Welcome to Boarbank Hall

Let us add to our prayers, which allow us to fly more easily to God, both almsgiving and fasting, the two wings, as it were, of devotion (St Augustine Sermon 206, on Lent).

'Augustine with his brothers in a frugal meal' by Miguel de Santiago (1656).

March '09 News

We said farewell to Fr Hugh on several different occasions, fittingly reflecting the many different areas in which he had touched people’s lives. His body was received into the Chapel at Boarbank on the evening of Saturday 31st January and Fr Dixie celebrated Mass for him the next morning, when we welcomed his family, patients and many friends who had known him through Boarbank. His body was then taken to Newcastle, for a Mass on Sunday evening, at which Fr Ian Patterson preached, and for the funeral Mass on Monday 2nd February. Fr John Butters, who had been with him when he had his accident, preached at the second of these. Bishop Ambrose presided at both of them. (Link to Rt Rev Hugh Lindsay RIP - Funeral Mass at St Mary's Cathedral.) Most of the Sisters were able to attend one or other of these occasions. Unfortunately, bad weather prevented a lot of people who would have wished to attend the funeral Mass on the Monday, but the coach from Grange, with parishioners and members of the Boarbank community on board, was, thankfully, able to travel without difficulty.

We remembered Fr Hugh also with a quiet Mass for his family, with a Mass for the Deanery, at which Mgr Slattery presided, and with his Month’s Mind on February 19th, again attended by various friends. All these events, as well as the huge number of letters and cards we have received, brought home the enormous influence that Fr Hugh had had on so many people, and the many ways he had helped others, often without anyone else knowing about it. We are very grateful indeed for all the support and good wishes we have received during this difficult time.

On Tuesday 3rd February, Mrs Marjorie White died. She was a native of Flookburgh, and had been a resident in Marymount for several years, and her young grandchildren are well known to all the residents there. Her funeral Mass was celebrated in Boarbank Chapel by Fr Dixie on Monday 9th February. May she rest in peace.

We celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, our patronal feast, on 11th February, with a Mass at which Fr Dixie presided and anointed the sick, both in the chapel and in Marymount. We then enjoyed a festive meal with a few friends of the community. Before Vespers members and friends of the Community a processed to the grotto to pray there to Our Lady; it was a particular delight that the evenings were now long enough to make this possible!

As well as taking on the role of Acting Chaplain after Fr Hugh’s death, Fr Dixie has been busy in other ways. He gave a day on St Paul to the Clergy of the Diocese of Lancaster, with a particular focus on using sociology and history to illuminate the background. He has also been asked since Christmas to lead study days for different sets of teachers in four different locations in the North of England. Fr Dixie writes: ‘They wanted papers on defining the nature of Catholic Ethos for Catholic schools, with examples of how the New Testament can be used in maintaining such an ethos. Study of some selected parables, especially with their narrative techniques, and attention to sociological studies in New Testament times for historical background, indicated how current biblical research draws helpfully on research in ordinary literary criticism and the social sciences. The teachers responded positively; they are very dedicated to their schools and pupils.’

From 21st to 28th February, we were joined by a group of participants, both resident guests and local people, in our fourth Thinking Scripture week. The focus was I Corinthians, studied as literature, as history, and as theology. The talks were given by the usual team Fr Dixie, Sr Margaret and Dr Geoffrey Turner, and we also enjoyed various social activities, including a Marx brothers’ film - a fittingly light-hearted reward for some serious hard work during the week! For more, see the Events page.

St Paul

If you would like to have been there, but were unable to make it, then see below for a repeat of the week in September. On the theme of St Paul, visitors to the Chapel might like to look at our evolving display of St Paul’s life and journeys, on the right as you enter.

A small group of University Teachers joined us for our Time to Reflect retreat on the weekend of 6th-8th March. The theme was ‘Teaching in the Bible’, with talks on Jesus and Paul as teachers. It was good to welcome old friends back for this event. We are currently pondering ways of making this annual weekend more widely known to any Christians working in Higher Education. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Several Sisters, along with Fr Dixie, were able to attend and enjoy the annual Holker Hall Concert on the evening of 6th March, courtesy of the Grange and District Concert Club. The two young artists were Martin Gwilym-Jones on the violin and Faith Leadbetter on the piano. Sr Geneviève writes: ‘We enjoyed listening to the Elgar Sonata in the beautiful and typical English environment of Holker Hall; the Bartok Roumanian dances were un feu d’artifice; the Ravel demonstrated the great skill of the two young musicians. A very enjoyable evening for all.’

In the first week of March, the Grange and District Amateur Operatic Society performed Brigadoon as their yearly event. This was greatly enjoyed by many Sisters, friends and patients. We are grateful particularly to Maureen Higgins for her help in enabling this and we wish the Society continued success in the future. They bring so much joy and pleasure to so many.

Sr Margaret visited Stonyhurst on Tuesday 10th March to take part in a day helping the A level Religious Studies pupils from the school and from Westholme School reflect on the relation between faith and philosophy. She spoke on ethics, with the title ‘Do you agree with you?’, while Mr Anthony Finnerty talked about ‘Faith and Doubt’, ‘Faith and Science’ and ‘Philosophy and Prayer’. The thoughtfulness and commitment of the staff, the attentiveness and interest of the pupils, and the warm welcome from everyone, made this a very enjoyable day.

Women’s World Day of Prayer

On Friday 6th March, more than 3 million people worldwide prayed and worshipped together using a service prepared by Christian women in Papua New Guinea. The services began at sunrise in Tonga and they travelled around the world until sunset in neighbouring Western Samoa. By then the World Day of Prayer had been celebrated in 170 countries.

A good number of staff, patients, guests, friends and Sister gathered in Bethany Lounge to be part of this chain of worship. The theme chosen by the women of Papua New Guinea was ‘In Christ there are many members yet one body’. The hymns, readings and prayers reflected this theme, and Sheila Ricketts, who led the service, commented and expanded on how we could all best use individual talents and gifts to the benefit of everyone.

There were moving accounts of how Christian women of different cultures, languages and faith traditions have joined forces to bring peace and harmony to communities where only violence and hatred had previously existed, how the churches are working together to solve social problems, and how the influence of the Gospel teaching is reaching out from individuals, homes and communities to benefit the diverse country of Papua New Guinea.

Two symbols were chosen for the WWDP leaflet, a traditional string bag, called a bilum, and a cross. The bilum is used commonly by both men and women in a variety of ways. It can even be seen hanging from a tree as a cradle for a sleeping child! By placing the bilum on the cross, the women seek a unity where love is genuine, where good overcomes evil, where a variety of gifts enriches the community life, and where the many, many communities of Papua New Guinea can become one heart and soul, ‘many members, yet one body’.

At the end of the service, one patient said, ‘I want to go.’ Thinking she had had enough, Sheila said, ‘OK, you can go now, it’s over.’ ‘No,’ she replied, ‘I want to go to Papua New Guinea.’ A mini-bus will be arranged!

Friends of Boarbank might like to know that the revised version of the Boarbank history, complete with a large number of new pictures, has now gone to the printers. We are hoping that it will be on sale at the Coffee Morning. Watch this space!

Future Events

Our leaflets are now available to be downloaded from the website for:

Thinking Faith, a week for Catholic students and young professionals, 18th-24th July 2009.

Thinking Scripture, a repeat of our course on St Paul and I Corinthians, 12th-19th September 2009.

As we rely very heavily on word of mouth for advertising these weeks, we would be very grateful to any of you who are able to pass the information on to likely participants.

We are also hoping to repeat on of our successful retreats for Healthcare Workers, possibly again on the theme of ‘A Good Ending’ sometime in the Autumn. Anyone who might be interested should contact Sr Margaret@Boarbank.

Times of Services for Holy Week and Easter

Palm Sunday (5th April)

Mass 10 am.

Wednesday of Holy Week

Office of Readings (for Maundy Thursday) 8 pm.

Maundy Thursday

Morning Prayer 10 am.

Mass of the Lord’s Supper 5 pm.

Office of Readings (for Good Friday) 8 pm.

Watching until midnight.

Good Friday

Morning Prayer 10 am.