THE
P RTAL
July 2016
Page 22
Son, or as Mgr Keith Newton reminded us, the parable
is really about the Merciful Father. This was surely
appropriate for the Year of Mercy.
Mass over, it was time for our packed lunch in the
Church Hall overlooking the sea. We all got to know
some new friends as well as renewing some old ones. We
took the opportunity to interview Elaine Macdonald.
She and Ronald had been at the Wilson Carlile College
together, as had Elaine’s husband Cameron. We had all
met once before when we were planning to set up The
Portal, so it was a meeting of four old friends.
It turns out that Elaine had been brought up in
the Salvation Army in Halifax. She became a Junior
Soldier before turning to the CofE when aged twenty.
A friend with whom she worked went to the CofE and
Elaine tagged along with him. Elaine attended a CofE
school, so she had experience of the worship. The
whole school went on Ascension Day.
“Then along came this thing called an Ordinariate.
It came out of the blue as a complete surprise. My
She told us, “I knew they had sacraments, Holy husband was thrilled and here we both are!”
Communion and so on. I liked it and started to attend
St Paul’s, Halifax. It was to be where Cameron and I
We are grateful to Elaine for sharing her story with
were married much later on.
us. It is, perhaps slightly unusually for
the Catholic Church, a Testimony –
“Eventually I left home and worked
and a good one. Perhaps it will inspire
in London as a Secretary and went
others to follow a similar path.
to St Mary Abbots. There was a good
Anyway, with lunch over, we listened
choir, so I joined as I enjoy singing.
to local Historian, Colin McAllister. He
The Church Army put on a display
told us about the city of St Andrews. We
in the church. It rang bells with me
learned about its history, the present city
because of my Salvation Army days,
and – most important this - the town of
so I was interested. The question was,
St Andrews is just that, not St Andrew’s!
did I really want to do secretarial work
So there. He recommended we read
for the rest of my life. I contacted the
Michael Turnbull’s book St Andrew,
Church Army and was interviewed Elaine Macdonald
before being invited to a Selection Conference over Scotland’s Myth and Identity published by St Andrew
one weekend. They offered me a place and I went to Press in October 1997; ISBN-13: 978 0 7152 0723 9. It is
their college, the Wilson Carlile College in Blackheath, available on Amazon in paperback for £3:99.
South London. It was there that I met Cameron and
After some questions, we all trooped back into
we were married in 1977.
church for Benediction. It was a beautiful ending to a
“I became a Catholic because I was disenchanted beautiful day. Thank you to everyone who had a part
with the Church of England. Another reason was I had to play in it. Many blessings were received by us all.
always liked the Roman Catholic Churches because
We walked back to the car, past the “Kate met Wills
they were usually open during the day and not just
at the times of worship. They usually had leaflets and here” Café and so away from St Andrews. It was
memorable Pilgrimage.
posters about becoming a Catholic.
“There are no regrets about becoming a Catholic,
no regrets at all. I am thankful for the Christian
upbringing I had in the Salvation Army and the
Church of England. It was the Salvation Army that
taught me that Jesus loves me. It was in the Church of
England that I was taught about sacraments.
There are still two more Ordinariate pilgrimages to
go: Saturday 9th July 2016 to St Philip Howard at
Arundel in Sussex and then to Blessed John Henry
Newman in the Birmingham Oratory on Friday 7th
and Saturday 8th October 2016. You will find more
details at www.calledtobe.org.uk