THE P RTAL
October 2013
Page 4
Art Deco Splendour
Awful Traffic and a Wonderful Group
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane
visit the Croydon Ordinariate Group
D
riving along
Purley Way, Croydon,
one is presented with the glories of Art Deco
design. The Aerodrome Hotel and its adjacent
buildings remind one of the glories of the preWar Croydon Aerodrome before it decamped to
Heathrow. Yet the traffic jams in Croydon are large
and time consuming.
Fr Donald Minchew
Ordinariate is doing itself a disfavour
by not talking more about Anglican
Patrimony. The Rite is so important.”
Anglican Patrimony
Carole
We spoke with an old friend, Barry Mckenzie-Walker
Barnes, a retired Solicitor. He told
us that the Anglican Patrimony was
However, when we arrived at Saint Mary’s Catholic “more honoured in the breach than
Church, the welcome was warm and genuine. This is in the observance!” In answer to
a lovely Group. It was a real privilege to be part of it, if our question as to what exactly was
only for a weekend.
Anglican Patrimony, he told us, “It
begins by singing hymns and not Barry Barnes
a full-scale cold lunch
ditties! Also Confession in the Catholic
A lunch had been provided. Not just a finger Church can be rather a rushed affair.”
buffet, but a full-scale cold lunch, with food of every
description and from many countries. In this it
Our next conversation was with
reflected the cosmopolitan composition of the Group Gregory, Donald, Jerome and Declan
itself. Audrey Passarelli, a Retired Bank Manager’s Minchew and Clinton Adams. They
Secretary told us that she was attracted to the Catholic all thought being a lodger was “very Audrey Passarelli
Church by its set-up. “No PCCs where anyone can difficult”. They went on, “Most Catholics
put in their two-pennyworth,” she said. She found the do not understand us.” Clinton wanted
time of their Mass - 7am or 4:30pm - inconvenient. us to know that “at one local Catholic
She is praying for a change to mid-morning.
Church neither the Letter from
Archbishop Nichols, nor the one from
all welcome
Mgr Keith Newton, was read out.”
Jean Fagg
Theresa Chandler, a retired civil servant, jumped
in to say “4:30pm is fine for me!” Jackie Brooks is Diocesan Catholics
also retired, but works at Church most days. From
To illustrate the fact that Diocesan
her we learned that many Diocesan Catholics attend Catholics are more than happy with
the Ordinariate Mass, and many bring children with the Ordinariate in Croydon we met
them. She was worried that it was difficult to “keep Sanrine and Dino Gauslin with their
things together!”.
two children, and Marleine Griffin.
They are very much part of the Jackie Brooks
David Austen, a retired publican told us, “At the Group without being members of the
moment we are guests in someone else’s Church. Ordianriate.
When we get our own place and can do what we did at
Timothy Graham and his wife Anna
Saint Michael’s, we will grow.” David illustrated this by
telling us about a local Witch-Fest, at which there was Maria have two children and one on
no Christian, let alone Catholic, presence. He hoped the way. Timothy is a medical Doctor.
He was keen to tell us that with regard John Adams
to change that.
to Anglican Patrimony, unless the Group engages
Tridentine Rite in English
in Evangelisation “it will not grow. Of course, at the
John Adams a retired engineer, said, “I am not a moment we are still settling in”, he acknowledged, “But
member of the Ordinariate, but I attend because of with the number of children attending, perhaps that is
the Rite. It is really the Tridentine Rite in English. The where we could make a start?”