THE
P RTAL
November 2018
An enthusiastic account by Joanna Bogle
T he plan
LOGS and
Walsingham
Page 4
for this issue of T he P ortal was to bring a lot
of cheery and encouraging news about LOGS, the Ladies
Ordinariate Group, following our recent pilgrimage and conference
at Walsingham. My jottings seemed OK at the time but looking
again, they don’t seem quite right. “LOGS getting larger. Enjoyed
magnificent cream tea. Plans for expansion.”
But LOGS is indeed growing. At Walsingham
members of the new Southend group joined members
from London and Croydon, and we had a glorious
pilgrimage, much useful planning for the months
ahead, and a general sense of being part of a thriving
venture. Our work in schools will expand considerably
in 2019. As regular Portal readers will know, this
focuses on helping children to learn the Lord’s Prayer
and other traditional prayers, with a major school-
based project which includes the distribution of cards
and a specially-created prayer book.
na
wri tes
Cream tea? That came as our pilgrimage ended:
we were invited by the Community of Our Lady of
Walsingham to the celebratory opening of their new
convent and novitiate at Dereham. These young sisters
are full of enthusiasm and energy. The new convent is
a large converted barn, with a chapel up in the roof,
sky and fields providing the backdrop to the altar.
There is a vast kitchen that provided lots of visitors
with superb cream teas, rooms for craft work, study,
and meetings, and a fine cloister set around a fountain.
The building, converted from its original use as a
barn, was designed as a family home but then came
up for sale – the cloister, which looks purpose-built
for a convent, was actually designed as just a walled
sitting area. The sisters have placed Stations of Cross
around the walls and - there it is, a modern version of
the classic Medieval style.
The Southend group invited a speaker to talk about
the schools project in September, and immediately got
organised: the group has good contacts with schools
through a number of members as teachers, school
governors etc, and it looks set to go extremely well.
Meanwhile in London, where it has run for some
Across the field – all due to be turned into gardens
years, 2019 will see an expansion with a wider range
of schools involved. For more information, email me and vegetable plots etc. – is another barn, now being
converted for the sisters’ work with children and young
via The Portal.
people. Already, the first Mass has been celebrated
At Walsingham, we went to Mass at the Church of there, with lots of children attending. There will be
the Annunciation, walked the Holy Mile, prayed the catechetical sessions, talks, and family days…
Rosary, and of course spent time at the Shrine and
We’ll keep good links with COLW: we’ve promised
left our prayers and petitions there. In what has now
become an established annual tradition, we put all mutual prayers, will maintain contact, can foresee
our plans and hopes for LOGS into Mary’s care. These useful co-operation and future visits. Yes, this was a
include not only the schools work, but also the more cheery and encouraging time.
routine things: our meetings with various speakers,
You are invited to join the
our Christmas carol singing, our pilgrimages (which in
2018 included one to West Grinstead and one by river
Rosary Fellowship
to St Mary’s University at Twickenham), and more.
For full details and an application form
please contact Br Robert Augustine at:
Our stay also provided simple relaxation: picking
The Retreat of Our Lady and St Benedict,
blackberries and rosehips, chatty meals, and an
63a Wells Road, Walsingham NR22 6DX
evening walk at Wells, out along by the sea…as the
[email protected]
01328 820130
sun set in a fabulous rose-pink glow, Kathie suggested
singing “The day thou gavest, Lord…” so we did, and
Please could clergy bring this initiative to the attention of any of
it was lovely.
your people who do not have access to this publication