Rochester Patronal Record Broken
Saturday 7th October 2006

A record number of people (24 in total) helped to make this years Rochester patronal a great success. Fr Thompson the Parish Priest celebrated and preached at the noon Mass and presided at Benediction in the afternoon.

Northampton Confirmations and Reception
Sunday 25th June 2006

During Sunday Mass at The Mission of St Theresa, Northampton, Bishop Rommie M. Starks confirmed Paul and Gemma Walker and received into the ACC Mr Albion Land from the Anglican Church.

Bishops Visitation Diary June 2006
Bishop Rommie Starks visits the UK

Our Episcopal Visitor visits the Diocese this June. His diary will include:

Thursday 15th June 7.30pm Pontifical Sung Mass for Corpus Christi at the Parish Church of Our Lady of Walsingham & St Francis, Rochester

Sunday 18th June 11am Pontifical Sung Mass at the Mission of St Augustine, Canterbury, followed at 2pm by a parish lunch at a local restuarant.

Wednesday 21st June 12 noon Low Mass at The Mission of St Nicholas of Myra, Lydd

Saturday 24th June 12 noon Mass at The Mission of St Mary and St Eanswythe, Dartford followed by a buffet.

Sunday 25th June 1pm Mass at The Mission of St Theresa, Northampton followed by lunch.

During his visit the Bishop will interview 2 prospective candidates for ordination training.

Whitsun Baptism in Rochester
Sunday 4th June 2006

On Whitsunday Fr Raymond Thompson Baptised Beth Lucia Farrant at Our Lady and Saint Francis, Rochester. The Godparents were Gemma Wells, Joanne Pointer and Chris Skingley. The proud parents Vicki (Fr Thompson's daughter) and Matthew Farrant together with family and friends were present for the ceremony. (Picture on the Gallery Page)

Canterbury Banner Blessed
Sunday 21st May 2006

A new banner of the Canterbury Mission's Patron St Augustine was dedicated and blessed by Fr Damien Mead (Priest in Charge) before the Mission celebrated its Patronal Festival with Sung Mass. The banner was paid for by donations in memory of Douglas Parry the late husband of parishoner Mrs Gillian Parry. A picture of the banner in place in the chapel appears on the gallery page.

Departure from ACC
The Rev Roy Stagg SSC

With immediate effect it is with regret that the Vicar General has accepted the letter of resignation from the ACC of The Revd Roy Stagg and his wife Nahid. They have indicated that they are approaching the Roman Catholic Church for reception into that church. Fr Stagg, who has been awaiting interview by the Council of Advice with a view to regularising his Orders in accordance with ACC policy concerning former Church of England Clergy ordained after 1992 joined ACC in May 2005 and it had been hoped that he would oversee the further strengthening of the Mission in Margate. Fr Mead said he was "sorry to see the Stagg's go" and "thanked them for their contribution to the Mission in Canterbury during there brief time with us".

REVERED BISHOP AND FOUNDER OF THE ACC DIES.
28th April 2006

(From a report first appearing on the Diocese of New Orleans Website)

Of your charity, please pray for the happy repose of the soul of the Right Reverend James Orin Mote who entered into the larger life on the Feast Day of St. Paul of the Cross, April 28, 2006 after many weeks of illness. Bishop Mote was born in 1922. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Canterbury College in 1948 and a Master of Arts from Nashotah House in 1951. In 1951, he was ordained a Deacon and priested in 1952 in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Mote served many years as Curate at St. Mary's church in Denver, Colorado under Fr. Lehman, the founder of the parish, and later succeeded him as Rector. In 1976, on the heels of the Episcopal Church's General Convention which voted to approve the ordination of women, the newly formed Diocese of the Holy Trinity elected then-Father Mote to be their bishop. He was consecrated in January of 1978 in Denver by Episcopal Bishop Albert Chambers, and Bishop Francisco Pagtagkhan of the Philippine Independent Catholic Church, with letters of suffrage from Korean Bishop Mark Pae and Episcopal Bishop Charles Boynton of New York. He heroically presided over the first Synod of the newly formed Anglican Catholic Church later that same year in Dallas, Texas. He was a gentle and kind pastor (although he could be a fiery opponent of abortion--opposition for which he was jailed several times) and a well beloved leader in the Church. He served as Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Holy Trinity from1978 until his retirement in 1994. Following his retirement he lived in Florida and served as Episcopal Visitor to the Diocese of the Holy Trinity and served at the pleasure of the Metropolitan and Bishop of the Diocese of the South. His last years were spent in Indianapolis where he said mass and regularly attended the Cathedral Church of St. Edward the Confessor with his family. One of his last official acts was to visit Christ Church Cathedral in Metairie, Louisiana for ordinations and a confirmation in conjunction with the Synod in 2000. His Funeral and a Requiem Mass was celebrated on the Feast of St. Monica, May 4, at St. Edward the Confessor. The Right Reverend Rommie Starks was celebrant for the mass. He will long survive on this earth in the memories of those who knew and worked with him.

"I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, from henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the Lord: even so saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours." May he rest in peace and may the Angels welcome him into Paradise.

Fr Mead, DUK Vicar General Adds: It was one of my ambitions to meet Bishop Mote and I had that honour when I met him last October in Indianapolis during the week leading up to Provincial Synod. Bishop Mote displayed a great knowledge of and love of England and although in later years I have heard it said was a little forgetful, he amazed me with his recall of places and people he had met during his long ministry. I am so pleased to have met him and recall with gratitude in my prayers his faithfulness and witness.

Diocesan Officers and Council of Advice
As confirmed or elected at XV Diocesan Synod - 22nd April 2006

Membership of the Council of Advice (Who in the vacancy of the See act as Guardians of the Spiritualities) is as follows:

House of Clergy:

Rev Dom Philip-James French OSB (St Ninian, Whitby) Bishop's nominee until Synod 2007
Fr Charles Johnson (St Alban the Martyr, Salford) Until Synod 2007
Fr Desmond Spackman (St Alban, Northolt & St Paul, Harlesden, and Chaplain to Anglican Catholics at large.) Until Synod 2008
Fr Raymond Thompson (Our Lady of Walsingham & St Francis, Rochester) Vice Chancellor, Archivist and Historiographer, until Synod 2009

House of Laity:

Mr Paul Walker (Our Lady & St Bernard, East Retford) Bishop's Nominee until Synod 2006
Mrs Cathy Bosworth (St Theresa, Northampton) Until Synod 2007
Mr Roy Hipkiss (St Nicholas, Lydd) Child Protection Officer, Until Synod 2008,
Mr Martin Ighodaro (St Alban the Martyr, Salford) Until Synod 2009

Ex-Officio:
With Seat and Vote:

The Very Rev Damien Mead, (Vicar General) Vice Chairman,
Dr Roy Fidge, (St Mary & St Eanswythe, Dartford) Diocesan Secretary,
Mr Richard Mann, (St Alban, Northolt) Treasurer

With Seat Only:

Fr Don Walker, (St Bedes, Thames Ditton), Chairman of the Board of Ministry.

Report - XV Annual Diocesan Synod
Saturday 22nd April 2006

Dr Roy Fidge, Diocesan Secretary writes...

The temptation to dwell on troubles afflicting Christianity can distract us from spreading the Good News of the Gospel, delegates to the 15th synod of the Diocese of the United Kingdom were told.

"The concerns we have about the trends we see around us in the modern Church are still with us," the Very Revd Damien Mead, Vicar General of the DUK, said in his Charge to Synod. "The liberalizing of sexual morality, divorce, the ordination of women, heterodox theology and liturgy, and just when we think it can't get worse we hear of another innovation or development.

"The United Kingdom has a great need for God," he went on. "In our small part of the mission field, I am increasingly aware that there are people who are watching us in the ACC. They are evaluating the possibility of making their home with us." But, he added, schisms and rows in the ACC during the first decade of the diocese's existence likely prevented our numbers--and the ACC in the British Isles--from being larger.

"But despite these setbacks, the ACC had remained and overcome problems," Father Mead said. "We have moved forward. ... Throughout we have maintained our integrity."We have a Gospel to proclaim. However, we must be certain what we are proclaiming: put simply, the faith once delivered to the saints; historic, orthodox Catholicism, nothing more, nothing . ... People in general are yearning to know Jesus. You and I know what God has done for us in Christ. He has given us life in abundance. We have an obligation to him to share this knowledge with others."

The synod met April 22 in the Methodist Central Hall, London, located directly opposite Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. "You can't get much more central than that," noted Dr Roy Fidge, Diocesan Secretary. The DUK continues to see slow but steady growth, Father Mead noted in his Vicar General's report. He cited receptions into the Church, numerous inquiries (including one from a Church of England priest and another from a former Roman Catholic Franciscan) and the establishment of new missions in East Retford, Canterbury and Margate.

Father Mead added that the diocese has tried to raise its profile with more advertising and quality "corporate" information material, as well as equipping missions with better advertising material "to put the ACC on the map in their localities."

In other action, synod:

* Adopted a budget of £2,400 for 2006. In his report, Treasurer Richard Mann noted a number of milestones during 2005, including a diocese-wide appeal to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States, which raised £297.99.

* Consented to the appointment of Diocesan Officers and the Council of Advice (as listed above).

* Sent greetings and congratulations to the Metropolitan, the Most Rev. Mark Haverland, and to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

* Agreed on April 14, 2007 as the date for the 16th diocesan synod, to take place in London.

Baptism in Rochester
Easter Day 16th April 2006

On Easter Day at Our Lady of Walsingham and Saint Francis, Rochester, the Baptism took place of Mary Elizabeth Wells.

Bishop Starks to visit Canterbury
Advance Notice: 18th June 2006

The ACC Mission of St Augustine of Canterbury will be visited by our Episcopal Visitor Bishop Rommie M. Starks on Sunday 18th June when he will celebrate and preach at the usual 11am Mass. Afterwards there will be an opportunity to meet Bishop Starks over a meal at the Pizza Express Restaurant in Canterbury beginning at 1.30pm.

2006 Walsingham Pilgrimage/Retreat
Monday 13th - Saturday 18th February 2006

This years Pilgrimage/Retreat to Walsingham has been beset with difficulties, not least the loss to all who visit Walsingham of the Sue Ryder Retreat House (which has sadly closed and is now being sold). Numbers are down on last year however, although our programme is much reduced, Mass will be offered on Friday 17th February at 12 noon by Fr Damien Mead in the Sue Ryder Chapel, which by the kind help of Dame Josephine OSB, the Sister who has for many years looked after the Chapel. Again Mass will be said in the Chapel on Saturday 18th February Father Raymond Thompson from Rochester.