THE
P RTAL
August 2015
succor we need. We were fortunate to join
the Ordinariate when we did. I hope and pray
that many who should have joined, will do so.
“Fr Paul Burch is supported by his family,
and the Group is fortunate there too.
“People pass away, some move, but this is
a steady Group. It is not spectacular but the Brian McLaughlin
nucleus is still here. Fr Paul Burch and
his family provide our inspiration.
“What will happen to the Ordinariate?
Foundations have been provided that
are strong for future progression. It is
not for us to know what will happen.
We must have faith that in God’s good
Ann and Michael North
time it will happen. There are still many
Anglicans out there who will be increasingly
isolated. I worry about their future. We must
always be welcoming to them.
“We have to keep our heads down, but, little
by little, we make progress. The last four years
have been a tremendous success. Precious
Blood Parish in South London inspires us,
and the wonderful news
about
the
Ordinariate
Church in Torbay. I go to
local Catholic Churches, but
it is very different from the
Ordinariate.”
As we parted from Les,
David Forman – an old
friend – interrupted to ask,
“Why is the Ordinariate so
London bound?”
Fr Paul Such
The Burch Family
Fr Paul Burch
We moved to Aquinas House
where the Burch family live.
Here we were treated to a lovely
Sunday lunch. Fr Paul Burch
is married to Catherine and Gemma Pittam
they have four children; Sophie
(14), Jessica (13), Benedict (10), and
Thomas (6).
Les Thacker
Page 14
“I get on extremely well with the Parish
Priest at St Joseph’s, Fr Harry. He is a
lovely man, and has allowed us just to be a
community, but it is hard being a lodger,
although Fr Harry is generous. There is a
limit to what you can achieve as people relate
to a building, rather than to a community of
people. It would be nice sometimes for us as a
community to reap the fruits of our efforts to
reach out and grow.
“Local Catholic clergy are very
welcoming to me, though I’m not
sure they really understand us as a
community. Whether we will have any
part to play in any future restructuring
of pastoral provision within the
Archdiocese of Birmingham, we do
not know. The Ordinariate needs to be much
more strategic in the future, courageous
about what it is, but honest about what is
viable and sustainable.
“Next year we have ‘Called to be Catholic’
and this will involve Pilgrimages around the
country, hopefully even in Birmingham!
In Anglo-Catholic days,
everyone loved a ‘Big Do!’
But now I ask to what extent
the big dos were building
up parishes at the local,
grassroots level.
“We need the annual
pilgrimage to Walsingham
and the Festival, but in the
end we need to grow our
local communities for the next
generation. Maybe a series of
big dos and an initiative that
encourages the local. I think
that’s kind of implicit in what’s
already been said. Our national
profile is of course important, but
without healthy local groups we
are nothing.
“The Catholic Church in England
and Wales has not really worked
out what to do with the Ordinariate.
Some see us as a threat, others as an
irrelevance, yet others thankfully as
friends and comrades.
Fr Paul told us, “We make steady
progress, and are a committed
bunch. We are steady, and our people
are grateful and generous. They pay
for me and they look out for us. The
David Forman and George Blaney
danger is that we settle into a rut. I
Thank you Fr Paul, for your welcome,
thank God I am a Catholic in the Ordinariate.
for your lovely people, and for your frankness.
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