St. Alban’s Monthly News - St Alban's Church, · PDF fileSt Alban’s Monthly News...

St. Alban’s Monthly News The FREE monthly magazine of St. Alban’s Parish, Macclesfield

Online at www.stalbanmacc.org.uk

Issue No. 174 April 2018

“We aim to be a loving Catholic community in Macclesfield, assisted by prayer and the sacraments, proclaiming God’s Word, serving all in need.”

this Spirit are always peace and reconciliation. “For

those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.” In

the case of the Apostles these words clearly carried

a sacramental meaning. It would be in the name of

Christ that they would proclaim absolution to

burdened souls. We should not ignore the

significance of these words for ourselves. We also

have received the Spirit of the Risen Lord, making

us, with the Apostles, channels of his peace and

reconciliation.

Thomas, who refused to believe unless he could see

the wounds left by the Crucifixion, could place his

hand into Christ’s wounded side, represents faith’s

dilemma. We want to believe, but all too frequently

we want to believe on our own terms. We want to

remain in control of any commitment that we might

make. Faith, of its very nature, is based on a trust

that surrenders itself to the object of its trust.

We do not make a contract with God so as to remain

in control. We surrender ourselves and our fears to

him. We allow him in truth, not merely in name, to be

the Lord of our lives. It was for this reason that the

exchange with Thomas concluded with the words:

“You believe because you can see me. Happy are

those who have not seen and yet believe.”

We are happy indeed. Be sure to share the joy of

Christ’s Resurrection with others this Easter time.

“The disciples were filled with joy when they

saw the Lord, and he said to them again: ‘Peace

be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I

sending you.”

It’s only natural that John’s Gospel should highlight

the joy of this first encounter between the Risen

Lord and his apostles. Their joy, however, was

something more than the spontaneous relief of a

reunion with one thought to be dead. The joy that

they experienced was rooted in the prayer offered

by Jesus on the night before he died.

This was no passing joy. It was the enduring

realisation that the Resurrection imparts to every

one of us. Christ is Risen! The power of his

Resurrection gathers our loneliness into communion

with the Father and Son, a love that existed before

the foundation of the world. This is the ultimate joy

of the Resurrection, to know that Christ abides in us

as he abides in the Father.

As the encounter continued, Christ, like the Father

at the dawn of creation, breathed new life into his

Apostles. “He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive

the Holy Spirit.’” This was a Spirit that looked

outwards rather then inwards. “As the Father has

sent me, so am I sending you.” Whatever our calling

in life, our lives are to be lived as a proclamation of

the Christ who dwells within us. The first fruits of

St Alban’s Monthly News

Monthly News Editor: Pending appointment, contact Karyn Johnston at

E: [email protected], Contributions welcome from all groups and

individuals in the Parish. Copy deadline: last Monday of the month.

Advertising contact: Karyn Johnston T: 01625 501172 E:[email protected]

Rates £6 per single insertion. (width 6cms by depth 4cms.) (£30 for six months.)

Website: This month’s and previous editions of the Monthly News are available at www.stalbanmacc.org.uk

Printing: Alban’s Monthly News is printed by MAIL BOXES ETC

1 Silk House, Park Green, Macclesfield SK11 7QJ Tel 429900 Email: [email protected]

The Monthly Healing Mass. 7pm every 1st Wednesday

All Welcome.

HOLY FATHER’S

PRAYER INTENTIONS for April

THE PARISH ROSARY FOR PEACE

Every Wednesday starting at 6.30pm (before evening mass) we

invite you to come along and join in. Together we CAN make a difference!

St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP)

Turning Concern into Action

Our core work is to visit and befriend people in need, providing practical and moral

support through one to one contact

DO YOU NEED OUR HELP?

Then contact Margaret on 07881 895540

Keep in touch with St Alban’s Parish life

Parish Website - www.stalbanmacc.org.uk Parish Live Stream - www.stalbanmacc.org.uk/ index_files/stalbanslivestream.html Parish Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/ stalbanmacc Parish Twitter Page – www.twitter.com/stalbanpaul

THE BOOK FOR APRIL

Located in the Parish Library. Spiritual Life 270

The Easter spirit:

An anthology

Compiled by

Robert Van de Weyer

& Pat Saunders

This is an anthology of prose and poetry that reflects the great themes of Easter, from the path of Calvary to the joy of the Resurrection and to the road to Emmaus.

It draws from the whole range of English literature, from Agatha Christie to Thomas Hardy, from the Gospels to Celtic prayers and much more. Each of the 6 chapters start and end with a prayer and include also hymns and the relevant Bible reading.

Chaplet & Stations of the Cross Every Friday in church, THROUGHOUT the year, come and pray the Chaplet and Stations of the Cross and keep our Lord company for one hour, or for as long as you can spare. Starting at 3pm. Everyone welcome. For more information please ring: Josie 429 473

First Saturday Devotion will be on

Saturday 5 May 2018.

Starting at 10.30am with the Rosary, the Consecration prayer and Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, followed at 11am with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confessions and concluding with Mass at 12 noon.

Everyone welcome.

For those who have Responsibility in

Economic Matters

That economists may

have the courage to

reject any economy of

exclusion and know

how to open new paths.


In a week when "the Beast from the East" caused

mayhem and cancellations, the Women's World

Day of Prayer went ahead on March 2nd, as

planned, held this year at St George's Street

Baptist Church. It was both humbling and

inspiring to witness the determination of so

many (mostly older) women to still hold the

Service and to attend it, regardless - so

important is this Service to them!

This year's Service was put together by women of

Suriname. For those who may not know (as many

of us did not previously) - Suriname is in South

America, to the northeast of Brazil. Exactly the

same service was held in countries all over the

world, covering the whole 24 hours - all part of a

great wave of prayer that encircles the earth during

which an estimated 3 million people in 170 coun-

tries prayed with and for the people of Suriname.

In the British Isles alone, 6000 services were held.

Our Macclesfield Service was organised by Rev

Sheila Bishop (Gawsworth Methodist Church) and

was led by women from local church-

es, including St Alban's. The theme

was "All God's Creation is Very

Good!" - an important and very topi-

cal cause and one which is dear to

the heart of Pope Francis!

The harm we cause to God's Crea-

tion was powerfully illustrated by a

number of women, including Mary

Maxwell and Cecilia Davison from

our parish, unwrapping various items

and carelessly (& with wild abandon!)

throwing the wrappings around anywhere and

everywhere so that the aisles of the church were

strewn with litter.

After we were reminded of the beauty of God's

creation and the damage wrought by humankind,

prayers of repentance and sorrow were offered and

the rubbish was collected and placed in recycling

boxes by the same women who had dropped it.

Prayers for the world were offered by women from

a number of different denominations, including

Annie Hewson from St Alban's. The challenge to

us was to commit to start changing one small thing

in our daily lives which will make a positive differ-

ence to our world and protect the earth for future

generations.

Particularly moving this year was a beautiful song

by women of Suriname in their own language

which we listened to and which expressed so many

of the prayers that we all carry in our hearts; part of

the English translation is:

"In the homeless and the hungry, in the broken and

the lonely, in the grieving of your people: Creator

God you are there. In the tears and in the heart-

ache, in the love through which we serve you, in

the anguish of the dying, Creator God you are

there. In the love for one another, in the sharing of

our being, in receiving and forgiving: Creator God

you are there. In your love that is eternal: In the

mystery of creation: Creator God you are there"

Catherine Mossey

Women's World Day of Prayer


Today we are focussing on living simply

As we are now officially in spring and the days are

getting longer and hopefully warmer we are remind-

ed of God’s creation coming to life around us.

However in our everyday busy lives we can lose our

appreciation and wonder of God’s creation. We can

grow desensitized to the details of life and the

beauty of the simple joys of nature and what we can

do to take care of this creation entrusted to us.

We are encouraged to take some time to slow down

and enjoy those very moments, by getting out doors

and appreciating nature and God’s creation.

This month see if you can find time to take a walk

and spend time noticing and appreciating the natu-

ral world around you. You could take children,

grandchildren or someone who would not get out on

their own for a walk and help them to see the won-

ders of the spring unfolding around them.

You could see where you can build in more time

outdoors during the coming year and consider what

you could do to improve the environment around

you as well as taking care of yourself as one of

God’s precious creations.

This could be in the form of picking up litter, walking

when you would usually jump in the car or joining

in St Alban’s Parish Livesimply challenges us to respond to God’s call to live simply, sustainably and

in solidarity with the poor.

an organised walk to share God’s creation with

others.

There are many local organised works, including:

the monthly Parish Ramble; those organised by

Cheshire East Rangers, more details can be found

at: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/

leisure,_culture_and_tourism/ranger_service/

ranger_events/april-2018-ranger-events.aspx;

or walks for health like the short (under 2 miles)

ones organised twice a week in Bollington, more

details available by calling the Bridgend Centre on

01625 576311 or at:

http://www.bridgendcentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Walks-for-Health-leaflet-2018.pdf Together let us thank God for the wonderful world he has created for us to enjoy and protect.

St Patrick’s Sing-a-Long was great craic to be sure!

Claritas - East Cheshire Hospice Choir performed an

‘Irish flavoured’ programme in our parish hall on

St Patrick’s Eve. The concert was a sell out, and

a great evening was enjoyed by all who braved

the weather. All proceeds went to East Cheshire

Hospice - with an amazing £804 raised.

Huge thanks to the choir, our parish social

committee for organising it and all those who

attended for their warmth and generosity.

http://www.bridgendcentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Walks-for-Health-leaflet-2018.pdf

http://www.bridgendcentre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Walks-for-Health-leaflet-2018.pdf


We submitted our detailed specification of works

for approval by the Diocese, Heritage Lottery Fund

(HLF) and the Historic Churches Commission

(planning approval for places of worship) earlier in

March and are awaiting feedback. A team from the

Historic Churches Commission will be visiting the

church to assess the works during early April.

We then need to tender the works and select a

shortlist of companies for further approval by

Dioceses and HLF. Thereafter, the next stage is to

apply for approved funding from

the HLF for the actual work itself;

the Delivery Stage. We are really

thrilled to report however, that our

application for an additional £10k

of funding that we had budgeted

for from the National Churches

Trust has just been approved.

This will all take some time to

process and we hope to have a

final decision from the HLF to

proceed with the Delivery Stage

towards the end of this summer.

After this the project really

Awaiting planning approval for our Jewel in the Town

becomes more visible, but more on that another

time!

We are still working on our Community Activities in

the background. We have a great team, but we are

all volunteers and would really welcome some

more help in a number of areas, for example, could

you help us with....

Typing up a transcript from an 'in-house' video

tour that Fr Peter has undertaken for the project?

Donating a 'footfall clicker' to use across the

main front door, to help us track the number of

visitors into the church across a specified period

of time. This forms the starting point for measur-

ing an increase in visitors once we have put all

our Community Activities in place?

Liaising with the tourist information office, local

council, local interest groups to seek their sup-

port in our project and help raise the profile of

our church?

If you can help with any of the above requests or in

any way at all, please contact Kirstin Bisgood-

Smith ([email protected]) (07756 950318)

if you think you could help us with any of the

above, or would like to join the team.

Your support and prayers are much appreciated.

Thank you.

Tower Project Team

Jewel in the Town is funded by the parishioners of

St Alban’s Macclesfield through Our Mission Together,

Heritage Lottery Fund and National Churches Trust


A Celebration About 30 years ago, the Justice & Peace group

started at St Alban's. Recently chairman, Keith Taylor,

stepped down, but it continues under "new

management" with Bernadette Bailey who has

taken over as coordinator.

The group's focus remains the same:

God calls us to act for the common good and the

good of all creation. We strive to answer that call

personally and to engage others in doing likewise,

in the light of scripture and Catholic social teaching.

A milestone is an excuse for a celebration.

So we invite you to join us for Mass, a glass of

wine and a shared table on Friday April 20.

On the page opposite lists just some of the things

J&P has accomplished in our Diocese and parish where

we have always worked to involve others.

In the beginning… In the 1980s Shrewsbury

Diocese set up a Justice & Peace Commission. It

was very active, with full-time workers. It organised

a series of conferences which attracted delegates

from far and wide, around 300 at a time, in Crewe.

A representative of the commission was invited to

St Alban's parish to give a talk and as a result of

the group was set up. (Exact date lost in the mists

of time!)

In the same period (late 80s) CAFOD made a major

strategic move. It appointed the first local repre-

sentative to promote its work. It could not have

appointed a better man. Vin McMullen was an

incredible inspiration. Among other things he

instituted the CAFOD Fun Run, initially at

Upholland then in Liverpool.

Collaboration between Cafod and J&P was the

order of the day from the start.

For more about J&P see column on page 4. Join us for our 30th Celebration on 20th April if you can. Bernadette is always looking for people to get involved. Why not talk to her on 431611?

A Shrewsbury Youth Mission Team

night of music and fun!

Join the SYMT team for a night of fun, uplifting music, inspiring

talks, prayer and food HERE IN YOUR PARISH!

We start with a time of games and then move into some praise

and worship, followed by refreshments.

Thursday 24 May 2018,

from 7-8.30pm in St Alban’s church.

If you are at secondary school and love music then this event is for you. Parishioners are also more

than welcome to attend this event.

The theme of the event will be revealed in the next Monthly News!

Meanwhile save the date and tell your friends!


The annual Cafod Fun Run

at St Joseph’s (ex) seminary

– later in Liverpool. For c 25

years, St Alban’s party was

to be found there every year

and in the pub after!

In 2010 the St

Alban’s party

voted for UDI. Local run organised and cancelled

for snow. But from 2011, 150 – 300 pa people have

enjoyed the Bollington scenery and raised £34,000

for Cafod.

The blue tub appeared in the early

1990s. It’s for donations of food, toi-

letries and, at Christmas, stocking

fillers for homeless youngsters at Wa-

termill House. Till 2013 the centre

was managed by MACC with close

connections to St Alban’s. Tub now

managed by SVP.

Cafod Fast Days have been promot-

ed by J&P over the years. Also

Emergency appeals by the Disasters

Emergency Appeals Committee

(DEC).

Make Poverty History: an esti-

mated 225,000 campaigners

marched in Edinburgh on July 2,

2005 at G8 summit including five

coachloads from Macclesfield.

Dialogue with Muslims. A series of

visits to a mosque, for introductory

talks, observing evening prayers and

lovely food. Estimated 200 people

from Macclesfield went. A party of

Muslims was entertained at St Alban’s.

LiveSimply St Alban’s parishioners

make a pledge annually in Lent, invited

by J&P.

Regular cartoon and column in Monthly

News by Tessa Albanese and Bernadette Bailey

Peace Sunday marked

each year.

Bruce Kent came ,at the invitation

of J&P, to speak to All Hallows 6th

Form and to an audience of some

50 people. Other speakers over the

years include Prof Rogers of the

School of Peace Studies at Bradford and Jo Berry.

St Alban’s sends 200

signatures on petition against

DSEI arms fair

Fairtrade Fortnight celebration

organised annually with

Macclesfield Fairtrade Town

Group. Schools’ poster display

and coffee morning at Macclesfield Library

St Alban’s is a Fairtrade Church

Annually at Christmas, greeting cards

sent from St Alban’s, St Edwards and

All Hallows to victims of injustice

Occasional film shows to feature

heroes and stimulate discussion on

urgent issues. Among others Sophie

Scholl – executed for her resistance to

Hitler- and Years of Living Dangerously

about climate change.

Lampedusa Cross St Alban’s hosted a

stage in the diocesan pilgrimage of

prayer for refugees

Study sessions on Pope Francis’s

encyclical lead to the observation of

the Season of Creation and peti-

tions to the government on climate change.

Both supported by HOPE - the churches of Macc.

Some J&P Landmarks


Day One: Thursday 11th October Manchester - Pisa

We fly from Manchester on a scheduled flight to Pisa. On arrival in Pisa, we meet

our tour manager and transfer by coach to Florence where we check into our hotel, the

Convitto della Calza, situated very close to the Boboli Garden, Pitti Palace and the famous

Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge).

Day Two: Friday 12th October - Florence

We travel to the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) where we meet our local guide

for a guided tour including the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral , the outside of the bap-

tistery with the ‘Gates of Paradise’ and some of the main sites of Florence.

Day Three: Saturday 13th October - Florence

Today is at leisure for your own explorations amongst the many galleries and museums.

Day Four: Sunday 14th October - Florence & Assisi

We head to Assisi by coach where we check into our accommodation, the Hotel San Giacomo,

situated in the old town few meters away from the Basilica of San Francesco.

Day Five: Monday 15th October - Assisi

Walk through the streets of Assisi as Saints Francis and Clare would have known it.

We will visit the Chiesa Nuova (New Church), built on the site of Francis’ house as

well as St Clare’s Basilica, which now houses the Crucifix that called to Francis.

Day Six: Tuesday 16th October - Florence

Travel into Tuscany and up into the mountains to a sanctuary founded by St Francis on land given to him

by a local nobleman.

Day Seven: Wednesday 17th October - Hermitage – San Damiano & Santa Maria degli

Angeli a place of retreat and meditation for Saint Francis and his fol- lowers, and is still an

oasis of quiet today.

Day Eight: Thursday 18th October Florence

We transfer to Rome Fiumicino Airport for our return flight.

To get your hands on a booking form, contact Monica Meah: 01625 428951 [email protected]

or Pat Ormesher: 01625 423718 [email protected]

The above price is guaranteed until Friday 11th May 2018. Any bookings received after this date may be subject to a flight surcharge.

Pilgrims’ progress


Retreat to Holy Island

There will be a pilgrimage to the Holy Island of

Lindisfarne from 15th-17th June, travelling up by

minibus and staying at Marygate House Retreat

Centre on the Island. Accommodation is in shared

rooms of three; there are no en-suite facilities.

Depending on numbers, approximate cost of

accommodation - which includes all meals and

minibus will be £175.

Places are limited so please, if you are interested/

want further information contact Catherine as

soon as possible: Tel: 01625 426868

[email protected]

St Alban’s Parish Council Meeting Thursday 8th March 2018 at 7.30pm

Chair: Mark Harrall Secretaries: Josephine McGhee & Chris Loughran

Present: Fr.Peter, Fr.Paschal, Deacon György Zórenyi, Anna Hughes, Mavis Derbyshire, Mary Clayton, Jane Cole, Apologies: Max Muncaster, Karyn Johnston, Louise Whitburn, Clair Watson, Sean Doyle, Welcome & Opening Prayer Scripture: Gospel of the day –John 2:13-25 Minutes of Last Meeting: Approved Spiritual Pillar: Divine Renovation/Maintenance to Mission Conference. Fr. Peter wants the PC to lead this initiative and it will be introduced at the Parish Meeting. Alpha will be incorpo-rated within the mission. The focus will be on ideas that will work in our parish. Home Groups to be contacted to explore the Missionary Parish for the Advent groups. Communications Pillar: PC Election Process: 2 nominations received so no election necessary Karyn, Chris & Mavis are staying on for a further term. Tower Project: We are now able to start drawing down on the money raised by OMT. Amazingly, we have raised £127k through the initiative specifically for the Tower Project. A huge thank you to all the families who have kept up their pledges and who continue to give even though there are no signs of any renovations - yet. Parish Database update to be carried out on weekends – 7th/ 8th and 21st/22nd April 1 PC member to co-ordinate distribution and collection of forms at each Mass to ensure security of data. Parish Meeting: Confirmed as Saturday 19th May and will include a celebration for the Royal Wedding. The theme tbc Divine Renovation What’s On Weekends: Posters to be displayed throughout June to capture the extra visitors for 1st Holy Communion and Confirmations. Community Pillar: 20-30 Group: 1st meeting was held on the 9th Feb - 9 people met and are setting up a Whats App Group and will continue to meet. Forthcoming Social Activities

16th March - Claritas Concert now sold out.

29th April – Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage

8th July - The Annual Hog Roast

10th Aug - Shrewsbury Flower Show

Dates for the Parish Diary:

Thurs 24th Shrewsbury Youth Mission Team will be doing a presentation in church Sun 15th April Thanksgiving Mass for the Mayor

Next Meeting – Thursday 12th April 2018

Parish Pilgrimage to Walsingham

29th April-2nd May 2018

A get-together has been arranged for Friday 13th April at 7.30pm in the Parish Centre

to make final preparations and to pay the balance of £226.

Any queries contact Gloria Tel: 421214

General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)

Changes to data protection rules come

into effect on 25 May 2018 and we need to ensure your data, which is held by the parish securely, it up to date and we have all the necessary

consents in place. Look out for the forms during weekend Masses on 7/8th April and 21st/22nd

April 2018


for fun, friends, and tuck

Macclesfield Superbowl

Friday 27th April, 7-9pm

With St Alban’s 2018 Confirmation candidates

£11.50 entry includes 2 games of bowling, a meal and a drink Everyone at secondary school is welcome – bring

your friends, meet up with old friends, make new

friends. This year’s Confirmation candidates

from St Alban’s will be joining us.

Next meetings: 18 May – Games in the Parish Centre 15 June – Midsummer Madness 14 July – Outdoor Games & Barbecue (hopefully) For more information contact Anna & Greg Hughes 01625 614406 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


During our twelve-day trip to India the words of Oscar Romero, which we at All Hallows have adopted as our col-lege motto – ‘Aspire not to have more but to be more’, were at the forefront of all our minds.

I have never seen such poverty or such desperate need, yet amid it all such hope and happiness. We witnessed a real belief that things can change and that we can make a differ-ence and empower others to build a better life for them-selves.

The main drivers behind much of the excellent work we saw are the Presentation Sisters, part of an international congre-gation, who are committed to the service of the poor and marginalised. Following the lead of their foundress Nano Nagle, a woman of heroic virtue, these remarkable women are passionate about providing education and care to the powerless and providing relief to those exploited by unjust systems. Today there are more than 1,600 Sisters who are active in five continents in a range of ministries.

For those of us who were fortunate enough to travel to India this time, our main contact with the Presentation Sisters has been through Sister Susan, our College Chaplain. Anyone who has encountered Sister Susan will speak of her abun-dant warmth and kindness. She is certainly a person of hope and joy. When in her company it is as though you are the only person that exists, and she genuinely cares about how you are feeling. No matter how low your mood or how many your concerns, you cannot help but feel uplifted when you have spent a little time in her presence. As with any person, she has her own worries and concerns, but she shelves those to ‘be more’ to whoever she is with. We are forever thankful to have her as part of our community.

What awaited us in India was a whole host of Sister Susans of all ages, backgrounds and many diverse gifts but all with the same charism and values. Their love and care for others was tangible and something very special to behold. They did everything in their power to make sure our group were well looked after and showed the exact same love and com-passion to the numerous homeless people who turned up at one of their feeding stations each evening.

We travelled to three distinct parts of India – Chennai, Theni and Varasanadu – and saw the Presentation Sisters work with the poor and marginalised in so many different forms: educating children from the slums, feeding the poor, caring for the sick and providing adult education to name but a few. What is so apparent in their work however, is how they empower the people they work with to take control of their own lives, be that, for example through encouraging the establishment of women’s empowerment groups and children’s parliaments.

The Presentation Sisters’ foundress Nano Nagle was known as the Lady of the Lantern. It is easy to see that those who have followed her carry her lantern of love, joy and compassion. The Presentation Sisters we met in India continue to bring the spark of Nano’s flame to those most in need and on the margins of society. May God continue to bless them in their work and we the students and staff of All Hallows thank them for the honour and privilege of walking beside them for twelve remarkable days in February 2018. An experience none of us will ever forget.

Mention must also be given to the other adults and students who made the journey to India. Our students were remarka-

All Hallows’ students visit to India 2018 ble showing huge support to one another in a new and sometimes challenging set of experiences. They showed joy, compassion and a determination to make a difference in equal measure. Following discussions with the Sisters they were resolute in their willingness to continue supporting the clinic which we as a College have built in Varasanadu. In addition, they have agreed to fund an e-classroom for one of the schools in Theni. Most touching was watching them pooling their spare rupees together at the end of the trip to find the equivalent of £30 to provide the food for the feeding station which the sisters in Chennai run each evening. As always, they did us proud and were a pleasure to be with.

It was Mrs Garvey who together with Sister Susan organised the visit. True to Mrs Garvey’s style, each day was packed with deep and meaningful learning experiences. Every mo-ment was planned to provide the students with a new insight and to encourage them to reflect on and question what they saw. Her knowledge of India, its culture and her obvious passion to make a difference was heart-warming and many a long coach and train journey was spent listening in fascina-tion as she recalled tales of her travels across India and oth-er parts of the world. She really was a joy to be with and All Hallows is blessed to have her as Acting Deputy Head as we go forward.

Mr Jones will be remembered on the visit for the way he threw himself whole heartedly into every situation. His kind-ness, energy and vigour were infectious. He was just so hap-py to be involved in the visit and provided many an amusing moment. The one at the forefront of my mind is when he and the boys modelled their lungis (Indian male sarongs) for the Sisters. There was so much laughter, advice and demon-strations from the Sisters as to how the lungi should be worn and he enjoyed every moment!

We were also fortunate to share the visit with a lady called Pat Frost who had accompanied the group in 2016. Pat’s aunt had been a Presentation Sister in Theni and spent most of her working life working as a nurse and an administrator in the hospital on the convent site, which is still open today. Following her aunt’s death at the age of 95, Pat made the visit to India to see some of the excellent work her aunt had been involved in. Pat’s stories and photos of life for the Sis-ters of a previous generation were fascinating to listen to. Pat herself has been hugely affected by her experience of travel-ling to these parts of Southern India and again is passionate about doing something to better the lives of the people she met. In addition to the financial support she provides, Pat also proved to be our moral compass and whenever Mrs Garvey or I were tempted to buy cashmere and silk pash-minas we didn’t really need, she gently asked the question ‘how many people could that amount of money feed?’ A so-bering thought, but one which came to mind time and time again during our visit. Here is a lady who certainly ‘aspires not to have more but to be more.’

I am so grateful as I come to the end of my career as a teacher to have had the experience of the visit to India and to have seen for real all the people and places that we have heard so much about. I wish our students, staff and gover-nors every blessing in continuing all the good work that goes on, but most especially the work in recognising that we are part of a global society and continue to support the most vulnerable in another part of our world.

Ann-Marie Connor


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