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Latest Summary News - 2010
In the midst of the regular pace of day to day life there are
always certain highlights. These are some of the more special things that
have been happening for us recently...
Summer
Holidays
For most of
the last six weeks one or more of us have been on our summer holidays. Ton
concluded his two weeks with his family, staying in the MSC cottage in
Princethorpe and using it as a base to tour around various parts of the
midlands of England, even including a day trip to Cardiff in Wales.
The weather was very kind to them and all five thoroughly enjoyed their time
together. Early in July Carl spent a weekend in Dundee, Scotland,
visiting friends. He returned a few days before Ton concluded his
holidays and Mark left for Belgium where he spent a fortnight with his
family. Finally, at the end of July Carl travelled to Devon in South
West England to spend two weeks with his parents. The weather was much
less kind but it was a nice relaxing couple of weeks which was concluded
with a couple of days catching up with some friends. Carl returned on
August 15th and since then all of us are back together again.
Visitors
When we last
wrote Michael O'Rourke was staying with us. Michael is in formation
with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and has just finished his academic
year studying theology at Heythrop College in London. He is currently
preparing to begin his Novitiate year in Cork on September 1st. While
he was with us he was engaged in full-time volunteer pastoral work at St
Chad's Sanctuary in Birmingham, a drop-in centre at the back of St Chad's
Catholic Cathedral which welcomes asylum seekers and refugees. Michael
thoroughly enjoyed his experience at St Chad's Sanctuary and we really
appreciated having him with us. We wish him every blessing for his
novitiate year which begins in just a couple of week's time. He will be
joined by two novices from the Italian Province and one Novice from the
South-German/Austrian Province.
During July we
welcomed a few people for supper with us. Carl's friends, Declan and
Geraldine McCauley joined is for a barbecue one evening early in July.
In mid July, on one of the few evenings that we were all together between
holiday travel, we welcomed Ed Hester, the new Headmaster of Princethorpe
College (the MSC-founded school in Warwickshire), and his wife Tracey.
We had a lovely evening of conversation and great food prepared by Mark.
Summer
supply work
Summer is the
time when all of the local clergy are trying to get away for a few weeks of
holiday and often struggling to get someone to cover their parish at
weekends. We are always happy to help our fellow local priests and we
have had a regular stream of supply commitments when we have not been away
ourselves.
Latest news
on our work with refugees and new migrants
An
asylum-seeker family from Ghana whom we have been accompanying recently got
indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Ton in particular has spent a
lot of time supporting them and, in particular, helping them to find new accommodation
nearer to where the children are currently attending school. We have
been able to help them secure a house and will be helping them move at the
beginning of September.
A gentleman
from the Ivory Coast has been trying for many weeks now to get work and
despite having the offer of a factory job in Coventry had had difficulty
providing the necessary certification of training courses he had previously
completed in Switzerland. We have been able to help him obtain the
necessary paperwork and are delighted that he is now able to take up the job
next week.
Our
longstanding friend from Iraq successfully moved into his new accommodation
early in July. Mark has spent a lot of time helping him sort out many
practical matters in his new flat.
The refugee
family from Sri Lanka that Carl in particular has been supporting for the
last 18 months have settled well into their new accommodation. The
second eldest son is due to start at a local Grammar School (secondary
school) in September. Mark took the mother to the passport office in
Peterborough last week to get a British Passport for the youngest son who
was born in the UK. On their way back they stopped for the children to
be able to play in the countryside for a few hours - a real treat for the
children who virtually never get out of the city.
A young man
from the Cameroun has also recently obtained new accommodation after
successfully getting a job in Tesco earlier in the year. He is hoping
to be able to start a college course in September.
Aston Faith
Leaders Forum
For the last
couple of years we have been regular attendees at a meeting of faith leaders
in Aston which has been called two or three times a year by the local Health
Centre. The initial purpose of the meetings was to provide a way for the
health service to get in touch with the more-difficult-to-access parts of
the community through their faith leaders. One of the positive
spin-offs of the meetings has been the articulated desire to form a more
permanent group that is completely autonomous. It is something we have
been actively encouraging and Ton and Carl in particular have been strong
advocates within the meetings for such an independent group. At the
last meeting in July a small "steering committee" was formed and Ton has
joined that group. They had their first meeting this week and have
begun to define their brief and look at how they can encourage more
representatives from the many faith groups in Aston to participate. We
really hope and pray that this will be a successful venture. Aston is
very much in need of an initiative which can build bridges between the faith
communities and begin to overcome fear, prejudice and fragmentation.
Community
day trip to Southport
Derek
Williams, a good friend of ours from the days when the local neighbourhood
forum was still active, organised a day trip to the coastal town of
Southport near Liverpool in August. Although Carl was still on
holiday, both Mark and Ton went along, together with several people who
regularly attend our weekly drop-in centre on Thursdays. The weather
was good on the day and although the tide was out and the sea not to be
seen(!!), everyone had a really good day together. Derek is now
planning another day trip to see the traditional coastal illuminations in
the north-western town of Blackpool in October.
Senior
Citizens' Lunch Club
 The
lunch club meets every Tuesday during term time in the West Indian
Chaplaincy building in Aston which is attached to Sacred Heart Primary
School. During the six weeks of the summer holidays when the lunch
club does not meet we have arranged over the last two years to invite
everyone to our house for a barbecue at some stage. We will be doing
so in two weeks time, just before the
new school year starts. Last week, however, we were delighted to have
been invited to go as a group for lunch at a day centre for adults with
special needs in nearby Sutton Coldfield. Five or six of the day
centre users have been attending our regular Tuesday lunch club for the last
six months or so. They were keen to be able to return the hospitality
and welcome us to their day centre. All of the seniors met at our
house last Tuesday morning and we borrowed the school minibus to take us all
over to Sutton where we were treated to a great afternoon of a wonderful
lunch, a game of bingo and good chat. Hopefully some of the special
needs adults will also join us for the barbecue at our house the week after
next.
Evaluation
of the Cordate Community
As you will be
aware, we were expecting two MSCs to visit us back in April to conclude the
evaluative process in which we have been participating since Christmas.
Because of the eruption of the Icelandic volcano and the resultant cloud of
ash, they were unable to travel then. We are now expecting them next
week, from 23rd to 28th August. Ben Verberne MSC is the Provincial of
the Dutch Province and the chair of the European Provincials' Conference,
and Michael Huber MSC is a member of the Provincial Leadership team of the
South German/Austrian Province. we very much look forward to welcoming
them and spending the week showing them around Aston and introducing them to
the various aspects of our mission here. We well let you know how the
visit goes in our next news bulletin.
Ongoing
work with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
Much of the
last period of time has been spent doing a lot of one-to-one support work
with some of the recent migrants, refugees and asylum seekers we
accompany. A man from Iraq whom Mark supports has recently received
Indefinite Leave to remain. Mark has spent many hours with him trying
to find housing and will be helping him move into his new accommodation
today. We are also delighted to report that a family from Ghana have
recently received Indefinite Leave to Remain. Another family from Sri
Lanka are hoping to hear something soon. A friend from the Ivory Coast
has been searching for work and we have been trying to help him with CV's,
application forms and interviews. We are hopeful that he may get work
soon.
Lobbying
for a more just treatment of asylum seekers
We continue to
work closely with Restore, the asylum-seeker befriending project run by
Birmingham Churches Together. Currently we are involved with them in
lobbying the UK Border Agency to relax restrictions placed on the minimal
financial support available to Asylum Seekers. The current policy
makes it impossible for them to obtain any cash since they must spend the
vouchers they receive in certain named stores only. They cannot
receive change from their purchases, nor can they any longer buy "gift
cards" which they can then sell for cash (we have regularly bought such gift
cards from asylum seekers in the past). Not having cash makes it
impossible to do simple things like travel on a bus. We continue to
oppose these unjust and unnecessarily restrictive conditions.
Heart of
Welcome Drop-In and English Classes
We continue to
open the Heart of Welcome drop-in centre in the Undercover of Sacred Heart
Church every Thursday. For the last couple of months Carl and Ton have
also been offering informal English classes, focussing on conversational
English. The numbers attending vary from week to week - sometime just
one or two people come along to the class, sometimes six or seven - but it
seems to be a very valuable and much appreciated assistance to those who
have not yet been able to register for formal English classes as well as
providing another opportunity to practice for those who do attend ESOL
classes. Each week we are joined by several parishioners who enjoy
meeting with our overseas friends and participating in the English
conversation group. The nature of a drop-in centre is to be
unpredictable. Sometime our regular visitors are called for interviews
and so cannot attend. We are always delighted to see new faces.
Hamara
Project and English Language Teaching
Ton continues
to help with English Language tuition in a local community centre on
Wednesday lunchtimes. Most of the students are Bangladeshi men with
very little English. Many of them are recent arrivals in the UK and
are working in Indian Restaurants. Through his connections with BEEAS
[Birmingham Ethnic Education & Advisory Service] Ton was also invited to act
as an advisor to a new project called Hamara, which
means 'ours' in the Urdu language, one of the languages of the Indian
subcontinent. It was an educational project which was user-led, and where
the learners themselves determined to a large extent the activities in which
they participated and how they learned their English in use. Ton has
written about the experience in the latest entry on his
Blog.
 Mark and
Ton formally commissioned at Street Pastors
Earlier this
year Mark and Ton completed their six month training as Street Pastors.
On June 13th there was a commissioning ceremony held at Mount Zion Christian
Centre in Aston where the new Street Pastors were formally appointed and
prayed for. Mark and Ton have both been out patrolling the streets of
Aston at night over the last few weeks and find the experience very
interesting and rewarding. A rota has been drawn up and they will be
out on the streets at least once a month.
Feast of
the Sacred Heart and First Holy Communions
The Feast of
the Sacred Heart was on June 11th. As a midlands MSC community we had
anticipated the feast by a week and assembled in Aston for a celebratory
meal on Sunday 6th June. Altogether we were 8 around the dining table,
with members from the Tamworth community, the Princethorpe community and
Tony Nolan from Cardiff. We were also delighted to welcome Tim
Brennan, the Australian Provincial, who was visiting us for a few days
following a conference he had attended in Glasgow. Sadly Ton was still
in Holland on holidays so missed this year's celebration. On the Feast
of the Sacred Heart itself we celebrated with the parish community and
Catholic Primary School whose children walked up to Church for the morning
mass. A couple of weeks later, on June 20th, we joined the celebration
of First Holy Communion in the parish. The son of one of the refugee
families we support was making his First Communion and it was lovely to see
the family able to enjoy a real celebration after so many years of hardship.
Aston
Heritage Day
Saturday 26th
June was Aston Heritage Day with a dozen or more local historic buildings
open to the public for the day. Our own Sacred Heart Church was one of
the buildings on the Heritage Trail. During the course of the day we
had 146 visitors to the church, many more than in previous years. Most
of the visitors were local residents, many of whom are Muslim, and have
never been into the Church before. It was a great occasion and an
opportunity for some very interesting conversations, not only about the
beauty of the Church but about Christianity and Christian worship. One
of our visitors was a local Imam who was fascinated by his visit and is keen
to have ongoing contact with us. You can download this year's Aston
Heritage Day leaflet here.
Supply
ministry
We continue to
be available to help our fellow MSCs and be available for supply in local
parishes. We have been over to both Tamworth and Princethorpe a few
times in the last couple of months to help with reconciliation services in
preparation for First Holy Communions and Confirmations. We have also
been doing supply in local parishes of Nechells, Baslall Heath, Kingstanding,
Ashted as well as here in Aston.
Comings and
goings
In the middle
of May Mark had a long weekend in Belgium to join his family for the
celebration of his niece's confirmation. A couple of weeks later his
brother, Danny, and friend Herman, came to visit us in Aston. During
their stay they travelled to the Lake District for a couple of days and
enjoyed the spectacular scenery in great May sunshine. At the end of
May Ton had to travel to Holland for a meeting of the MSC Congregational
Finance Advisory Group and took advantage of the trip to stay for 10 days
holiday with his family. The weather there must have been good too as
he came back with a very brown face! In early June we were pleased to
welcome Tim Brennan MSC, the Australian Provincial, who stayed with us for a
week before flying to Vietnam to visit the MSCs in the Australian mission
there. On Friday 25th July we welcomed seven members of the Tamworth
MSC parish Justice and Peace Group for supper. They were keen to see
where we lived and hear more about our mission in Aston. In September
six of their group will be travelling to South Africa for a couple of weeks
with the charity Habitat for Humanity to help build houses in a township in
the Eastern Cape.
 At the moment Ton is playing host to four members of
his family who are visiting from Holland; his brother Frans, his sister
Elly, brother-in-law Paul and sister-in-law Mia. They are currently
staying in the MSC guest Cottage at Princethorpe and using it as a base to
do some sight-seeing. Yesterday was Ton's 68th birthday and all of them
came to Aston for the afternoon and evening where we enjoyed a special
celebration meal. Happy birthday for yesterday, Ton!!
MSC
Student, Michael O'Rourke, visits
At the end of
June we were delighted to welcome our MSC student, Michael O'Rourke, to stay
with us for two weeks. Michael has just finished his academic year
studying theology at Heythrop College in London and is preparing to begin
his Novitiate year in Cork in September. While he is with us he is
doing some volunteer pastoral work in St Chad's Sanctuary in Birmingham, a
drop-in centre at the back of St Chad's Catholic Cathedral which welcomes
asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom are visiting the nearby Refugee
Council. It is great to have Michael around, with his energy and
enthusiasm. It also reminds Mark and Carl that they are no longer
quite as young as they might like to think they are! Michael, we wish
you all the very best for the special year of novitiate which begins soon.
Easter
Holidays
During the
week after Easter Carl visited his parents in Devon for a few days and Mark
welcomed some friends from Belgium, staying in the Cottage at Princethorpe
and using it as a base to do a bit of sight-seeing. Ton stayed in
Aston to keep the home fires burning!
Work with
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
We continue to
work closely with those we have been supporting over the last couple of
years. Being granted Indefinite Leave to remain is certainly a cause
for great celebration, but it is only the beginning of a whole new series of
challenges, difficulties and new layers of bureaucracy! We spend a lot of
time helping people filling forms and applying for benefits, housing, travel
passes, etc. Negotiating the complexities of the benefits and housing
systems is very demanding, time consuming and often frustrating. The
family from Sri Lanka have settled well into their new home and were
delighted to discover a few weeks ago that the second eldest child passed
the Eleven Plus Examination and has won a place to a local Grammar School,
starting in September. After Easter they invited all three of us to
share an evening meal with them in thanks for the help we had provided over
the last year and in celebration of this wonderful achievement. The
gentleman from Iraq that Mark has been accompanying is still waiting for new
housing. He too invited the three of us to join him for dinner (at a
Kurdish restaurant) in celebration of him being granted Indefinite Leave to
remain.
Citizens UK
Pre-Election Party Leaders Debate
 On
May 6th there was a General Election in Britain. The four weeks
leading up the the election were inevitably full of political and electoral
campaigning by the various parties, including three televised debates
between the three main party leaders. Through our contacts with
Restore (Asylum Seeker befriending
project in Birmingham), we were invited to attend an event which was being
billed as the "Fourth Debate". It was hosted by
Citizens UK (the UK branch of the
international Citizens Organising Foundation) at Westminster Methodist
Central Hall in London. Each of the three party leaders were invited
to attend the event and speak for ten minutes to the General Election
Manifesto prepared by Citizens UK. Their address was followed by ten
minutes of questioning, inviting them to make specific commitments to key
manifesto pledges. Two of the six manifesto items concerned Asylum
issues; a call for the end to detention of children at immigration centres,
and the call to introduce a one-off, conditional "earned regularisation" for
long term irregular migrants, of whom there are an estimated 700,000 in the
UK. Carl and Mark attended the event on May 3rd, travelling by coach
to London with over 50 others involved in Asylum issues in Birmingham.
It was a very good day with over 2500 people attending, mostly from the
London area. About 300 of those attending had, like us, been involved
in the Citizens for
Sanctuary campaign. It was an excellent experience of citizens
organising and was a great way of pressing our concrete issues with the
three candidates campaigning to be the future prime minister of the country.
Now that a new Government has been formed, Citizen's for Sanctuary will
continue to vigorously address these issues with ministers.
Aston
Churches Together Family Fun Day
On the same
day that Mark and Carl were in London for the Citizens UK debate, Aston
Churches Together held their annual May Bank Holiday Family Fun Day.
Ton was involved in hosting the day which was the most successful ever.
It was held in one of the Primary Schools in Aston and attracted over 1400
people throughout the day. There was a range of games, activities and
food on offer throughout the day, as well as some explicit Christian
evangelisation and a prayer tent where people could go to ask for prayer.
Evaluation
Visit Postponed
 In
the middle of April we were all set to welcome Ben Verberne MSC (Provincial
of the Dutch Province and Chair of the European Provincials' Conference) and
Michael Huber MSC (member of the leadership team of the South
German/Austrian Province). Both MSCs were due to visit us as part of
the process of evaluating our third year of presence here in Aston.
Sadly the eruption of the Icelandic volcano and the resulting ash cloud that
covered most of Europe for a week or more meant that their flights were
cancelled and they could not travel. We are hoping that they will be
able to come later in the year, probably during August.
New English
Conversation Sessions begin
After our last
regular review day, during which we reflected on the experience of our
Drop-In centre which opened in December, we decided that there was
sufficient need among people we know to begin a weekly English conversation
group. We have decided to offer the conversation sessions at the
beginning of the Thursday Drop-In, for one hour. Many of the recent
migrants we are working with are attending some form of English classes, but
have little or no opportunity to practice English from one class to the
next. This will offer such an opportunity in a more relaxed, informal
atmosphere and in a situation where we are also providing other support -
befriending, help with form-filling, signposting of services, etc. We
held the first conversation group last week and it was a lively and
thoroughly enjoyable occasion. Everyone stayed for lunch afterwards
and continued the conversation that had begun during the formal session.
Other
commitments outside of Aston
In addition to
our regular weekly activity in Aston, all three of us are occasionally
involved in work outside of Aston. Carl has been very busy recently
with a series of visits to MSC communities following on from the review of
ministry commitments in England and Ireland. As a member of the
Provincial Council he has been attending more regular Council meetings and
accompanying the Provincial in a series of meetings as the Irish Province
prepares a process of restructuring. Mark was recently in Dublin for a
meeting of the Formation Advisory Group. A couple of weeks ago Ton
celebrated mass for a gathering of over 300 Filipinos, including more than
90 children, all of whom belong to the Catholic Filipino organisation called
Couples for Christ. We have all also been involved in Sunday supply ministry
in local parishes.
- Saturday 3rd April - Holy Saturday
Happy Easter!
Before we share
our news from the last month may we wish each of our friends, family
members, fellow MSCs and supporters a very happy, joyful and blessed Easter.
In recent weeks we have been filled with the joy of three more asylum
seekers that we are supporting having received indefinite leave to remain in
the UK. After so many years of waiting, in anxiety, uncertainty and
fear, this news comes as a real relief and delight. For each of them
it is a tangible experience of new life and new hope. It gives a new
dimension to our experience of the passion and resurrection this Easter
time.
Good Friday
Walk of Witness
 As
we have done in previous years, we joined with Christians from the other
member churches of Aston Churches Together yesterday morning for a Good
Friday Walk of Witness. This year Ton was on the organising committee
and led the opening reflection and prayer at the beginning of the walk.
About 100 Christians from the various Churches gathered at 9.30 am outside
the Baptist Church and walked in procession for two hours around the streets
of Aston, carrying a large cross and bearing banners. The route had
been planned so that we could make six "station" stops outside six of
Aston's Churches. At each stop we gathered on the pavement
outside the Church and listened to a part of the Passion narrative from the
Gospels. A different minister offered a reflection and a prayer at
each "station" and we sang a hymn. The walk took us through the
central part of Aston, past all of the major shops. The local
residents, most of whom are Muslim, were very respectful as we passed by.
The walk concluded at the Anglican Parish Church of Saints Peter and Paul
where, after our last readings and prayers we were treated to tea, coffee
and the English Good Friday tradition of Hot Cross Buns, a bread-like bun
with sultanas and spices.
Lenten School
Assemblies
 For
the last couple of years Mark has been part of a team from Aston Churches
Together who have gone into the local Primary Schools each Advent and Lent
and performed a brief drama highlighting something of the Christmas or
Easter story. This is of particular significance as most of the
children in primary education in Aston are Muslim, and many of the teaching
staff are Muslim. The team is welcomed into the schools each year and
are now building up some strong relationships with the Head teachers and
staff in each school. This year's Easter Assembly was again very successful.
Work with
Refugees and Asylum Seekers
As mentioned
above, three of the Asylum Seekers we have been accompanying have recently
received indefinite leave to remain in the UK. All three are single
men; one from Iran, one from Iraq and one from Eritrea. This comes as
news of great joy, as well as considerable relief as they have been waiting
for this decision for many years. Now a whole new series of challenges
begin as they commence the process of applying for work (which is very hard
to come by in the present economic climate) and housing. The family
from Sri Lanka that Carl has been accompanying for over a year, and who
received their leave to remain last September, have now moved into a new
house. Carl has been involved in trying to find accommodation for them
in Aston for the last few months. All four of the children are now
attending local Catholic schools and the family desperately wanted to stay
in the Aston area where they have begun to put down roots. Carl and
Mark hired a van last Tuesday and spent the day moving them and all their
possessions into their new home.
Heart of
Welcome Drop-In Centre
We continue to
open our "Heart of Welcome" drop-in centre each Thursday from 11.30am to
2.30pm in the Undercroft of Sacred Heart Church. The numbers attending
each week vary and are still quite small, but we have, over the course of
the last four months, met quite a few new people, many of them recent
migrants to the UK. Each week we offer a hot drink and biscuits
throughout the opening times and some soup and bread over lunch. All
of this is provided at no charge. There are usually two or three
parishioners who join with us to welcome anyone who may drop in. Most
of the time is spent in conversation and in offering practical help and
assistance; form-filling, signposting local services, advice with
immigration issues or other problems. Much of the conversation is just
about their experience of coming to the UK and living in Aston.
Mark and Ton
complete Street Pastors training course
Last month both
Mark and Ton completed their initial Street Pastors training course.
We have written about this in the past, and explained the concept of
Street Pastors. The
scheme has been operating in the Aston neighbourhood since the riots of 2005
which culminated in the shooting of two young women, Charlene Ellis and
Leticia Shakespeare. Street Pastors are volunteers drawn from local
Churches who go out on patrol in small teams on the neighbourhood streets
late on Friday and Saturday nights. Their primary purpose is to
provide a reassuring presence on the streets and to be able to engage in
conversation with those they meet in a supportive and non-threatening way.
Often the opportunity for deep conversation arises, and on occasions this
can lead to a sharing of faith and spirituality. Mark and Ton will
commence their patrols later in April.
Evaluation of
the Cordate Community
At the beginning
of March we spent a day with Sr Breda Noonan, our facilitator, in a review
of the period from last September to the present. These times of
review and evaluation are important for us to be able to asses how our
presence is deepening and developing and to take to time to recognise the
opportunities we have for extending our bridging ministry in the
neighbourhood. It is also a valuable time to share on our experiences
of the last few months and explore how our vision may be gaining new
clarity.
We are also
currently engaged in a process of external evaluation. In January we
were delighted to receive a visit from Fr Wahyudi MSC from our General
Leadership Team. Wahyudi is part of an evaluation group that was
formed by the European Provincials last year. The two other members of
the group will be visiting us in a couple of week's time. Together,
after their visits, and having spent time with us and talking with others in
the neighbourhood who know us, they will prepare an evaluation report on the
development of the Cordate Mission over the last three years. This
will be presented to the European Provincials' Conference to assist them in
making planning decisions about the future of this common European MSC
project.
Carl attends
the 2010 European Provincials' Conference
 From
March 22nd to 27th 2010 the MSC Provincials of the eight European Provinces
met for their annual conference in the MSC "Oasis" retreat centre in
Steinerskirchen in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Carl was present as the
permanent secretary of the Conference. The yearly meeting has become
in important opportunity for the European Provinces to collaborate more
closely and support one another in Mission and leadership. Our own
Cordate Community is the fruit of such collaboration.
A significant
amount of time at this year's meeting was given to sharing on the themes of
mission, vocations and formation, retirement provision and strategic
planning across Europe.
During the meeting
time was given to a sharing on the developments in the Cordate Community.
André Claessens MSC, the Belgian Provincial, shared his
recent experience of visiting Aston. We are very grateful to all of
the eight European Provinces for the support and encouragement they continue
to give us.
At the end of the
Conference the group took a day to visit the nearby former Concentration
Camp at Dachau, north of Munich. In the afternoon they visited the city of
Augsburg and had a guided tour of the Cathedral before being treated to an
evening of typical Bavarian food and beer!
MSC English
Spring Assembly
 Towards
the beginning of March the three of us attended the annual MSC Spring
Assembly in the Benedictine Belmont Abbey just outside the city of Hereford.
As a group of about 20 MSC in England we meet twice a year. The Spring
meeting is always reserved as a time when we can just be together without
business - a time to pray together, to share and to relax. We were
blessed with beautiful spring weather and while some enjoyed a visit to the
city of Cardiff, and others a walk around Hereford and its beautiful
Cathedral, another group went hill-walking. We all came together again
in the evenings for a meal and a time of conversation and relaxation.
On the way back to Birmingham the three of us stopped in Worcestershire for
a walk in the Malvern Hills and a visit to the cathedral city of Worcester.
- Thursday 25th February 2010
A Belgian visitor
 André
Claessens, the Belgian provincial, visited the Cordate Community for a week
commencing Monday 15th February. He was unlucky in that the weather was
mostly cold and wet, the tail end of winter rather than the forerunner of
spring. Still, he was able to go around Aston, to see the displays Mark had
put up in Tesco and to visit one of the many mosques that can be found in
the Aston neighbourhood. He could see at first hand how children up to the
age of 15 were taught to recite and even to memorise the Qur’an in the
original Arabic, which only the older age groups are taught to understand.
Closer to home he met some of our neighbours and of course we had time to
share about our ministry of presence. It is not always easy as André could
witness for himself. On that particular Thursday our drop-in centre ‘Heart
of Welcome’ did not attract any of the priority people it is meant for.
South Africa
 Prior
to André’s visit, Carl spent three weeks in South Africa, from January 23rd
to February 13th, on behalf of the Provincial Leadership Team of
the Irish Province. He attended the annual Assembly of the Southern Africa
Region and travelled thousands of miles to visit all the members of the
region in the places where they live and work; in the Northern Province
(bordering Zimbabwe) in the Rand area (Pretoria and Johannesburg) and in
Cape Town. While there he spent a day with the MSC Novices from across all
of Africa (pictured) and gave a presentation on the mission and experience
of the Cordate community. The novices were very interested in this new
experiment in mission in Western Europe and were full of questions and
enthusiasm. After three long weeks Carl came back satisfied but exhausted!
MSC Formation and JPIC
During Carl’s absence Mark attended the meeting of the
Formation Advisory Group of the Irish Province in Tamworth and both Mark
and Ton hosted the Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Group
of the MSC of Ireland and England for a meeting in Aston. Alan Neville MSC
chaired the meeting. We had a guest from the Tamworth parish Justice and
Peace group in the person of Barbara Kelly who shared about the origin and
the activities of the JP group in her parish which has been active for over
ten years now. We identified ways of cooperating with one another, certainly
at the level of reflection and deepening our commitment.
Faith Leaders Meeting
On Thursday 18th February Carl and Ton attended a
meeting of the local faith leaders in Aston. This meeting is organised by
Aston Pride and the Birmingham Primary Health Care Trust a few times a year
to gather the leaders together to address issues of access to health and
social provision in the community of Aston. There has been a move in recent
months to establish this group as an independent entity and Carl and Ton
have been encouraging this initiative. In preparation for the meeting Ton
drafted a possible Constitution for the group and it is hoped that at the
next meeting the body will define its independence from Aston Pride and the
PCT, giving it the freedom and scope to address a whole range of issues
pertinent to the faith communities in the neighbourhood.
Mark’s role as Community Champion
Mark continues to develop his role as the Community Champion
for Tesco. He has spent much time over the last month or so developing his
links across the community. One of the recent initiatives has been a “Kick
and Cook” programme offered at Aston Villa Football Club whereby teenagers
have an opportunity to engage in exercise and learn about healthy cooking at
the same time. The network of contacts he is building up in the
neighbourhood is expanding on a weekly basis.
Day for Religious
Recently we received a visit from Con
O’Connell MSC and our MSC student, Michael O’Rourke on February 19. As a
member of the JPIC group Con’s primary purpose was to do some work with Mark
on environmental issues. Fortunately both were able to stay for a pleasant
dinner together that evening . Michael spent the night with us and the next
morning he accompanied Carl and Mark to St Chad’s Cathedral I Birmingham
where the annual mass was held for the Religious of the Archdiocese of
Birmingham. The new archbishop, Bernard Longley, presided at the
celebration. Before Mass he addressed the assembled 180 Religious in a very
warm and encouraging manner. After mass there was a sit-down hot lunch for
everyone, during which the new Archbishop was keen to take time to meet all
those present, even foregoing his own lunch in the process. Ton stayed
behind in Aston and substituted for the parish priest who as the diocesan
liturgist was in charge of the music of the celebration in the cathedral.
Week of Provincial Meetings
This last week Carl has been in Dublin for
a series of Provincial meetings, commencing with a meeting of the
Pre-Chapter Statutes Commission and then a three day Provincial Council
meeting. The Council are now addressing the recommendations of the
Consultative Body which has carried out a 12 month consultation of all the
MSCs in England and Ireland on the future of our ministerial commitments in
these islands.
Christmas
We all had a very enjoyable Christmas and would like to thank all
those who sent Christmas cards and greetings. Mark very much enjoyed his
two weeks at home where the family gathered to celebrate his grandmother's 90th
birthday on Christmas Day. Back here in Aston Ton and Carl spent Christmas
Eve in the drop-in centre where we welcomed a few new faces. In the late
afternoon, while Carl cooked, Ton attended the Aston community carol service in
the Anglican Church before both concelebrated the Vigil and Christmas morning
masses with the parish community. In the early afternoon on Christmas Day
they both travelled to Princethorpe to join with the MSCs from the other
Midlands communities for Christmas dinner hosted by Teddy O'Brien MSC at the
parish house in the village of Wappenbury. As usual, it was a wonderful
evening of great food and company. We were especially pleased to welcome
Tony Horgan MSC who was home on a break from his mission in Fiji. The
following Day Ton returned to Aston and Carl drove to his parents in Devon for a
few nights, returning in time for the drop-in centre on New Year's Eve.
Resuming local activity
Despite the heavy snow falls during the first two or three weeks
of the New Year, life in Aston gradually began to return to normal, with our
regular involvement with the asylum seekers and refugees that we are supporting,
attendance at local meetings and some supply work in local parishes as our
neighbouring clergy tried to gat a bit of a post-Christmas break. Our
Heart of Welcome drop-in centre has suffered a bit from the bad weather.
The fact that it has been so cold and the pavements were covered in snow and ice
for so long undoubtedly put people off coming out. In the first few weeks
of the New Year we have only had a few callers each week, but we are currently
undertaking another publicity drive to try and get the word out to local people
that the facility is available.
A week ago we held
one of our regular meetings with Ray Collier, a Columban Priest, who is
working in another part of Birmingham city. Ray is living a ministry
of presence similar to ours and we very much welcome the opportunity to meet
regularly for sharing, pastoral/theological reflection and mutual support.
We concluded the morning meeting with a great Chinese meal just around the
corner from Ray's place in Chinatown.
Today Ton and Carl
met with Ray again and with Sr Margaret Walsh who is launching a new project
for destitute asylum seekers at the back of the Catholic Cathedral in the
city and in conjunction with the Salvation Army. We have known
Margaret since we first came to live in Princethorpe in 2005. At that
time she was running a project in the west of the city for the local
community, many of whom were refugees and other new migrants.
Evaluation of
our Cordate Community and mission
 Over
the next five or six months we will be participating in an ongoing
evaluation process of our project. We are now into our third year in
Aston and it was agreed from the outset that during the third year there
would be a process of review and evaluation by the MSC European Provinces.
At last spring's meeting of the European Provincials a small evaluation team
was put in place. The members of that team will be visiting us over
the coming months to witness what we are doing in Aston, talk with us about
our experiences and meet with some of the people we live and work among.
This last week, on
Monday 18th January, we were delighted to welcome Fr Wahyudi, Assistant
Superior General from the MSC congregational leadership team in Rome.
After a period of orientation we shared a presentation on the life of this
project over the last four years. Then Wahyudi was able to participate
in some of our usual activity; attending the Tuesday Senior Citizens Lunch
Club and bingo session, visiting some of our neighbours, accompanying Carl
on a visit to a refugee family he supports, briefly attending Ton's English
Language class and taking a trip with Mark to Tesco supermarket!
 On
his last evening Wahyudi visited Sr Breda Noonan, the Columban sister who
has been accompanying us and facilitating our own regular review and
planning meetings since we came to Aston.
He left us on
Thursday morning to fly to The Netherlands where he is meeting with the
Dutch Provincial, Fr Ben Verberne MSC, who is chair of the European
Provincials' Conference. Ben will be visiting us along with a member
of the Provincial Council of the South German-Austrian Province after
Easter. Between then and now we will also have a visit from the
Belgian Provincial.
Other Visitors
Since Christmas we
have had several visitors apart from Wahyudi. Carl's parents sensibly
escaped from Devon several days earlier than planned to drive up to
Birmingham where they were flying from the local airport on holiday.
Heavy snow had been forecast for their part of the country and they were
able to escape just before it fell. We were pleased to have them with
us for four nights before they flew to Cyprus.
A couple of days
later Paula Ryan Kavanagh, the secretary to the Irish Provincial was in
Dublin for a Basketball Tournament so stayed with us for a night and took
the opportunity to have a bit of a tour of Aston.
On Sunday 17th
January Tony Horgan cane and spent the afternoon and evening with us before
flying back to Fiji the following day. Tony is spending three years in
Fiji helping out in the mission there and brought some photos of his
experience of the last couple of years. Mark had done a two year
pastoral placement in Fiji as part of his formation so was keen to get all
the latest news and share experiences with Tony.
On Thursday 21st
January we were pleased to welcome Fr Michael White and a first year
diocesan seminarian to supper. Michael is a diocesan priest working in
one of the local parishes and has been a great support and encouragement to
us since we moved into Aston. He has recently completed the building
of a new parish centre, which is open as a cafe and community outreach
project to the whole of the neighbourhood.
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