- Written by: Alex Walker
Dom Raphael Aspinwall, Belmont Abbey joined in a discussion on the Googlegroup regarding the drought of contemporary mass settings for the new translation of the mass. Dom Raphael, has kindly provided for the use of ACTA members two of his newly composed mass settings, John Kemble and Thomas Hereford. Dom Raphael writes: Here are two Masses I wrote fairly recently specifically for parish use, not monastic. My idea was to write something like an extended hymn with a practical range and an organ part no more demanding than a standard hymn. I intended for the congregation - not divided antiphonally between cantors and people - to be sung straight through - democratically! Do feel free to copy them if you are moved to give them an airing.
- Written by: Alex Walker
- Written by: Alex Walker
IMAGINING THE FUTURE: A DIOCESE IN NORTH EAST ENGLAND TAKES THE COLLAPSE IN CLERGY NUMBERS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RENEWAL
Fr Jim O'keefe
There is no roof on the Priory on Holy Island – there hasn’t been for centuries. In the 1790s there were around 200 priests in Sunderland and 100 in Berwick. In 2012, after more than 200 years of service, Ushaw College, that magnificent campus of historic buildings outside Durham, ceased to train men for the Catholic priesthood. The story of the Christian faith in the far north-east of England has been one change and decay, turbulence and revival.
- Written by: Alex Walker
In January, the bishop of Clifton wrote to his diocese asking ‘in the light of the Gospel’, What is it to be the Church for our day and our culture? What do we need to do to make our imaginings come true?
Members of A Call to Action worked together to identify the issues these questions raised.
This is an edited version of what they said.
Clifton ACTA The Church We Want to Be - A5 Format Clifton ACTA The Church We Want to Be - A4 Format
- Written by: Alex Walker
We have become familiar enough with placards and posters proclaiming 'Justice for....', where some good cause is the subject of a campaign seeking a positive outcome.
More and more we hear talk in the West of our unjust society, of communities living side by side whose work and living circumstances are in stark contrast.