If we insist on being as sure as is conceivable ...
... we must be content to creep along the ground , and never soar .
THE P RTAL
October 2017 Page 8
“ I went to school at Marlborough , and then to Cambridge where I was fortunate enough to read theology at Magdalene College . The theology course at Cambridge probably turned 60 % of people into atheists , but fortunately I was one not one of them .
“ At Cambridge I hunted with beagles . Monsignor Alfred Gilbey was a great beagler . He would appear most Saturdays , immaculately dressed , and after a day on the Fens a group of us would sometimes have supper together .
“ One of my greatest friends at Cambridge ( with whom I was Joint Master of the beagles ), was Matthew Festing , from a recusant family of Northumberland Catholics . After a disagreement with the Vatican , he had to resign as Grand Prior of the Knights of Malta earlier this year .
“ I left Cambridge and became a chartered surveyor , starting a firm of Land and Estate agents , which became part of Knight Frank . We went to live in Warwickshire because I was involved with the Warwickshire fox hounds , moving to the pack next door in Gloucestershire in 1982 .
“ In 1988 I felt a call to the priesthood . I set off down this road and joined the non-stipendiary course in Oxford , based at St Stephen ’ s House .
“ After Ordination , I served in the Anglican benefice of five parishes here where we live . I must have been a complete pain to Glynn Evans , who was Rector and my boss , as I always wanted to run my church as If it was a mini All Saints , Margaret Street !
“ I was received into full Communion with the Catholic Church in 1996 by Monsignor Gilbey at the Little Oratory , in London . In preparation for this , I walked from home to Walsingham , which was a wonderful experience . I was reluctant to seek ordination immediately , so I ran Stratford upon Avon racecourse for 17 years as Managing Director .
“ But these things don ’ t go away , do they ? I went to see an old friend , Fr Christopher Colven , at St James ’, Spanish Place . He said , ‘ You ’ ve got a duty , it ’ s not an option ; you ’ ve got a duty to test your vocation ’. So I went to see Mgr Keith Newton .
“ He was very realistic and not awfully hopeful , because I didn ’ t have a parish to take with me . Also , I was 66 by then . Suddenly it all seemed to happen quite quickly and , to my surprise , he said , ‘ Get your portfolio together and we will submit it ’, and I was permitted to start my formation .
“ My wife was not greatly overjoyed at the prospect of a fresh clerical marriage , but generously wrote the letter of support required by Rome , on the grounds that she was not going to stand in the way of a vocation to the priesthood . She has coped with patience , laced with a dry sense of humour !
“ I was ordained by Archbishop Antonio Mennini in 2015 . What a privilege to be a Catholic priest , let alone be ordained by the Papal Nuncio ! Now I serve as the assistant priest in the Gloucestershire parishes of Chipping Campden and Moreton in Marsh , ( where the Mass centre is the local Congregational Church !), as well as supplying cover for other local priests .”
We wondered how Fr Stephen saw the future ; not his personal future , but the future of the Ordinariate and the future of the Catholic church .
He replied , “ Well , I think the Ordinariate is a bridge which some people find much easier to cross than they do parachuting straight into Rome . I think it ’ s terribly important that the Ordinariate not only exists but flourishes . I hugely respect Mgr Keith because it ’ s a tough job being the Ordinary . Yet most of us have spent fifty years praying for unity .
“ I know you can be sceptical that , for Catholics , unity means everyone becomes a Catholic but actually the Ordinariate disproves that , because we bring with us an enduring Anglican ethos , which is greatly respected in our new home . What generosity Pope Benedict had when he invited us into Full Communion with the Catholic Church .
Moving to the kitchen , Fr Stephen and Jane sat us down for lunch . Eventually it was time to take our leave . It had been a very enjoyable time in Gloucestershire . As we left , Fr Stephen said that he too had enjoyed the interview because everyone enjoys talking about themselves !
Thank you Fr Stephen and Jane Lambert , it was a privilege indeed to meet and chat with you .
‘
If we insist on being as sure as is conceivable ...
... we must be content to creep along the ground , and never soar .
’