Hannah Haynes rest in peace

It seems there were almost as many people outside as inside the packed church in Redruth yesterday. Hannah had such a part at the heart of our parish (and for so many years at our school). She died two days after Christmas aged 24. 

Her rare condition left her eventually unable to move apart from her eyes. But that did not stop her personality shining through. Her parents Mary and Geoff showed her total love and devotion 24/7 even amidst their own health difficulties. They have set up a fund for all donations - towards an item of specialist equipment as chosen by Hannah's paediatrician.

Praise God! Our School plan has been approved!

Today Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, has announced that he is putting St Michael's School in Truro  forward to the next stage for conversion into one of the nation's first 79 Free Schools. It will be the first Catholic Free School.

So many of you have been praying for this over the past 8 weeks. Your generous prayers have been answered. Cornwall will now, please God, have its very own Catholic State Secondary school.

Especial praise must go to the steering committee who have worked with ferocious and unstinting enthusiasm to put all the paperwork together.

Now the hard work will begin in a new way....
Here is the building in Camborne where we hope to take up residence. It was once the Girls' Grammar school.

More here from:
BBC Cornwall
BBC Radio Cornwall (One hour 8 minutes into the programme)
The Politics show (30 minutes into the programme)
St Michael's School website

Prayer for Iranian Christian threatened with death

A young parishioner, our new Redruth rep. for the charity Aid to the Church in Need, has asked that this story be posted on the blog.

This Christian Pastor,Yusuf Nadarkhani, is 35 and married with two children. His 'crime' is that he converted to Christianity at the age of 19. The death threat will be lifted if he renounces his faith which he has repeatedly refused to do.

Christians in the West are being asked to support his cause, especially through prayer.

Full details are here.

Mary's Meals

This year we are supporting a new charity for our autumn fast day on Friday.

'Mary's Meals' provides daily meals in school for over 500,000 children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. As you can see, it was set up by two scottish catholic brothers in 2002. 
"Mary’s Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her child in poverty".

St Michael, Patron of Cornwall

It seems there were many shrines in Cornwall to St Michael along with the famous one at Marazion, including on Looe Island and the top of our Carn Brea. There were also many old Cornish churches dedicated to him: Landrake, Lawhitton, Lesnewth, Michaelstow, St Michael Penkivel and St Michael Caerhays.

Do you know the story behind the composition of the prayer by Pope Leo XIII that used to be said after all Masses? (This statue is in the church on the Mount).

Blessed Michael the Archangel,

defend us in the day of battle;

be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:

and do thou, the Prince of the heavenly host,

by the power of God,

thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits

who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Parish Harvest Supper

On Friday just over 60 members of the parish met in the Penventon Hotel for our annual entertainments evening. There was a quiz to identify photos of churches throughout the world and of course a raffle. The highlight was the series of 9 sketches and songs by parishioners  very confidently compèred by a young member of the parish. We had two piano pieces, a flute solo, a Joyce Grenfell tribute, 4 songs and this young lady, who won first prize from the panel of 3 judges with her dance routine to an Abba song!

It was a decent venue, but next time we'll go for a Saturday - and a little more food!

Anniversary of the Holy Father's visit

This photo was found via google to post on our parish website to mark the anniversary of the papal visit. It was only afterwards that the Cornish flag was noticed waving above the popemobile - this was the one carried by our group to the Beatification Mass at Cofton park!

Well perhaps things are finally getting through to the BBC...

Support for the Catholic Church 'on the increase'

Click on the link above: at least the reporter has recognised the sheer numbers of young Catholics in Madrid for World Youth Day this year. (In the year 2000 there were reckoned to be somewhere between 2 and 3 million youngsters in the field outside Rome to see Pope John Paul - the largest gathering in European history - yet it barely got a mention. Then there was Toronto, Cologne, Sydney.)

 

Church weddings are increasing in this area!

Congratulations to Justin and Fiona Williams married yesterday and to Steven and Anna Bowler married today.
There have been more marriages in the parish both this year and last year than we have had for 16 years.

World Youth Day - good news or bad?

Several people from Cornwall have joined the one and half million people who are with Pope Benedict in Spain this week. This includes the Dean of Cornwall and some of his parishioners.

The BBC gave its usual jaundiced coverage on the Today programme this morning - a few seconds on the 'thousands' who are protesting at the supposed cost to Spanish tax payers. This is despite the fact that the event is being paid for by the young pilgrims who have all had to raise several hundred pounds over the past year (they will also be spending their euros in Madrid). The journalist Andrew Brown was quick to note this however: 

The ability of mainstream Christianity to attract a crowd of 1.5 million young people seems to me a damn sight more newsworthy...

...Numbers don't prove truth, of course. But they are measures of commitment, and of political importance. Three hundred times as many people have travelled to Madrid to see the pope as have travelled to protests against him. Which group is more important to know about?

Given the recent events concerning the morally confused rioters in our country, the gathering of these young pilgrims from all over the world - motivated by the highest ideals -  provides a miraculous countersign. There is an element in BBC that just doesn't get religion and it seems to have excelled itself in being particularly perverse this time.