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Parish Magazine
Christmas 2016

St Wilfrid’s Preston

Contents
3 Welcome Fr Stephen
4 St Wilfrid’s SVP Brenda Chesworth
8 Two sisters tell two stories Daphne & Herma
10 What I am doing in Preston Piotr Stanowski
13 The true meaning of Christmas Margaret Smith
14 There was no room for them Herma Holt
16 Little Church Monica Holdsworth
18 Mercy at the margins Joseph Cooper
Christmas 1945 FX Hull SJ
Waiting Gerry O’Mahony SJ
Metanoia Project Mike Crowther
Mind full or mindful? Angela Rogerson
28 Catholic History in Preston John Southworth
30 New role for Director of Music Maria Hall

Welcome to St. Wilfrid’s Christmas and New Year Parish Magazine
Once again we find ourselves nearing the end of one year of experiences, while drawing towards a new year of possibility, and opportunity. We are at a point in the year when we might find ourselves recalling those things we wish to give thanks for in this past year, or more somberly those things we wish to leave behind, but also what can we hope for in the future. Hopefully our possibilities will provide more positive experience than not.
With respect to the parish itself, a big development, this past year, has been the redecoration and relighting of the church interior, which hopefully continues to offer a warm and creative place of welcome, reflection and prayer. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in the process: parishioners, parish council, and contractors.
I would also like to thank everyone who has contributed to the content of this edition of the Parish Magazine, it once again reflects the diversity and generosity of the larger parish community, and the many gifts around.
On behalf of the Jesuit Community and Parish Team I would like to wish you all a Peaceful & Joyful Christmas, and a Blessed New Year.
God Bless
Fr. Stephen SJ

St Wilfrid’s SVP…as the year of mercy drew to a close
By Brenda Chesworth, SVP member
As the year of mercy drew to a close, I was mindful of those messages of hope, gathered during Refugee Week, which were dedicated with thousands of others at a special service to mark the end of the Year of Mercy. Today there appears to be so much negativity and sad news from around the world, exacerbated by the fact that powerful visual images and media footage are instantly available and, due to modern technology, cannot easily be sanitised. It is all too easy, therefore, to wonder where the presence of good is evident or working. However, let us note the words of the husband of Jo Cox MP, who devoted her short life to maintaining the dignity and rights of the marginalised. He reasoned that the attempt to silence her voice meant that her message and voice now resonated around the world. Moreover, in the face of such a hate-fuelled attack, there emanated an “overwhelming outpouring of love” for her and empathy for that which she stood. Clearly, there are many examples of “light out of darkness” at worldwide level. However, there are also small, everyday actions all around us which may bring light into potential darkness.

Due to current funding cuts, many support agencies are struggling to provide what they know is needed. Recently, we have been approached to help in different ways which has involved our making links with other agencies and collaborating with new people, which in itself, is mutually beneficial.
Through our parishioners, we have recently been able, for example, to respond to a caseworker who had managed to house a mother and two pre-school aged children, but were in possession of nothing else. SVP supplied beds and bedding for the family. The caseworker replied by saying: “ We really appreciate you thinking of us in working with families in what are very challenging circumstances. Many, many thanks to everyone involved. I’m sure that will make a huge contribution to the family wellbeing and be a real step forward for them.” That’s a great message to receive…inspiring…thanks again to all at St Wilfrid’s.
Community Gateway also asked for support for families in need at Christmas and our parishioners have responded with tremendous generosity by providing children’s gifts.

Our response to a high school, asking for support to bring a faith experience to their pupils, was met with gratitude from the head teacher, and the message that our parish had helped to provide a valuable and much appreciated faith-filled day for all the school.
Through simple acts of visiting the lonely or housebound, just listening and being cheerful, it is possible to lift people’s spirits. Additionally, throughout the year, parishioners at St Wilfrid’s have enabled our SVP to commit on a weekly basis for some things, quarterly for others: to provide food for the homeless, to support our two twinned churches in India, to contribute towards the disaster fund, to support refugees, and, through “Twinnage”, the work in Sudan. We have also helped to produce social action material for youth SVP.
So, thank you to all our parishioners for enabling “light to shine into the darkness.”
We remember all of you in our prayers at our meetings.

If you know of anyone needing our support our mobile number is
07796 443868

Two sisters tell two stories of the same Christmas
Daphne’s Story
Every story has a beginning, middle and an end. My story is just glimpses of the first twenty years spent in two homes, one on the plains of Kerala (at that time called the Malabar Coast) and also life on the tea plantation, Caroline Estate in the Nilgiri Hills, India, owned by the Cooperative Society.
Life on the estates was idyllic with Dad, the breadwinner, Mum, who was sweet and kind, cooking, cleaning, and looking after their five children, Malcom, the eldest, just a year older than my twin sister Ada and I, and two younger brothers, Noel and Lloyd. Noel died from meningitis when he was twelve, and it was the saddest time in our otherwise happy and contented lives on the estate. This brings to mind the opening lines of Anna Karenina, that ”all happy families are alike; but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
School holidays were all spent on the Estate, where we had a company bungalow, and Mum and Dad were forerunners of organic fruit and vegetables grown in our garden. Life was quite primitive; we had no electricity or piped water, and transport to Midnight Mass at Christmas was by bullock cart to the church several miles away! It was really WONDERFUL.
At home, we always had a pine branch over the Crib, and we all joined in Christmas carols. Saying the family rosary was important for our parents, who said to us, “the family who prays together stays together.”
Our life in our Grandmother’s home in Kerala was on an island called Vypeen, and this was wonderful too. Vypeen was a clean, unpolluted place, without any sort of transport except the ferry service to the mainland, where we went for all household requirements. Fresh fish was caught in the Chinese nets along the coastline. Primary schooling was by Italian Canossian nuns, whilst the Carmelites ran a girls’ secondary school and boarding house in Calicut. I don’t remember meeting any Jesuits then.
This, then, is the story of my happy childhood and teenage years from the 1930’s.

Herma arrived when I was seventeen, so she’s not my twin, but my baby sister! Herma was also born on the Caroline Tea Estate.
Her story about her Christmas, the ‘middle bit’ follows. The end, from the 1960’s, when I arrived in this country, and when finding a home in London was difficult, is for another time. Adverts at the time declared, “No Coloureds, no Irish, and no Dogs!”
Herma’s Story
It was Christmas morning, the party after Midnight Mass had ended, and I couldn’t wait to get into bed and fall asleep. I just did not want to miss the annual visit from Father Christmas. I now know that my sister, Daphne, had a great deal to do with letting Father Christmas know what to get me. After Midnight Mass each year, it was customary for everyone in our extended family to visit our home, as my mother was the oldest of her siblings and my grandmother lived with us. When everyone had assembled, the Christmas cake would be cut and served with homemade wine and other homemade treats. And so it was this particular year; the festivities had at last ended and we settled down for a few hours sleep. When I woke in the morning, by my pillow were the presents. Among them was a red-lidded cardboard box with colourful pictures and a banner to say: ‘This box contains 4 books’. When I opened the box, I was delighted to find that it contained not four but eight story books! It was the best Christmas present ever.

Family portrait with Herma & Daphne,
at their home on the
Caroline Tea Plantation, India

What I am doing in Preston
‘A regency’ and other weird words from the Jesuit vocabulary
By Piotr Stanowski
Many times I have been asked by people what I am doing in Preston. The answer is always difficult, not only due to the fact that I have to explain in a language other than my mother tongue, but also because our Jesuit formation seems to be so complicated that even for us, Jesuits, it is not always clear what we are up to. Taking advantage of the chance to write something for the parish magazine I decided to explain everything at length here, so next time when someone asks me about a rationale for my presence in Preston, I will simply refer to this article (increasing the sale in consequence).
Well, I am a Jesuit. A Jesuit in training. I know it is not always clear. Even once, when I mentioned the name ‘Jesuits’, someone asked me if I believed in Jesus. Well, I do, but let’s come back to my training. I am in the stage of my formation which Jesuits in Britain call ‘a regency’. I checked in the Cambridge dictionary and I found the following definition: “a period of time when a country is ruled by a “regent” or “a style popular in Britain and Ireland from 1811 to 1820”. What an odd name we chose! (The Polish version does not sound any better). But to put it bluntly, the Cambridge definition has nothing to do with the Jesuit regency. According to our official documents, ‘the regency’ is a period between philosophical and theological studies, when a scholastic (another fancy name for a Jesuit in training) is sent to learn from real-life situations what the Jesuit life is all about. But this is theory; let’s move to practice.
When at the twilight of my philosophical studies I heard that my superior was going to send me to Preston, I rushed to check what kind of place it was. My Internet best friend – Wikipedia – told me, that Preston lay in the North West of England and its name comes from the phrase ‘Priest Town’, which indicates “the town full of priests”. “Oh heck!” I thought , “Why on earth am I being sent to the

town of priests”. To be honest I had been telling my superiors from the very beginning of my training that the last place I wanted to go was a parish. And, guess what……….. they sent to me to a parish. St. Wilfrid’s parish. It could have been the worst time in my life, but now I can say genuinely that I am a lucky guy.
When Jesuits do a regency, they are supposed to work with people instead of sitting over books, as they, let’s believe it, do during their studies. So, when I arrived in Preston I was looking for the opportunity to interact with other people. The beginning was tough. Terrified, I discovered that my poor-schoolish-pass-the-test English was quite different from the lively and rich language which was used by the local people. I had to get use to the accent and the melody of conversations, learn new words like: “a brew”, “a butty” and ”to go on”. I was really fascinated by it. Very quickly I spotted the care with which proud Prestonians regard their little and beloved homeland. I was impressed by it. Tuesday drop-in, SVP visiting lonely people, Faith & Justice group, LUV Preston, Lancashire Together, and many others, are only a few great initiatives which I have discovered so far, and which make me think about how I care for the place where I live. I do not want to butter you up, but I really mean it – the consistency of how you tackle local problems is remarkable and has become the very important lesson which I have learnt from my first encounters.
When the second year of my regency was looming, I started thinking: “OK, I have been here for a year, but how can I contribute to this rich and generous community which now I am part of?” It was not easy at first to find my own level, but somehow, call it coincidence or the Holy Spirit, some things started developing. Once, out of the blue, a chap with a strong northern accent approached me, offered to show me his work and start collaborating with me if I was interested. I agreed, and this is how my introduction to youth work with Terry began. Terry is incredible (a legend as young people say). Once you get to know him you will never forget him. For the last couple of months he has been showing me his way of doing youth work. We have spent many hours in the local Catholic schools or in the car talking about the church and society. Very often it was a challenge for me to grasp Terry’s Cumbrian sarcasm and enjoy his banter, and probably for Terry it was hard to get used to my Slavic pessimism and suspiciousness, but eventually we have built up a team. From the things we have done I have learnt about the

Importance of ‘grass roots’ work - the importance of meeting and working with people in need. Something that transformed closed, autocratic, never-smiled Cardinal Bergoglio into the Pope Francis we know. I want to be transformed as well, and I think the process has kicked off.
There are a few months in Preston ahead of me. I hope to do my best to help in taking care of the Preston community. I hope I will be a part of some valuable projects going on. I hope that our student group will enjoy meals and meetings together. I hope we will build a brand new website and improve our digital communication. But first and foremost, I hope I will carry on being transformed by meeting with real people. This is what the Jesuit regency is all about. Also, this is what Christmas is all about. God incarnated himself, so we could experience Him through the meeting with other human beings who may need some help. Our responding with goodness could be a powerful, life-changing experience, which I wish for all of you and for myself as well.
Probably, I will say it many, many times, in the future, but for what I have experienced so far I would like to shout out: thank you for being with me and supporting me!

The True Meaning of Christmas
By Margaret Smith
In the 1960s a Catholic housebound neighbour asked me to get her twelve Christmas cards. When I took them round she said she didn’t want them because they were not Christmas cards. I asked her what she meant by this and was told she wanted cards with robins or a horse with carriage in a snow scene. To this I responded that these types of cards did not denote the true meaning of the nativity and I would gladly use the ones I had bought for her.
I vowed then that I would only ever send cards which showed the true meaning of Christmas. Sadly, nowadays, although there are eight card shops in Preston, I could only find one shop selling cards denoting the nativity but with only one choice of design. However, St Wilfrid’s Bookshop in the Parish Centre have a good stock, thankfully.

There was no room for them at the inn
By Herma Holt
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year” is a popular Christmas song written around 1963 and so it is today at St Wilfrid’s, a truly wonderful time, as we commence celebrations in the run up to and make preparations for Christmas Day - Advent Talks, the Taize Service and our annual Christmas Fair. As I write there remains still more to look forward to.
All over the city of Preston hospitality is extended, and the tradition continues in St Wilfrid’s whose welcoming doors are open all day long for people to come in, light a candle, pray, reflect, rest and take a breather from the bustle of the high street. Most visitors will stop for a few minutes to tell you of their fond memories of the church while they were at St Wilfrid’s School, or altar boys many years ago. Others, though regular visitors to Preston, have just ‘discovered’ the church hidden away behind a parade of shops. Or, there will be visitors from overseas, delighting in the beautiful architecture of the church. To all, the church remains a haven of peace and tranquillity.
It is especially wonderful at this time of year to enter the warm interior of the church. Some of us will remember, with great affection, people like the late Leslie Kiss, stretched out full length on a pew near a radiator, surrounded by paper cups and empty food bags from nearby bakeries, donations from kind people visiting the church. These would be quietly cleared away without any fuss and Leslie felt warm and safe within St Wilfrid’s.

Hospitality continues every Tuesday evening with a free hot meal being served in the Parish Centre. Volunteers give their time freely to source and lovingly prepare delicious, nutritious meals. There is room for those in need ‘at the inn’.
Again, hospitality will be extended to a few of us parishioners and friends when we sit down to lunch in the parish hall on Christmas Day.
Fr Bernard Vaughan, SJ was quoted in The Tablet magazine dated 5 January, 1907,
“if there was no room for Christ on Christmas Day two thousand years ago, there is none for him now. The question asked is not ‘where does He’ but ‘where do I come in?”
It is essential that we see the face of Christ in everyone we encounter. The warmth of a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand, a hand held out in friendship all ensure that the legacy of hospitality will live on. There must be room for all at the inn.

Little Church
‘What is Little Church?’ we are often asked.
‘What do they do?’
‘Who can go?’
After the Penitential Rite, at the 10.15 am Mass, we take children (and some of their adult family members) to the Parish Centre and explain one of the Sunday readings – usually the Gospel - in a way that most children will be able to understand. We don’t specify an age range, so we welcome children from birth! Anyone visiting the Parish is also very welcome to join us if they wish.
We return to Mass for the Offertory Procession and take some items onto the Altar.
On some occasions, we concentrate on other aspects of the Liturgical Season such as Advent, Lent, Mother’s Day, or a Feast Day. As there are different methods of learning, we use various ways of helping children to understand what we have been discussing. We chat, sing, make items and colour pictures – though not necessarily all on one day!

Many friendships have been made over the years—children and adults alike. Discussions between adults often help with decisions for home and work situations. Older children help to encourage younger ones to share items and work together. We also learn about traditions in other countries.
Many children have gone on to be Altar Servers or Choir Members when they have felt ready to do so.
Over the next twelve months we are hoping to become more involved with Mass itself, but obviously this will depend on children coming on a regular basis to practise – so fingers crossed that our numbers continue to rise.
If you would like to know more about us, please speak to one of our team at any time.
Monica, Shirley, Katie & Lee
Many thanks to all who have helped us in any way over the years.

Mercy at the Margins
By Joseph Cooper
To conclude the Year of Mercy, we welcomed James Trewby, Education Worker for Columban’s UK to St. Wilfrid’s to speak about the work of the Columban Fathers, Sisters and Lay Missionaries in bringing mercy to some of the most marginalized people in the world.
In particular, James spoke about the work of a Columban priest called Fr. Niall O'Brien.
When Fr. Niall went to the Philippines in the 1970s as a missionary, he was assigned to a parish with a big disparity between the rich and poor. This disparity was very evident in the church he was responsible for, and he decided that in order to change the situation for the poor in his community, he would go and live with them in the mountain area, in a village called Tabugon, in Negros Occidental. While there, he helped form a workers' co-operative, which he called a kibbutz. A few landowners in the area held most of the power and wealth and were supported by the military. The landowners saw his work as

a threat to their power, and he was subsequently branded a communist by the authorities.
Working with the co-operative, he and a team of laity began a programme of education to teach the people to recognize how they were being exploited and to help the people work their way out of such dire poverty. Fr. Niall would use a besom broom as a teaching aid and would show them that a single strand from the broom would snap easily between the fingers, but when the whole broom head was bent, it did not snap.
In May 1983, he was falsely arrested, along with two other priests and six lay workers, gaining the label of the "Negros Nine", for the murders of Mayor Pablo Sola of Kabankalan and four companions. Initially, the priests and laity were imprisoned together, but because of the priests’ status, they were released and held under house arrest while the six laymen stayed in prison. Returning to the prison to say a Mass for those still being held captive, they refused to leave the cell once the Mass was over, in effect, imprisoning themselves as a sign of solidarity with the other prisoners. The case drew the attention of the Irish, American and Australian television stations, as each priest came from one of these regions. Ronald Regan stepped in and asked for the priests to be pardoned by the Marcos

regime. However, rather than be pardoned for a crime they had not committed, the priests had the charges against them and the six laity dropped in return for leaving the country.
James used this and other stories to give examples of the Columban’s work in solidarity with the poor and marginalized. He linked this work with the themes from the Year of Mercy.
Having travelled with the Columban’s on an Easter Mission Exposure trip to their Mission House in El Paso, Joseph Cooper and Ellie Turner shared their experiences next. They saw first-hand the work being done with migrant peoples coming up from the South through Mexico and into America. The talk was very timely given the recent rhetoric from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Ellie highlighted the fact that the current ‘wall’ along the US/Mexico border was put up following 9/11 to stop terrorists gaining entry to the USA. However, in the fifteen years of its construction, there has only ever been forty-five known instances of terrorists using that route to gain entry into the country, while in the same period deaths from gangs, gun crime, car accidents and drugs numbered in the millions. Ellie emphasized that a disproportionate amount of energy is put into the USA’s immigration policies that actually aggravate problems south of the border in Mexico.

Joseph spoke about the great work being done by the Columbans on both sides of the border and also the tireless work of countless church, community and charity organisations to alleviate the suffering experienced by migrants. He felt that the main work of mercy being done out there was to light candles of hope amidst the darkest of circumstances.
James concluded the evening by promoting the Columban’s next Easter Mission Exposure programme and inviting people to get in contact if they would like to be considered to take part.
For more information about this, contact James Trewby on education@columbans.co.uk

Christmas Day 1945
By FX Hull, SJ
Tankerness Camp was one of the many camps in the Orkney Islands which housed Italian P.O.W.s working on the Churchill Barrier, linking the Eastern islands of Scapa Flow. For some reason, Number 34 camp was administered by the Royal Marines, and I was sent there in October 1945 as Adjutant & Quartermaster.
By mid-December the Causeway had been built and the camps emptied, except for Tankerness, which still had a small detachment. The Commanding Officer had sent himself on Christmas leave, which left me there with about a dozen R.M.s, no NAAFI, no Regimental funds, and a potentially bleak festive season. Something had to be done….
On a visit to Kirkwall (six miles way), we purchased 35 gallons of beer (plus £5 deposit on the barrel), but we declined to pay seven shillings (35p) for sprigs of holly to decorate the Mess. One dark night, Sgt L. and I visited the Lord Lieutenant’s walled garden and collected some useful ivy.
With no Italians in camp, there was no Chaplain, so I had to go to Kirkwall for Midnight Mass. The Marine driver insisted on waiting in the town to drive me back to the camp at about one o’clock in the morning. As we came over the last hill, I saw the camp blazing with lights and I wondered what sort of drunken party I might find. To my surprise, most of the party were there, but there wasn’t a pint in sight. “What’s wrong with the beer?” I asked, and was quite moved when someone said, “You paid for the beer, Sir, so we thought that you should have the first pint.” I responded that the first round was “on the house”, but I trusted them to pay for subsequent drinks at a shilling a pint. They were so honest that we made enough profit on the barrel to pay for the plum puddings and mince pies that we had bought locally and I recovered the deposit.
The two Sergeants and myself served the men a traditional Christmas dinner for which I had prepared a souvenir menu for each person. Altogether a Christmas to remember.

Waiting
By Gerry O’Mahony SJ
You all probably have heard the story of Greyfriars Bobby, but you probably have never heard the similar story of a Jesuit martyr and his faithful horse. Let me remind you of them both.
Bobby was a Skye terrier who lived in Edinburgh with his master John Gray. John sadly died and was to be buried in the graveyard of Greyfriars Church; Bobby went along to the ceremony, and after the burial the little dog refused to go away. He was waiting for Auld Jock to come back up again the way he disappeared. Days and nights went by, and friends and fellow parishioners of John Gray were sorry for Bobby, in case he would starve waiting there. They brought him biscuits and water till the day he pined away, and he was treated as a local celebrity. When he died, a statue of the little dog was made, and the statue is still there in Greyfriars churchyard, Edinburgh.
The Jesuit story is about a horse. Roque Gonzalez was one of the Jesuit founders of the “reductions” or safe villages and towns in South America, and he did a fair amount of travelling between lands we know as Argentina and Paraguay. The reductions were safe from the ruthless conquistadors and safe from the witchdoctors who had ruled the minds of the natives up till the coming of the Jesuits. Roque did his travelling on horseback, so he and his horse were well used to each other.
The day came when one of the witchdoctors brought to an end the life of Roque, who was battered to death along with two of his companions. Eventually his faithful Christians were able to give him a proper burial, and his faithful horse was present for the ceremony. Maybe the horse heard the preacher promising that we would all see Roque again one day in heaven -I don’t know. But like Bobby in the other story, nobody could persuade the companion of so many journeys to leave the grave again. He preferred to wait until Roque should come back up the way he went.

Metanoia Project
By Mike Crowther
‘It is the time for mercy for each and all since no-one can think that he or she is cut off from God’s closeness and the power of his tender love.’
Pope Francis recently wrote these words in his Apostolic Letter; ‘Misericordia et Misera’, in which he powerfully reminds us that the Good News of Jesus Christ is for all people; no-one is excluded from God’s perfect, unconditional and ‘tender love’!
Here at St. Wilfrid’s we are so blessed to have a highly experienced and dedicated married couple, Joe and Ruth White, who with a small team of volunteers, form the ‘Metanoia Project’. The vision of the ‘Metanoia Project’ is centred on people of all ages and backgrounds to know God’s love, and to experience the ‘Joy of the Gospel’ through having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They also seek to empower and equip people to go out and share the Gospel with others in new and exciting ways, as part of the Church’s New Evangelisation.

Metanoia Project has an active Adult Ministry in this parish, such as leading the ‘Living Waters’ and ‘School of Mission’ programmes, and facilitating the recent Advent Series of Talks on the ‘O Antiphons’ in the Parish Centre on a Thursday evening. They also have a very active young people’s ministry across Preston and recently started delivering a year-long leadership course for young Catholics.
We live in times of great uncertainty; however, what we can be certain of is the love that God has for each of us personally, no matter who we are, what we’ve done or where we’re from. Metanoia Project is a beacon of hope and a true blessing for us at this time and can truly help us to experience ‘God’s closeness and the power of his tender love.’
If you would like to find out more about the wonderful work of the Metanoia Project (which is now a Registered Charity) please get in touch with Joe or Ruth on 07957 566741 or visit their website www.metanoiaproject.co.uk

Mind Full or Mindful?
By Angela Rogerson
Spiritual Director, Retreat Leader and Mindfulness Teacher.
There are a few words from Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day” which have stayed with me since I first came across them many years ago:
“Tell me – What is it that you plan to do with your one and precious life?”
A quarter of a century later, a small adjustment gives these words a richer resonance:
How do you want to be in your one and precious life?
This question can help us get closer to understanding what mindfulness is and in what way it might be worth exploring.
Mindfulness is about paying attention in a compassionate way to the whole of our experience. When we are mindful, we know we are thinking when we are thinking; we know what we are feeling when we are feeling; and what is going on in our bodies when something is being experienced in the body. But most of us do not live with this kind of awareness; we tend to live in a kind of ‘Automatic Pilot.’ Whilst we’re doing one thing, we’re thinking of another, checking the phone, dealing with emails, making plans, remembering things. Our attention is being pulled in many different directions at once. We cannot stop our minds from being busy, but we can stop getting carried away by our thoughts.
Mindfulness helps us recognise what’s going on now, in this moment, in our thoughts, emotions, sensations. Mindfulness is a shift from ‘doing mode’ to ‘being mode.’ As human beings, we’re more like human doers, so busy and caught up in activities which distract us from being in the present, from being with ourselves, as we are in any one moment.

It takes practice to learn how to pay attention: to stop, pause, breathe, to step back, to listen. This is at heart about learning how to meditate.
So give yourself a break; slow down, take a few easy breaths, look around, and give thanks.
Angela was involved in the recent Week of Guided Prayer held at St Wilfrid’s in October.
For more information and details of Mindfulness sessions you may contact Angela by
email hello_angela5@hotmail.com
or 01772 774283

Catholic History in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley Facebook Group
Lancashire has always had a strong Catholic tradition even during times of great difficulty, such as in the years following the Reformation right up to Catholic Emancipation in 1829. During this time, many died for the faith, some of whom were born or ministered here; St Edmund Arrowsmith SJ and St John Southworth come to mind. The name ‘Preston’ derives from ‘Priest’s Town’, demonstrating again the strength of the faith here. Following emancipation, the wonderful Churches that we have today, some of the finest in the country, were built, including here in Preston St Wilfrid’s, St Walburge’s, St Ignatius and St Mary’s, Friargate, all founded by the Jesuits. Times inevitably change, but recently architectural gems such as the once threatened St Walburge’s and St Ignatius have had new life breathed into them, having been designated for the celebration of the Extraordinary (Tridentine) Form and Syro-Malabar Rite respectively, thanks to the vision and generosity of Bishop Michael Campbell. Further afield into South Ribble and Chorley, this strong heritage and tradition is again demonstrated by beautiful Churches and ‘gems’ such as Arrowsmith House, Gregson Lane, where St Edmund

Arrowsmith SJ celebrated his last Mass prior to his capture nearby on Brindle Moss in 1628, and a strong Benedictine tradition which continues today in Brindle, Lostock Hall, Leyland and, until very recently, Bamber Bridge.
Much has been written about this rich heritage and history, but some months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to harness the power of social media, so often seen in a negative light, as a way of sharing this information more widely. The result was the Facebook group ‘Catholic History in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley’. The Group is a ‘closed’ group so only members of the group can access it, and it is, after only a few months, a rich resource of photographs, articles, and information. One of the advantages of using Facebook is that any group member can easily add photographs or information or comment on information that has already been added by another member. This way, memories and information can be easily shared, photographs can be dated and individuals and places can be identified, which all goes some way to preserving, sharing and promoting our shared history and heritage. Each group member can also add new members to the group.
There are now some eighty members of the group, including several clergy! If you are a Facebook user and are interested in the group, search for ‘Catholic History in Preston, South Ribble’ and click on the ‘join group’ option. Your request to join will then be approved by the group administrator. Likewise, if you know of a friend, relative or anybody who might be interested in the group, please let them know.
John Southworth
Group Administrator

New role for Director of Music
Maria Hall has been involved with the music at St Wilfrid’s for over twenty-five years and before that, was a member of the choir at St Mary’s, Friargate. She began as a cantor, then assistant organist and has now been the Organist and Director of Music since 2003.
But Music is only part of her involvement with Church ministry.
She first studied Pastoral Liturgy in 2000-2001 at the National Centre for Liturgy at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth under Fr Patrick Jones and was one of the first students to receive the Higher Diploma in Pastoral Liturgy.
Maria says; ‘The more I learned, the more I vowed that I would share my knowledge with as many people as possible. Knowing where we have come from, and why we do what we do, makes the Liturgy of the Church come alive. Our churches could become different places!’
As a primary teacher, I have been able to use my skills in the faith life of the school, writing a collection of liturgies for every Monday of the school year, in which the children became presiders and led whole school prayer. They OWNED their worship! Hymn practice was ditched in favour of ‘Liturgy practice.’ We practised gestures, postures and silence! We had a weekly quiz to learn about religious objects, feast days, phrases in Latin and Greek, and saints, to name just a few of the topics covered. Working with Fr John Cribben at St Patrick’s Walton le Dale, we planned creative liturgies throughout the year, using signs, symbols and the senses, whilst keeping to the fundamental principles of good liturgy.’

Maria has led several courses of Liturgical formation at St Wilfrid’s and in the Diocese of Salford. Her keynote course is a three-week formation on the Eucharist called ‘Source and Summit.’ It looks at the two-thousand year history of the Mass from its origins in the Early Christian Church, then examines the structure and meaning of the Mass and finally looks at the roles of various ministries.
In 2011 Maria returned to Maynooth and completed her Master’s Degree in Theology under Professor Liam Tracey, specialising in Liturgy, writing a major thesis on ‘Bread: Sign, Symbol and Sacrament.’
In 2014 she became a Specialist Leader of Religious Education (SLRE) for the Diocese of Salford. She presented courses for the Education Department, including NQT and Middle Management training. In her own school, she introduced staff renewal. These were twilight formation and reflection sessions. Teaching Assistants and ancillary staff joined teachers for an informal, relaxed opportunity to reflect on their own spirituality.
2016 has been a pivotal year for Maria. She has left teaching to become a full time Liturgy, Music and Religious Education Consultant. She is currently giving ministry courses for Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and Readers, working for the Augustinian Nuns based in the North West. She will continue to work for the Diocese of Salford, and yes, of course, to guide the Music Ministry here at St Wilfrid’s!
You can find more about Maria’s new role at www.mariahall.org

Who would write a page already filled with writings?
Who would plant a sapling where one is already planted?
One would look for an empty page and virgin soil.
Become bare like the earth so the Beloved
may plant His seed, become a blank page
so His pen may write upon you.
Rumi
13th Century Persian Mystic

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