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NEW REFECTORY EXTENSION
The new refectory extension as at 5 December 2009 Work began on the demolishing of the old refectory extension and the construction of its replacement in May earlier this year. We had originally thought that work would be complete by October. However, when dealing with older buildings there are always going to be unforeseen problems. Ours were mostly to do with foundations. These were overcome and work is nearing completion. Outside, a beautiful stone floor is in place; inside, an oak floor has now been laid. Decoration begins next week and we think this will take about 3-4 weeks to complete. Once that is done, the electricians and plumbers will complete their work, placing radiators and light fittings. All that will be left then is the placing of the folding glass doors from the refectory into the cloister and decisions as to what furniture will go back in there. We hope that all will complete for an opening and blessing which we plan for Candlemas - 2nd February. For more photos please go to our Refectory Extension webpage
NOVENA CHRISTMAS CARD MAILSHOT The Priory has almost 700 Christmas cards to send out each year; these are for the most part to the people in England and Wales who join in our Novenas, which take place five times a year. On the afternoon of Sunday 6 December, with mince pies and tea supplied by the Priory, several friends and parishioners helped with this mailshot, with Fr Martin, our Bursar, franking the envelopes when they were ready!
ADVENT DAY - SATURDAY 28 NOVEMBER Strictly speaking, this was a Day about Advent rather than a Day in Advent as it took place on the last Saturday in Ordinary Time as a prelude to the season. Some 30 friends and parishioners gathered to listen to Fr Paul and to share ideas and thoughts about liturgical time and about the three 'comings' of Christ: in history (the Incarnation), in mystery (the Word, the Sacraments and in our lives of discipleship) and in glory (the promised last coming at the end of time). Time was also spent in prayer and in sharing food together. Plans are being laid for a similar day prior to Lent.
'PRIORY LIFE' TOUR OF THE WISTON ESTATE WINERY
Terry Lane and Phil Sharp sample the champagne!
Thirty-five friends and parishioners, many of whom had helped with the grape harvest at the start of October, gathered at the Wiston Estate Winery on Friday 6th November for an evening tour and a comparative tasting of sparkling wine and champagne!
For further details and photos please click here.
priory REFECTORY EXTENSION
Work continues to progress! For the most recent photos click here
RETURN OF Fr Ian McLean o.praem. TO THE PRIORY
Fr Ian McLean, o.praem.
We are pleased to tell you that Fr Ian will be returning to the Priory on 29th October to take up residence here. Fr Ian was ordained in 1971. In recent years he has worked in Northern Ireland and in Eire. For the past few years he has been an unofficial chaplain at St Mary's Convent, Westbrooke, Worthing. You will, no doubt, see him around!
VISIT OF MARTY HAUGEN
The Prior and Marty Haugen in the Priory church We were greatly blessed when Marty Haugen, the leading composer of contemporary liturgical music, paid a second visit to the Priory on Sunday 18 October to meet the parish music group, parishioners and Priory community. Marty's initial visit took place in July 2007: he had been commissioned by the Prior, The Rt Rev Paul MacMahon (above) to compose a new Mass setting celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Norbertine Order in Storrington. We have used this Mass (whose working title is the 'Storrington Mass') on many occasions, most notably when Cardinal Cormac came to celebrate the 125th Anniversary with us on t he Solemnity of Our Lady of England on Monday 24th September 2007. The 'Storrington Mass' setting takes into account the new ICEL Mass translation which is due to be implemented in England and Wales within the next few years.More photos are on our Parish Gallery webpage
PRIORY SHOP
We have now closed the Priory Shop and will be re-opening it as an annexe to the Priory Library later in the year where we hope to create a Prayer and Spirituality Library for use by parishioners, friends and visitors. We would hope that periodicals would also be available for people to read in there. Mass cards and rosaries are still available for purchase from a stand in the cloister.
OUR FIRST SERIOUS GRAPE HARVEST PART 2!
CHARDONNAY GRAPES
On Saturday 10 October 35 people, armed with a pair of secateurs and a bucket each, turned up to help harvest our chardonnay grapes in the Priory Vineyard. We were blessed with a hot sunny day and an abundance of grapes - over 2,250 kilos, even bigger than last weekend's harvest! Many thanks to all our helpers!
For more photos click here.
OUR FIRST SERIOUS GRAPE HARVEST PART 1! PINOT NOIR GRAPES
Rain threatened on the morning of 3rd October, but held off as some 25 friends gathered to harvest the pinot noir grapes in the Priory Vineyard. Bird-scaring tactics of scarecrows, kites, flash-tape etc. seem to have been effective and we were able to pick about 1,300 kilos of grapes in about 3 hours. Grape-pickers enjoyed a simple lunch of bread, cheese and wine al fresco and were encouraged to return to help pick the chardonnay grapes next week. Any others interested in helping should come to the vineyard from 9.30am on Saturday, 10th October. We are hoping for even more from the chardonnay vines! Thanks to all who have helped so far. For more photos click here.
Prelates' Meeting in Rome
 Fr. Paul is fourth from left. The Abbot General is fifth from right.
From 20th to 26th September, Fr Paul, the Prior, joined the prelates of the Norbertine Order who had gathered in Rome from six continents to hear reports of the state of the Order worldwide and to discuss various matters including the growing number of lay associates attached to various houses. The General Chapter of the Order meets every six years; it last met in 2006 in Freising near Munich. The meeting of the prelates (abbots, priors and administrators) takes place in between General Chapters and is a useful formal and informal forum where new initiatives and common challenges can be shared. Preparations for the next General Chapter, which will take place in 2012 at St Norbert Abbey, De Pere, Wisconsin, USA, were also discussed.
Of particular interest to Fr Paul was a presentation about monastery products and how to safeguard trademarks or product names by registering them. For various reasons, the Abbey of Frigolet in Provence has lost the right to use the name 'Frigolet' because another manufacturer has registered it! We will be registering 'White Canons' as the name of our wine soon, just in case someone else beats us to it!
y BIRTHDAY OF OUR LADY - 8 SEPTEMBER
Tuesday 8 September saw one of our biggest crowds yet for the celebrations in honour of the Birthday of Our Lady. After Mass in the Priory church at 7.30pm there was a torchlight procession to the outdoor shrine in the Matt's Wood development. This was followed by refreshments in the Priory hall.
For more photos click here
PRIORY LIFE SCARECROW SHOW! y
You will remember that much of last year’s grape harvest was lost to birds. In addition to other bird-scaring tactics, we invited parishioners and friends of the Priory (individuals, families, children etc.) to create a scarecrow! This took place on Sunday 6 September at 3pm in the Priory Vineyard. For pictures click here.
WHITE CANONS NEWSLETTER
The Autumn 2009 edition is now available by clicking on the picture link below
PROGRESS ON OUR NEW REFECTORY EXTENSION
We now have a separate web page on our site showing the progress of our new refectory extension. Further photos will be uploaded as the work continues to progress. Please click here
'UNDERSTANDING IN PEACE'
From left to right: The Imam of Brighton; artist Abdoulie Conteh; The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Councillor Ann Norman, who opened the exhibition; artist John Armstrong; The Prior of Storrington, the Rt Rev Paul MacMahon, o.praem.
On Saturday 11 July the Prior gave a speech on the Christian perspective of Mary at an exhibition of paintings at the St Luke's Gallery in Portslade hosted by the Catholic artist John Armstrong. Entitled 'Understanding in Peace - Mary/Mariam', the exhibition also contained painting by Abdoulie Conteh, a local Muslim artist. This was their third exhibition together. The Imam of Brighton also gave a speech on Mary from the perspective of Islam.
"PRIORY LIFE" INITIATIVE LAUNCHED
A few years ago we formed a Norbertine Association which people were invited to join formally. However, although the Association had over 30 members, in the light of experience and discussion we felt that a less formal structure would be more attractive. The reality is that things are going on here and we would like to involve more people. Whenever you see the fleur de lis symbol above, it means that an event or activity has been arranged which is open to all. For more details click here
DENNIS ANSCOMBE - 75 YEARS AS AN ALTAR SERVER
please click on the thumbnails above for larger pictures
On the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1934, Dennis made his First Holy Communion. The following Sunday he served at Mass for the first time at Our Lady of England Priory Church - and he has been serving ever since!
Our Parish Community celebrated his 75 years of ministry at the 10.00am Mass on Sunday 14 June and we continued our celebration afterwards with a sherry and chocolate cake reception!
We are very grateful to Dennis for his faithful commitment in serving and for introducing others to this important ministry.
OUTLINE PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED
Part of our land north of the car park 6 JUNE 2009 LAND NORTH OF THE CAR PARK – OUTLINE PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED Last year Horsham District Council recommended that our proposal to build nine dwellings on this site be refused. However, we appealed against this recommendation and the inspector has upheld our appeal which means that we have outline planning permission. Full details are now being prepared and, after appropriate consultations, we hop to submit a detailed planning application early next year. For more photos please go to the 'Our Future' webpage.
THE OLD SHRINE SITE – POSSIBLE PROPOSALS We are currently considering four possible proposals for secure housing for the elderly on this site and are in discussions with a Housing Trust that specialises in this type of accommodation. We hope to submit an application for planning permission later this year, The purpose of both these projects is to raise funds to refurbish the south wing of the Priory and create suitable guest retreat accommodation. For photos please go to the 'Our Future' webpage.
REFECTORY Work on the demolition of the refectory extension began some four weeks ago. The old, decaying timber frame building has been demolished and foundations for its smaller replacement have been prepared. We hope the replacement extension will be much more in keeping with the character of the main building. Two stone window sills which formed part of the original building have been found in the hard-core; we will be able to use these once again for their original purpose! We also have one of the original foundation stones; the inscription is barely legible now, but we hope to place that in the new wall, matching up with the three other stones which are still in place. Please click here to go to our 'New Refectory Development' webpage.
WHITE CANONS NEWSLETTER
The May 2009 edition is now available by clicking on the picture link below
EASTER VIGIL
Easter Vigil 2009 - Blessing of the Paschal Fire
Priory Vineyard
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