THE
P RTAL
May 2016
Page 23
Letter from the Editorial Board
Dear Reader of The Portal,
We want you to know that we appreciate all our Readers. Because we do appreciate you, we do our best
to provide a lively, informative and attractive magazine looking at the church and the world from an
Ordinariate point of view.
The latest figures show that we have an average readership of 7,300 every month. That is an increase of
nearly 1,000 on the average for last year! The report “Growing Up, Growing Out” discovered that many
copies of The Portal are downloaded and printed every month, then left in the church porch or given to
those without internet access. This means that our true readership is far greater than the advertised figure.
As you know, every month you receive your copy of The Portal magazine totally free! Of course, it is not
free at all; it costs money to produce The Portal. The people who produce The Portal do so free of charge,
but there are costs nevertheless. There are IT costs, telephone and postage costs, visiting the various groups
and doing interviews all incur costs; and all so that we may bring you the best of Ordinariate news every
month.
In order that we are not a drain on the finances of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, we ask
each one of our readers to contribute a minimum of £12 a year.
We are sure that you will find The Portal magazine wonderful value for £12 a year.
Just go to www.portalmag.co.uk/donate or click on “Donate” in the top menu bar on The Portal web
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Finally, thank you for your support for The Portal.
The Editorial Board: Ronald Crane and Jackie Ottaway (Co-Editors),
David Chapman, Cyril Wood, The Revd Len Black,
The Revd Neil Chatfield, Dr Gill James and Antonia Lynn
Papal Honour awarded
On the evening of April 26 at the church of Our Lady of
the Assumption and St Gregory, Peter Sefton Williams was
formally invested as a papal Knight of the order of St Gregory the
Great. This honour marks Peter’s dedicated work for Aid to the
Church in Need. It is also worth noting that he started the Friends
of the Ordinariate just after the Ordinariate was erected and he has
worked hard for the Friends (and by association the Ordinariate)
over the past five years to raise funds during that time. However, it
remains the work for ACN that is highlighted here.
There are a number of interesting associations which one cannot help
pondering on. The mass was celebrated by the Ordinary, Mgr Keith
Newton, with Fr Mark Elliott Smith acting as deacon of the
mass. Mgr Keith’s sermon focused on service, although he briefly
mentioned in the introduction the links between St Gregory, the
order of St Gregory and indeed Warwick Street. He highlighted the
Photograph: Dylan Parry fact that the order has a long association with the church – albeit less
obvious at present. Even the vestments worn at mass recalled the
order. The choir (as usual) provided magnificent music and everyone adjourned after mass to the presbytery
for drinks and nibbles.
The mass at which Peter was invested with this honour was well attended by Peter’s friends and he was well
supported by other members of the order. It was indeed a happy evening for all those attending. Peter –
congratulations on this honour.
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