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Update on the future of the Priory
Exhibition of art in the cloisters
Proposed Priory Development Update
Resubmission of our Planning Application
Associates Pilgrimage to Aylesford Priory
Marty Haugen visits the Priory
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The Future of the Priory - an update Kithurst Lane Site Having first withdrawn our application at the request of our elected councillors, we re-submitted and the application was eventually refused by Horsham District Council. We have now lodged an appeal and we would hope, once again, to have your support at the appropriate moment. We would ask those of you who are willing to write in as soon as we have the Inspector's reference details. We will make these details available through the newsletter and in the Priory Hall; there will also be a petition which we hope as many of you as possible will sign. You will remember that three councillors at the time all vigorously supported our application initially; however, those of you who attended that Parish Council meeting at which this application was discussed will recall the suggestion by the current chairperson of the planning committee that we should sell up and the Monastery be redeveloped. Car Park Site Once again, in spite of informal discussions with HDC planners beforehand, we were asked to withdraw our application pending the sorting out of two issues. These have now been addressed and we hope to re-submit the application soon. Woodland Field and Vines The hedgerow (1,035 plants) and trees (500) are looking good, and there has been an excellent survival rate. We are considering the further planting of a hedge and tidying up of the old hedgerow along School Lane. Help will be welcome again with de-budding of vines towards the end of this month - we will let you know when! We hope to allow some of the vines to bear fruit this year, so we look forward to our first harvest in the autumn! The statue of Our Lady and Child in the outside shrine garden will be moved soon to our back garden for restoration and re-painting prior to being re-sited at the head of the large open area at the end of the avenue of hornbeams. We intend this to be in place for our annual 8th September celebrations. We shall see....! Refectory Although not originally at the top of our list for attention, the somewhat ugly and unsympathetic extension to the Refectory has suffered badly over the winter and some of the window frames do not look as though they will survive strong winds. We are currently drawing up plans for a more suitable replacement structure, bearing in mind its occasional use by the Parish Community. We will keep you posted. Finally... We have asked Horsham District Council to consider once again bringing our field north of the cemetery (the Kithurst Lane field) inside the development boundary. This has been at the request of the Council as they are looking for suitable sites for a period beyond 2015. You may have read of this need in the local press. We have to consider making the most of opportunities available for our long term survival. It may also help us to win our Kithurst Lane proposals which will secure our short to medium term survival and which, in turn, will lead to more long term options. Thank you all for your continued interest, support and prayers. Fr Paul - May 2008
On Saturday 26 April we created a labyrinth of logs as part of our woodland field development. Please click here to go to our labyrinth webpage.
EXHIBITION OF "ART THROUGH THE AGES" IN THE CLOISTERS
one of the boards in the exhibition - 'Good Friday'
There is a new exhibition of 'art through the ages' on four of the display boards in the cloisters entitled, 'The Sacred Triduum', consisting of paintings of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday (including the Harrowing of Hell) and Easter. We have left the fifth board blank in readiness for the great Solemnity of Pentecost.
The first half of the hedge beside the tennis courts was finished on 19 February - it took only two days work and 500 mixed whips were planted! During the next phase, at the beginning of March, another 600 mixed whips were planted, giving a hedge 187 yards long.
P lease see our 'Woodland Field' webpage for more photos.
January 2008 - Many thanks to all who came to help prune the vines over the last couple of weeks - the job is complete! The next vineyard task will be to remove lower buds and shoots (bud-rubbing); this will probably need to be done early in May depending on growth and the weather. We will put a note in the newsletter when we have fixed a date to start. Meanwhile, most of the tree-planting is done and we look forward to about 500 trees putting out buds in the spring. We will be planting a hedgerow alongside the tennis courts; some preparation has already begun. We hope to be rotivating a strip for this and putting down a mulch-mat within the next two weeks; planting itself should take place during the week beginning 18th February. About 500 'whips' will need putting in, so anyone interested in helping would be most welcome. Please contact Fr Paul or Terry Lane
NORBERTINE ORDER CELEBRATION
for a gallery of photos click here
NORBERTINE ORDER CELEBRATION On Tuesday 18 December the Priory held a second Mass of Thanksgiving for its 125 year presence in Storrington. It was primarily a day of celebration for the Order and was attended by our Abbot General and various abbots and confreres from Order communities. The preacher at Mass was the Abbot General of the Norbertine Order, the Most Rev. Thomas Handgrätinger O.Praem. Also invited were the Religious of our diocese and the Priory Norbertine Associates. Mass was at 11am and parishioners were invited to attend and also stay to meet the guests, during a Reception, before they had lunch. The Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, also attended.Our day of celebration ended with a special Evening Prayer at 6.30pm.
held over the weekend of 1st - 2nd December was very successful and over 20 Associates attended. We met at 4.00pm for tea and this was followed by an Advent Reflection given by the Prior, Fr Paul. After First Vespers of Advent in the church we had a second Advent Reflection which was followed by free time until supper.
After supper and before Night Prayer, two of our Associates gave the rest of the group information about two possible Pilgrimages we could make in 2008 - to Lourdes and also to Zsambek in Hungary.
Morning Prayer at 7.00am stared our day on the Sunday, after which we had breakfast together. Mass at 10am ended our time together and all agreed it had been a very prayerful and meditative weekend.
OCTOBER 2007 Proposed Priory Development Update On the advice of Horsham District Council we have submitted a new planning application for 9 dwellings on the land that lies north of the Priory car park. For news on this proposed development, and news of the proposed new shrine site please click here
RESUBMISSION OF OUR PLANNING APPLICATION
We have resubmitted our planning application to build 8 secure ecological dwellings for the elderly on land north of our cemetery. For full details please click here
On Monday 22 October we began the planting of the trees for our Woodland Field development. For a video please go to our 'Woodland Field' webpage.
SEPTEMBER 2007
Visit to Our Lady Of England PRIORY by His eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor
On Monday 24th September, the Solemnity of Our Lady of England, we were pleased to welcome back to Storrington His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor who lived in the village for 23 years. Please click here for more information and photos of our celebration.
ASSOCIATES PILGRIMAGE TO AYLESFORD
On Saturday 15 September fourteen Storrington Norbertine Associates, plus Fr Paul, the Prior of Our Lady of England, went to 'The Friars' - Aylesford Priory - an ancient religious house of the Order of Carmelites dating back to the 13th Century.
For details and more photos please go to our Associates webpage.
AUGUST 2007
STORRINGTON NORBERTINE ASSOCIATES
On Bank Holiday Monday, 27 August 2007, twenty five of our Associates, along with their friends and family, attended First Vespers for the Solemnity of our Holy Father Augustine, whose feast day was celebrated on Tuesday 28 August. Fr Andrew gave a very informative homily on St Augustine. Vespers was followed by a buffet and drinks in the refectory.
Please see our Associates webpage for more information
JULY 2007
6 July 2007 - Composer Marty Haugen visits Our Lady of England Priory
Marty Haugen, fourth from left, with some of the members of the parish music and liturgy group. Standing next to Marty is Parish Priest Fr Andrew Smith
We were greatly blessed when Marty Haugen, the leading composer of contemporary liturgical music, paid a visit to the Priory to meet the parish music and liturgy group. Marty has been commissioned by the Priory to write a new Mass setting celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Norbertine Order in Storrington. After tea in the library, Marty was shown the church and the outdoor shrine as he wanted to feel a 'sense of place' before he started composing the new Mass setting.
For more photos see the Gallery page
FEBRUARY 2007
CANONRY RETREAT 19th - 23rd February 2007
Between 19th - 23rd February 2007 we held our Canonry Retreat in the Priory which was led by Br Bob Campbell, o.praem., from Santa Maria de la Vid Priory, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
From left to right: Fr Ian McLean; Retreat Director Brother Bob Campbell; The Rt Rev Paul MacMahon (Prior); Fr Andrew Smith; Fr Martin Gosling.
DECEMBER 2006
OUR LADY OF ENGLAND CANONRY, STORRINGTON, on Thursday 14 December 2006
The new Prior of Storrington, the Rt Rev Paul MacMahon, pictured with the Abbot General in the Cloister Garth
After the foundation of Our Lady of England Priory in 1882, until 1962 the Prior of the Community was appointed by the Abbots of Frigolet in Provence (until 1940), and the Abbots of Tongerlo (Belgium). The Prior was only a local Superior, a Prior Claustralis.
Since 1962, when the Community was granted independence from Tongerlo Abbey, the Prior has been a Prior Conventualis, more properly known as a Prior de Regimine (a Ruling, or Governing, Prior).
The first such, Fr Gerebern Joseph Neill, was appointed for life by the Abbot of Tongerlo. He resigned in 1970. He was followed by Fr Georges I. Joye who was elected thrice for six year terms. He resigned in 1986. Fr Michael J. Gallagher followed him for six years and then Fr Andrew H. Smith for ten years. Fr Gallagher was re-elected for six years in 2002 but resigned after two years. Fr Paul M. MacMahon was then appointed Administrator of the Canonry by the Abbot General. On 14 December 2006 Fr Paul was elected as Prior 'Ad Vitam - for Life', but must offer his resignation when he is 75 years old.
In our Order of Prémontré the common title of all ruling Abbots and Priors is 'Prelate', although in our case, being a Priory, the more formal title is 'Father Prior'.
Fr Paul was born in Birmingham on 21 May 1955 and entered the Community on 28 August 1986 after being a teacher of English and Drama. After studies at the Franciscan Study Centre in Canterbury he was ordained to the priesthood on 4 June 1991. His priestly ministry to date has been spent in Spalding (Lincs.), Brighton and Storrington and he has held the Canonry Offices of Sub-Prior and Novice Master. For the past 8 years until the summer of 2006 he was full-time Chaplain at Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Hove.
A Celebration Dinner was held on Friday 15 December attended by the Abbot General and over 20 friends of the Priory Community.
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