Prayer for the Election of a Bishop

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As I’m sure you’re aware, Bishop Alan Hopes is retiring this year and the process of appointing a replacement bishop is underway. There are prayer cards available in the Narthex with a prayer for the election of a bishop. You’re invited to take one and join the diocese in prayer for this intention.

For those that aren't currently visiting the church, it has been reproduced here,

Addictus Ministerio Christi

“I will raise up for myself a faithful priest,
who shall do according to my heart and mind;
I will establish a lasting house for him
and he shall walk before me all his days.”

1 Sam 2:35

Prayer for the Election of a Bishop.


O God, eternal Shepherd,
who govern your flock with unfailing care,
grant in your boundless fatherly love
a pastor for your Church
who will please you by his holiness
and to us show watchful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God ,for ever and ever. Amen

Our lady of Walsingham. Pray for us.
Saint Felix. Pray for us.
All holy Martyrs and Saints of East Anglia. Pray for us.

Incardination of Fr Denis

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Fr Denis Gallagher was formally welcomed, or incardinated, into the Diocese of East Anglia by Bishop Alan Hopes at a Mass at St Thomas of Canterbury in Wymondham on Sunday December 6.

It was witnessed by a socially-distanced congregation of around 50 people, plus an online audience on the church’s brand new video and live-streaming service.

He made a profession of faith and took an oath of loyalty and an oath of obedience to Bishop Alan and his successors.

“I am delighted that Fr Denis has decided to join us in East Anglia,” said Bishop Alan, “and I know that he has endeared himself to your hearts in Wymondham. I know he will also do so when he moves on in the future to a different parish.”

Fr Denis has spent the last year in the diocese in Wymondham alongside Parish Priest Canon Pat Cleary. He now becomes assistant priest in the parish.

Fr Pat said: “I’m very pleased that Fr Denis has been incardinated into the Diocese of East Anglia and I look forward to continue ministering with him here in the parish of Our Lady and St Thomas of Canterbury Wymondham.

Fr Denis comes from Achill in County Mayo and was ordained in 1993 and moves from the Irish Archdiocese of Tuam. 

He said: “I am very happy to be here in East Anglia and am most grateful to Bishop Alan, Fr Pat and to the parishioners in Wymondham for their welcome and the kindness and support they have shown me.”

To change dioceses, canon law requires diocesan priests to get permission to transfer from the bishop at the diocese he’s moving to. This is known as incardination.

Pictured above are, from the left, Fr Pat Cleary, Fr Denis Gallagher and Bishop Alan Hopes.

Click here or see below for a picture gallery of the Incardination Mass.

Courtesy of the Diocese of East Anglia web site

Latest communication from the Bishops’ Conference 27.11.2020

1 Covid Restrictions Update

Following a meeting of the Places of Worship Task Force yesterday, I can confirm that communal worship will be able to restart from 2 December in all Local Restriction Tiers. The officials from the MHCLG noted that the past month has been an intensely challenging time for all of our communities and they hope that this will be welcome news.  Attached is a table produced by the MHCLG Faith team with further information for you.  Effectively this is a return to the covid-secure protocols that existed in our churches at 5th November 2020.  A useful link with printable posters representing what can/cannot be done in each tier is found here.

The decision of the Government to permit communal worship in all tiers under the covid-secure protocols that have been developed and approved for our churches is in recognition of the importance of people who have the right to attend communal worship and  also of our active collaboration with the MHCLG and PHE in creating the safe environments in our buildings, which must continue.  Therefore it would be important to emphasise that there should be no easing off on the applications of this good practice and encouragement for people to fully engage with what is asked of them.

Communal Singing

There has been further research into communal/congregational singing and I attach a paper from PHE regarding this. It notes that singing outdoors creates a lower risk than indoors and that any indoor singing should be mitigated against with good ventilation and the wearing of masks.  There has been no direction to allow congregational singing from PHE yet, they are still doing research (especially on classification of buildings/population density within buildings) however the research completed so far indicates that well-controlled singing (music groups and choirs) is permitted providing there is still social distancing and mitigations (screens etc).

Christmas Period

There was clear direction from the officials that there will be a brief time-limited easement for families to join together over the Christmas period.  More information regarding this is due on Thursday of this week.  Over this period, children will not be in school and fewer people will be in work and so there is increased transmission risk due this increased personal interaction.  The Government will state that hospitality businesses will have to “call” orders at 10pm and close by 11pm each night during this period.  With regard to Midnight Masses, it was strongly encouraged that a local risk assessment be completed for each church in its physical locality to look at Mass/Service times.  Booking systems were encouraged to limit numbers and if it were expedient to move “Midnight Mass” to an earlier time, this should be considered for this year.

2 Government Consultation on Faith Engagement

There was a strong ask from the officials of the MHCLG for individual Catholics to respond to this open consultation on the way Government engages with faith communities.  The link to the online submission can be found here.  This call for evidence aims to collect views to underpin the Faith Engagement Review. This call for evidence opened on 13th November and will run for a period of 4 weeks closing at 11:45pm on 11 December 2020.  Please ask your clergy, religious and lay faithful to engage in this important consultation.

The Catholic Union with Catholic Voices are organising a webinar on “how the government should engage with faith groups” on Wednesday 2 December at 7pm.  Colin Bloom, the Faith Engagement Adviser at the Ministry or Housing, Communities and Local Government, will present and promote the government consultation on the issue.  The link and registration can be found here.

Safeguarding IICSA Report response from the Bishops’ Conference 20.11.2020

The Statement issued on behalf of all the Bishops of England and Wales with regard to the IICSA Report on safeguarding in the Catholic Church and the Executive Summary of the Independent Safeguarding Review (the Elliott Report) which has been carried out over the last eighteen months and incorporates many of the final recommendations made in the IICSA which need to be addressed within the next six months. The report was released Friday 20th November 2020. The two documents can be found here - Statement on Safeguarding and Executive Summary of the Independent Safeguarding Review

FOOD BANK COLLECTION

We collect for the Norwich Food Bank every month on the first Sunday of the month at:

  • 8.30am Mass (Currently at Wymondham due to COVID)

  • 10am Mass  (Wymondham)

  • the preceding Saturday at 6pm Mass (Wymondham) 

Please follow the link for the Norwich Food Bank, here, for the most suitable or most needed provisions to donate. 

The contact for the Food Bank is Heather Duffy on 07801387061.

 

Photo Attribution: Jonn Leffmann

God, of thy goodness, give me Thyself; for Thou art enough for me, and I can ask for nothing less that can be full honour to Thee. And if I ask anything that is less, ever Shall I be in want, for only in Thee have I all.

Julian of Norwich