Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Most of you will know that earlier this year I had the great privilege of meeting with Pope Leo.  During the audience, the Holy Father expressed an interest in the journey in faith which had led us into the Ordinariate; this provided the opportunity to explain that we had not been driven by particular issues (e.g. female ordination; issues of sexuality; liturgical difficulties), we had been driven by our realisation that we needed to be in communion with the successor of St Peter.  The issues confronting us in the Church of England were symptoms of an ecclesial life out of communion with the Catholic Church.  Unless this is understood, the Ordinariate itself will be misunderstood.   It is not an escape from a ghetto in the Church of England into a new ghetto in the Catholic Church.  The Ordinariate is not a fringe group with slightly weird or extreme ideas.  Our coming into the fullness of Communion was based on our acceptance of the Church's doctrine as set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Yes, we are small; yes, we bring distinctive patrimony – but we are most definitely mainstream!  We are  part of that glorious communion which is the Church.

As I write, the We Believe festival is 10 days away.  I know many of you will be coming and I look forward to seeing you there.   The festival is a great gathering of Catholics from all over the country representing a significant range of groups and individuals.  And yet We Believe does not feel like an assembly of differing bodies – it is a vibrant event where folk engage with one another and rejoice in the worship, prayer and mission of the one Church of which we are all members.

It is good that the Ordinariate is at We Believe, both to tell its own particular story and to be alongside others in celebrating a common faith and mission.  That is the same faith and mission that is lived out by God's faithful people up and down our country, day by day.   The life of the Ordinariate and its local groups is nothing less than a sharing in the life and witness of the Universal Church as she celebrates, and proclaims with great joy, the good news of Jesus Christ.

As your Bishop, I have the immense joy and privilege of seeing our very different communities in action.  Each is a place where people are faithful in prayer and worship; engaging in the mission of the Church. Most are seeing growth, both through converts but also through those of no faith background coming to faith through the mission of the Ordinariate.   It is always good when we can come together at national or regional events and share our stories.

In the Ordinariate we most definitely “travel light” in terms of a central or administrative structure.  Partly this is because of our size and financial limitations but it is also about our priorities.   The “centre” must never be an impersonal place full of red tape.  I am very grateful to those who give generously of their time assisting with important roles which serve the wider mission of the Ordinariate.  Often they perform thankless tasks but without them we would not be able to function as smoothly as we do.  This month I want to express my particular thanks to two of our Episcopal Vicars, who are standing down after significant and generous service:   Fr Michael Halsall and Fr Paul Burch.

Fr Michael has served as Vicar for Vocations and Formation.  He has done considerable work in supporting our seminarians and developing our relationship with Allan Hall.  He has also established a series of evening conferences for clergy and laity.

Fr Paul has served as Vicar for Evangelisation.  He has done considerable work addressing a broken communications system and led us through a period of discernment with regard to online priorities.  I am particular grateful to Fr Paul for the way he has handled some difficult and complex situations.

Very soon I hope to be able to share news of replacements for Frs Michael and Paul, with slightly different structure and workloads, to best serve us all as a Particular Church, active in small missionary groups,  proclaiming the Gospel to a needy world.

With prayers and blessings – I look forward to seeing some of you at We Believe.

+ Bishop David