Welcome to Boarbank Hall

‘It was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled’ (St Augustine on his conversion, Confessions 8.29)

The conversion of St Augustine, Benedetto Gozzoli, 1465, San Gimignano

July / August 2010 News (for September supplement go here)

As you can see, it has been a very busy summer. The long spell of hot dry weather led to a hosepipe ban, and within a fortnight we had flood warnings (the hosepipe ban is still in place!). The rain was welcome, so that Boarbank gardens look as lovely as ever, and it did not prevent our many visitors from getting out and about.

Many congratulations to Sr Ildikó for passing her driving test at the first attempt.

We offer our prayer and sympathy to Sr Geneviève and her family: her brother-in-law died recently. She is currently in France, spending several weeks visiting family, friends and her Community in Malestroit. Several of the Sisters have been taking holiday over this period, including a pilgrimage by Sr Imelda to Lourdes, with the Shrewsbury diocese, as a belated part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations. Back at Boarbank, the Community very much appreciated a Day of Recollection on 14th July led by Fr John Watson, which focused on the theme of the communication of Christ’s kingdom and the role of religious communities as a sign to the world. Sr Teresa was also able to spend a week on retreat at Ampleforth Abbey. For Community recreation one evening we watched the very fine documentary film, ‘No Greater Love’, about the Notting Hill Carmel, where Sr Teresa has spent two years of her formation (below).

We welcome Sylvia John, a new RGN, to work in Marymount. Sylvia is originally from New Zealand and is married to an Anglican clergyman. Entertainments in Marymount have included a performance by Frantic Theatre and a Music Night on the theme ‘The Number Three’, an excuse for playing some of the lovely trios in the repertoire.

We have had plenty of contact with our Liverpool Sisters recently. Sr Mary of the Sacred Heart came over for lunch with Fr Brian Murphy and Fr James Sullivan who is the nephew of our Sr Veronica, while Sr Marion, also of Park House, came for a week’s holiday. In return, Sr Yvonne and Sr Teresa, along with our chaplain, Fr Peter, visited Ince Blundell for a day (thanks to Sr Teresa for the fine photos), while on Sunday 1st August, Sr Eileen and Sr Anne went to Park House to celebrate the 90th birthday of Sr Benedict. Some of the Sisters also used Park House as a base for the Faith in Health conference [see http://www.catholicchurch.org.uk/Catholic-Church/the_bishops_work/Catholics-in-Healthcare/events/Faith-in-Health-2010] at Liverpool Hope from 24th-26th June. This was a very interesting time, with some excellent talks and workshops, and plenty of old and new friends to meet. Sr Margaret’s talk at the conference is available here.

We have had many reasons to celebrate over the summer. These include the ordination in Lancaster Cathedral, on July 10th, of Mr Joe Pryzlucki as deacon (below). This was attended by several of the Sisters. Sr Imelda went to the first communion of her great-nephew, Kieran, in Ramsbottom on 19th June. Mr and Mrs Donegan celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with a stay in the Nursing Home. Meanwhile Sr Anne was able to represent the Community at the silver wedding anniversary in Somerset of very long-standing friends of Boarbank, Rosa (neé Mannion) and Gerry Mc Quade. We have also had three significant birthdays among our Guest House staff, but we don’t want to embarrass them by naming names. Congratulations to you all anyway!

Four of the Sisters were very privileged to pay a return visit to St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Harrington, for an outstanding performance of Oliver! In the morning we were also treated to several songs performed by the younger year-groups, on Christian themes. We were able to meet staff and governors of the school as well as several of the pupils. The children were an absolute credit to the school, so friendly and hospitable, and so beautifully behaved - as well as excellent in their performances. We were treated like royalty! Very warm thanks, and congratulations, to Mrs Pearson and all her staff and pupils.

On 1st July Sr Anne and Sr Margaret travelled to Oscott College for a double vocations event. On the Friday, the head teachers and RE teachers of the Archdiocese of Birmingham gathered to ponder the theme ‘Fostering a culture of vocation in schools’. There followed the first ‘Invocation’ weekend, which brought together about 400 priests, religious, seminarians and young people interested in vocations. [ see http://www.invocation.org.uk] This was a very happy event, leaving memories of lots of excellent inputs, lively conversations and moving liturgy. The Church certainly has a future! Both the complicated organisation (not least providing camping facilities for several hundred - we had the luxury of guest rooms!) and the hospitality at Oscott were quite outstanding. Warm thanks to everyone at the College, and especially to Fr Paul Moss and Chris Smith for their vision and hard work.

On 16th July Sr Eileen visited the preview of the Grange Art Society Annual Exhibition, along with Christine Shovelton, who had some of her paintings exhibited there.

On Sunday 25th July we remembered the annual Day for Life, instituted by the Bishops’ Conference, marking it with a period of Exposition in chapel. The theme this year was care at the end of life.

The annual Thinking Faith week, which began on 24th July, was once again very enjoyable, with a particularly friendly and thoughtful group of participants, who came to share with us prayer, talks and discussions, films, walking, games and other social activities. The week included a day out in Grasmere, a visit to John Lingard’s Church in Hornby, and talks on religion and ethics through literature, happiness, conservation, the death penalty, Lingard, and medieval readings of the Bible. For a full account see our Thinking Faith page.

After the young Thinking Faith group left, the guest house became even younger and livelier as our regular group of families came for their annual holiday. We are always amazed at the efficiency of the parents in organising so many varied and interesting activities for them all.

We have said hello and goodbye to two Hungarian friends, Erika Jakab and Ildikó Mikulás. Erika returns to teaching religious education to young children in rural Hungary, and Ildikó to her studies in medicine in Brussels. We say viszontlátásra and not ‘goodbye’ - or to put it literally into English ‘until we see you again!’ We also say goodbye to Charles-Hubert Constant, who has served us very ably in the Guest House for three months, and we wish him all the best in his studies in accountancy. We also said goodbye to Phil Bottomley and his wife Amy, who return to Australia - many thanks to Phil for his great help to us in the Guest House. Meanwhile Sr Amaya and Sr Marita (below) joined us on 26th July for a month. They are from a new Augustinian Community in Spain, which is near the pilgrim route to Santiago and provides spiritual and material hospitality for the pilgrims. [see http://comunidadconversion.blogspot.com] Sr Amaya is Spanish, and Sr Marita from Peru. They will be joining Sr Ildikó, Sr Margaret and Sr Teresa for the Augustinian Youth Encounter in London Colney, beginning on 9th August, which will bring together 350 young friends of the Augustinians from all over the world. [see http://www.aye10.org]

4th August , Feast of John Vianney, Patron of priests gave us cause to welcome the priests in the house to lunch with the Community. It also marked the first anniversary of Fr Peter’s chaplaincy with us. We thank God with him and for him, for all his ministrations to the Community, Guests, staff , visitors and patients - he is a great help in ensuring that those who wish to go to Chapel do so each morning. Long may he continue in this role.

We remember those who ask for our prayers in our personal and Community prayer and Masses, in particular the sick and those who have died.

September 2010 Supplement

The Augustinian Youth Encounter (AYE10) took place at the Pastoral Centre in London Colney from 9th-15th August. Over three hundred took part, including friars, sisters and youth groups from Argentina, Indonesia, US, Canada, China and a whole range of European countries. Spanish and English were the official languages. Sisters Ildikó, Margaret, Teresa, Amaya and Marita went down together - a completely international ‘Boarbank’ group. The week was action-packed, including lively liturgies and social activities, quiet prayer, talks and reflection, a visit to Clare Priory and Cambridge, and various activities with an Augustinian theme, including a ‘stations’ based on key moments in the life of St Augustine. It was a time to make friendships across all sorts of linguistic and cultural divides, and to deepen our understanding of the Augustinian family. We are very grateful to Fr David, Fr Bernard, Fr Gianni, Michela, Claire and the whole team for their imagination, energy and sheer hard work in organizing so complicated and rich an event.


Sisters with Fr Gianni, Michela, the Master General and a Chinese student who studies in Cuba!	Planting a tree at Clare

The group at Clare Priory	Cambridge

Following on from this we were visited by Patrick, Aisling, Alana and Ethan for a little break to recover from all their hard work for AYE10- it was great to have them here again and we look forward to their next visit.

Sr Amaya, Sr Marita, Alan and Ethan

We were delighted to welcome Bishop Michael to preside and preach for us at the Mass for the Feast of St Augustine. Celebrations continued afterwards, with a large number of friends joining us for drinks and lunch. Other recent celebrations have included the Silver Wedding Anniversary of David and Debbie, who joined us for a meal in the Refectory, and the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Sr Pierre (continued!), when the community, guests and patients enjoyed drink, cake and Irish songs together in Marymount after a Mass of Thanksgiving which her many friends here were able to attend. Three of the Sisters were also very privileged to be invited to a birthday concert and tea to celebrate the 90th birthday of Mr Roy Fox at Calgarth in Troutbeck Bridge. The pianist was Roy’s grandson Sam, who is building a great reputation on the international circuit and gave us a wonderful musical treat. We congratulate Roy and say a very big thank you to him and his family.

On 1st September we were delighted to have a visit from Molly Dowling, a great friend of Boarbank’s for many, many years and now resident in Nazareth House. It was good to see her looking so well and interested in everyone. We are grateful to Veronica who brought her and wish them well on their travels to Lourdes and Romania respectively.

Musical events have included a Grange Music Society Concert on 6th August, with superb performances by Diana Gadylyte (piano) and Jacob Fichert (piano) of Beethhoven, Richard Strauss, Prokoviev and Ravel, and a Marymount Music Afternoon, with an international cast of Janet Atkins on the piano, Imola Atkins, Sr Margaret’s niece from Hungary on the clarinet, and Sr Marita from Peru on the alto recorder.

We have said goodbye (au revoir) to Erika (Hungary) and Charles (France), and welcomed to help in the Guest House Jaime from Spain, Laura from Italy and Domitille from France. A thoroughly international summer. We are very grateful to them all, and to Laura especially for the fine picture of Boarbank from the air (courtesy of Fr Chris’ flying skills!). We were particularly sorry to say goodbye to Sr Amaya and Sr Marita, who returned to their community just in time for the Feast of St Augustine, after sharing our lives for a month. It has been a great blessing to build a bond with their community, to find out about the Camino di Santiago, and to be blessed by their prayerfulness, their cheerfulness and their generosity.


Farewell to Sr Amaya and Sr Marita	L to R: Laura, Fr Chris, Evie, Jean, Domitille, Owen, Rachel, Jaime


Going flying: Fr Chris and Laura	Boarbank Hall from the air

Finally, a couple of pieces of sadder news. Nigel Bavidge, a great friend and associate of the Augustinian order, a deacon in Leeds, and the chaplain to Austin Friars school, finally lost his courageous battle with cancer on 10th August. We pray for him, and for Liz and the rest of his family and offer them our condolences. Mrs Hilda Hartley, who had lived with us in Marymount for 4 years, died peacefully on 2nd September . Her funeral will be at Boarbank on Thurday 9th September at 10am. Again, we offer condolences to her family. May they rest in peace.

Finally, yet another big thank you to our webmaster, Paul Middleton, for all his hard work on our behalf. This summer he and Val have been busy following the trail of his hero and the subject of his Ph.D. thesis, Peter Abelard, across France, which took him very near to some of our Augustinian houses, of course. We are so grateful that he finds time to help us despite all his other activities.


Val Middleton at the former Cluniac Priory of St-Marcel-sur-Saône, Burgundy, where Peter Abelard died in 1142.	Paul Middleton at the obelisk above the crypt of the former Paraclete Oratory, Champagne - first burial site of Abelard (and later, Helöise).

Future Events

An Ecumenical Day of Recollection on the theme ‘Newman, Benedict, Ecumenism’ will be held on Wednesday 8th September, starting at 11.15 a.m. and finishing after Vespers, about 6.30 p.m. We hope that this might put into context Pope Benedict’s visit and the beatification of John Henry Newman. Talks will be give by Fr Dixie and Sr Margaret. Suggested donation: £5 (hot and cold drinks provided, please bring a packed lunch). ALL WELCOME. To book please contact Sr Margaret@Boarbank.

We are taking bookings for Thinking Scripture from 11th-18th September, on St John and the Health and Salvation week from 15th-20th November, on the theme of ‘Health and Community’. If interested please contact Sr Margaret@Boarbank.

Sr Eileen and Sr Ildikó will be going to Bonneuil for the Prioresses’ Assembly with Sisters from Park House and Ince Communities on Tuesday 7th September. We wish them bon voyage and a very happy reunion.