choirs, each doing a solo. There were readings and hymns, then both bishops came down and shared in distributing the ashes. The Cathedral was nearly full with about 200 people there. I thought it might be good for our Churches together in Crowthorne and Sandhurst to do something similar next year.

It has been quite a busy week with one thing and another and I have not really had a day off because one of the priest here in the cathedral is on holiday so I have been back and forth to the hospital and cathedral celebrating Masses. On Wednesday Arnett and myself went to Oxford which is north of Christchurch and is a lovely little place at the foothills of the Alps.

Sue and her mother Margery, who I stayed with in Sydney came over on Sunday to do a seven day tour of the South Island. So we met up with them and I took them round Christchurch and its surrounds. It was a lovely sunny evening and we enjoyed ourselves, except for the meal. We ordered Pizzas but it took nearly an hour for them to appear, then they were rushing us because they wanted to close. On the menu it had the times of opening which was from 6.30am to late. Late to them was 9.00pm I said anywhere else in the world that is the time things start to happen but not here. Meeting Sue and Margery on Saturday when they return.

I was telling Sue about a news Item that they had on the main six o’clock news. When I saw it I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears. It in a way typifies New Zealand for me as a quaint out of the way place. The news item was about a young girl who had hiccups for over two weeks. It was so funny to see because it was treated as such a serious new item. The young girl duly hiccupped every few moments to re-iterate the seriousness of her complaint. There was nothing about the war in Iraq and the awful train bomb in India. One can understand the insular character of the country as it is so far from anywhere, except the Antatic!

I have only seven more weeks in New Zealand and I have no idea what is going on in the larger world out there and whats more I am not sure if I want to know. As they say ignorance is bliss or is it?

Cathedral High Mass

2007-02-16T08:16:00.000Z

The Blue Pub at 6.00pm, yes 6.00pm in Methven.

The Rakaia Bridge getting ready for a bungie Jump?

An interesting view of the Cathedral Sanctuary

Good day to you all. Well last Sunday I celebrated a Sunday High Mass with a choir and small orchestra for the first time in my life, at the cathedral here in Christchurch. Though I didn’t presume to sit on the bishop’s imposing Chair. It made me understand why the bishops in the old days were treated as the princes of the Church. One can imagine all the solemnity and the other priests all around the bishops with deacons, sub deacons and a vast army of altar servers, all fussing around him. Bobbing up and down and bowing and scraping as they used to do; no wonder the bishops were seen as the royalty of the Church. However, there I was alone with just two altar servers in the vast sanctuary, I looked just like an insignificant blob on the landscape. Actually it was quite humbling and made one feel how great God is and how small we are as human beings. Yet for all that God treats us as his children. The choir and the orchestra sang and played very well and everything went well with no hitches, and I even got to sing a solo and let New Zealand here my dulcet tones.

Afterwards while reflecting on the proceedings I just felt that there was something missing. At first I could not put my finger on it and then it came to me. The whole Mass in some way was more of a performance rather than a celebration. When I celebrate Mass in a smaller parish Church, even if it is one that I do not know the congregation, there is an intimacy that some how gets lost in a big cathedral,. There is an eye contact with people even a small smile now and then, especially when things go a bit off key. In the cathedral, for the priest anyway, the people are in the distance there is no eye-contact and there is very little inter-action. There is a feeling of them and me. Though there is nothing wrong in celebrating Mass in this way I would not want to be doing it every week for the rest of my ministry. So I have decided I don’t want to be a bishop and I am very happy to be a little priest in a parish where I know everyone and they know me and that we can celebrate the Mass together as friends with Jesus, just as He did at the Last Supper.

On Saturday 18th I will have only ten weeks before I come home and only eight more weeks here in New Zealand. I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone. It seems to have flown by. Though saying that I will be glad to get home to Crowthorne and Sandhurst. I was talking to a priest about this who has been on a sabbatical for a year and is the same age as me. He said that we are getting to an age where we want things to be stable and regular in our lives. We want and need the familiar things around us. I understood exactly what he said and meant

Because my time is short here Uncle and myself are going to have a weeks holiday touring around the north of the south Island. I have hired a motor home for eight days so that we can spend some time alone together and also to write down his war time experiences of the build up to D-Day and the aftermath of those day and his trip to Australia and New Zealand. (Does anyone know of a good speech to text programme for the computer?) Hopefully the weather will be a little better than it has been over the summer and the autumn will be as nice as it was in the UK last year.

Uncle is looking forward to the holiday and eight days will be enough for him. He and aunty Evelyn were great campers in their day. He told me they would get in their old Morris with three gears, with all the camping stuff piled high on top and off they would go for three weeks with the two girls. Happy days. So we are doing it a bit more relaxed and in comfort which he deserves. Uncle said something very nice to me. He said that one of his cobbers told him that since I have been here Arnett looks a lot more healthier, happy and bright. And as it is so do I. Its been really good for us both to spend a lot of time getting to know each other and enjoying ourselves and company.

Hope you are all ready for the beginning of Lent on Wednesday and that you have your spiritual reading prepared. This year I am going to make an effort of reading the whole bible. I did it once before when I was in the monastery and I found it helpful and spiritual, though Leviticus and Numbers were heavy going. Well that is all for this week.

St Valentine's Day

2007-02-10T10:04:00.000Z

The Crucifix in the Cathedral

St Valentine

First Station of the Cross Jesus is condemned

Fr Ramiel

Hello every one and a happy St Valentine’s day to you all. I wonder if you know that there are nine saints who are called Valentine. The Valentine we celebrate on the 14th February was a priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270. Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine and in that church was a woodcut portrait of him. Alongside text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius II. He was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned and Claudius took a liking to him until Valentine tried to convert him. Eventually being beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate.

As we know saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentine restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine." From those beginnings we now have Valentine Day. St. Valentine is not only the Patron Saint of lovers but also, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses. A busy saint!

Talking about St Valentines day on Friday I was visiting a patient when my phone went off. I answered it and the receptionist said that there was a man in the lobby wanting to talk to the catholic chaplain about a problem he had with a member of his family. As a chaplain you are called on to advise on many things. And at times you need to be a big ear to listen to people’s problems. So I went to the lobby and sitting there was this man and woman. I thought I recognise the faces, so my mind was racing trying to put names to the faces. Were they from Burnside or Ashburton parishes nothing registered. This is going to be tricky I thought how am I going to blag this. Hello Fr Kevin nice to see you here the man said and my brain was racing and then I realised it was Don Breakspear and his wife, Sheila and Val (Valentine)’s son and daughter in law. They were out in New Zealand having a holiday and as they were in Christchurch they could not pass by without seeing me. I said how did you know I was at the hospital the reply came because we keep up with your blog. It transpires that Val and Sheila keep up with the blog through them so that they can keep an eye on what I am doing. So hello Val and Sheila I hope you are doing well and that you both have a great St Valentine’s feast day and we congratulate you both on being so much in love with each other after over seventy years of marriage. God bless you both.

Been working quite hard this week with one thing and another and I have had help in the hospital. Sr Patricia who has been working voluntary for over 23 years has come back for a few weeks, before she retires. She work closely with Fr Kevin O’Grady over those years who also was a great support for her. So when Fr Kevin died she lost a great friend. So working in the hospital must have been hard for her, yet she has carried on but I think she will retire soon because next birthday she is seventy-five. And as you know there comes a time when you have to say to your self enoughs enough.

Well that is enough for this week will include another picture of the stations and one of the Crucifix. I have not taken many photographs this week. I have included one of Fr Ramiel who is a priest from the Philippines who will be working here for a couple of years as the Catholic Chaplain to Christchurch university.

Hanmer Springs and Stations

2007-02-04T09:37:00.000Z

Looks like Jesus and Simon are out for a run

Oh what big hands you've got Veronica

Jesus loses weight

Arnett and myself at Hanmer Springs.

No I have loss no weight in fact........

(By the way if you double click on the pictures they treble in size)

Well a happy St Blaise day to you all and I hope all your throats are blessed by the patron saint of throats. The do not seem to follow it over here. I presume it is because it is the middle of summer and not many people get sore throats at this time.

Well it has been a very busy week in the hospital. It is suprising how quickly the turn over is in the people coming and going. In the good old days a patient could exspect to be in hospital at least two weeks and after an operation another three weeks to get over the trauma of the event. Now it is usually less than a week. Over the week I try and see all the Catholics that are known to me(Here unlike England they give you a list of all the Catholics who want to be seen) and give them the sacrament of the sick and Holy communion. Some of the patients not truly understanding the nature of the sacrament say, ‘I’m not ready to die yet father.’ Then I explain the sacrament of the sick and then they willingly receive the sacrament.

I always fnd it a bit difficult to ask a person if they are a practicing Catholic so I have devised a little cunning plan that gives me some idea how the land lies. I ask them what parish they are in and those who are practicing their faith usually know straight away and know the current parish priest. I do hear some stories about why they are not practicing and I must say once I hear some of the stories I am not surprised why they have stopped. In the end however we must not be put off loving God and our neighbour and practicing our faith by people or because the Mass is not in latin anymore. We practice our faith because we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the founder of our Church. Once that fact is deep seated in our hearts it wont matter too much what people say and do, they will never put us off following our faith in Jesus. It never put Jesus off by having a motley bunch of characters around him, in fact he used them to spread his good news. (theme of my homily this week), therefore it shouldn’t surprise us to see in our church a great number of different characters. I digress yet again. The hospital gives the Lord a great chance for him to touch people with his welcoming and healing love, and let people know that he is also walking with them in their pain and suffering and that he would never abandon them.

On my days off this week I went to Hanmer Springs which is about 70 miles from Christchurch. It is a lovely place very quiet and quaint. It is in a valley north of Christchurch and surrounded by hills. It has hot springs there and people come to take the waters. I went in with uncle, even though the sulpha waters smelt like bad eggs. They say that the waters are good for your joints and help you to recover from some illnesses. I was talking to a lady and she told me that through the waters, which she bathes in every day, she has managed to get over the effects of a stroke she had over a year ago. Now she can walk and talk and do nearly all the things she could do before the stroke. However for my troubles in Hanmer I got sun burnt on my shoulders and chest and turned a beetroot colour. Got a sore shoulder, tired feet and a lot of nasty insect bites on my legs. So the moral of the trip for me is ‘If your well don’t go to bathing in the spa springs.’ Saying that I have committed myself to taking a Philippino priest there this Wednesday. I wont take the waters.

It was the Phillippino priest who actually alerted me to the stations of the cross in the Cathedral which were a great source of controversy when they were put up, to such an extent that there were demonstrations outside of the cathedral. The augument was that not only were they crude but one of them was phonographic. I will let you judge them yourselves. Personally I did feel that they were a bit like a ten year would do at school if they were drawing them. They would be all right in a modern church but in a classical building as the cathedral is they do not seem right. Mind you saying that until they were pointed out to me I never even noticed them, which also tells you something. Nearly every dipiction of Jesus is different which I also find off putting. Another anomally is the crucifix. I must say it is the most ugliest and not very well carved crucifix that I have ever seen and rather than meditating on it ones eyes tries to avoid it.

Life in New Zealand

2007-01-26T08:06:00.000Z

Akaroa from above

A sign post in Akaroa for the RCs and Disenters place of burial.

Uncle Arnett relaxing in the sunshine on the pier in Akaroa.

Hello again from rainy Christchurch. The weather forecast for the next few days is cloudy and drizzle followed by rain. In other words its Manchester weather without the freezing wind. Each week I hear from the people in Christchurch that the summer will start at the beginning of February. I wait in anticipation.

I am now living in the cathedral presbytery full time and I will be staying here until I leave on the 14th of April. It is a lovely big house with many rooms and flatlets. I have a bedroom, sitting room and bathroom all to my self which is good. Being in the cathedral house also puts me at the hub of the diocese and I get the oportunity of meeting lots of people who pass through. I also get to know fairly early what is going on in the diocese. Not that I am one for gossip.

Because of my chaplain’s job I very rarely eat at lunch time as I am usually at the hospital until 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I then come home and make myself something to eat. Being a vegemite it also makes it easy to cook my own food, then I can eat what I want and like.

Working in the hospital has given me a great insight into how people view priests. As I walk through the many corridoors of the hospitals I get many different reactions. Some people smile, some look away so that I don’t catch their eyes, others stare right through me as though I do not exist, some people do not know how to react and look uncomfortable and others acknowledge that I exist and greet me. One can nearly always tell who the Catholics are as they will greet me with ‘Hello Father’. There seems to be a deep seated knowledge that the Catholic priest is the one who wears a black shirt and dog collar, whereas the Anglican vicar wears a bright shirt and dog collar. That can range from a blue and white pin stripe shirt to a pink one. The whole idea of the black clothing of a priest was that the priest wouldn’t be bothered with wondering what he was going to wear. Now that the Anglicans have women priests there are even frilly shirts in all shades of colour. I must explore this area to see what best suits my complexion! I digress as usual.

It has been a busy week at the hospital which started with a few major road crashes with nine people being admitted all at once and people milling everywhere. It is only when one works in a busy hospital that you can understand just how hard the staff work especially in the emergency area. I have been called out a few times to the emergency area. Once I was called out because a patient would not allow the staff to do anything until they had seen the priest. I had to convince the patient that the doctors and nurses knew what they were doing and that it was in their best interest to let them proceed. They say that all life passes through a hospital and it sure does. It is certaintly an eye opener being a semi-full time chaplain.

I take my days off during the week Tuesday and Wednesday and this gives me a break and also time that I can spend with uncle. This week we went to a beautiful place called Akaroa and spent a couple of days there. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast there the Maples which was very nice. When I told the Lady running the place a Mrs Norman, that I was a Catholic priest she said that she was an RC which pleased me until she said that meant she was a Retired Catholic. It turned out that her three brothers actually worked in the same factory as uncle Arnett and he knew them, and that she went to school with Arnett’s step daughter. What a small world.

The weather was really hot and sunny the first day which made the place sparkle. The only cloudy issue was the New Zealanders attitude to customer relationships. The majority of them who work in shops and eating places seem to have the idea that the customer either takes it or leaves and it is too much hasle when they start asking questions or even worse complaining. They really take the hump if you challenge their attitude. It is rare to come across a helpful shop or eating assistant, unless they are Asian, who nearly always are extremely polite and helpful and never make you feel that you are a pain, even though you may be. To me that is the sign of a good sales person. I must say that not all New Zealanders are like that but they are many who are, which is such a shame as they have a beautiful country.

RC Chaplain at the Public Hospital.

2007-01-19T08:57:00.000Z

Christchurch Main Public Hospital

Cathedral Presbytery where I am staying

Uncle Arnett on a day out at Timaru.

Well since I have been back from Australia I have been on the go. Christchurch hospital is one of the bigest in Australiasia with over thirty wards and a yearly intake of 49,000 patients. Over 69,000 patients presented themselves to the emergency department last year, and over 200,000 outpatients visits. So you can see it is a very busy hospital.

Obviously because of patient confidentiality I cannot write about individuals but I can tell you about the work I am doing. I am the Catholic chaplain and my remit is to try and visit all those who put on their entry form that they are catholic. I would say that 60% who say they are catholic do not practice but I still talk to them if they want to. At times they feel a little guilty, so it is up to me to make them feel at ease. I never ask them why they do not go and in no surcumstances berate them. I am there to help them relax and be at ease not to make them tense and agitated. Though I sometimes feel that the collar does that.

The priest who was the chaplain before I came was a Fr Kevin O’Grady and he had worked at that post for well over twentyfive years or more. Everybody in the hospital knew him and he was part of the fixtures and fittings so his death was not only a blow to the hospital but also a great loss. He knew all the staff and as far as he was concerned all the patients were part of his ministry no matter what denomination. Though he has been dead for four months they still praise the work he had done over the years.

All members of the staff are important to the work of the chaplaincy for with out their help it can be a hard slog. If I was going to work their full time on a long term basis my first aim would be to get to know the staff and let the staff get to know me. Once you have got the confidence and the friendship of the staff you are more than halfway to being a good chaplain. Trevor Walt in Broadmoor hospital is a good example of this. But these relationships cannot be built in a few months they take years to build up. Another effect of a long term chaplain is that many of the patients also so know them and feel relaxed in their presence. So with me only being there for three months it is not possible to have the same influence as a long term chaplain has, which can make it quite sressful at times. But I am trying my best and that is all the Lord wants of me.

My day in the hospital starts at ten when all the other chaplains meet for morning prayer and reflection. We then have a coffee and discuss any issues that need to be addressed. After that we go on our rounds. I have a list of usually about forty patients whom I try and see though not all in one day otherwise I would be there day and night. Each time with a patient would vary some only a few minutes others longer especially if the family are there because most times they want to talk as well. Obviously I would offer the sacrament of the sick and Holy communion and it is a delight and moving to see the faith of some people when they receive Our Blessed Lord in the Sacraments. It makes ones vocation worth while.

But the other side of the coin is those who do not attend Church on a regular basis see the sacrament of the sick as the last rite and usually cringe when they see me. So I try to explain that the sacrament of the sick is not only for those who are about to shed this mortal coil but for those who are ill and that it is asking the Lord to give spiritual health to body and soul; a spiritual health that gives courage to those who are suffering from the weakness of the body. Around about one I break off for lunch which is usually a coffee and an apple. Then I begin again walking the wards and answering my bleep which is forever going off. Then at four I break off for the day. But for five days I am on 24 hour call. We have one Mass in the hospital and that is at 3.30pm on a sunday which is quite packed with outside people who make use of it. Very few staff and patients attend.

As you can read I am gaining a lot from my time here. I wouldn’t out of choice want to be a chaplain to a big hospital I feel it would be too stressfull for me. It needs a special sort of person who loves that calling and who can do it long term. But what this placement is teaching me is how special a chaplain is. So please pray for all chaplains and give thanks for all the work that they do.

I will write next week to tell you how I am getting on and where I am living God bless you all.

Sydney Australia.

2007-01-12T10:13:00.000Z

Does any one know what the above is?

An Aboriginie playing the digeridoo

Sue Ian and Margery on a trip to national Park.

Hello everyone I am back from my visit to Australia.

Thank goodness after a few days of rain in Sydney the sun began to shine. I was beginning to think that I was some sort of Jinx as the rain keeps following me. The people in New Zealand tell me it is the worst start to their summer in ages. Though it is wet and drizzling it is not really too cold 18 during the day and 12-13 during the evening.

Well as you can imagine in Australia I got my leg pulled about the cricket. What a mess and what a shower of no hopers. The last excuse was that the Aussies bat with a wider bat than we do. I wanted to go to the fifth and final day as I thought I couldn’t come all the way here and not see a test. Everyone said that I was living in a dream world and they were right. They only just managed the fourth day and that was because of the rain on the first day! Anyway no more about cricket.

I had a lovely week in Cronulla with my friends Ian and Sue and their children Marianne and Sebastian. Sue’s mum Margery was there and I hadn’t seen her since the early eighties in Farnham. Ian was still on his Christmas Holiday so we spent a day in Sydney walking around and chatting which was enjoyable. Went through Darling harbour which has changed beyond all recognition to what I remember ten years ago. A good tourist attraction when the sun is shining.

It has been ten years since I was last here and there have been many changes especially to the docklands area. Here there has been a regeneration and there are now lots of very expensive apartments and docking areas for ones boat, if one has one. If one has not got one then one can look at other people’s through ones windows or on ones balcony. It is all very pretentious but interesting to see. But I must say there must be a lot of money swilling around this area.

Met Bin and Dan from the Burnside parish who were out here visiting their daughter and we went on the explorer bus which wasn’t bad but wasn’t a patch on the one in Florence (Firenze) We had a good day getting on and off seeing Sydney and for the first time in my life ate at the Subway. (Maybe my last time?)

I was in the parish of Crunulla and went to Mass every morning at seven o’clock and it was suprissing how many people came at that time. Very busy parish run by Fr Tom, they had over 4000 people for the Christmas Masses and over 2000 for the children’s Christmas Mass. They must have been hanging off the rafters.

I flew out of Sydney early on Monday morning and arrived in New Zealand three hours later on the eigth of January. I will now be staying at the cathedral and working as a chaplain to the main hospital for a few weeks. will tell you more on my next blogg.

Here are two notes I received from the sisters in Myanmar which might interest you. One of them is about little Emily whom you may remmeber from an earlier blogg.

Dear Fr Kevin, Thanks a lot for your Christmas card it arrived on the 26th Dec Sister Lydia is delighted that you are thinking of adopting little Emilie. The students are doing well and are no more anxious about their school fees. Please could you support 4 pupils 3 girls and 1 boy for the year 2007. These are really pooor I have e-mailed you about the raiding business. Once at night a thief came and stole all our petrol we saved in a can and another came stole all the washing on the line and the girls were so upset at loosing their clothes. I e-mailed you but it couldn’t get through because of the power cut we have here and also they cut off the internet and wont tell us when it is back on again.

The new superior in Zawgi died suddenly within less than 3 hours on the 26th Dec. She was alright before she went to bed at 10.30 and was dead in less than three hours. We brought her body to Mandalay. So it was a sad end to close the year 2006.

I was sure you were going to miss England at Christmas. Never mind every day is a day closer to home sweet home. The days and months fly by so fast, we don’t remember what happened yesterday. May your new year be a year of grace, joy and peace and may you be blessed with the gift of good health, goodness and happiness wherevere you are. Thanks for everything Sr Geraldine.

Dear Fr Kevin we wish you and all your parishioners the joy the Christmas season brings. You really outdid yourselves in doing so much for us and the children with the presents you gave them. It made it a joyous Christmas for them. Emilie is in good health and improving and keeping well. Union of prayers sisters and children of Amarapura.

Certaintly puts the cricket into perspective!

Christmas and New year with Uncle Arnett

2007-01-06T06:46:00.000Z

Uncle Arnett the night after New Year

Uncle Arnett with Megan and Michael

Brigitta Dennis and Arnett News Years Eve

Hello everyone and a Happy New Year to you all. At the moment I am in Sunny Sydney for a week staying with some friends. I have come here for a little rest after Christmas and New Year before I start a new assignment which is working as a chaplain to the main hospital. Though I did say I would rather not do this work when I applied to the bishop in Christchurch they are in a bit of a jam so I agreed to do it until the end of Febuary to help the diocese out. The Last chaplain died as I arrived and the new one suffered a slight stroke which made it imposwsible for him to carry on. A new chaplain has been appointed but will not be able to take up her position until the end of February that is where I come in.

Being here in Australia has been a penance for me not in a religious sense but rather in a cricket aspect. When I am asked about the team I say I have no interest in cricket or rugby infact any sport that England is bad in. So my only invovlement in sport is tiddley winks. I do think we are the world champions in that. I digress.

I spent Christmas with Uncle Arnett and we had a lovely time together. I think we were both moved by having our first Christmas and New year together. He is a lovely man very open and can get on with anyone no matter what background they come from.

After celebrating Christmas day Mass in Methven I hot footed it to uncle's and picked him up to take him to Sylvia and Jim's for Christmas meal. We had a traditional Christmas meal with all the trimmings, with mine minus all the meaty things. It seemed odd eating all these things in the mild weather of summer. After the meal I took Arnett to see an old friend in hospital who had just had his leg amputated. Then we went back to Sylvia and Jim's to finish our Christmas celebrations where more family came round. In the end there were about twelve of us and we had a great time talking and playing pool.

Brigitta a friend of mine from Windsor arrived from England on the 27th and we spent some time with her and a friend of hers called Dennis. Arnett and myself spent New Years eve with them at the Crown Plaza Hotel. We had a great night and Uncle Arnett had grand time. He was up and dancing with the girls he seemed to have more energy than I did. I think it is the first time in ages that he has been out to a doo like that. I think he had a bit too much to eat and drink for he had a hangover the next day. He wasn't a happy bunny and said the old saying I'm never doing that again. But eventually he came round and said how much he enjoyed it.

On New Years day I flew into Sydney and met my friends Ian and Sue will write more on this later.

Christmas in New Zealand Part One.

2006-12-28T03:05:00.000Z

The Famous Donkey of Rakaia

The Crib at Rakai

Myself and two Altar Servers at Methven

I hope you all had a lovely and prayerful Christmas. The New Zealand celebration is so different from the one in England. I don’t mean that in the liturgical sense but in the secular way it is celebrated. Though you get the inevitable adds on the TV, there wasn’t much sense that Christmas was coming. Though I had been in Ashburton for two months I only got three cards from parishioners. I told some one this and they said, here in New Zealand we only send them to those we will not see over Christmas, which I agree with on the whole. But there was no feeling of Christmas is coming. If and not worth writing home about, only the lack of them. When Christmas day had finished that was it, they had the Boxing day sales which I believe were packed and on the Wednesday the annual summer holiday begins so everyone is off to their favourite camping site or Australia for their hols.

I also think that because I am in a temporary situation that I didn’t have the involvement that I would normally have had. I just turned up and everything happened around me. That is what happened in St Ita’s Rakaia. You will be glad to hear that the Donkey behaved itself, but the baby Jesus was a bit noisy. The donkey, Joseph, Mary and the baby followed by lots of Angels and shepherds came in when the congregation started to sing, Little Donkey. After the hymn the donkey made a dignified exit but the mother and father of the baby, representing Mary and Joseph sat on the sanctuary with me all the way through Mass, which was different. All the angels and shepherds sat by the steps of the sanctuary. All the lights and activity woke the baby up and it started to cry and cry. I thought this is going to be fun! After five minutes of this I said to the mother you need to go into the sacristy and feed the baby which she did thanks goodness. She and Joseph then appeared after the homily with a sleeping baby, who was as good as gold for the rest of the Mass.

I called the Children up after the homily and they all sat around the crib, which was very nice and I asked them all about Christmas story and what for them. Nearly all of them said it was about presents and Jesus coming into the world. Then we sang Away in a manger and they all remained sitting at the sanctuary steps near the Advent and Christmas candle. During the presentation of the gifts sister Marie Rita rushed over to the Children for they had knocked down the Advent candles which had been precariously placed on a not too stable stand. Her quick action saved the day but because of her age she couldn’t get up so two people tried to lift her by the arms. They were pulling her arms out of their socket and I said you must put your arms round her and lift her up. Thankfully she got up none the worse for her brave action. I just wondered to myself, what else is going to happen on this Christmas night. Thank goodness everything went OK after that.

The next day I went to Methven to celebrate the nine o’clock Mass but I was a shade disappointed at the lack of Children there. What had happened was they had a Christmas service the night before with Holy Communion and most of the children had gone there. Some of the parishioners had pressurised the parish priest to do this because they could not have a Christmas Eve Mass in Methven. It is obvious to me that those parishioners have not got the understanding of what the celebration of the Eucharist is about. It wouldn’t have been so bad if they turned up for the Christmas Mass in the morning but the majority didn’t especially those who pressurised the parish priest. I would not have minded if they were not being served with the Eucharist, but they were. Its funny they most probably go the twenty miles to the supermarket down the road for their cheap shopping but wouldn’t for the Christmas Eve Mass that was being celebrated there. We all have our funny ways. A question that would be left hanging is, ‘Have they fulfilled their Christmas duty?’

That was the only sour note of Christmas but other wise it was nice but different I will tell you more of that in my next blog. Have a lovely New Year and have a wee dram for me. God Bless.

Christmas Greetings and news to you all.

2006-12-20T19:06:00.000Z

HAPPY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS

FR KEVIN WITH SNOW BALL

Well I have come to the halfway point of my stay here in New Zealand and I have really enjoyed it. The two parishes that I have been in have been very different. Christ the King Burnside a city parish that is very lively with lots of things happening and a big mix of social classes. The Holy Name parish Ashburton a fairly quiet country parish with lots of farmers retired and active living in and around the town. Uncle Arnett came down and spent a few days with me in the parish and he was struck by how much Ashburton had changed in the building aspect of the town. But if you came for the night life and a good old knees up I am afraid you would be literally on your own. After six, sorry after 5.30, its deed(the New Zealand way of saying dead) On Saturday afternoon we took a stroll round the shops and most of them in the town centre were closed and there was only a handful of people around. When you think that it is only eight days before Christmas, you think the place would be teeming with people, not in Ashburton. They have their set way of doing things here and nothing will change them, not even Christmas. But that is country life all over the world not just here in Ashburton. We went to the RSA (Return Soldiers Association) and there were not many people there either. They were dancing to some country band. One of those bands that no matter what they sing it always sounds the same.

On the Monday I took Uncle Arnett home and went to the cathedral where there was a Christmas meal and get together for the clergy. But before the meal they had a Penitential Service just for the clergy. It was really good and very moving. The bishop presided and introduce the service and we sang hymns and heard the gospel and one of the priest gave the homily. Then four priests went to the four corners of the sanctuary and the rest of the priests went to receive the sacrament. We then finished with the Magnificate and a hymn. I found the whole experience spiritual and uplifting and a great way to start the Christmas celebrations. After that we had a meal and this gave all the clergy a time to catch up with each other. It was here that I learnt that after I come back from Sydney on the eighth of January I will be based in the Cathedral house. Here I will be the chaplain for the main hospital for a couple of months as the present chaplain is not well. I will also be helping within the cathedral parish itself. This should be interesting pastoral work which will not be unknown to me as I was the hospital Chaplain in Guernsey for four years. What I will need is a mobile phone. I have resisted up to now but I think it will be essential for the work.

I will be in Ashburton until Christmas day then after the nine o’clock Mass at Methven I will leave Ashburton, Methven and Rakaia to go and stay with uncle for Christmas week before flying to Sydney on the first of January. This will be great and quite moving for me as this will be the first time that I will have spent Christmas day with a blood member of my family. It is a strange thought. Arnett is looking forward to the day and also to the week I will be spending with him because since his wife Evelyn died it has been a bit lonely for him. Sylvia his step daughter always has him over for Christmas day but that will be the last he sees of anybody until the following week. I think he gets lonely at times. So during that week we will go to lots of places and hopefully the weather will be good. At the moment it is pouring down and has been for the last four hours and snow and hail is the forecast for tomorrow. Who said I have come here for the sun and surf?

It is good to hear that the parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst are managing very well without me and that Fr Adrian is looking after your spiritual needs. I thank all those who have helped keep the parish running in my absence, especially Bill, and the two Sues in the office who are co-ordinating everything. I also want to mention John and Norah Kavangh who will be celebrating their Golden Anniversary on Boxing day. I know we all wish them well and that they have many more happy years together and we thank them for all they do in our parish. I will offer mass for them on that day, though saying that it will be at nine o’clock in the morning of the 26th but only eight o’clock in the evening of Christmas day for you. New Zealand is 13 hours ahead of the UK.

This Christmas I will be celebrating the Midnight Mass at 6.00pm (Now I understand why people ring up and say; ‘What time is Midnight Mass?) with a real donkey in the Church and a three week old baby as the baby Jesus. Should be interesting. Being the practical person I am I asked what happens if there is any mishaps. Oh you don’t have to worry about that, came the reply the donkey is not fed or watered that day. Poor donkey. I have heard that the donkey doesn’t stay long it leaves after the first hymn. Which will be a blessing especially if the singing is a bit out of tune and it upsets him and he starts braying. At least it will be authentic. I asked as there are 45 million sheep in New Zealand could we have a few sheep as well and a cow. Father if we had all those in as well there would be no room for the congregation, which is a different slant on having no room in the inn. It is a small church and the aisle is only a couple of feet wide and it only holds sixty people.

Anyway that’s all from me for the time being. I will write some time in Christmas week if I can get access to broadband. I wish you all a peaceful and prayerful Christmas and New Year. I will keep you all in my prayers at Mass on Christmas day and please say a pray for me. I hope you get lots of snow and more importantly lots of God’s blessing.

Yours in the love and peace of Christ Fr Kevin.

Fairlie, Pleasant Point, Tekapo, Twizel and Cave.

2006-12-18T19:41:00.000Z

Lupines at Lake Tekapo,

MountCook fromPukaki Lake

St Mary's Pleasant Point

Last week I spent a couple of days with Fr Michael Pui in the parish of Fairlie. This is another parish that covers a great area and includes five different churches. St Patrick’s Fairlie is where Fr Michael resides in a lovely house which he has had renovated with all mod cons and is quite comfortable. It was here that I caught up with all my e-mails and some renovating of the blog, because Fr Michael has got wireless broadband.

Fairlie is in the southern part of Canterbury and here there are a lot more hills and because of all the rain we have had in the last few weeks is green and lush. It is very similar to the Lake District, but with the added bonus of a lot fewer people. Fairlie is a town of eight hundred people incorporating many farms. Very quiet.

Forty-eight Kilometres to the East of Fairlie is Pleasant Point but on the way there we pass two small churches that Fr Michael looks after one in Cave and one in a little hamlet. Pleasant Point is a lovely pleasant spot. The Church of St Mary’s dominates the skyline because it is the tallest building in the town. The town itself is classical small New Zealand town/village. Very attractive to look at and walk around, but I do not think you could fill a whole day there. I helped Fr Michael with his Reconciliation service. We had about twelve penitents so obviously not a town full of sinners! While we were celebrating the sacrament the rain came down and was hitting the tin roof so hard we couldn’t hear ourselves singing which might have been a blessing not only for the Lord but for my ears also.

The next day Fr Michael was busy so I said I would go towards Twizel which is to the west of Fairlie, in fact 148 Kilometres and see the two big lakes, Tekapo and Pukaki, where there are great views of Mount Cook and the surrounding area. It seemed very overcast and damp and I thought it would not be a good day to go, but Fr said it would be alright because if its raining here it will be sun shining through the pass. It was and there was hardly a could in the sky once you had driven through the pass. The one thing that really stuck me was not the range of mountains the miles and miles of Lupines. Fr Michael when I told him said that the early settlers had brought them with them and they have just spread, so much so that they are considered as a weed here. But to me they looked very beautiful.

The two lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki were magnificent not because of their sizes but because of their colour. They were a very bright blue, which made a fantastic contrast to the snow capped mountains, especially Mount Cook, and the green of the trees. The ice blue comes from the grains of sand/earth that comes from the glacial sediments from the mountains. None of the pictures I have seen of these lakes ever does them full justice it can only truly be appreciated by ones own naked eyes. (That sounds like a plug for the New Zealand Tourist board)I didn’t make it to Twizel as I couldn’t stand another 48 ks of twist and turns. This gave me an understanding how hard and lonely it must be to be doing this every other week. It is no wonder also why Fr Michael’s answer phone message goes on for three minutes.

The Holy Family Parish Methven

2006-12-12T07:19:00.000Z

The Ladies of the Women's Catholic League

The Children of Our Lady of the Snow School.

The Holy Family parish in Methven is much larger than Rakaia as the town has a population over 1500. There is a school also attached to the parish called Our Lady of the Snows. Methven is a growing town as it is a ski town. It has a senior school of 500 pupils and they are garnered from a very wide area. The Mount Hut Ski Field is very near and you can literally drive up to it in an ordinary car during the summer, but during the winter you would need chains on your four wheel drive. I did drive nearly all the way but stopped near the top as it looked a bit precarious and a long way down. You get lovely views of the Canterbury plains on a lovely clear day. Its funny that when you go up mountains one always feels like praying because one suddenly feels so small and insignificant against the vast beauty and size of nature. Here one realises that a little bird has much more power than you do as it soars up and around on the thermals. But what gives me a different power is that I can understand that, the bird can’t.

Writing about birds what makes me smile here is how they play chicken with the traffic, just flying out of the way in time. But some don’t and mostly the bigger birds. When the early English settlers came here they brought many species of our birds with them. Sparrows, black birds thrushes chaffinches and magpies. It is so nice to wake up in the morning to the sound of the dawn chorus with hundreds of sparrows chirping away.

Methven has a lot of Motels and Backpackers hostels for the skiers and during the summer months the trampers. Over here the ramblers are called trampers as they trample through the bush. Over the right side of the mountain there is the Rakia Gorge and a most beautiful lake called Lake Collridge. The colour has to be seen to believed, it is a blue turquoise. The reason it is like this is because the Lake is so deep and that the melting ice that fills it up also has a blue tinge to it.

Though the Holy Family is a smallish parish with 60-80 people it has a very active Catholic Women’s League. (CWL) who do many things in the village and see that the sick and the house bound receive Holy Communion. They meet twice a week to pray the rosary and have a Holy Hour every week and pray for intentions that have been given to them. They have been praying for a priest and their prayers have been answered to a certain degree. A Father Kennedy who is retired wants to live in Methven and is willing to celebrate Mass everyday for them, but he doesn’t, understandably want to be the parish priest as he is over eight. At the moment they usually only have one Mass every fortnight. While I have been here they have Mass two or three times a week. What is lovely for them is that both Rakia and Methven will have a Christmas Mass because of my presence in the Pastoral Area of Mid Canterbury. The Holy Family Church is big and could hold at least three hundred. Though the normal congregation of 60-80 are lost on a Sunday, when they have a funeral it gets fairly packed. Because it is such a small community everyone knows everyone, so if someone dies there is a tradition that most of the community turn up.

Our Lady of the Snows’ school is a lovely little school, which was started by the Mercy sisters. However there is only 31 Children attending which is a worry. Here in New Zealand they allocate teachers by the number of pupils who attend. At the moment there are four teachers but if no new pupils start at the beginning of the school year they will lose a teacher, which then makes it harder to attract new children. This is a shame as they have lots of space to play and its right next to the Church. It is marvellous to see the children so relaxed and free and easy, playing mostly in their bare feet. There is a lovely homily feeling about the School. They come to the Mass on Tuesday morning when it is celebrated and I also gave the Children who had made their First Communion an Advent Reconciliation Service which I will start doing for Our Lady’s School when I get back.

RAKAIA AND TINWALD PARISHES.

2006-12-09T01:43:00.000Z

Readers looking at the scriptures

ST ITA'S CHURCH RAKAIA

Attached to the Ashburton parish are three small ones The Holy Family Parish Methven, Holy Spirit Tinwald and St Ita’s Rakaia. St Ita’s is a very small parish and was served by the parish priest of Methven. There would be about twenty five to thirty five parishioners there. It is a small New Zealand town with a population of not more than five to eight hundred. The only fame it seems to have is that its a town that you pass through either on the way to Christchurch or Timaru, but one very rarely stops there. I have been told that there is a Salmon Factory here, hence the big plastic salmon stuck on the highway as you pass through. And you think ‘what’s that there for.’

The people are nice good honest farmers. I will ask around and see if there is any interesting trivia to tell you. I did drive around it but that was all over in less than five minutes. St Ita’s church is a classical small town RC Church. You would get about sixty in it at a push. I will be celebrating the Christmas vigil Mass there at 6.00pm. (5.00am UK time)I believe that I will be preceded by a donkey and Mary with a real live Baby. The baby boy was born last Thursday. (Before the baby was born I asked his little sister was she looking forward to having a baby brother she replied, ‘No I’m not.’) I enquired about the mess the donkey might make but was told not to worry father as the poor donkey is given no food or drink that day. It will be interesting. The Parishioners look after the parish with the help of a Mercy sister Sr Mari-Rita. But really it is only a Mass centre, though saying that a group of parishioners meet everyday to celebrate the liturgy of the hours and Mass readings and Holy Communion in sister’s house.

I had a strange experience in St Ita’s. The Church is small though they have a choir loft which on occasions one or two parishioners use. I was preaching one Saturday night and I kept noticing this figure out of the corner of my eye. I did not look up straight away but when I did I got the fright of my life for there was the figure of the Sacred Heart. I thought I was having a vision until I realised that they had stuck a large statue of the Sacred Heart on a chair and he seemed to be looking over the congregation. To me it looked a bit precariously placed, but by all accounts its been there for a few years.

The Holy Spirit Parish in Tinwald is an ageing parish and I cannot see it lasting too long because of the lack of priests and because of its nearness to the Holy Name Parish Church in Ashburton. It is only a mile and half away. Really it is not a Church in the strict sense of the word as it was built as a school and used as a Church. And I am afraid it looks like that, but as you well know one does get attached to our little Churches and it is hard to let go. I feel sorry for the Parish Priest here in Ashburton as he has to deal with four, yes four different pastoral councils and all the worries that entails. It would be hard for a young man but for a man of 74 which the monsignor is, it is very hard and I think not reasonable. The bishop is asking all the councils to look at the situation and come up with a plan that will be fair and just for all in the four parishes. Much the same as we have done in Crowthorne and Sandhurst but that was easy for us compared to the situation here. I attended the meeting of the councils and though they knew the situation no one actually brought up the situation that they face. They were actually more worried how many people would be on the area pastoral council than the actual problem they are facing. But sooner or later they will have to face the closing and amalgamation of parishes. The longer they put it off the harder it is going to be for their priests!

Ramblings on the Diocese of Christchurch.

2006-12-06T06:36:00.000Z

New Zealand Spring Garden

Classical New Zealand House

Have got back into the swing of things in Ashburton celeberated the Sunday Masses in Rakia at 6.00 pm, the 8.30 am in Tinwald and finally the 10.00 in Ashburton. I don’t normally do that but Monsignor Jim was a little tired after running up and down all week to Christhurch, and I was fresh after a few days break. Mons is one of the Bishops consulters and they had been finalising all the moves of the diocese. These come into affect at the end of January. It will seem strange to us as all our moves come into affect at the end of September. However it must be remembered that they are upside down here as their summer begins on the first of December and January is the month of the Holidays everything shuts down. The schools are out from the 19th December to the End of January. So Churchy wise everything is quiet and the priests go away. That is when I become really useful to the diocese and it will get me round Canterbury.

The Diocese have a unusual system of moving priest, which I can see has some benefit for the priest, but in another sense I could see it might not be beneficial all the times for the parish. Our system in Portsmouth is that the Bishop with his consulters go through the needs of the diocesan parishes. The Bishop will then call the priests he wants in certain parishes and discusses it with them individually. One would need a very good argument against certain moves but if a priest was really unhappy about a move. I know our bishop wouldn’t demand that a priest should go there, but in the end we priests make a vow of obedience to our bishop and his successor. Less than twenty years ago it might have been quite different. I heard from one priest that he was phoned up on a Friday night by his bishop and told to pack his bags as he was expected to be in another parish on the next day. To me that is very cruel and thank goodness those days are over.

I digress. Here in the Christchurch diocese their system is at the beginning of September if you want a move you write to the bishop and inform him of your intentions. A consulter then comes and sees the priest asking him what kind of parish they have in mind, i.e. a country parish, busy city or town parish, either on the East coast or the West. Then when all the parishes are known the list goes out to those who have offered themselves for a move. The one good thing about the system is that you cannot wait to see what parishes are available before you put in your request. Once your name is in the hat you have to move. The downside to this system as I see it, is that a parish might be stuck with one priest for many years. Some of the priests here have been in the same parish for over twenty years. I do not think that is good either for the parish or the priest. In the last week all the changes were announced and they were taken quite favourably by priest and laity.

I have met many of the priest here and they are just like any other diocesan body of priests. I can pick out priests with the same characteristics as priests in my own diocese, yet each one is an individual and can be embraced by the Church. I find the diocese a friendly one and a lot more homely than our one in Portsmouth. That I believe is because it is smaller and so people can get to know each other easier.

Went to a diocesan get together this week and met a lot of the religious orders who are working in the diocese. There were quite a few there but the majority of them were Mercy sisters who had a big presence here at one time because their founder Kathleen McCauly made a visit to Australia and started a foundation there. The one thing that puzzled me was how many of them lived alone working in parishes. Looking at the overall age of the religious and it is not hard to imagine that in a few years time unless something earthmoving happens there will be no religious left. That will be a sad day for the Church in general especially here in New Zealand, as they have put a lot of time and effort in to planting the seed of faith in this land.

Uncle Arnett is not very well at all. He went on a trip to Wellington and has come down with some bug. He looks very pale and weak but he is getting about a little but gets very tired quickly. I am going to try and get him to come to Ashburton for a few days for a rest. The mountain air might relieve his chesty condition. He has also lost quite a lot of weight, though like his sister Nellie he does eat very well, yet he is always telling me that he has not long to live. He is also very interested in finding what happened to his sister May Eastwood, (My mum). So we are going to the Mormon Church as I believe they have the records of Births and death of everyone who is recorded. So keep Arnett in your prayers.

The Parish of South Westlands.

2006-11-29T18:19:00.000Z

Our Lady of the Snows Franz Josef

St James Anglican Church Franz Josef

Fr Kevin Wei at Fox Glacier

The parish is big stretching from Ross in the north travelling through Harihari, Whataroa, Franz Josef , Fox Glacier to the village of Haast in the south a total of nearly 200miles. So my travelling between the Churches of Crowthorne and Sandhurst is not even a stone throw away in comparison. It puts everything in to perspective. It is a very hard life for the priest here because there are not many people live on this side of the South Island mainly due to the adverse weather and lack of working opportunities. Fr Kevin said that it is very rare for him to get a congregation over twenty.

The distances between the Mass centres makes daily mass out of the question and it curtails home visits as well. There are no homes, schools, hospitals, prisons or nursing homes to visit. Though you can pop into one of the parishioner’s for a cup of tea every so often there is a limit to how many times you can do this in a week when you have only six or seven families. So basically there is only the weekend Masses to organise. The rest of the week is your own, but when you are in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do it must be hard. I said to Fr Kevin Wei that I would have to work in the garden growing all my own veges and making the grounds look nice and when it was raining I would be decorating the inside of the house. (then repairing what I had done!). Fr Kevin spent a lot of his time making rosary beads and framing pictures.

I went to three of the Churches Our Lady of the Snows, Our Lady of the Woods, and Our Lady of the Lakes. (Very original I think I would have called the next two Our Lady of the Rain and Our Lady of the Bends) The Churches are very small and quaint except our Lady of the Woods which could hold about a 100 people at a push. This is a lovely wooden Church and very tastefully furnished, though over here in NZ they do have a tendency to have the sanctuary very high over the congregation which does tend to give the impression of us and them.

While I was here Fr Kevin took me around all the tourist stops the highlight being able to go right up to Fox Glacier and touching it and seeing how fast it is melting and receding. (Just like my hair) Walked back which took an hour and then the rains came down for the rest of the day. Went and had our sandwiches with a couple of parishioners then spent a pleasant evening watching Egg Heads and playing scrabble and would you believe it Fr Kevin beat me!!

The next day we went to Franz Josef Glacier which they wouldn’t let you get too near because of the danger of falling Ice. They had a lovely Anglican Church called St James This Church in Franz Josef had a big plain window at the back of the Altar and through this you could see the Franz Josef Glacier and the bridge over the river that flows from it. It was very impressive but I think it would be very distracting during Mass.(Yes I know what you are thinking!)Many couples come here to get married as it is so photogenic. My only quibble with it was everything was painted black, which did tend gave an oppressive feel to the Church.

Had lunch in the food hall in the village. The food here is not tip top and they do tend to eat a lot of rubbish, more so than we do in England and as for the coffee forget it. I take my Gold Blend with me as most homes have the very fine powder coffee that you get in Church functions. (Not may I add in the Catholic Parish of Crowthorne and Sandhurst). Then we went to the old Gold town of Okarito and its lake. It used to be a fairly big town in its hay day but now that has all gone with the gold, and there are only a few holiday homes there. Then off to see the grave yard in Whataroa. (You can see how exciting the day was) Then went home I cooked the meal this evening chatted and off to bed.( No scrabble this evening you don’t get a chance to beat me twice.)

On Friday morning we celebrated together the only week day Mass they have in South Westlands which begins at 9.30am. Four people came and they chatted and chatted, when it got to 10.00am I said don’t you think we should start the Mass now. I suppose that is country life, half hour here and a half hour there doesn’t matter, there is no rush. Said my good byes then back to Ashburton. It was a glorious day with bright blue sunny sky and this made the trip most enjoyable. It still took me five hours.

Note: If I was the bishop I wouldn’t leave a priest down there on his own. I would have him in the nearest big centre which is Hokitika. There he and another priest could work together and serve the people. This would give them and the parish a variety of options and could stop this appointment as it stands now being an ordeal. Then the priest wouldn’t necessary go round the bend, but only drive round it.

To Whataroa (pronounced ‘what a rower’) and the Church in South Westland

2006-11-28T06:07:00.000Z

One of the many hills and bends on the West Coast

The Church in Whataroa

To Whataroa (pronounced ‘what a rower’) and the Church in South Westland

Went to celebrate Mass in Methven and it rained and it rained. They have not had much rain here so they were very glad of it. The old adage is that if its raining on the Canterbury plains it will be sunshine on the West coast but not today it rains everywhere so I don’t have much of a view going through Arthur’s pass which you have to go through from the East coast to the West. At the other end of Arthur’s pass is a town called Greymouth. Though this town is named after a famous general it is aptly named because they get so much rain there, that it is nearly always grey in colour. Skipped through there as fast as I could and landed in Hokitika nice little town but wet so sped through there after receiving a cup of coffee in the local presbytery.

The West coast is so different from the flat Canterbury East coast. Here it is all hills and mountains and the scenery is very spectacular in parts. However, the mind soon gets a little bit bored with yet another luxuriant tree filled winding road up a hill and then down to yet another lake. Arnett said when they used to take the girls camping over here the girls would say, ‘not another lake.’ It is very luxuriant on this side of the South Island because of the amount of rain that falls here. Manchester is suffering from a drought compared to the amount of rain that falls here. The whole journey from Ashburton to Whataroa takes me over five hours of going up and down up and round and round. If you suffer from car sickness don’t go down this road!

Arrived at Whataroa still pouring with rain, I had to be careful not to miss the ‘town’ as it was only about 500 meters long and that is generous. The Church was a lovely old classic traditional wooden New Zealand Church as was the house. Though I rang the bell it wasn’t working so I just walked in. (They don’t have to lock the doors here and there is no neighbourhood watch) Fr Kevin Wei greeted me and said that the door bell had never worked and that they could never find what the fault was and anyway nobody ever rang it as they just walked in anyway. The house was typical New Zealand it wasn’t built for their climate. No double glazing cold and damp outside of the living room kitchen again nearly everything was a throwback to the fifties and sixties. The only concession to the modern world was a huge satellite dish and an ancient computer. Without the satellite dish you can only get one or two stations and if the weather is rough none at all. Yet for all that it was quaint and enjoyable and very, very quiet.

After a while the rain stopped so Fr Kevin took me to look around the town. It consisted of one shop that sold everything bar the kitchen sink. A garage, a small community centre, a small school, a pub and hotel, a farm implement shop, local Mari shop, a tourist information and booking kiosk, a motel and backpacker place, a fire and police station with one policeman and a car, and most curiosly a courthouse. Oh yes there were about 30-40 houses, four places of worship and a cemetery, Catholics on one side and all the others on the other side. (They were a bit shocked when I told them we all get mixed up together in England. You almost got the feeling that they would say, ‘We wouldn’t want that here’)

Whataroa would be typical of nearly all the little towns in South Westlands, except for the three main tourist centers France Josef, Foxes Glacier and the Haast, here there would be more hotels, eating places and tourists shops. So as you can tell the town was not what you would call big, and everyone knew everyone. People very rarely lock their doors, however, there would be no use in the parish centre as it was hanging off anyway. Though Fr Kevin did tell me that one day somebody did steal the church’s chalice but it eventually turned up in a Anglican church in the next ‘town’ a bit battered.

Lionel Waite

2006-11-22T06:23:00.000Z

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

2006-11-20T07:38:00.000Z

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

2006-11-20T06:49:00.000Z

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!

Christ the King Parish in Burnside Christchurch

2006-11-17T06:08:00.000Z

Fr Chris celebrating Sunday Mass

(You will notice a white screen in the picture, that is where the hymn words are projected. Quite disconcerting as one feels the congregation is having a community vision All looking up to the apparition at the same time.

Barbara the parish secretary and myself

Fr Chris Orr the assistant priest came and picked me up from my uncle’s place and took me to Christ the King. Fr Chris is one of the rare young priest. I think he is the youngest in the diocese and he has only been ordained for a couple of years. A nice and caring man who came to the priesthood after being a motor mechanic and by all accounts has a real racy car that he has built up from scratch. This is really a show stopper for the youngsters of the parish.

My first impression was, what have I let myself in for. The house was a square box with a small kitchen and dinner/living TV room. Everything seemed to be compressed, even the stairs to the bedrooms were narrow. I subsequently heard that when it was built in the early sixties that the plans had been much larger. However the bishop at the time thought it was too big and knocked a third off it. But rather than have new plans they just reduced the sizes of the rooms and knocked out a bathroom. Consequently the kitchen and all the other rooms are undersized. The parish is in the process of trying to get a new modern house built.

The South Island is notorious for changing climate. One minute you could have 30 degrees then next minute it could drop to 10 degrees or lower. Yet for all that no one seems to have central heating in their houses and as for double glazing forget it. In my first night in Burnside parish house I could hardly sleep as the wind was blowing and the rain came down heavily. The window frames just rattled all night and there was a banging in the loft. On top of that the roof was corrugated and when the rain came down heavily the noise was nearly deafening. We later found out that the banging was caused by some of the roof corrugated tiles coming loose. The whole house had a definite sixties feel about it and I don’t think much has changed there since then. And as we know the sixties was not known for its architecture or its buildings. I am not complaining, (really) I am just trying to build a picture for you!

The parish Church and the people were by no means stuck in the sixties. Here was a modern parish with a congregation of over a thousand who had taken ownership of their parish. The people were very welcoming and very pleased to see a new youngish priest. (You smile) It was amazing how many times I was invited out for meals and jaunts while I was there. Hence the lateness of my blogs to you. I had hardly any time to write and as for learning Italian I will have to start that in the new year. They have a great social group which caters for all ages. A pastoral Assistant that runs among other things a CAfe group which I attended. There were very many groups being run by the laity and most of them didn’t rely on the priest. The people seemed to understand the situation that the days of relying on the priest for everything was over, and if they wanted to keep their parish identity they were the ones who would have to preserve it.

Saying all that the whole parish had a great love for their priest Fr Bill Middleton. Everyone said how much they loved him and how much he had been the instigator of the parish moving forward. His love and concern for the parish had rubbed off on his parishioners. It was a very open parish and Fr Bill as he was affectionately called had an open house. If there was anyone in trouble or alone they would be welcomed to dine at his table. It would be very rare indeed for him to have lunch on his own. Many people who wouldn’t quite meet the mark of “some” would always be welcomed by Fr Bill, that is why there is a big Catholic Asian community there, who feel welcome and appreciated there in Christ the King Parish. The Asian community are noted for their extra devotions outside of Mass and Fr Bill has gone out of his way to accommodate them, which while I was there joined them. It is always a good sign of a thriving parish to see so many at daily Mass and all the other devotions that are held and that is what happened in Christ the King Parish.

So though it seems I started with a little bit of a moan I really did enjoy my three week stay in Christ the King which has given me food for thought which is why I came here. Also I was able to participate in all that was going on liturgically and socially, rather than running away to do other things. My sojourn here has given me much food for thought. Talking about food, the New Zealanders find it hard to cater for Vegetarians. A look of panic enters their eyes as soon as you say that you don’t eat meat or fish. I think over a period of three days I ate vegetable lasagne three times. Well at least it was food some people don’t even have that. On my last day in Christ the King I met Fr Bill and he was all that his parishioners made him out to be.

The Church In New Zealand

2006-11-14T04:59:00.000Z

Typical New Zealand Rural Church

Spent a couple of days with Uncle Arnett and we had a good time though he has slowed down considerably since the last time I saw him. I had committed myself to start working in a parish in the Christchurch diocese on the 14th of October. So I went to the Vicar General Monsignor Gerry O’Connor in cathedral house. Very nice man in his seventies and he asked me to go to a parish in Burnside as the Parish priest had gone away for a few weeks to rest and have a break.

Fr Gerry told me that there were only 34 priests in the diocese trying to serve 52 parishes. Though they had some help from the Marist order these were going to pull out at the end of the year. 75% of the diocesan priest were over 65, so the future is looking grim in the priest department. Like most of the affluent nations New Zealand is suffering from a shortage of priestly vocations. Some of the priests in the rural areas here are looking after five or six parishes and on some Sundays can be travelling over 200 miles to celebrate Mass and return home.

The pastoral plan over here is not so much about organising priest to work together but rather enabling the laity to take ownership of their respective parish. The Pastoral plan has been on the table since 1997 but has still not got off the ground in a big way. I actually think our diocese in Portsmouth is a lot more forward in its implementation than they are here in Christchurch. I believe they have discussed the plan and on paper it is very impressive but without a certain number of priest it is nearly impossible to implement.

There is a lesson for our diocese here. At the moment we have enough priest in the diocese to actually implement the pastoral plan, therefore we should do it before it is too late and the number of priest dwindle which might make it impossible to put into effect. At the moment we have enough priests to work together with the laity so that an effective way can be found so that individual parishes can keep their identities with out a resident priest.

Our parish in Crowthorne and Sandhurst have already experienced this and is experiencing it again for a longer period. It is heartening to hear and see that basically you are putting the pastoral plan in to practice and through this you are growing into a community who prays, works and plays together and keeping your identiy. You and other parishes like you are the future of our Church. Yes we do need priest to celebrate certain sacraments, but maybe not as many as we think!

Arnett’s demob and New life down under

2006-11-12T23:00:00.000Z

Arnett's House in Papanui

Arnett at the races with parishioners Bin and Teresa and Paul.

When Arnett got home from the army he had no house as the family house had been rented. There was no job in the dairy as his job had been taken by some one else. He found his girlfriend six months pregnant to a Canadian soldier so was leaving the country to marry him. His famous words to her were, "What happened to you?"That’s the thanks you get for putting your life on the line. In retrospect Arnett says that if he knew then what he knows now and how he would be treated by the Government and business after his army period he would never fight for them again. As far as he could see he was no more use to them so he could easily be discarded with. The only job Arnett could get that paid enough money to live was in the mines. It was a dirty job and after two years Arnett knew that if he stayed in that Job he would die young.

Arnett applied for assisted passage to New Zealand but was refused as he was in a job that was considered vital to the country. That was not to deter him he had saved over a hundred pounds so he paid for his own passage. It took him six months to get to Australia as the old steamer he went on kept breaking down. But as he said it gave him a chance to see some of the world. Before he left England he was living with my Aunty Nellie and he had seen me a couple of times in the late forties but he wouldn’t see me again until 1989 over forty years later. All he knew was that my mother had said that she was moving to the East coast and he naturally assumed that I was with her, but I wasn’t. Unbeknown to him or my Aunty Nellie I was up the road in a children’s home, and that is why we lost touch for forty years.

Eventually Arnett after dropping in South Africa for a month or so landed in Australia, there he worked for a year or two and then decided to join his cousin in New Zealand. Here he met his future wife Evelyn who had been married before and had two children which he treated as his own. They were married for over forty years and Evelyn died while Arnett for the first time returned to the country of his birth to be with me at my ordination in June 1994. Arnett still lives in the house they bought when they first got married in Papanui and is one of the reasons why I am here in New Zealand on my sabbatical.

Uncle Arnett.

2006-11-12T22:54:00.000Z

Sylvia (Anett's Step Daughter) and Megan

Arnett 2006

Uncle Arnett.

Uncle was born in March 1923 and was given the name Arnett after his uncle who was killed in the First World War. His mother Gertrude Hardman was thirty six when she married Andrew Eastwood who was 41. They had one more child and that was my mother May who was born two years after Arnett. By all accounts it was a hard life lived in the old cottages of Livsey Street in Whitefield. Arnetts dad was really a bachelor who wanted a house keeper, rather than a wife. He was more interested in his dogs pigeons and rabbits than the family. Gertrude had to take in washing to survive and worked day and night. Eventually it took its toll and she died in her early forties when Arnett was only ten. This left Granddad to bring up the children and he didn’t like it one bit. He had no idea how to bring up children and by all accounts was very heavy with the belt and hands.

The house they lived in was a two up and a one down and when my mother got too old to share a bed with Arnett he had to share a bed with his dad. The education of both children was pretty poor and when Arnett left school at 14 he finally got a job doing a milk round with a horse and cart. Being resourceful and chatty he soon started to make money. One has to remember in those days the milk man was also the travelling grocer as well. He tells the story that when he was quite young him and his mate got a bit sloshed. He came home a bit worse for wear and crept up the stairs as he got to the top this fist came and smack him in the face. It was so hard it lifted him off his feet senting sprawling down the stairs and right through the front door, knocking the door off its hinges. Next day when his friend came to pick him up he was told never to come to the house again.

At the age of 18 Arnett signed up in the army it was in the middle of the Second world war. His regiment was based in St Albans Hertfordshire. He was assigned to the tank regiment as he was small and was a gunner. They went over all the country training and trying out new models of tanks. Some of the tanks were lethal. One of the prototype tanks that was used was liable to implode every so often. During this training period his dad died and Arnett had to go and bury him. He never saw his crew again. They had gone out to test a new tank and the shell back-fired and exploded in the cab and everyone was killed.

Arnett and his company were one of the frontline in the Normandy landing. He eventually made it to Germany and was there for a few years when he was demobbed. When this happened they gave him a chitty to get to Manchester on the train, a second hand suit no money and no thank you. Typical government response to some one who had put his life on the line for King and country. He had served his purpose and was no more use so could be discarded with out a bye you or leave. Arnett said that if he would have known how he and his fellow soldiers were treated before he joined up he would not have done so. He realises now that he was just a small pawn to be relinquished when his usefullness was ended. Nothing has changed really only now we are much more aware of being used.

Arrival in New Zealand and meeting my uncle Arnett

2006-11-05T21:54:00.000Z

Uncle Arnett Eastwood

I arrived in Christchurch New Zealand on the twelfth October about 3.30 NZT. When you fly into Christchurch one usually comes in over the Southern Alps which is very spectacular with mountains full of snow. It was a brilliant sunny day which made it more spectacular. By the time I got through the immigration and baggage control it was well after four. But Arnett was there with his step daughter Joan to meet me. You could see he was pleased to see me. Hello Kevin in a broad Whitefield accent. Though he has been in New Zealand over fifty years his accent is just the same as when he landed. On every public and what Arnett thinks is an important occasion He always wears his blue Return Service Association blazer with it badge and his medals. He has it on today so telling me without words that he is very pleased to see me and that he considers this an important occasion in his life. I give him a hug which he is not used to and he gives me an embarrassed one back. He looks a lot thinner and smaller than when I last saw him. He is under five foot, though he will insist when you push him that he is five foot two and a half. We have a bit of a chatter while Joan gets the car.

We arrive at Hoani Street. The state house was built just after the war and Evelyn his wife and himself moved there soon after they got married. It was Evelyn’s second marriage her first husband had died and she was left with two girls Sylvia and Joan, who Arnett has treated as his own. Arnett was thirty six when he married and Evelyn was forty seven though only admitted to being forty one. The house itself is a typical state house, very functional with no frills. I think in the fifty years he has been there not many things have changed in the furniture and décor either. Arnett still has the same double bed that Evelyn and himself bought when they first moved into the house. There seems to be a big dip in the middle, which always reminds me of the bed the old lady is lying on in Hitchcock’s film Psycho. There is the same lino down throughout the house with sliding carpets, though he has made some concession by carpeting the hall and his bedroom. Most of the furniture is from the fifties with a few relative new pieces, such as the Television and a couple of coffee tables. The cooker and electric fire are old but work very well. And as he says why get a new one if the old one is working. If everyone followed his philosophy I suppose we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in re global warming. Joan says her good bye and we have our supper and sit down for a good chat. Over the next few days I get to know my uncle a lot better and he reveals a lot about himself which is a small part of history. I personally think his life though very mundane now has in fact been very interesting and in my next blog will tell you some of his history.

Bangkok and Sister Roseline.

2006-11-05T21:53:00.000Z

Sister Roseline

When I arrive in Bangkok Sister Roseline is waiting for me. Due to a mix-up we do not go back to the rebirth centre but go back to her sisters house on the other side of Bangkok which turns out to be a Long journey. We left the airport about eleven o’clock and didn’t get there until four o’clock in the afternoon. The traffic was horrendous and as it turned out we came the wrong way. We should have gone on the ring road which only takes an hour but we silly billies when right through the middle of Bangkok city. I have a feeling I don’t want to see Bangkok again!!! But sister Roseline is such fun to be with she has a bubbly character which makes her endearing. We don’t do much over the day and a half I’m there only shopping and seeing the cathedral and visiting the hospital where sister has an appointment which by the way is a private hospital run by religious sisters. I ask sister does she get it free being a Religious. No she tells me we don’t even get a discount. For the first time when we get home eventually after a monsoon storm I get the computer going. Now I can start putting down in writing what has been happening during my trip to Myanmar. However I’m two weeks behind and seem to be getting more and more behind for at the time of writing this I am four weeks behind. Hopefully I will catch up in the next few weeks as I am in a quiet parish and have a little more time to put down what I am up to. Left Bangkok after saying goodbye to sister Roseline and thanking her for all she had done for me, at six o’clock and arrived in New Zealand some eighteen hours later. Though we did have a stop in Sydney for three hours.

The Last full day in Myanmar

2006-11-05T21:51:00.000Z

The next day was not so early start. Mass was at 7.30 followed by a relaxed breakfast. Today I was being taken to the cultural village. I didn’t really want to go but sister Ann had set her heart on taking me there saying that everyone like it. But I knew from first hand that they found it a bit boring. Really all it was different houses and implements that the different states of Myanmar used like the Shans, and Kochins. The state run tourists attractions are a joke really, for the people who run them get so little money that they do not put in the effort and who can blame them. The different houses are actually used by those who look after them as real houses when the ‘Theme Park’ (again I us these words very loosely indeed) is closed. One of the regions shown is in the mountains so they have built fibre glass mountains with a little bridge over a small chasm. It seems that this is the highlight of the locals visit here. As it turned out the the place was quite full I was the only foreigner there. Another thing that is quite amusing is if they have a camera at all it will be a really old one. Sister tells me that most of the time there is no film in it anyway as it is too expensive to buy.

The trip to the cultural park and back was much more interesting because it was out of Yangon into the deprived areas. What people have to live in is awful and there no wonder why the mortality rate over here is so high. Some people have to live cheek to jowl in absolute hovels and when the rain hits them they have to contend with the mud and dirt. It must be a nightmare for those living under those conditions. And what keeps going through ones mind that this is all happening because of the greed of the few. The sisters try to the best of their ability and resources to relieve the poverty of a few, but it is only a few. The world doesn’t seem to care because there is no oil and no celebrities go there. We can do our bit by raising the profile and the plight of these poor people. But it does no good when articles are written that semi-gloss over what is really happening.

At the end of the day all the sisters come out for a meal with me. We go to the thousand coin restaurant which is owned by a catholic and we get a good deal. Not only that Sister Marie the superior makes a deal with the restaurant owner that the convent driver will pick up all the left overs for the pig they are fattening to sell to get them money for Christmas. And on top of that the restaurant owner is persuaded to buy the pig when it is ready. I thought it was quite funny really as the restaurant owner was supplying the food to fatten up the pig she was eventually going to buy and gave us a discount on the meal we had! These nuns certainly now how to get things out of nothing.

Back to the convent and packed up my things then a knock on my door. Father can you post this when you get to Thailand and they kept coming by the end of the evening a had a sackful of mail. I exaggerate but there was a lot. The Burmese are never sure that their mail gets through for not only is it censored but it make never make the censor as the postee might take the stamp and resell it on the black market. Anyway I finally make it to bed and sleep.

Next morning it is another early start and at breakfast sister Marie and Ann say they want to come to England. They have to go to the five yearly general meeting of the order in Rome, which is paid for by the American wing of the order. Therefore while they are in this part of the world they would come to England. I thought that would be a good idea as then they could tell at first hand what they are trying to do and also what is happening to their beloved country. As I leave the convent everyone comes out to wish me a good trip to New Zealand which is my next stop after a couple of days in Bangkok.

Return to Yangon

2006-11-05T21:47:00.000Z

We arrive at Mandalay airport just after 7.30am and I say goodbye to Srs’ Geraldine, Bernadette and Peter the driver. I suppose that we all wonder when we will see each other again. I know that I will not be over for at least eighteen months soit is a bit sorrowful. Though I have only been in Mandalay for a few days I feel as though I have been there a lt longer.

After going through the checkout I learn that my flight has been changed and rather than getting a direct flight to Yangon we are now going via Bagan. Last time I was here a group of us went to Bagan on a boat which took about eight hours going down the river very slowly. A lovely trip, but one that only has to be done once. The plane took just over half an hour to get to Bagan. Bagan is a holy place for the Buddhist and there are thousands of Beghodhas These are ancient monuments that were built in honour of the Buddha usually by a dead person’s family so that they may be spared a couple of lives as they journey to Nivarna. Flying in to Bagan you see the whole landscape covered with these mainly brick built begoddhas. Some of them are over two thousand years old.

A quick stop in Bagan and then off to Yangon which is only a short trip. Sister Ann and Sister Ann Marie are there to meet me but it is raining and I mean raining. All through this trip I have been lucky with the weather so I cannot complain. After parking my bag in the convent and having a bite to eat we go to the Scott market. I kept calling it the stock market and it is certainly not that. Its the place to go when you wanted prescious stones and gold. I went there to get some oil paintings which were really cheap or so I thought only to find out later that I could have got them cheaper.

The 7th October is the feast of the Holy Rosary so the parish priest of St Theresa’s was throwing a party for Sister Rosary who was the superior in the convent there. So all the sisters piled into car/van to go to the festivities in the evening. It must have looked quite strange all these sisters in the back with all their veils flying around. Yet no one seemed to take any notice. We arrive there and the party begins. Not your usually party I must admit. There was no wine and the only spirit floating around here, was the Holy Spirit. Yet for all that everyone was happy and enough to eat and after that people got up and sang songs. Had a great chat with two seminarians and the parish priests then at eight thirty we all went home.

Delivery to Chan'tha'gon Orphanage

2006-10-29T22:07:00.000Z

Boys take delivery

Brother Augustine says thank you

Some of the delivery with Fr Jerome far right.

We found Fr Jerome and we went to the orphanage and took the articles we had brought. The road had now changed into a very deep mud path and we carefully walked in front of the car because of the weight. When we finally got there some of the boys came out and jumped about with glee, while others looked on wondering what was going on. Br Augustine came out and when he saw what we had brought he could not take the smile of his face. He was so grateful. I told him that we had brought all these supplies because of the donations from our parish and he asked me to tell you, ‘Thank you very much, it will make such a difference to the lives of the boys’. I told him that our estimated price was a lot more than it actually cost and if there was anything else he wanted.

We talked about it and while we were there was a down pour of rain that actually stopped the children getting from the house to the dining room because of the mud. There and then we decided that the area between the kitchen and dinning quarters and the main body of the house should be concreted. I told him to go ahead with it and I gave sister the money and asked her to oversee it as she seems to have more money sense than Br Augustine. We all agreed on this and that first and foremost sister should get more blankets and mosquito nets so that every boy could have their own rather than sharing with two others.

We said our goodbyes and I said I will be back in a couple of years to see how things are going. However what we did not realise was that the car was marooned in all this water and when Peter started it up it just sunk deeper into the mud. There was a great commotion as there always is in these situations in the East. All the boys and some men in the village came and literally lifted it out and then pushed us for a few hundred feet so that we could get started. No sooner had we started on the main road than the rain did really start to come down. And worse of all we were on that road again another punishing hour of bumps near misses and noise. To add to this the spray and the splashing from the many potholes and flooding on the road. O happy days.

Eventually we got home tired and wet. I went to see a lady called Thekla who lived around the courner from the convent. I met her last time I was there because she was supposed to be an ex pupil of my friend. She wasn’t in and Winnifred her sister said that she was in Chan’tha’gon at the pilgrimage, and wouldn’t be back until Saturday. The house she lived in had seen better days and they could not afford to de anything with it as their pensions were not enough to cover their basic needs. Winnifred told me as inflation had risen their pensions from the government had remained static so they had to supplement their income by teaching and even that wasn’t enough as teachers are very poorly paid. I think sometimes we do not know how well off we are. In the West we moan about our government but they are saints compared to the Myanmar Military Government.

Finally got back to the convent had tea with the sisters and we talked for a long time. Then I went to bed fairly early as I was leaving early in the morning so we were going to have Mass at six oclock.

The Road to Chan'tha'gon

2006-10-29T22:05:00.000Z

Our Lady's Shrine

Local school and Sr Geraldine

Pilgrim's Rest

From Am’ara-pu’ra we went to deliver the electric wires, sockets and lights to wire to the boy’s orphanage at Chan’tha’gan. We went through the back roads to get there, even more pot-holes and uneven surfaces. Along the way we came across the university which was a long distance out of town. It was quite empty as it was a holiday but sister said that there were many students there. She did tell me something that we in the west would find quite odd and that is; as a student you are not allowed to pick what subject you would like to do, you are told what subject you are taking and what university you are going to. There is no such thing as choice, that is unless you belong to the ruling elite. I did meet a hotelier who trained as a doctor but who never wanted to be one. So after his studies he became a doctor but soon gave it up as he had no interest in being a doctor. It is the same with the tourist guides they cannot choose they are told what nationality they will be a guide in. This is called control at its worse.

When sister Geraldine and myself were in May’myo sister Marie Anne and Peter the driver went to the industrial area to buy all the things that were needed so that the orphanage could have electric so that during the long nights (it gets dark fairly early in Myanmar)they will be able to study and read and see what they are doing. They also brought more blankets and mosquitoes nets. We were now going to take these to them. The rain started and it came down in torrents. By the time we got there the shrine was packed with about 5000 pilgrims. They were staying for two nights going home after the eight am Mass. They all stayed there as their equivalent of marquees had been put up. They were bamboo sheds really every one brought their mats and blankets with them and got their allotted space according to how many was in their party. In other words just enough space to lie down and go to sleep for every person. The centre provided food for everyone. I know now just how the apostles felt when Jesus asked them to provide food for the 5000. All the food was donated and the cooks did it all free of charge. I cursory looked at the washing and toilet facilities but there was no way I was going to go in.

Am'ara'-pu'ra Orphanage.

2006-10-29T09:55:00.000Z

Little baby Emily

The oldest member of the orphanage 73

The Girls with the sisters receiving their Christmas presents

Today is my last full day in Mandalay. I will be sorry to leave in one way because though there is a lot of poverty here, the people in general are a happy race. They always have a smile and a welcome for you. I suppose it is an unusual trip that I am doing for instead of doing all the tourist bits I am going round seeing the places that are usually not on a tourist list. Therefore I think that I get a little more feel for the place and for the people.

Its up at six again starting with Mass followed by breakfast. This morning we have not far to go as we are going to Am’ara’-pu’ra and Peter our driver is back. The girls orphanage at Am’ara’-pu’ra was started a long time back. There is a lady who is seventy three there and she entered as an orphan when she was a baby. Unlike our orphanages they don’t chuck them out until they are ready and sometimes but not very often, a few are never ready. There were three old girls here and they looked extremely happy. The girls all came out to meet us and they ranged from the ages of Emily who was nine months to the oldest school age girl who was nineteen. They were very shy but got really excited when for a photo shoot they all received the presents that they would be getting at Christmas, though the sisters would not let them open them and took them back to wait for Christmas. To see the joy and the excitement was wonderful.

I was taken round the orphanage and it was well run very similar to the one at Zawgyi. On our trip round we came across baby Emily. She was only nine months but I thought at first she was only three months because she was so small. Poor baby Emily’s mother had died only two weeks after she had been born. Her father had tried to bring her up but was too poor to do so. He had no job and no money or accommodation. He was found sleeping in some shack with this tiny baby. He was told of the sisters and he asked them to take her in. Emily was three months at the time and weighed only three pounds. The sisters have slowly raised her weight and she is recovering gradually. All the young children adore her and take turns in playing with her. While I was with her she would not take her eyes off me.

After lunch we went for a walk over a wooden bridge which is Am’ara’-pu’ra tourist attraction. The bridge connects to the village over the river Wadie and is over a mile long. As it was a holiday that day the bridge was busy with people as it is the place to parade up and down. Pollution and traffic free and to top it a slight breeze.

Am’ara’-pu’ra is also the centre for novice Buddhist monks. The place was packed with young monks of all ages, male and female. The male monks wearing a deep coloured saffron robe and the females wearing appropriately pink robes. Some of them are so young it seems criminal that their childhood is being taken away. We had the same in the west not so many moons ago when we sent ten and eleven year old children to the junior seminaries. To see the very young monks going around begging for food and money is not inspiring. It was interesting to see how many of the teenage and older monks end up in the bars drinking and chewing the beetle nut. A very funny habit that suppose to give you a buzz and which will eventually rot the teeth. I would say there were over two thousand monks there. After this we went into a silk shop. The sisters thought I would like to buy things as all westerners seem to want to shop till they drop. They were greatly surprised to see that I had no interest whatsoever. But they insisted that I have two shirts and a bag to put them in and bought them for me. I couldn't leave Myanmar with nothing.

May'myo and its surounds

2006-10-28T06:48:00.000+01:00

The Landing at Candycraig Mansion

Visiting Kandawgyi Gardens

Locals visiting Kandawgyi Free

After lunch at the convent which was served by the girls we went on a tour of the town. Nice little town busy in the centre with lots of bikes and noise. There were quite a few beggars who were very young indeed. One was carrying a little child which turned out to be her sister. On the outskirts of the town the well to do lived, but there was a lot of signs that they were becoming run down as their money got less and less. Sister Rita took us to Candycraig which is an old colonial house that had seen better days. This is the place where the old governor of Mandalay stayed during the hot summer days. The hall and the big wooden staircase were very impressive, as were the large bedrooms at the front of the house. Though the whole house was clean and tidy there was something missing. It suddenly stuck me as I was walking up the stairs what was wrong. There was no paintings of any kind on the walls. In large period houses like Candycraig you always have pictures on the walls. I wondered if the government had sold them off. The whole house needed a lick of paint. The painting on the windows frames were all beginning to peel and there were cracks in the walls. Peter was the manager who was a lovely man and couldn’t help us enough. From him I found out that Candycraig was owned by the government now, then I understood why the place seemed under-funded and in need of repair.

At the moment the military dictatorship is in the process of building a new capital city called Nay’Pyi’Daw. All the money that the generals don’t squander on themselves of filch from the public coffers goes to build this white elephant. It is in the middle of nowhere. Nobody wants to move there even the foreign embassies or their consulates. All government departments and their workers have to go there as well. Yangon is going to be abandon by the military hierarchy so that they do not have to see the complete mess they have made of it. It’s the same with Mandalay they are abandoning that city to the Chinese who are pouring in. A few years ago the Burmese Army repelled an invasion by the Chinese in the north of the country now this ‘government’ is letting them in by stealth. I feel so sorry for the Burmese people as they see their country in a monetary sense being overtaken by a foreign power. And what is worse is that there own people who are selling them short. I am sure if there was oil in this country the western governments would be in there sorting it out. Mind you would you want them in making another mess.

Anyway back to May’myo After Candycraig we went off to Kandawgyi Gardens. Nice little garden but no different than you see all around the world the difference here being foreigners have to pay $3 and another dollar if you want to take photos. After this we went to see the waterfalls, which is a holy place for the Buddhists. Lots of stalls all selling the same things. They were gearing up for the next day when an influx of people were expected as it was the festival of lights. The centre of the town was your usual Myanmar mix. Noisy, smell of petrol and the honking of horns, little children begging and the men drinking tea and talking while the women got on with the work. After haggling to get home sister Geraldine and myself said our goodbyes to sister Rita and settled in a car taxi with three in the back and three in the boot. Finally after an hour and a half arrived back at the convent. Had our evening meal a small chat and off to bed to start again tomorrow.

MayMyo Noviciate Convent

2006-10-27T04:16:00.000+01:00

The Army Camp behind the Convent

The Convent built in the old colonial style

The Young Novices they were leaving the next day to go to all different hill stations so that they could have experience working in the vineyard of Christ. In other words working with the poorest of the poor.

May Myo was a colonial hill station which the British used, to get away from the searing hot summers of Mandalay and Rangoon. It was named after a British general who made the place popular by his presence their in those summer months. The present government have restored the old name that it used to be called Pyin-Oo-Lwin. One could see straight away that the town had seen better days and that in a time gone by it was a very grand place. Some of the old houses were very grand. There were at one time two main schools in May Mou and they were both run by the Catholics One was run by the sisters of St Joseph for girls and the other by the Marist for the boys. Both schools were made of bricks. Both schools were confiscated by the Government in 1963 but the orders were allowed to keep their living quarters and chapels. Now the sisters are being hassled by the government army to even give up their living quarters and chapel because it is in between the school and the army base. However, they have a formidable sister to overcome. Sister Rita will not be brow beaten into giving anything up. An officer who thought she was easy came away from a meeting with her saying, that before he came he was well but by the time he left he had achieved precisely nothing and the only thing he got was a splitting headache.

The Convent is now used as the noviciate house for the order of St Joseph of the Apparition and there are quite a few novices there working their way to final profession. It was a stark reminder to me that God will bring good out of bad. I know people will say that God shouldn’t let it happen in the first place. We have been given free will and a lot of the time we misuse that gift. It is not God that creates havoc but our greed and lust for domination over others. The good that comes out of all the chaos we create are people from all religions and walks of life who want to ease the sufferings of others. The sisters are such people who want to help others who are suffering extreme poverty and oppression because of greed and bad government. When sister Ann was told by her superiors in the West that they had many vocations in Myanmar because it was seen as a way out of the poverty trap. Sister Ann in no uncertain terms put them in their place. It just shows you how we can forget in our comfort zone that God works on a totally different level than we work on. Though we may not be able to help the sisters with our physical presence we can help them with first and foremost with our prayer and secondly with monetary help. Being condescending to the sisters is no help at all.

The Road to Pyin-Oo-Lwin (May'myo)

2006-10-25T11:03:00.000+01:00

Buddhist girl novice (8yrs)begging for her food.

Typical scene on a road leading out of the city

5th October, another early Morning Mass at seven, followed by breakfast. Peter who has been driving us everywhere has got another job today. He is officially a tourist guide but when he has no work he helps the sisters when they need a driver for their car as none of the sisters drive. Therefore a taxi is coming to pick us up at eight. He duly arrives and we climb into a proper car of sorts. All taxi drivers have to display a picture of themselves on the dashboard, which is a good idea in principle. The only trouble is that in the majority of cases it bears no resemblance to the person driving the taxi. I always ask, ‘Is that you?’

It had been raining all night and as soon as we got out of the convent ground we soon realised this was going to be a difficult day to travel. Most of the roads were deep in water and everyone was struggling to get through. Because we were going to May Mou the taxi was picking up other passengers. The first we picked up was a well dressed man in a café, then we went on this long hike through many flooded roads to pick up the next one. There is no thought of abandoning the excursion eventually we get to the house of the next pick up and a family of three pile in. There is not enough room so the husband has to sit in the boot of the so called estate car. With three enormous bags of soap powder for the convent and all the bags and cases of the other passengers. I thought this is going to make it even harder to get through the flooded back streets.

We did stop once more but this was for petrol. In Myanmar you are only allowed thirty litres of petrol a month which costs 75p a litre. If you need more then you have to buy it on the black market which costs you three times as much. When you buy it on the black market you cannot buy it at an official garage you have to buy it off one of the street side vendors. These vendors have large barrels of petrol with a tap attached and pour the petrol into a jug, which is then poured into the car. They have had a few accidents with smoking but thank goodness no one was smoking at it was not near a café with an open fire!

Eventually we got on the road to May Mou and to my delight I found that there was another road out of Mandalay. This road I was told by sister Geraldine was built by the British after the war and it was made well and stood the test of time. As May Mou was a hill station we did not have to worry about flooding as it was all up hill. The driver drove as though he had another three round trips to make. The trip itself was quite scenic as it usually is as you go up into the hills. But it was surprising how many soldiers we saw on the way. I mentioned this to sister and she said that the army had many bases around that area. They were even building a new city half way between Mandalay and May Mou for the army generals and officials. This would have the best of everything and this is why all the roads around Mandalay are atrocious because all the money was being diverted to this project.

During the journey Sr Geraldine was talking to the young mother who was travelling with us and it transpired that she was a Catholic who was going to see her blind great Grandmother who was not well. As soon as she learnt that I was a Catholic priest she asked sister would I mind stopping at her grandmothers place and give her a blessing and say some prayers with her. I said I would only be too delighted to. After a two hour drive we got to May Mou which was a quaint place everywhere you could see signs of the old colonial days and none more so than the first house we stopped at. Here the young family got out and she explained to the driver what we were going to do. He gave us ten minutes.

I went into the house and was introduced to the adopted daughter of the grandmother and she led me into the old lady’s room. Her name was Mary Scanlon. I told her who I was and what I was doing here. She said she was so blessed to hear a priest in her presence and was very thankful that God had sent me to her. We said some prayers together and I blessed her and then I had to leave. It was a fleeting visit but a lovely experience of a deep faith that had sustained someone throughout their life.

St Emily's Villa Orphanage Zawgyi

2006-10-23T11:03:00.000+01:00

The toilets in Zawgi Orphanage

The Children preparing to sing and dance for me

they don't look very enthusiastic

The orphanage was in its own compound which consisted of three brick buildings, a Church, the resident priest house and a half finished Church. I asked Sr Geraldine why the half finished Church? It turns out that a few years ago there had been an earthquake and the old Church was badly damaged with a crack from floor to ceiling that you could put your hand in. Being unsafe the villagers decided to build another one, but halfway through the project they ran out of money and so it stands with no roof on. The parish priest who is from that village was on a year sabbatical in the Philippines doing a course on catechesis. His home had been taken over by some of the villagers who had been flooded in the last monsoon storm. His brother was also his house keeper and kept an eye on things. There were hens, cows and goats in the garden and numerous children and men smoking and talking while the women cooked. There was a wall between the Church and the orphanage so that the children and sisters could have their privacy.

The Children and the sisters came out to meet us and we were led in to have a drink of lemon. I was a bit wary of drinking the lemon water but I was assured that it had been purified, and I am still here. I was introduced to the children who though looked very well their clothes seemed to be a bit dirty. When I put this to sister she said living in a village like that where it is so sandy when the sun shines and so muddy when it rains it is near impossible to keep the children clothes clean. The children were very shy at first. It is not very often that they see a white person, but after a while they relaxed and took me around their home and started playing and became very boisterous and had to be told to calm down. I was shown their dormitory, play area, dinning room, kitchen and study area for the older girls. Their wash place is a well with bowls to fish the water out. Sister told me that there was a Dutch lady who used to come every year and bring money and help build what was needed. She brought them a generator so that they could have electric and helped them build the toilets and well and paid for them. However she became to old to carry on her good works. That is another area where we might help as a parish.

We had a meal there which was nicely presented and afterwards the children came and sang and danced for us though it was very hesitantly. Then was taken to see the goats which helped to pay for their food and other things. The sisters grew things in the garden to eat and did the best they could, but the bulk of the money they need is from charitable donations and the order. Then we had a walk around the village.

During the afternoon the clouds started to turn black and we thought it would be expedient to get on our way because if it started raining we might not get out for weeks. Well we hotfooted out of there and just as we hit the computer road, (Thank God) the heavens opened and it rained and rained. By the time we got back to Mandalay it had stopped but it was obvious that Mandalay had got a lot more as the streets were flooded. Some of the roads were like rivers and others because of the unevenness of them were like pools. One minute you were on dry road and the next the car was deep in a pond of water. Finally got back to the peace and quiet of the convent. Had dinner with the sisters a good chat then off to bed as I had to be up early in the morning as we were going to Pyin-Oo-lwin or May mou as it was formerly known.

Email From Sister Geraldine

2006-10-23T10:55:00.000+01:00

Sister Geraldine in the middle with Sr Lydia on the left Sr Ann Marie on right.

(I received this e-mail when I got to New Zealand) Dear Father, I guess you are already missing home. I'm sure you felt tired when you really stopped travelling in Myanmar with all the puddles and bumpy roads. The next day you left the rain came down and Oh ! what havoc it has caused. Besides water was let out of the Dams. The Upper Myanmar Rivers began to swell and overflow its banks causing floods in the villages along the river side. Zawgyi is inundated. Some people have evacuated to Chanthagone. The Mission is caring for them and feeding them. The water is still up to the chest not mine may be a tall person. (She only Four Foot something) Some houses are under water only the roofs or a bit can be seen. A few Sisters, 8 postulants and a priest went after a few days to share some rice to them. The waters have not abated much . Other places where our Sisters are located too are inundated. People are in danger and difficulty, homeless and in poverty. You see why I call you son of the Father...He loves you, and let you go safely wherever you wanted to and as soon as you finished ... the rain and winds and the floods came. All the Sisters here say you are so lucky...you made it. Its not feasible to go even to Chan-tha-gon. we have bought another 22 blankets and 22 mosquito nets for the boys and when the weather is fine we'll go or ask Br Augustine to come. So far he hasn't asked for money. Sister Geraldine Mandalay

The road to Zawgyi village

2006-10-22T10:14:00.000+01:00

The Sawgyi bridge that is washed away every year and rebuilt and paid for by a Catholic business man

The local barber and customers

Typical dwelling places in the village

Wednesday 4th Oct Have I only been in Myanmar three days. I seemed to have crammed so many things in that I feel I’ve been here for a week. Today I am going to Zawgyi which is a Catholic Village I think south of Mandalay. What I do know is that I have to go on that road to the airport yet again. Is this the only road out of Mandalay I ask myself. I rise at 5.30am for a cup of coffee and a couple of biscuits. (I had the fore sight to bring my Gold Blend with me) Had a hot shower (but you have to be quick as the hot water runs out after four minutes), prayed my morning office and then celebrated Mass for the sisters at 7.00am. Usually the sisters have to go to the Church around the corner for 5.30am Mass, but because I am staying there, they can have a lay in. After Mass I took communion to the sick and bedridden of the house, then at eight I sat down for breakfast. The breakfast consisted of rice and some funny meat and dhal for the sisters. All I wanted was couple rounds of toast and a banana. I love rice but not for breakfast, and certainly not with meat.

After breakfast 8.30am we were on that road again, though I am coming to terms with their way of driving. You begin to anticipate what they are going to do, so a little order comes into the chaos. (Buddhist way of thinking. You change because you don’t want to be stuck in a routine but the changing itself becomes a routine.) Well I thought the road to the airport was bad! We flew pass the airport and got on this lovely road which was called the computer road. The reason why it’s called the Computer road is because the government in its wisdom built a computer college right in the middle of nowhere and there was only a dirt track to get to it. The students wouldn’t go there because it was too difficult and during the monsoon, impossible. So the government had to build a road to it. The military government now have a policy of building all the universities and colleges out in the countryside. The reason for this is too be able to control any student unrest quietly out of the public eye. By all accounts they are quite ruthless in this policy and many of the activist of a few years ago are still under lock and key in dreadful conditions. The university of Yangon which was one of the best in Asia before the military coup was very close to the centre of the city was closed down and moved to the outskirts of the city. The old university is only used for government functions now.

Eventually we had to turn off this lovely road to go to Zawgyi. Well to cut a long story short the monsoons had made a mess of it and it had become a sandy dust track with deep ruts made by the ox carts which during the monsoon are the only transport in the rural villages. We were not sure if the wooden bridge that we needed to cross would be there because of the swollen river. It was still there but next day it was washed away when a floating tree trunk smashed into it. The truck/car went very gingerly over it with me quietly saying a Hail Mary and trusting in God.

The village was a poor village and typical for Myanmar. The photos make it look idyllic as long as you don’t have to live there. Basically the houses are made of weaved bamboo matting and open to the monsoon rains and the mosquitoes. The village of Zawgyi was started by a French missionary father who became very friendly with one of the local chiefs in the middle and late 19th century . The chief allowed him to start a mission on the river bank and the village of Zawgyi was born. He converted them all to Christianity and to this day nearly everyone is Catholic. There are many such villages like this and the main one being Chanthagon where they Marian shrine is.

Walking round one could see that life here was very tough. People were trying to make a living either by raising cattle, goats, hens and growing rice and vegetables. However the government has altered the flow of the water channels so that the village is at the end of the line for water so the crops of rice and vegetables are very poor. While we were walking around the village we came across the local barber who was very young. I thought about having a hair cut until I saw the clipper, scissor and comb, and thought I better not. Went into one or two of the houses and they were clean and tidy but not much in them. However they nearly all had a TV which ran off a battery. The one thing I did notice was that there were no satellite dishes! The mortality rate among the children and adults is very high, as is the poverty, hence the need for the orphanage. Except for the TV and batteries the way of life and its style would have been practiced for centuries. Being in the village was like being in a time warp where nothing had changed in centuries.

As we walked around the village every one acknowledge us and the sisters knew every family. There was even a lady who had been a sister in the orphanage living there. While she was a sister her job was to look after the goats and as human nature has it she fell in love with the young local goatherder. When they got married they were not allowed to live in the village as it was seen as a bit of a scandal so they had to live outside of the village on top of a hill. Eventually they were accepted back into the fold and the sisters accepted the situation and were talking merrily to her. Sister told me that the poor girl had a very hard life and found it difficult to make ends meet. Many of the orphans eventually find husbands in the local community. When the sisters take on these orphans they do it until the girls or boys can stand on their own. However if they cannot the children are not thrown out onto the streets they keep them on. I met a few of them, one who was 75 years old. But the majority of them find their own niche in life.

Chanthagon Orphanage and Shrine

2006-10-21T01:42:00.000+01:00

Kitchen and dining area for Chanthagon Orphange

Pilgrims at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary

Sisters and the driver at the Shrine

The bathing and washing place for the boys.

Chanthagon is a Catholic village on the outskirts of Mandalay. There is a big Catholic Shrine there where many of the Burmese Catholics go especially on the feast of the Holy Rosary October the 7th. It has become a shrine to Our Lady because of an unusual incident that occurred. During one of the many religious persecutions against the Catholics some of the villagers buried a statue of Our Lady to try and protect it against vandalism. The villagers were driven away to another area and for many years the statue was forgotten about, until a Buddhist Lady had a dream about it. She went and told the local Catholic priest about this dream and where the statue was. So they went to Chanthagon to try to find it but they could not. They told the woman that there was nothing there but she insisted that she had been told where it was. They went back again with the woman and she told them exactly where to dig and lo and behold, that is where they found the statue standing upright, unmarked and in a niche. It has now become a Marian Shrine attracting thousands of pilgrims. The La Salette fathers Fr Jerome Fr David and Fr Philip look after the Shrine. They were very busy with the preparation for the festival but Father Jerome gave up some of his time to show us the newly built orphanage which was run by some of the brothers.

The orphanage was formally St Peter’s for boys age two to eighteen the one in Anamapura which we had previously sponsored. The Mandalay diocese had asked for it to be moved from there to Chanthagon for logistic reasons (i.e. to keep the boys away from the girls). The diocese paid for the ground and the building and staffed it with a couple of religious brothers but could not afford to fully maintain it. I had gone there with the intention of giving them some money so that they could buy some bikes so that some of the older children could get to the local school which was some four miles away. However somebody had already donated four bikes and Father Jerome asked Br Augustine what was really needed. He said that first and foremost they needed mosquito nets as they only had one between thirty six boys. They also needed blankets as they only had a couple, but what they needed most was electricity. They had a small generator but it was only enough for a couple of lights and a television. Fr Jerome said what was needed was electric cable, wire, lights, plugs, poles for the wire and connector meter and someone to connect it all. The Marian shrine had a big government generator just outside its walls and they could make a connection there. I agreed to that but I wanted the sisters to control the money so that it would be spent on what we specified. We all went to measure the distance from the shrine to the orphanage. Fr Jerome thought it would be less than a hundred meters which I thought was way off the mark. It turned out to be two hundred and fifty which had to be double there and back. We then had to work out how much this would all work out to. The final figure was 15 lacs of chats 1,500,000 I think. I gave them the go-ahead and I asked one of the sisters and the driver to organise the purchase of the items.

After this we started to go back to the convent in Mandalay. Another hour of torture not only to my body but also to my senses. We stopped after a few miles to meet one of sister Geraldine's favourite orphans who had left the orphanage and was now a cook in one of the local restaurants. The story about Yang is one of those that pull at your heart strings. One day in the market a young girl who was not a catholic but had been taught by the sisters was working on a stall when there was a big commotion by the drains near her. She went over to see what all the fuss was about, and there she saw a newly born baby that had been abandoned. She ran to the convent and told the sisters that they had to come because no one would take responsibility for the baby’s plight. The sisters came, took the baby in and nutured it and the baby has grown to be a young man who is very thankful to the sisters and now is engaged to be married. And he looks on Sr Geraldine as his mother and she as one of her favourite sons. In this restaurant which is owned by a local Catholic man there are four workers who all originated from St Peter’s orphanage.

Fly to Mandalay then off to Chanthagon

2006-10-19T09:34:00.000+01:00

This is one of the local buses which is quite empty. It is also the type of car/van the sister possessed though theirs was a smaller version.

This is the boys Orphanage at Chanthagon. After the rains where the boys are standing it is a quagmire.

The flight to Mandalay was short. I was quite shocked by the terminal. It was called Mandalay International Airport and it actually looked like one. It had escalators, a proper baggage belt and even a real immigration booth. The only trouble was that there were no international flights. Five western people got off the plane. No airline beside their own would go there as the road to Mandalay was supposed to be a nightmare. Sister Geraldine and Bernadette met me there. Then Peter our driver took us to Mandalay in an even older car/van than the one in Yangon. I couldn't understand why the airlines wouldn't fly to Mandalay as the road leading out of the airport was the best I had been on in Myanmar. But after a few miles the road suddenly stopped at a bridge as our side of the road didn't have a bridge but only a huge gaping hole. We had to cross to the other side of the road to use the oncoming traffic's part of the bridge. Once we were out of the airport perimeter it was chaos. Like the side roads in Yangon the tarmac was joined together by not only potholes but also deep crevices. Peter our driver was swerving from side to side not only trying to miss the potholes but also the oncoming traffic. Every time anyone wanted to overtake a bike, scooter, car or truck the horn would be blasted.

The noise was incredible and the smell of diesel was overpowering. The buses, I use the word very lightly, were trucks, some of them old American trucks from the 50s that had been converted into buses. They were packed to the gunnels with people, bags and anything you could think of. People were on the top, some were hanging on for dear life on the back, even the Bhuddist monks were hanging in there. No car went in a staight line. The nearer we got to Mandalay city centre the more chaotic the roads got. They call Mandalay bycicle city. It was murder, there were thousands and there were no road rules, the only one being, everyone for themselves. The ladies who are being ridden around sit side saddle and look quite serene as chaos goes on all around them. On one motor bike there was a whole family of two parents and four children all clinging on to the father who was driving. After an hour and a half of this bedlam I quite understood why the international airlines would not fly into Mandalay.

Eventually we made it to St Joseph's Convent. It was so peaceful and quiet in the convent's compound. It was just another world. The sisters were there to greet me and take me to my room where I washed and got ready for lunch. After lunch Sr Geraldine said as my time was short there it would be better if that afternoon I went to Chanthagon to see the new orphanage. What I didn't realise was that it was very close to the airport so we had to do the nightmare journey again.

Mowbi School for the poor and future orphanage

2006-10-18T11:22:00.000+01:00

The wall that we have donated money towards. It was only half finished because of spiraling cost I gave the sisters on your behalf another $1500 towards the completion of the wall.

The younger children sing and dance for me. One of them said to her friend isn't he very white.

The Children and the sisters

After lunch Sr Marie the Provincial, Sr Ann took me to see Mowbi where the sisters are trying to build a new school for the very poor villagers' children who cannot afford to send the children to pre-school. Last year we collected money for the wall that eventually will surround it and give the sister who is on her own at the present time some peace of mind. The village itself is very poor and life is a struggle for the majority of its inhabitants. The pictures always seem to nulify the poverty that these poor people have to put up with. The clothes they wear are very shabby indeed, especially the young boys. There is no running water in the village, all water comes from the village pump. Most of the families live in woven bamboo huts, usually just one large room. The whole thing does not look stable at all. Yet despite this the Children were very happy and lively. They were all there to meet me with their parents. I was very flattered and somewhat embarrassed when they started to clap and cheer when I got out of the car-van. I knew however it was not me they were clapping and cheering but the effort that the parishioners of Crowthorne and Sandhurst had put in to raise money and presents for them.

The sisters would eventually like to start an orphanage in Mowbi as there is a great need as the mortality rate among young parents is very high, and also many cannot afford to feed another mouth. Very few westerners venture into the out of the way villages, so do not see the poverty that is prelevant in most of Burma's countryside. Many villages that I travelled through were very very poor. The sisters like myself know that for a lot of these children the only way out of this poverty trap is through education. This is why the sisters have started a school here, and in our small way we are helping them in their mission of bringing the gospel of love to those who need it most. The sisters are very grateful for our contributions to their cause. I also think we should be thankful to them for giving us the oportunity to help them. They are working in a hostile climate and we should do everything we can to help them in their mission which is our mission also as we all belong to the one Body of Christ.

We left Mowbi after having a drink with a local Catholic who was preparing to move from that district as it was too unsafe. The long bumpy journey back tired out the sisters and we had our evening meal and I prepared for the early flight to Mandalay.

Entry in to Myanmar Burma

2006-10-18T10:45:00.000+01:00

The Prepostulants of

St Joseph's Convent

in Yangon

come out to meet me

On the second of October I flew into Yangon International airport. The airport had not changed a bit. The last time I was here, October 2005, there were notices up apologising for the inconvenience of the work being done to up grade the airport. They were the same notices in 2006 and nothing had been done. At the immigration desk there was a very old computer that I suspect wasn't working. I was looked at and was let through with no trouble and went through the customs with a sigh of relief. Sister Ann and sister Anne Marie were waiting at the other side and they whisked me off to the car park to travel to the convent in downtown yangon. We travelled in an old toyota half truck half bus, that had seen better days but was one of the good ones on the road. And I mention the word road lightly, very lightly, indeed. One could say that the majority of roads are really a lot of potholes joined together loosely by bits of tarmac. The main road from the Airport toYangon isn't that bad but just go off it to one of the side roads. Nightmare! I arrived at St Josephs covent in the morning met the other sisters, washed and then had lunch

Overview of Myanmar and Thailand

2006-10-16T10:59:00.000+01:00

Myanmar was very interesting but quite upsetting when you saw so many people suffering because of an inept and corrupt government. There was an article in the Times early this year about Myanmar, called 'Travels with my Aunt' which really was aimed at the rich of our society and went no way towards telling the world what is really happening there. I have a good mind to actually write an article myself to give the reality of the situation rather than the glossed up version from that article.Went to all the orphages that our parish are sponsoring and delivered the money and the presents for the children they had collected and donated. The children and the sisters were over joyed at the gifts. We actually went and bought electric cables, lights and meters which were needed to give one of the orphanages electricity. When we delivered them Br Agustine who is in charge could not take the grin off his face he was so happy. It's at moments like that one understands the beauty of not only God but in actually helping those who are in need. More about that though on the blog.

Thailand was also interesting though very hectic. The traffic is so bad there that I am sure that I spent half the time I was there in a car, cab or train. Stayed with the sisters who run two drug rehabilitation centres one for males and the other for females ages ranging from 14-40 193 males and 94 females. I also on behalf of the parish gave them a donation towards their good work. There are some other sisters who try to help those poor girls who are being used for the sex slave industry. Sister Roselyn took me to one area on the coast to see one of these sex towns. It was amazing to see so many young girls. Most of the clients were of a certain age of western men who were well past their sell by date, yet trying to look young. The sisters do very good work trying to get the people back on an even keel especially those suffering from AIDS. Sister and I must have looked quite odd as I was in civvies and she was in her habit. After a time I became a bit self concious.

I think at times we forget when we go to these out of the way places that there is an under-life that we never see yet there are people working to ease and relieve peoples' suffering without much help from their respective governments.

Off to Myanmar (Burma)

2006-10-01T13:41:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow I wiill have to be up by 4am as I have an early flight to Myanmar. Sister Roseline is taking me to the airport. I have heard from sister Ann who will meet me at Yangon airport and also get me a ticket to Mandalay where I will fly to on the 3rd of October. Will keep you posted when I arrive back in Thailand as the e-mail in Myanmar is not very reliable as well as being censored.

Everything is going OK and I have seen two rebirth centres which are run by the sisters to help people who have been drug addicts to get back to normal. Will write about that later after I have reflected on the work they do and how they do it. God Bless Fr Kevin

Arrival In Thailand and stay in the Rebirth Centres

2006-09-30T03:49:00.000+01:00

Young ladies at the Rebirth Centre in Bangkla Thailand. These ladies have been here over a year and are trusties. They help those who are new arrivals toovercome their initial pain of coming off their addicted drugs. They also help with the cooking and running of the centre.

Arrived in Thailand and landed in the New Airport which was opened that very day. A little confusion but otherwise OK. My luggage was 12 kilos overweight and at 19 pounds a kilo would have been too expensive. Managed to wangle it through when I explained most of it was presents for the orphans in Burma. I was met by the sisters of the Society of Our Lady and the Most Holy Trinity. From the moment of landing I have been on the go ever since. They have been taking me to see all the religious houses in Bangkok and meeting other sisters of their order. Yesterday we spent over eight hours on the road. You think the traffic is bad in England it is nothing compared to Bangkok in the rush hour. The only time there seems to be no traffic is in the early hours of the morning.

The sisters run two rehabilitation centres for drug addicts. One for girls where there are about 50 and another run by their one and only priest Fr Dominic with 234 boys with only 13 staff. When you compare this with Broadmoor and its 1500 staff to 259 patients there is a world of difference.

In the morning I was given a tour round the girls centre. There are about 50 girls here all trying to kick the habit of drugs the main one which seems to be called ice. Ice is some sort of amphatamine mixed with a depressant. The parents usually bring in the younger children and the older ones enter by their own choice. The age range is from thirteen to twentysix. There are strict rules that the clients have to agree to. First and foremost that there are no drugs to be had or to be used. That there is no bullying or sex abuse. That all clients participate in all the theraputic programmes.

The goal of the centre is to help the client to rediscover their own way of life that is free from drugs. To discover their own self and value and to live them in a more meaningful way that benefits themelves and the communty and the society they live with. There are two stages the first being detoxification period where through the use of herbal medicines, saunas and rest the client is prepared for the next stage of therapy. The second stage is psychological and spiritual therapy and the rehabilitaion of the clients. This takes 18 months. There are group meetings where one is expected to be challenged. There are spiritual times when one is expected to reflect on what ever religion they have been brought up in. There are also times for recreation and games. The longer you are there the more trusted you become and eventually a lot of the clients become helpers to assist the staff in the day to day running of the centre. One of the things you notice is how many young people are sitting around all over the grounds. They are there I was told to stop people disappearing over the fence. They also keep an eye open to make sure that there is no bullying or sexual abuse and that everyone is treated fairly.

When Fr Dominic took me around the male centre we were followed all the way round by one of the helpers. Nothing is taken for granted which is not only good for the clients but also good for any visitors. From all accounts they have very good results. The clients are allowed to see their Parents and family once every month and can have one phone call in a week, which is monitered. The parents and family come all on the same day and before they see their children they also have to have a meeting with the staff. The parents if they can give a monthly donations otherwise it is funded by charitable donations. To me it seemed quite a happy place. Sister Roselyn and Sister Raphael started the centre about twenty years ago and have worked very hard in making it a success. Sr Raphael now one to have a proper school for the girls so that they can further their education.

Yesterday Sister Roseline took me to Pattaya and it was an eye opener. The place was full of western men of a certain type who were looking for you know what. Very seedy and sad to see such young girls with old men trying to be young. I really did look out of place walking with sister Roseline in her habit We did get some very strange looks. The one thing that was good was nobody came to proposition me and so I felt very safe. I could only stay there for an hour which to me was an hour too long. Very sad place yet on the surface looked OK. Tomorrow I have a six hour journey to the male rebirth centre and there is no way I can get out of it. O happy days.

The male centre is much the same as the female but much larger. They both follow the same programme. Fr Dominic who runs the centre also has charge of the young seminarians which there are six. He very rarely has a day off and looks tired. Very prayerful man and all the staff and clients have a high regard for him. He was glad this week as all the seminarians were going on their midterm break which would give him a break from them. Spent two nights here.

I have to go now as I am about to celebrate Mass for the sisters. On Monday I am off to Burma to take the presents from you all and a few 1000 dollars that you have been so generous in giving. While I am there I will celebrate Mass for you in thanksgiving. Fr Kevin

Nearly There

2006-09-26T08:11:00.000+01:00

Ordination 1994

Simple profession 1983

Well after a lot of bother I have finally got all the presents for the orphanage into one bag which is half of my allowance. There were over a hundred tops of all varying sizes and weights. So I thank you all for your kind generosity. Though some people didn't follow the instructions given which has made it a little difficult for me, but it was done out of the goodness of their hearts and in the end that is all that matters. So myself I will be travelling light, as Cliff Richards sang many moons ago. I will post a blog after a few days in Thailand and when I return there with photos of the Sisters and Orphanages. Just a couple of more photos for you to peruse!!. The first one is of my simple profession at Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight. The second is of my ordination at Windsor in 1994. So all the photos span the decades of my life. Fr Kevin

22 September 2006

2006-09-24T06:57:00.000+01:00

Getting ready for my last weekend before I go. It doesn't seem a year ago when I first started putting into action a sabbatical but the date for my departure is only a few days away. Obviously I am a little apprehensive but also looking forward to the venture. Here are another couple of photos to keep you interested one was taken at a party in 1973 and the other was in India on the banks of the Ganges. Here I spent a year in an Indian Ashram studying Yoga and meditation. A long way from my partying days of the sixties and early seventies.

Thank You for a great BBQ

2006-09-17T06:57:00.000+01:00

I am still learning how to produce and publish this blog, so today on my own I am going to try and download a few photos of me from the sixties. The black and white photo was taken in one of the photo booths when I was sixteen and the other was on a camping holiday in Devon where it rained and rained.

Yesterday the parish had its BBQ which was very well attended. They also used this occassion to wish me a 'Bon Voyage' I have never seen such a big gathering for a social event in our church. So a special thank you to the social committee for all the time and efort they put in to making it an enjoyable time.

Friday 15th September

2006-09-15T19:20:00.000+01:00

Today I am getting to learn all about blogging so that I can keep in touch with you all and you can see my progress across the world. I have learnt how to upload photos and the ones above is myself at the age of six months with my mother and the other when I was eight on a holiday in Blackpool. I have also learnt how to write diary entries and edit comments that come from you. I have even learnt how to switch on the computer!!.