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THE PARTNERSHIP WEEKEND 2010

This year's Partnership Weekend (12th - 14th February) was, as usual, well-attended (though several Partners from the south-east of England were forced to cancel because of heavy snow). On the Friday evening after supper, the Shrine's Director of Music, Peter Macken, gave a 'sound and vision' talk on Music for Our Lady. Many of the musical illustrations were taken from past Walsingham events - in particular the Magnificat 2004 service in York Minster and the Walsingham Appeal Concert by the Chiesa Consort in 2005.

On the Saturday morning Fr Stephen Gallagher, Shrine Priest & Youth Missioner, addressed the Partners on youth work and the Year for God scheme which the Shrine is to introduce. He was followed by Bishop Lindsay Urwin, the Shrine Administrator, who draw attention to the need for urgent restoration work in the College buildings - particularly the accommodation, offices and library in S. Augustine's. Bishop Lindsay invited Partners to visit the College to see for themselves both the dilapidations and the splendours! (College refectory above left)

Saturday afternoon was free-time - a chance for a guided tour of the churches of Blakeney, Cley and Glandford or the Abbey Snowdrop Walk - or perhaps a snooze!

After Mass and a drinks reception in the Pilgrim Hall, the Partners sat down to a wonderful dinner followed by a highly entertaining after-dinner speech from the Vicar of Walsingham, the Revd Norman Banks. Fr Norman spoke in celebration of his ten years as the local incumbent. Sunday followed the usual Pilgrimage worship pattern and all too soon it was time to bid farewell to the Walsingham Partners - pilgrims who commit themselves to support financially the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.

A comprehensive set of photographs of the weekend can be found in the Shrine's Photo Gallery.

(Fr Norman Banks - right)

THE ORGANISERS' WEEKEND 2010

The annual Organisers' Weekend took place on 5th - 7th February. In addition to help and guidance with the demands of being a pilgrimage organiser, the guests were given presentations on youth work, the Shrine gardens and the vision for the redevelopment of the College area.

This year's entertainment after dinner on the Friday evening was Walsingham's very own version of the X-Factor! A succession of acts graced the stage - and were subjected to Simon Cowell's (alias Bishop Lindsay) withering comments. A very jolly evening!

(Left - Janet Marshall (Education Officer) performing a number from the musical Chicago; more photos in the Shrine Photo Gallery)

Shrine Education Officer to move to St Paul's

Janet Marshall, the Shrine's Education Officer since 1997, is moving to St Paul's Cathedral, London, to take up the post of Head of Education. Mrs Marshall will leave the Shrine at the end of February 2010. Bishop Lindsay Urwin said "I know everyone will join me in wishing Janet well in this new and important appointment. She has been a crucial part of the development of the Shrine over the past 12 years and she will be very much missed."

Canon Martin Warner, Master of the Guardians, to be Suffragan Bishop of Whitby

Canon Martin Warner, Master of the College of Guardians at the Shrine (and currently Canon Treasurer of St Paul's Cathedral, London) has been appointed by the Queen as the Suffragan Bishop of Whitby, in succession to Bishop Robert Ladds.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, in whose diocese Fr Warner will be working, described him as "a man of great faith and integrity who has a real heart for serving the community. I am sure that his passion for helping others will shine through during his time on Teesside. He will be joining a team committed to making Christ visible."

Fr Warner began his ministry in the Church as Assistant Curate at St Peter's, Plymouth (1984 - 1988). He was Team Vicar of the Parish of the Resurrection, Leicester (1988 - 1993) and then was appointed Administrator of the Shrine (1993 - 2002). Since 2003, Fr Warner has been a Canon at St Paul's Cathedral.

HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, opens the Milner Wing

At precisely 10.30 am on Thursday, 8th October, the royal car drew up outside the Brandie Gate and His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh walked into the courtyard to be greeted by the  Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, Mr Richard Jewson JP. The Lord Lieutenant presented the High Sheriff of Norfolk (Mr Robert Carter), the chairman of the North Norfolk District Council (Councillor Simon Partridge), the Bishop of Norwich (The Rt Revd Graham James), the Assistant Chief Constable of Norfolk (Mr Kevin Wilkins) and the Administrator of the Shrine (The Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS). Bishop Lindsay then invited the Duke to meet the group of children from Walsingham Community Primary School who were waiting in the courtyard.

The Bishop and His Royal Highness then proceeded through the Shrine grounds to the Norton Cafe Bar. En route, Prince Philip stopped to speak to the Sisters of the Society of St Margaret whose convent is in the Shrine grounds. At the Norton Cafe Bar, Canon Martin Warner, Master of the College of Guardians was presented. He in turn introduced Prince Philip to members of the Walsingham Appeal Board, to the Guardians and the Shrine Heads of Departments.

Leaving the Refectory area Prince Philip walked through the gardens towards the Shrine Church - meeting the gardener, Steve Eley and the garden landscaper, Tessa Hobbs. At the Shrine Church, Mr Barry Shipp and the Franciscans, Brother Pascal and Brother Maximilian were presented along with Rachel Frary, the longest serving member of the Shrine staff - 55 years as a member of the Housekeeping department.

Bishop Lindsay and Canon Warner gave His Royal Highness a guided tour of the Shrine Church including a visit to the Holy House. His Eminence the Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain was presented at the Orthodox Chapel within the Shrine Church. Prince Philip then walked past Stella Maris House and visited the Milner Wing Welcome Centre, meeting The Revd Philip North (former Administrator of the Shrine) who in turn presented the creators of the centre (Claire Rheinhold and Gill Austen - with Matthew Jones of Imagemakers), the funders (Sylvia Collier and Roy Swanston of the Heritage Lottery Fund) and representatives of the Shrine's volunteer stewards.

Leaving the Welcome Centre,  Fr North escorted Prince Philip into the Reception area where Hospitality and Membership staff were gathered. The royal party then visited one of the Milner Wing bedrooms especially designed for the disabled. Members of the Housekeeping staff had the opportunity to briefly meet with the Duke as he left the first floor of the Milner Wing and walked down to the Brandie Gate courtyard.

Bishop Lindsay welcomed both our royal guest and all those who had come to support the opening of this important building in the development of the Shrine. Paying tribute to the generosity of both Sir William Milner and 5,000+ donors to the Walsingham Appeal, the Bishop began the brief Service of Blessing which began with the hymn "He Who would Valiant Be." His Royal Highness was then invited to open officially the building by unveiling a stone plaque which records -

THE MILNER WING
Named in honour of Sir William Milner Bt.
Benefactor and Guardian of this Shrine
1931 - 1960
was opened by
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT
on 8 October 2009
AMDG

The National Anthem was sung and at 11.45 am, His Royal Highness departed through the Brandie Gate.

Visit the on-line Shrine Photo Gallery for more photographs.

New Guardian of the Shrine

Fr. Graeme Rowlands, parish priest of St Silas, Kentish Town and Chaplain General of the Society of Mary, has been elected as a Guardian of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. He succeeds Canon Peter Cobb, former Master of Guardians, who is standing down on health grounds. Fr Rowlands will be installed at the next Guardians' Chapter Meeting on Monday 12^th October.

Fr Rowlands played a huge part in last year’s successful ecumenical pilgrimage to Lourdes organized jointly by the Society of Mary and the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. The pilgrimage was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and greatly supported by Cardinal Kasper, who has responsibility within the Roman Catholic Church for ecumenical dialogue between the churches.

Fr Rowlands, who was born in 1953, has been a regular pilgrim to Walsingham for many years. He was ordained priest in 1977 and served as Curate of Holy Trinity Reading from 1981-1989 before beginning his significant ministry in the Diocese of London.

Fr Michael Whitehead - 50th Jubilee

The Revd Canon Michael Whitehead, Guardian Emeritus and former Registrar of the College of Guardians celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priesthood by being the principal celebrant at the Mass for the Solemnity of Our Lady of  Walsingham on Thursday, 24th September. A large number of friends gathered in the Shrine Church to participate in the service and to listen to the sermon of Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS, Administrator of the Shrine.

Father Michael became a Clerk of the Order of OLW in 1981 and a Guardian in 1984. From 1959 until his retirement in 1998 he ministered in Sunderland and Hartlepool in the north east of England. In recent years Fr Michael has regularly assisted the Shrine staff with the worship in the Shrine Church.

Relics of St Thérèse at Walsingham

On Tuesday 6^th and Wednesday 7^th October, the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux rested in Walsingham as part of their extraordinary and remarkable journey through Europe, a journey that has brought new purpose to many Christians who are encouraged by her holiness, her ‘little way’ and her desire to live for Jesus.

We were privileged at the Anglican Shrine that when the relics arrived in Walsingham they first of all made their way into the grounds of the Anglican Shrine, through the Brandie Gate and into the courtyard. A short service of welcome and thanksgiving was held - with a scattering of rose-petals - before the relics then travelled to the Roman Catholic Chapel of Reconciliation for a service of Ecumenical Vespers.

Pilgrims to the Anglican Shrine who have shared in the processions around the Shrine grounds will well remember the statue of St Thérèse in the courtyard outside the Shrine Church. Father Hope Patten, the restorer of the Shrine had a love for St Thérèse and placed the statue there as an encouragement to pilgrims. He would surely rejoice that her relics have been in our midst!

NEW SHRINE PRIEST & YOUTH MISSIONER

Father Stephen Gallagher, currently parish priest of Lower Beeding in the Diocese of Chichester and Youth Chaplain for West Sussex, is to join the Shrine's Ministry Team as Shrine Priest and Youth Missioner on October 1st 2009.

Originally from County Durham, Father Stephen trained for the ministry at Chichester Theological College and was ordained in 1989 serving his title in South Shields. After a further curacy in Hartlepool combined with a hospital chaplaincy, his first incumbency was in the diocese of York. He moved to Sussex in 1997 where he has juggled the life of a parish priest with a wider ministry among young people. The annual youth camps in the diocese of Chichester are among the largest in the Church of England.

Stephen and his wife Judith, with their two children, Elise and Gregory have been making pilgrimages to Walsingham for many years and he leads a large group from the diocese to the youth pilgrimage every year. It will be very good to welcome a priest of such wide and varied pastoral experience to the Shrine. Stephen will combine some of the duties formerly undertaken by the Shrine priest with an enhanced leadership role and a particular responsibility for further developing our pilgrimage ministry and mission among young people.

NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE

Monday, 25th May, 2009

Full report on the

National Pilgrimage page

Click here for the full text of Bishop Urwin's sermon .

Visit the Shrine Photo Gallery for a photographic record of a wonderful day!

The Walsingham Children's Pilgrimage:

27th - 29th March 2009

For a report on the recent Children's Pilgrimage please go to - Education: Special Events.  For full photographic coverage go the Shrine Photo Gallery

Full details of the 2010 Children's Pilgrimage (March 19th - 21st) will be announced in November 2009. See Education/Special Events.

NINTH SHRINE ADMINISTRATOR INSTALLED

During the course of a Solemn Mass for St Joseph on Monday, 19th March, 2009 at 12 noon the Rt Revd Lindsay Urwin OGS was installed and licensed as the ninth Administrator of the Shrine by the Rt Revd Graham James, Bishop of Norwich. Also present at the service were the Bishops of Chichester, Pontefract, Richborough, Lynn and the Rt Rev Robert Ladds.

A packed Shrine Church listened to the Bishop of Norwich's welcoming sermon and then witnessed the legal formalities of installation and licensing. (Bishop Lindsay was also licensed as an assistant bishop within the Norwich diocese.) After the signing of various documents, the Master of the College of Guardians, Canon Martin Warner, welcomed Bishop Lindsay as the new Administrator and installed him in his stall in the choir of the Shrine Church accompanied by loud applause from the congregation.

Guests from all over the country - in addition to many local friends of the shrine - converged on Walsingham for the service. In particular, Bishop Lindsay was pleased to welcome fellow members of the Oratory of the Good Shepherd who attended in support of one of their fellow Orators.

After the service, lunch was served in the Pilgrim Refectory and the Norton Cafe Bar for the congregation of  over 250. Bishop Lindsay obviously enjoyed greeting everyone as he moved about the refectory at lunch.

For more photographs visit the Shrine's Photo Gallery. Click here