THE
P RTAL
November 2018
Page 22
Advent & Christmas
St John’s, Deal CT14 9LD and St Andrew’s, Sandwich CT13 9LE
Sunday 16 th December
7pm Candlelit Service of Nine Lessons & Carols (at St John’s, Deal)
Christmas Eve 4pm Blessing of the Christmas Crib
11.30pm Midnight Mass of Christmas (both at St John’s, Deal)
Christmas Day 9am Dawn Mass of Christmas at St Andrew’s
11am Mass of Christmas Day at St John’s, Deal
St Margaret Mary, Birmingham B23 7AB - Tel 07985 753391
Adoration during Advent 8.15am-9.15am each Wednesday and
10.30am-11am & 5.45pm-6.30pm each Saturday
Advent I - 2nd December 6pm Evensong (Ordinariate Customary) and
Benediction, followed by mince pies and punch
Saturday, 8th December The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary 10am Mass, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,
10.30am-11am - This pattern throughout Advent
Wednesday, 19th December Senior Citizens’ Lunch
Saturday, 22nd December Confessions before Christmas, 11am-12.45pm
Christmas Eve Confessions 11am-1pm
4pm Christmas Crib Service for young children 11.30pm Midnight Mass
Christmas Day 10am Mass
St Stephen’s Day, Wednesday, 26 th December
9.15am Mass and inauguration of new servers
Sunday, 6th January, 2019: Epiphany of the Lord
10am Mass and blessing of Epiphany Chalk and blessing of homes
The Assumption of Our Lady, Old Harlow
Sunday 23rd December Carol service and Benediction 4pm
Around the Blogs
Will Burton has been reading Catholic Blogs
Fr Ed’s Blog (www.tunbridgewells-ordinariate.com/ and reward. There are wars, physical and spiritual.
blog/) on 13th October carried the previous Sunday’s Every level of oppressive patriarchy is right there
in our holy text…This is about so much more than
homily. Here is an extract.
making a few women bishops. This asks us all if there
“God created them male and female. Increasingly is a way in which Christianity can be so counter-
well intentioned but moronic Christians are seeking to cultural that inhabits a universe that is free from
join the trend of virtue signalling by draping rainbow gender war at every level…To even begin to make
flags in churches and on altars. It is unbelievably that happen we need to talk about pronouns. While
wrong headed. Not that caring for people with same God goes on being caricatured as ‘he’ the conversation
sex attraction is wrong. Quite the opposite. We must cannot even begin.’
be welcoming and compassionate to such people. It
is wrong because that rainbow flag symbolises more
All this, of course, is vieux jeu, and rather 70s; but it
than compassion having become the defining symbol demands an answer, nevertheless.
of a radical modern ideology- one rooted in the sexual
revolution and based on secular notions of political
What, one is obliged to ask, does Rosie want? And
correctness. And the problem for Christians, at least what does she think will be left when the Bible and
those with a brain, is that this ideology, favoured by the Tradition has been cleansed of all that she finds
political elites, stands in stark contradiction to the toxic and offensive? A gang rape by Roman soldiers
teaching of Christ on matters of sexual morality. It of the daughter of a divine mother is perfectly
refutes not only the Christian view of sex but, perhaps imaginable. But it would be a very different story from
more importantly, our very understanding of what it that contained in the gospels. And it would be totally
means to be human.”
lacking in credible historical context and resonance.
It would be an adventitious mythology fabricated for
Ignatius His Conclave www.ignatiushisconclave.org ideological purposes. In short it would constitute a
on 10 th October picked up on the question of gender different religion.
and God.
Rosie is, of course, entitled to invent a religion of her
“Canon Rosie Harper, chaplain to the Church of own, with its own distinctive moral compass and social
England’s Bishop of Buckingham (cue the limerick) structure – with abortion, euthanasia and all the other
has joined Rachel Treweek in an intemperate attack things about which she is enthusiastic. She might even
on the language of scripture: ‘At the deepest level be able, for all I know, to call it Anglicanism. What she
we have chosen to create an image of God which cannot do is to claim that it is Christianity. Change the
colludes with the toxicity of male dominance. So basic imagery of a story, and you change the story itself.
much religious language is violent. It is about heroic
leadership, Kingship, subjection, dominance. It’s
That is true of everything, from Genesis to
about who wins and who loses. It’s about punishment Paddington Bear.