THE P RTAL
August 2014
UK Pages - page 11
Carrying the flag for
the Ordinariate in SE9
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane visit Fr Simon Heans
UK Pages
Each month,
we at The Portal, bring you a report on our visit to an Ordinariate Group. This
month, instead of visiting a Group, we have visited a person, Fr Simon Heans. He lives in New Eltham,
South East London with his with his wife Anne (a cradle Catholic) and now works as a prison chaplain. He
is quietly spoken, tall and bearded. Although academic in his approach, his passion for the Faith shines
through. He really believes the Catholic Faith.
Fr Simon was born in Portsmouth and after grammar
school read History at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Here
he encountered Dr Edward Norman, then Dean of the
college. Later, he was to concelebrate the Ordinariate
Mass during which Dr Norman was received into full
communion. After research at Keele University where
he met his wife Anne, he secured a teaching job at
Lancing College where Fr John Hunwicke was a great
influence.
While at Lancing Fr Simon was baptised, confirmed
and ordained priest in the school chapel. He
commented about his time at Lancing: “I saw myself
undermining the public school ethos. Lancing has a
bit of an anarchic streak which I think is attributable
to its Anglo-Catholic origins. Fr Hunwicke embodied
that noble tradition.”
I should be going to the Society of
St Barnabas not this parish!
After Lancing, another short chaplaincy and then
five years as Fr Beau Brandie’s curate in Brighton. “I
enjoyed working with Fr Beau, who had a great sense
of humour but was also absolutely serious about
the priestly life and the pastoral care of his people.
However, I was contemplating leaving the CofE even
then. There seemed little future in it.
Nevertheless, I decided I should not abandon ship
without trying to run my own Forward in Faith parish.
That brought me to St Barnabas in Beckenham. The
week we moved I read Loss and Gain and with a
sinking heart I remember thinking ‘wrong St Barnabas of years. I thought I was making a contribution to the
– I should be going to the Society of St Barnabas not cause with my pen. Then a local evangelical church did
this parish!’
a church plant in the parish with the support of the
diocese and, although I fought it, I asked myself again
fighting the battles
just what I was trying to save. There seemed something
of Victorian England
farcical about fighting the battles of Victorian England
“While in Beckenham I began writing for New in the 21st century, especially when I was involved
Directions and was later asked to join the editorial with a magazine that proclaimed itself to be ‘serving
board. I also edited the Church Observer for a couple Catholics and Evangelicals.’
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