BR RAYMOND CHRISTIAN – REST IN PEACE – POSTED 29 APRIL 2021

Sad news from Alnmouth Friary about Br Raymond Christian who died yesterday. He has many people who loved him from his time at Hilfield Friary and in the many other houses he lived who will miss him dearly.

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CLIMATE SUNDAY – POSTED 29 APRIL 2021

At our Climate Sunday Service we celebrated the diverse and complex world that God gifted to us. Then we lamented what we are doing to our common home. We ended the service with a rainbow and a pledge –

Our Commitment

Enough Climate Change

We pledge to acknowledge our part in climate change and to persevere in calling for change in our institutions and leaders.

Enough Consumerism:

We pledge to be satisfied with what we have and be grateful and generous people.

Enough Inequality:

We pledge to be a living example of equity and inclusion, and a powerful advocate for justice and sharing.

All churches are being encouraged to hold a Climate Sunday service between now and the beginning of COP26 in November – helping to equip us to address the issue as part of our discipleship and mission. Have you organised yours yet?

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CELBRATING THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE THIRD ORDER – POSTED 4 FEBRUARY 2021

May the power of your love, Lord Christ,
fiery and sweet as honey,
so absorb our hearts
as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven.
Grant that we may be ready
to die for love of your love,
as you died for love of our love. Amen

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Third Order by St Francis, Heather Hall TSSF commissioned Adrian Green (a lay clerk at Portsmouth Cathedral) to set the words of the Absorbeat to music. She asked that the setting was meditative and could be sung by a competent Parish Church choir. In response to Heather’s commission Adrian chose to set the text for sixteen voices and it was recorded by a group of singers in the summer. It may be heard on Youtube by clicking on the link: https://youtu.be/e7WRIc8n7UI (Adrian Green maintains copyright of the typeset and music file).

CELBRATING THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE THIRD ORDER – POSTED 4 FEBRUARY 2021

May the power of your love, Lord Christ,
fiery and sweet as honey,
so absorb our hearts
as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven.
Grant that we may be ready
to die for love of your love,
as you died for love of our love. Amen

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Third Order by St Francis, Heather Hall TSSF commissioned Adrian Green (a lay clerk at Portsmouth Cathedral) to set the words of the Absorbeat to music. She asked that the setting was meditative and could be sung by a competent Parish Church choir. In response to Heather’s commission Adrian chose to set the text for sixteen voices and it was recorded by a group of singers in the summer. It may be heard on Youtube by clicking on the link: https://youtu.be/e7WRIc8n7UI (Adrian Green maintains copyright of the typeset and music file).

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SEEING DIFFERENTLY – POSTED 3 FEBRUARY 2021

This timely book brings together the stories of St Francis – his preaching to birds, rejection of wealth, caring for lepers, befriending animals and living simply, his poetry and hymnody in praise of creation that is still sung today – and the influential writings and examples of inspiring Franciscans who have followed him such as Clare, Bonaventure, Duns Scotus and Angela of Foligno, and draws them into conversation with contemporary concerns for our planet.

It gathers 800 years of accumulated wisdom and practical examples of how Franciscans have found ways to live at home and at peace with creation. It explores that long tradition and experience to ask what lessons can be drawn for today to challenge and enable readers to re-visit their own relationship with creation.

Publisher: Canterbury Press Norwich

ISBN: 9781786223005

Number of Pages: 192

Published: 30/01/2021

After Laudato Si, this is the best Franciscan reflection on the crisis of our planet that I have read, and I very much hope many others will read it, take it to heart and join the growing movement of those who are trying to listen, before it is too late, to the voice of our suffering Sister Mother Earth.

Sr Frances Teresa Downing osc

Learning to see differently is the beginning of a new social order, a new planetary community, where love of God, love of neighbor and love of all creatures creates a new house, a new church, built on the foundation of a new heart.    This wonderful new book is a helpful guide toward creating a new world.

Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF

Connelly Chair in Theology, Villanova University

HILFIELD’S SOLAR PANELS UP AND RUNNING – POSTED 22 JANUARY 2021

Hilfield’s solar installation has now been generating for over a month, in the period when the days are shortest. The pictures show Francis House’s west roof, with Leo House’s south roof in the background, giving a spread of power throughout the day. The graph shows daily power being produced since the beginning on 8th December on these roofs. Note how the Francis House panels now replace an earlier piece of technology, the 2 brick chimneys built in 1888 and removed in c. 2011. The other picture shows panels on the much flatter chip store roof, to power the boiler house and workshops.