Lent I - Sunday 13th March

The first Sunday of Lent saw the start of the East Kent Ordinariate Group’s formal catechesis programme.   We were each given a copy of the Participant’s book for the Evangelium programme.   These books are the gift of the parishioners here at St. John’s  -  a tangible sign of their warm and generous welcome.   As the Group met after Mass, Fr. Dawson led us in prayer and in talking through the experience of coming to St. John’s and the journey ahead, through Lent, to the fullness of communion in the Catholic Church.   And of course there was a Group photo!

Ash Wednesday - The Journey into Lent

The evening Mass of Ash Wednesday at St. John’s Mongeham saw the formal beginning of the Ordinariate in East Kent.

After the Collect and before the Readings, members of the Ordinariate Group each brought their application document forward to be solemnly presented on the Altar;  each was greeted warmly by the parish priest, Fr. Dawson CSsR.   Then together the community turned to the Lord, as he spoke to us in the Sacred Scriptures.

In his homily, Fr. Dawson reminded us of the three strands of a holy Lent:  prayer, works of charity and abstinence.  All things come from God;  those good things should be shared equitably, so that all have food for the journey.

We were urged to be of good courage.   When we falter, feel weary or feel forgotten, we must needs turn to Christ, and so ‘run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross’.

Quinquagesima - or the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The East Kent Ordinariate Group joined Fr. Ivan Dawson CSsR and the folk of St. John the Evangelist, Mongeham, in Deal for Mass for the first time.   Fr. Dawson and his people give the Group a very warm and generous welcome, for which we are very grateful.

Mass was entirely familiar and yet also slightly unfamiliar!   We were glad to say in our hearts and with St. Peter, ‘It is good, Lord, to be here’.

In his homily, Fr. Dawson reminded us that we are all on a pilgrimage journey.   In our journey, we seek salvation.   Salvation, he said, is in knowing Jesus as Lord.   It is not sufficient to know about Jesus.   We have to learn to know Jesus intimately, personally, if we wish to know him even as we are known by him.

After Mass, there was Kaffee und Kuchen in the Godric Centre, as parishioners and Group members made the first steps in getting to know each other.   Again, the generosity of welcome was warm and encouraging.

Looking to Lent, Sunday Mass at 11.00am at St. John’s will be followed by catechesis, using the Evangelium programme.   There is much to look forward to, as we deepen our Faith.

Resignation Statement

At the Parish Mass on Suday 27th February, Fr. Christopher Lindlar told the people that he intended to resign as Rector of St. Andrew's on the 18th of April.   This is his resignation statement.

It is with very mixed feelings that I have announced today my intention to resign as Rector of Saint Andrew’s Deal on the 18^th April 2011 and to cease public ministry today, the 27^th February.   With some 30 others from St. Andrew’s, I shall be joining the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in Lent and seeking admission into the fullness of communion in the Catholic Church at Easter.

I have been immensely happy over the last seven years in Deal and at St. Andrew’s, especially since marrying my wife Jane.   I  praise God and thank many people for the many blessings that I and the parish have received in that time.   I ask forgiveness for wrongs done or goods undone, for hurts caused.   I regret that the opportunity is now past to fulfil unrealised schemes, plans and ideas.

I realise that my decision will grieve some, will be a shock to some, will anger some and that to others it will be a relief.   Again for those things, I ask forgiveness.

My decision has been long and painful in the making and has fallen into two parts.

It is now clear beyond doubt that the Church of England has decided to ordain women to the episcopate.   In so doing, it has chosen to separate from the historic Church of the first Millennium, rejecting the ‘rock from which it was hewn’ and following a path taken by post-Reformation Protestantism.   This break with the apostolic succession of Bishops makes the reality and efficacy of its sacraments uncertain, bringing doubt into the Eucharistic assembly that is a foretaste of salvation.   Separation is the antithesis of the communion for which Christ himself prayed.

Furthermore, although its final form is not fixed, it is already clear that provision for those holding fast to the Faith once delivered to the Saints and seeking to remain in the Church of England is far from being life-giving but rather is life-denying.

So, it has become clear to me that, for me, there is no future in the Church of England;  it has turned away down a path that I can not follow.   As a pastor, I can no longer lead an Anglican community in professing the Nicene  Creed on Sunday, with its affirmation of ‘one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church’.

The second part of my decision has then had to be where and how I can live out the life in Christ that I have sought to live thus far as a Catholic Christian in the Church of England.

The radical generosity of Pope Benedict XVI in Anglicanorum coetibus and in the erection of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, with Fr. Keith Newton as Ordinary, has come like the dawn of a new day:  doubt, anxiety and uncertainty giving way to excitement and joy.

I now look forward eagerly to joining with others in the ‘first wave’ of the Ordinariate, under the care of Our Lady of Walsingham and the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman.   This is the fruit of the ARCIC process and surely the answer to the many prayers of many Anglicans for unity with the See of Peter.

Some may think the pastor of a parish should stay to the bitter end but scripture shows that the shepherd leads rather than follows his flock.  I am seeking to lead the way.   I hope and pray that many will follow in the months and years ahead, on a journey that anyone may join at any time.

I hope that you will pray for me, and for those who journey with me, as we will pray for you.

With love and prayers

Father Christopher Lindlar

27^th February, 2011