And then there were none

Aid to the Church in Need, Sutton

Another beautiful day, but time is pressing me, so I shall write this at my desk, though my garden is beckoning!

Today’s meeting with the Bishop of Salford was a true test of my finely-honed public transport skills, but it was entirely worth it. I carefully planned my trip, as I always do, so I left ACN-NW HQ in good time to make my train. I transferred as required at Salford Crescent and headed for Swinton. I knew that it would be a long-ish walk from there, but I assumed that I could get a cab. Lesson learned: there was nothing resembling a taxi or a minicab in the immediate vicinity of Swinton Station. Undaunted and (luckily) wearing comfortable shoes, I strode out into the wilds of Salford. I found Cromwell Road easily enough (thank you, Google Maps!) and eventually got on to the A6 down which I walked and I walked and I walked. At 11:20 and in a (fairly uncharacteristic) moment of despair, I rang Fr Parkinson, Bishop Brain’s Private Secretary. He told me that I was nearly there and I continued forward only to encounter Fr P in his zippy red car as he headed out to rescue me! I figured with that level of concern for visitor comfort, I was in for a treat at Wardley Hall. I was right!

Bishop Brain was extremely hospitable and very happy to hear about what I am up to. We discussed lots of issues, but spent some time discussing the ACN-NW Seminarian Challenge; he was amazed to hear that ACN currently supports one in eleven of all seminarians and he laughed when I told him that the Catholic Community in NW was going to try to make it one in ten. Bishop Brain made some very helpful suggestions about the Primary Schools initiative—obviously, I wasn’t going to miss my last chance to say the Angelus with a one of my regional bishops, so that led naturally to a discussion about reintroducing this lovely prayer into schools. I will look into developing some resources on this prayer, what it means and how it is used to make available to Catholic primary and secondary schools. Bishop Brain suggested that an initial approach to schools that is strictly prayer-based might increase the take-up of our main initiative; this is a wise suggestion, I think. I shall run this past Scottish Lorraine and HQ next week.

I have also secured my fifth (and final!) bishop for our ACN-NW Prayer Vigils for Religious Freedom to run between early November and Easter 2015. That’s a full episcopal uptake for the vigils…I am already thinking about organizing next year’s vigils around vocations. I am currently looking for a second venue or two in each of my five dioceses; if your parish or school might be interested in coming board, why not email me or give me a ring?

Fr Parkinson conveniently popped up at the end of the meeting to take our picture (note the skull of St Ambrose Barlow in the small glass window above and to the right!) and then he offered to drive me back to Salford Crescent. The combination of my very warm welcome and the beautiful surroundings of historic Wardley Hall have made this final episcopal visit especially memorable.

I am so pleased to have so much support from the Bishops in my region; it is going to make all the difference.

Thanks for reading!  Caroline