Monday 30 June 2014

Help Desperately Needed...

The Good Counsel Network has posted an impassioned plea via Facebook. It seems that the organisation is so short of funds that they have been unable to give out food vouchers to some of the mothers they help, and they have been unable to pay their staff.

The Good Counsel Network is doing vital pro-life work, giving advice and, above all, practical help to mothers who might otherwise have an abortion. They don't receive any government assistance at all. Things are tight for everyone, but the Summer is apparently a really low point donations-wise at the best of times, and clearly they are up against the wire.

If you can, please consider going to their donations page - there are lots of options on how to get the money to them. And if you can't, then please pray for them to receive the support they need in order to be able to continue supporting mothers and their children.

Sunday 29 June 2014

In The Sacristy...

As a bit of a trad, I am aware that the laity, and especially lay women, should not handle the sacred vessels for Mass. I am also fully cognizant of the Old Testament passage which records the unpleasant fate of the two men who - albeit from the very best of motives - touched the Ark of the Covenant. Unfortunately, in my role of Assistant Sacristan, it isn't always possible for me to avoid handling the chalice and paten, especially when there aren't any servers around. So I try to use a purificator, but this hasn't always been practical. And yes, I know that I have been "permitted" to handle things by my parish priest, but I'm not entirely comfortable doing so. And the sense of unease has been growing.

It occurred to me that museum curators wear gloves when handling precious manuscripts, and I wondered whether this might provide a solution. I happened to mention it to a few of the senior servers (partly to test whether they thought I was Upton Park*) and today Mattheus brought me a present:


I strongly refute the suggestion of the Senior MC that this is the first step in getting the relevant vestments sorted for my new appointment as a womyn bishop.

Now I just have to find out if there's a blessing for gloves...

*Two stops short of Barking.
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