Father Herbert Hamilto

n Kelly was a leading theologian of his time, founder of SSM and author of The Gospel of

God. Kelly was born in 1860 in Lancashire, England, the third son of an Evangelical parson. As a boy he was

excessively shy and not good at either games or school, giving him the sense of inadequacy that haunted him

all his life. Kelly left M

anchester Grammar School in 1877 and entered the Royal Military Academy at W

oolwich

in 1878, destined for the artill

ery. The onset of deafness and a growing religious conviction led him to resign his

commission and in 1880 he went to Queen’s College, Oxford, as an ordinand. His academic success was minor

(a fourth in history), but at Oxford he discovered the work of Charles Kingsley and FD Maurice. From his father

he had already learnt the power of steadfast and unassuming devotion to duty. The Milita

ry Academy had

taught him the power of organisation. Kingsley and Maurice helped him form his vision of God. As Kelly

understood it, theology was inseparable fro

m life. It

was not a matter of intellectual propositio

ns about an

abstraction called ‘God’, but personal knowledge of the Living God, learnt th

rough every aspect of God-centred

living. Kelly was ordained in 1884 (with no theological training) to

a first curacy in the village of Leeds, near

Maidstone in Kent. In 1886 he took up another, a

t St Paul’s, Wimbledon Park with St Barnabas, Southfields.

Years later he summed it all up: ‘It

took me just over 10 years to learn my utter uselessness—as a soldier (exit

1879), as a student (e

xit 1883), a

s a parish priest (exit 1

890). Note how a man’s incapacities may direct his

calling.’ Kelly’s vision of th

e Living God led him to devote himself to fin

ding new patterns of ‘divine service’ with

special emphasis on theological education that provided ‘ time to read and think, to get bewildered, and to fin

d

a way through’. He believed there were hundreds and thousands of ordinary people, not especially high church

or pious who wanted to devote their lives to the service of God by the service of others. And SSM was the means

of bringing these ordinary people together and organising them so they could support and instruct one another,

to do in combination far more than any one of th

em could do in isolation. Indicative of the existential approach

that guided his whole method of ordination training, he referred to SSM as an ‘idea’ or an ‘atmosphere’, w

here

faith is primary and religion secondary. After stepping down as Director of SSM in 1910, Kelly tra

velled to the

United States and Canada. He moved to Japan in 1913, helping set up a theological college in Tokyo. Following

his return to Kelham in 1920, he continued to lecture, read and write well in

to his seventies and eighties. ‘The

Gospel of God’, published in 1928, grew out of his lectures and summarises his teachings. Father Kelly died at

Kelham on 31 October 1950 on the eve of All Saints and three months after th

is 90th birthday.

Ad gloriam Dei in eius voluntate

European Province

St Michael's Priory St Antony’s PrioryNewport Road, Willen, 74 Claypath,Milton Keynes, MK15 9AA Durham, DH1 1QTTelephone: 01908 242190 Telephone: 0191 384 3747

European Province Newsletter

2 SSM News - Editorial 3 Back to Basics - Fr Adam Gaunt 5 The Dynamics of Change in SSM - Vincent Strudwick 7 Diocese of Sefi-Wiawso - Fr Paul Hutchins ssc 9 Willen & SSM - Mother Catherine Relf-Pennington SSM10 What kind of Peace? - Clive Barrett11 In the Stillness of Time - poem by Stephen McKenzie12 St Antony’s Priory - Fr Nicholas Buxton14 Alfred Conway Obituary - by Lorna Stubbs15 Remembrance Sunday 2018 - Allan Hargreaves

Contents

May 2019

2

SSM NewsWelcome to SSM News for the first half of 2019:

The new format of SSM News is designed to answer thatquestion: Yes: SSM is “still going”, and despite the lackof numbers still has a profound effect on the work of theChurch and her mission.

The last edition outlined the work of Fr CharlesBradshaw, who started his training at the Cottage andthe first 2 years of the Kelham course: his work in SouthAmerica was enabled by way of a grant from the KelhamTheological College Fund, thus continuing themissionary work of the College but in a different way.

Similarly with the article by Fr Paul Hutchins: support forSt Nicolas Seminary Ghana particularly by sponsoring 2students to train for the priesthood. Readers of“Towards a New Day” will recognise the College from FrRalph’s account of his time there. Fr Adam Gauntrecounts his journey alongside Fr Edmund Wheat, FrClement Mullenger and Br Andrew in Middlesbrough.

In terms of effect, the answer is a resounding, YES! – But,the Society changes as it meets its own challenges, andassists the wider Church in meeting her challengesVincent Strudwick comments on this aspect.

We have more news about our vision for St Antony’sPriory, currently undergoing a full refurbishment to takethose wishing to discern their vocation in a disciplined,prayerful, formal setting.

Our new focus is in fact an old focus: the provision ofopportunity for vocation to be tested: more of this infuture issues as matters unfold.

Some 18 months ago, 3 professed members of the Society, together with 2 novices from Lesotho, and2 pastoral assistants based at St Michael’s Priory joined the parish pilgrimage of St Leonard, Loftus inCleveland. This was to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham: in addition to this party, some halfdozen members of the church of Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes also attended, as part of the StMichael’s party.

Many pilgrims asked – “Is SSM still going then?”

So, “is SSM still going then?”

by Allan Hargreaves

3

March 2019'Back to Basics'

It was in the mid nineteen nineties that my path first crossed with that of the Society of the Sacred Mission, andit did so in the person of Fr Edmund Wheat. As an A level student, who had just received a conditional offer tostudy Theology at Saint John’s College in the University of Durham, the then Diocesan Director of Ordinands forthe Diocese of York suggested that I would do well to have a spiritual director, and that Fr Edmund was theobvious choice! Thus began my association with the Society, an association for which I will always remainsincerely grateful.

My first meeting with Fr Edmund took place on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Whitby; we met at his cottage, justoutside the gates of Sneaton Castle, where Fr Edmund served as chaplain to the Order of the Holy Paraclete.Unknown to both of us at the time, Fr Edmund was also soon to leave the Yorkshire Coast for Durham City andto take up residence at Saint Antony’s Priory; consequently, and by God’s good grace, our paths merged for whatwas to become the first of three separate occasions.

In Durham, as a religious young thing of anAnglican disposition, St Antony’s Priory was tobecome for me, and for a number of otherstudents, a place of welcome, reflection,worship, hospitality and fun! At that time, FrEdmund was joined in Durham by the force ofnature that was Fr Clement Mullenger. Hisinitial frosty exterior masked a treasury oftales from the missionary fields of Africa,alongside a healthy and humorous disrespectfor bishops! Refectory time at St Antony’swould also be a time to hear of the glory daysof Kelham and of the vision of the late FatherKelly, who believed that young people fromall backgrounds should be given theopportunity to serve the Lord. At this timeSaint Antony’s Priory was a safe place forstudents, somewhere where we couldescape the bubble of academia, be fed,watered, and be brought up to date with thelatest happenings in Coronation Street!

In due course, and as my time in Durham was also coming to its end,Fr Edmund was persuaded to leave and to take the living of Middlesbrough: St Thomas, a parish back over theTees in the Diocese of York. Fr Clement and Br Andrew went to East Middlesbrough as well, and as my ownstudies in Durham came to a conclusion, my desire to spend a year on a parish placement brought my path onceagain in line with that of the Society. Initially it had been envisaged that I would spend a year exploring avocation to the priesthood in York; however, practicalities and logistics meant that a placement with Fr Edmundat St Thomas’ Brambles Farm Middlesbrough was what the Lord ordained. Consequently, and for the secondtime, my path and that of the Society in the North East conjoined once more.

For just over a year, during 2002 – 2003, I was formally placed within the parish of Middlesbrough St Thomas.Ministry on the vast post war estates of East Middlesbrough was certainly an eye opener, but also a real joy. Forthe part of each week I stayed at the Vicarage, a former council house, which the Diocese of York had purchasedafter the purpose built Vicarage had been harvested and looted to destruction during the recent interregnum. FrClement and Br Andrew found places in sheltered accommodation; there was the Society car, and Fr Clements’sinfamous electric buggy. Morning Prayer was said privately, with myself and Fr Edmund saying the office overcoffee in the Vicarage living room, Mass was offered every day in church according to the Roman Rite, and PrayerBook Evening Prayer was said (with a sung office hymn from the English Hymnal) in Father Clement’s front room.

by Fr Adam GauntBack to Basics

4

This celebration of Evensong was itself was an amazingexperience of incarnational liturgy, as (no matter whattime we started) at some point during the office we wereinterrupted by the warden of the complex joining us onan exceptionally loud intercom speaker, preparing for theevening handover. Thus, as we remembered Og King ofBasan in the psalmody, so a voice would thunder, “FatherClement! I’m off now! Are you alright?” “Yes!” Clementwould reply “So be off with you!” Praying the office inthis setting was incarnational ministry at its finest, therewas no proud monastery wall or gothic hall in sight, andyet I began to understand that this was as an authentican expression of the work of the Society as valid asanything the walls of Kelham had seen.

It was during this time that I went through the selectionprocess for training for the ordained ministry. FatherEdmund provided me with one of my references and Iwent to the selection conference armed with somesensible advice from Fr Clement, which was summarisedin this phrase, “Just pretend to be nice!” I soondiscovered that I didn’t need to pretend, as my stories ofincarnational ministry on the estates of EastMiddlesbrough made a hit over meal times, coffee breaksand in the bar!

And so I began training for ministry at St Stephen’sHouse in Oxford in the Michaelmas Term of 2003. Thepeople of the parish sent me off with a photograph andwith prayers. I corresponded by letter with Frs Edmundand Clement and we would meet up during the vacations,when I would slip back into parish life with the warmestof welcomes, customary hospitality, time for reflectionand fun!

In 2005 I returned to the Teesside as the new AssistantCurate to Middlesbrough, The Ascension the other largeEast Middlesbrough Parish. This parish neighbouredMiddlesbrough St Thomas and while Fr Edmund hadmoved on to be parish priest at South Bank, St John (alsoin Middlesbrough) Fr Clement and Br Andrew remainedin their sheltered accommodation nearby. Thus, onceagain in East Middlesbrough my path and my ministryran in parallel with that of the Society.

In my year as a deacon Fr Clement celebrated hisninetieth birthday with a special Mass of Thanksgivingon the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The preacherwas Canon Martin Warner, then of St Paul’s Cathedral,now Bishop of Chichester, and people gathered in StThomas’ Parish Church in Middlesbrough from acrossthe country and from as far afield as Southern Africa. Itwas soon after this occasion that Fr Clement alsocelebrated his retirement Mass, when he told us all to,“Remember three things: firstly that Jesus loves you,secondly that religion is a nuance, and thirdly, to keepthe faith!”

Fr Clement retired to Sherburn Hospital on the outskirtsof Durham City, and the day after I had been ordained tothe priesthood in Middlesbrough, I travelled to see himand to impart God’s blessing upon him. That evening Icelebrated my first Mass in the Church of the Ascension,Middlesbrough with Fr Edmund concelebrating with me

at the altar, and as my journey to priesthood concluded,a whole new chapter began, but that is a whole otherstory!

The help the Society gave me in discerning,understanding, accepting and encouraging me in myvocation to the sacred priesthood cannot beunderestimated. In the heady days of my student life inDurham the Society provided a place of welcome,reflection, worship, hospitality and fun! These qualitieswere replicated in the Parish of Middlesbrough StThomas, too, while serving as a parish assistant and asa shiney new curate! These gifts are gifts that theSociety can continue to offer the Church of Englandtoday; in fact, one could argue they are gifts that theEstablished Church needs more than ever! With ournational church caught up in the snare of busy-ness, ofstatistics for mission, and financial returns, there is agreat need for the Society to offer the wider churchspace, welcome, reflection, worship, hospitality andfun! There is a vocation too to continue to encourageChristians to explore their call to ministry regardless oftheir background, to exemplify the religious life, and toprophetically call Christians back to the centrality oftheir baptismal promises. In an ecclesiastical culturethat would be barely recognisable to the late FatherKelly, the Society’s future lies in its ability todemonstrate that the Sacred Mission, to which all arecalled, is actually about so much more thanmanagement and statistics! We need to go back to thebasics with which Fr Kelly began his 'Principles': “Bythis you were created, the Will of God, and to this end,the praise of His glory.”

5

‘Keeping up with the Angels’

The Dynamics of Change in SSM

and generations of members andstudent associates, SSM meant ‘Kelham’, that greatGilbert Scott mansion by the Trent, near Newark inNottinghamshire, and when it was decided to leaveKelham, there was an outcry of disbelief.

Those who had followed Ralph to Willen in 1973 includedFr Sydney Holgate, who had spent most of his fifty yearsprofessed life in Africa, but whose memory stretchedback to his time as a boy, when on Michaelmas Day thatyear, among thousands of friends and supporters, he saidgood-bye to the House and to the Chapel, with all itsmemories.

For Sydney remembered coming to Kelham Hall in 1903!He wrote: ‘ Looking back, I can hear the clip clop of ahorse bringing some of us in a cab from the station toKelham. We approached slowly and gently one warmsunny afternoon in June…’By contrast, leaving Kelham seemed to have been donein unseemly haste.‘A pantechnicon van and two other vehicles stood on theterrace of the house.‘Come on ! Let’s go!’ said someone and with surprisingspeed down the great highway to Milton Keynes…’

But Sydney reflects that SSM is under the protection ofthe Angels, and when St Peter was wondering how tocope with change, ‘One angel gave him a thump on theside and said ‘Get up! Let’s go !’ It’s a way angels have,and ‘It’s a great and exciting business keeping up withthe angels, especially in old age…’Sydney entered Willen Priory with enthusiasm, stories,grace and humour, enlivening our spiritual and social life– not least in teaching us all the card game ‘Oh Hell!’which he had learned as a seaman in the 1914-18 war !

Vicar of the parish as well, so the beautiful and unusualparish church was the beating heart of the life of what hedescribed as the ‘core group’ of this fresh expression ofSSM.This group included professed brothers, womenassociates, family associates, and friends of the priorywho wished to be associated with its work.

The first women associates were Margaret Dewey(theologian and trainer of missionaries) and MaryHartwell (working at the Job Centre), both later tobecome professed members, but in the 1970’s that wasnot even a far off dream.Irene Nunns from the Development Corporation kept usin touch with the growth of the New City, and the needsof the incomers who were pouring into this fast growingtown.

Nina and I became associates, with the diocese rentingFox Covert for us when I was appointed EcumenicalEducation officer for the New City. Nina ran the Willenworkshop as well as looking after Rebecca and Alice,and contributing the first priory baby – Martha.

‘Friends’ of the priory included three sisters from thedeaconess community of St Andrew, who ran a children’shome in Bedford. Later Paddock House was built forthem to rent, and today Sister Hazel remains – anintegral part of the original vision, and still a part of thePriory’s ongoing life.

Also in this core group was Jean Maughan, a member ofthe Company who had worked with the Society in SouthAfrica for many years. Later we were joined by Dr LindaDavis, a GP in Stantonbury Health Centre, who with herhusband and children, became associates living oncampus.

by Vincent Strudwick

There were many significant others,but space fails……

However just as Nina and I werearriving in response to Ralph’sinvitation, the Hospice was emergingas our neighbour. The founder was Dr(Lady) Marjorie Reid, a member of thecompany, who in 1974 had purchasedan old farmhouse overlooking thelake. Building work was in progress,and it was named ‘The Hospice of StMary and St John’ inspired by theJagger Rood from Kelham Chapel,which stood magnificently in thePriory garden. By 1979 it was ready to take its firstpatients, and Jean Maughan(also a member of theCompany) became firstnurse, with Fr Francis HornerSSM acting as both chaplainand fund-raiser. Manymembers and friends werepatients in those early days,and there was closeintercourse between Prioryand Hospice.Marjorie Reid died in 1990, andmy last visit there was in 1995,when Bishop Nicholas AllenbySSM was dying in its care, andclearly the connection betweenPriory and Hospice wasworking well and greatly valued.

In December 1977 Ralph hadlaunched what he called the secondphase of how the Priory mightdevelop, at a conference including allthe core group, whose workoutreached into many parts of thedeveloping city.The first phase had been ‘thegathering’, and now he said: ‘If we areto be of service to the church in thenew city we shall do so by continuingour care for, and association with thevillage, discussion of city issues andinvolvement in them, encouragingmembers who work in the city to sharetheir work; and being open to thosewho wish to use our home andresources. He added that we neededto grow in understanding, stature andsize, and that this growth ‘ dependson our ability to change; and changedepends on our ability to thinktogether and agree on a common goaland life style’.A brochure details in shorthand thecorporate life of the Priory with daily

worship at its centre and the Hospice,the Resource Centre for teachers,parents and clergy, the workshop andgarden, and the House of Prayer at theheart of a programme of conferences,seminars, and lectures as well as anopen hospitality door for any indistress or need.So Ralph outlined his vision, togetherwith his plans for continuing opendiscussion and evaluation as thislively and energetic programme tookshape.He added quirkily : ‘ We don’t need acommon work, but we do need acommon goal. We need a minimumof law and routine, so we can supportthe non-conformist, but a commonlife style is necessary, (allowing formild eccentricity}.

Itemerged in the discussions that dayand in the following two years, thatthis eager collection of people hadmany different visions andexpectations for the venture – oftenconflicting.There were those against womenbeing there at all; there were thoseagainst families.There were many against openhospitality, and more against toomuch busy-ness.It was all polite. Many were longstanding friends as well as colleaguesand brothers.Could these differences be resolved toform a community united in life andmission around Fr Kelly’s ‘Principles’as Ralph hoped ?

It was these we worked at amidlaughter, many occasions of joy, someof sadness and occasionally anger.Priory life ! Village life. Urban life.National life……

But by 1980, (and quite a few brothersand associates had died or departed

in this time) it became clear that realunity of common goal and life stylehad not been achieved, that Ralphwould be moved on, and that thePriory would change. However, as he observed, whatevertransformation took place at Willen,the experience ‘had made the wholeSociety more human’.Many of us moved on, some returningto Willen through its severalmetamorphoses, contributing andreceiving where and when we could,as articles in the SSM newsletter bearwitness.

For the past five years, there has beena return to the goals and way of lifewhich echo Ralph’s original vision;

but once again we have reachedturning point.So what of the future ? As anhistorical theologian I think thepast while never repeatingitself, it often rhymes; and Ithink too of Hephaestus shieldin Homer’s Iliad. He used hisshiny shield as a mirror inorder to show the gods past,present and future to preparethem for battle.Of course we don’t have thatluxury of that magic, butdoesn’t it need thatperspective to discern thedynamics of change ? I thinkthis is why Kelly’s

theological course was based onhistorical theology, rather thandogmatic theology.So where are we going ? How do wekeep up with the Angels ? Let’s notget too pious. It was Richard Hooker,that great 16th century divine whowrote ‘What is the assembling of thechurch to learn, but the receiving ofAngels descended from above ? Whatto pray, but the sending of Angelsupward ? His heavenly inspirationsand our holy desires, are as so manyAngels of intercourse and commercebetween God and us.’ Messengers.

It is surely by reflecting in our study,and wrestling on our knees – -that in the confusions, contradictions,disappointments and seeming dead-ends, we may get the message anddiscover anew the faith, hope and loveof new beginnings.

‘I am doing a newthing says the Lord:

6

7

SSM has recently made a most generous gift to thisfledgling diocese in the Province of West Africa situatedin Ghana. The grant is towards the training ofseminarians from this fast growing diocese which isproducing vocations to the sacred priesthood inabundance, so much so that the Bishop, AbrahamAckah, struggles to fund the seminarians.

Wiawso is situated north of Accra right up in the ruralheartland, it is here that the cocoa farms are to be foundand the economy relies so heavily upon a good harvesteach year. I was able some time ago to spend time withBishop Abraham and his priests and people and the twoabiding memories are Joy and poverty.

Great joy in the Lord and the Christian faith but poverty as everyone tries to eke out an existence. Despite all of this thepeople of Wiawso remain joyful in thanking God for all his blessings. At the Cathedral Church of the Ascension theChurch Warden there was constantly praising God for the important task entrusted to him, I must say I've never comeacross a Church Warden in England with such joy! (No slight on wardens intended).

Bishop Abraham is the first bishop of this pioneeringdiocese. It was formed some 14 years ago being carvedout of another huge rural diocese and it still takes about3 hours to travel to most parishes. Each parish is vibrantand alive with many daily activities taking place in theearly hours of each morning before people go to work.There are many exciting groups, not least for youngpeople similar to the Church Lads and girls brigades.There are in each parishes a lively cohort of musicianswith organ, brass instruments and of course drums.There is such a liveliness at mass which on a Sundaytakes at least 5 hours. New churches are beingconstructed to hold 1000s of people as the smallermission churches no longer are able to cope. The givingof Communion seems to go on forever as 100s gatherinside and outside

of the churches. Each parish usually has at least sixoutstations where catechists work hard to teach thefaith and the parish priest usually gets around them allonce a month to celebrate the sacraments of thechurch.

The legacy that SSM has had in Ghana is I am sure afamiliar story to you. The story of St Nicholas Seminarybegins in 1983 when Fr Ralph SSM was givenpermission to respond to an invitation to help out withthe seminary there. This story is told in his book'Towards a New Day' (DLT 2015) written in Ralph'swonderfully descriptive prose, telling of his ownlearning there and the important contribution that theSociety made to theological education in this verydifferent, and changing, cultural context.

The legacy of St Nicholas Seminary is something which lives on and enables the formation of priests to continue sothe recent support SSM has given is such a blessing to a very poor but vocationally strong diocese. It is integral to thechurch in that place which has no especial mission action plan, no relevant gimmicks that the church in the Westseems so obsessed with, in fact the only mission tool the church in Ghana has is that of the Gospel. It is refreshing toknow that actually the Gospel message still works, that the call to discipleship is still being fulfilled and that is all thatis needed under God and his Holy Spirit. Today in a world that is other worldly it is a great delight to know that theChurch of God can still be relevant and grow fruitfully under his grace.

Diocese of Sefi-Wiawso by Fr Paul Hutchins ssc

The Diocese of Wiawso struggles greatly financially. It isnot based in a prosperous city such as Accra or Kumasiand so because of this the clergy are often living as theirpeople do in great poverty. Many stipendiary clergy haveto take on a second job such as a school teacher just tobe able to get by. Some months stipends cannot be paidor very little is paid because of the stewardship and theeconomy, as stated before in this article, so muchdepends on the harvest. Here people and nature workhand in hand very closely to survive; entirely dependenton the Lord.

There is no doubt that priests are needed in this part ofthe church and the world. There is no doubt that God is

calling them and that through faith they are being sentout as labourers into the vineyard. There is an absolutetrust and faith in God and his good grace that continuesto inspire vocations and the people of God in his churchin this place. It is a great grace to know that the Gospelis being proclaimed and that in actual fact, the Lord isblessing this increase.

On behalf of Bishop Abraham, his priests and people Ithank SSM for the much valued and needed support. Itis refreshing to know that through this grant ofassistance to the diocese and its seminarians that themissionary work of SSM continues in a part of the worldthat SSM was actually pivotal in sowing the gospel seed.May it long continue.Thanks be to God!8

9

The Society of the Sacred Mission came to Willen from Kelham in 1973, and among those who left Kelham forWillen was Fr Sydney Holgate, who had arrived at Kelham from Mildenhall, some 50 years earlier. Brothers Bertramand Jimmy, too, along with Fr Ralph, joined the new community, with Ralph as the first Prior.This was to be a new chapter in its life, since the Society had withdrawn from the training of priests through thetheological college system. The whole charism of the Society had to be reconsidered; and this was carried outagainst the background of the challenges facing the Society in that the natural recruiting forum, KelhamTheological College, had closed.

Whilst the Society has been at Willen, experimental forms of ministry and lay communities have been tried, withlaypeople and paid staff taking the leadership of ‘The Well’ project during the late 1980s and into the 2000s. Duringthe whole of this period, professed members of the Society have not shirked from seeking to work closely with theDiocese of Oxford, and with representatives of churches and faith communities in Milton Keynes, not leastparishes, clergy, lay folk and many other groups reflecting the city’s rich diversity. This has been and continues tobe a very rich and rewarding journey in faith.

The challenges SSM now faces are shared by all religious orders in the UK. Latterly, the religious order has had toconsider its focus again, in the light of some very challenging demands, among them: limited opportunities forvocational recruitment; ageing members; and the need to respond anew, in ways appropriate to a challengedreligious order, and to the challenges that face the Church in general.

Professed members, working closely with trustees, and having consulted very widely for over 18 months, havearrived at the conclusion that the current site at Willen, magnificent though it is and having been a good servant tothe Society, is not the place in which the Society can best follow through the desire to respond to the original focusand charism of Fr Herbert Kelly, SSM’s founder.

Thus, the Professed members, with a smaller group of trustees, are actively looking at two new sites from which tooperate two distinct projects (for formation and mission; and for research, teaching and study). Prayer,contemplation and mission will be govern the life of both projects. SSM will make an announcement when thesematters are concluded, which will be quite soon. Details of SSM’s future partnerships for the Willen properties willalso be announced once current discussions are concluded. SSM cannot state strongly enough how very gratefulit is for the huge support it receives, not least from those who have given so much to the daily life, the rhythm ofprayer and worship at St Michael’s. Much remains to be settled but we want to reassure you that all who have beenfriends of SSM and/or the Priory over the years, will still have ways of continuing their links with the Order.

Willen and SSM by Mother Catherine Relf-Pennington SSM

Last autumn, at Willen, I had theopportunity to explore a question I hadbeen working on for some time: Whatkind of peace? As chair of trustees at thePeace Museum in Bradford, I have beeninvolved with several temporaryexhibitions looking back 100 years to theend of the First World War. We alllearned from the Iraq War that winningthe peace matters even more thanwinning the war, something obvious tohistorians of 1918 -1919. Our currentexhibition in Bradford is based on themen’s peace, the Treaty of Versailles -we have a copy of the Treaty in ourcollection. A few months back Iprepared an exhibition around theseldom-considered perspective ofGerman women, especially those activein the peace movement of the time.Suffice to say, the women’s peace wouldnot have led to the second war in theway that the men’s “peace” did.The peace after that second war hasproved more long-lasting. Improvedinternational structures - the UnitedNations, and, in due course, theEuropean Union – have provided thestability of a lifetime for many of us. Athome, the National Health Service andthe welfare state are treasures that havebrought life out of death.A good peace is founded on goodclosure. This Good Friday is a time ofmultiple closures. For me, it is the closeof my working life (I’m retiring); for

SSM, it is the close of one chapter of amulti-faceted story that began withFather Kelly in the 1890s. It has been abrave, sometimes bumpy, story whichhas served God well, and this Willenchapter has ended very well, in thejoyful, prayerful service of God and ourvulnerable, impecunious neighbours.On that first Good Friday, it matteredthat the rock was in place, that the tombwas closed. There was closure onmortality. Closure is necessary formoving on. I am reminded of Ellerton’sevening hymn,

. The first line gives halfa clue: the “day” we have had was a giftfrom God, to be recognised as such withthanksgiving. The second line is just asimportant: “The darkness falls –

”. God’s gift is in the ending asmuch as in the beginning, and also to beaccepted with thanksgiving.There is no demand from pride or fearthat we must be the ones to keep hold ofthe baton. After all, the hymn remindsus, “hour by hour fresh lips are makingThy wondrous doings heard on high”.Echoing the cry of the Crucified One,into God’s hands we commit ourselves,our pasts and our futures. As for theform of our own Easter mystery, perhapsa United Nations man of peace, DagHammarskjold, points us along aeucharistic commitment of holyacceptance: “For all that has been,thanks; for all that shall be, yes.”

What kind of peace?

10

What kind of Easter?

I am writing this on Good Friday, aJanus-type day of looking backwith thanksgiving tinged withsadness whilst yet knowing, fromthe plot-spoiler of faith, that thereis a mysterious future toanticipate. What kind of future?What kind of Easter? New life, it isrumoured, but in what form?

In Eucharist, we daily tell theJesus story, a story of the past;especially so during Holy Week.The Gospel stories of the futureseem to have a different sort ofbody, unrecognisable at times.Perhaps the stories of the futureare really , our stories. Still thequestions remain: what kind ofEaster? What form of future?For me, at least, this has been aremarkable Holy Week.Associated with SSM sincediscovering a Sheffield priory ofEdmund, Gordon and Noel, fortyyears ago, I have had the privilegeof journeying with the Willenpriory for much of the past year,immersed in the constant roundof offices and Eucharists. I haveloved the link, here, with ThomasMerton, a figure in whomholiness, righteousness andpeace were entwined. It was goodto end the Maundy Thursdaywatch before the sacrament with

, including thecustomised verse,

by Clive Barrett

11

In the stillness of time,

when all seems farfetched and beyond control,

do not lose heart.

Engulf yourself in silence.

Look with your eyes shut.

Hear the air flowing calmly, embracing the uneventful moment.

Feel time’s own mist settling on your hand;

Breathe the elegance of beauty unseen

and speak out the spelling of words untold.

Senseless talk,

Lost what ifs,

Escalating frictions,

Forgotten visions,

Pretend, Faceless moods.

Imagine, Vanished, never to return.

Dream,

Fly away

You are here; with all the mighty power

It is now; that lies within you.

be still!

Do not look back and delay the way forward. Mould and progress ahead.

There are humps, bumps and potholes all along the way.

But you can jump across all of them, at just one go!

The platform is set and balanced.

The speed is agreed; the check points are secured.

No need to run.

Time is still; wait; listen; feel!

The air is still; the heartbeat is calm.

Look with your eyes shut; in the stillness of time!

You are here!Copyright © Stephen Mckenzie 2017

“In the Stillness of Time”by Stephen McKenzie

12

St Antony’s Priory

‘chicken and egg’ situation: I can’t puton a timetable of services without acongregation to attend them, and I can’testablish a congregation if there’snothing for people to attend!

That said we have made a start.Currently there is meditation daily from8am followed by morning prayer at8.30am. We have revived Sundayservices with a 10.30am Sung Eucharist,and there is a midday Eucharist onThursdays.

This timetable is gradually evolving, theaim being to establish a pattern of dailyservices, to include Morning andEvening Prayer, a daily Eucharist, andCompline, together with weekly drop-inmeditation sessions, and services onSundays and major festivals, includingChristmas and Easter. At all other times,the Chapel should remain a placereserved for private prayer, stillness andreflection.

In due course, the rhythm of daily prayerin the chapel will become the beatingheart around which the rest of the life ofthe Priory revolves, giving structure tothe day, and setting the tone for all theother activities that fit in around it.

The Society of the Sacred Mission hasfrom its inception been involved intheological education, with a particularfocus on widening access for peoplewithout prior qualifications. Today, StAntony’s is seeking to be true to thosefoundational principles, whilst at thesame time being relevant to ourcontemporary context.

With this in mind, we plan to develop abroad-based, accessible and practicalcourses in the study of spirituality,aimed at people who wish to explore the‘big questions’ and go deeper into thetheory and practice of spiritualtraditions and disciplines.

This will complement other aspects oftraining that we offer, such as inspiritual accompaniment – somethingwe have been doing for over 15 years.This work remains absolutely central tothe ministry of St Antony’s, and will notonly continue but be further developedand expanded. The current cohort willsoon complete our ‘exploring spiritualaccompaniment’ course, and the nextcourse is already being planned.

I regularly meet people who, inone way or another, seem to besearching for ‘something more’.Perhaps this is not surprisingwhen you consider that we live ina society sometimes described assuffering from affluenza, that is, ‘apainful, contagious, sociallytransmitted condition of overload,debt, anxiety, and waste resultingfrom the dogged pursuit of more’.Consumerism is the dominantreligion of modern life, and itssummum bonum is not so muchthe satisfaction of our desires astheir constant stimulation. Moreis never enough. The people I’mtalking about, however, don’t justwant more of the same. They wantsomething more than this. It’sthat restless, gnawing feeling thatthere must be more to life thanthis that brings people knockingat the door of places like StAntony’s Priory.

In September 2018 I took up thepost of Director of St Antony’s,with a two-fold brief: to establisha residential praying communityand to develop the Priory as acentre for the study of spirituality.This vision complements existingwork around the training andprovision of spiritual directors,accommodation for groups andindividuals, and other forms ofpastoral support and outreach.

No small task, I soon found out!

In line with the charitable objectsof the Society of the Sacredmission, which speak of nurturingvocations to all forms of ministry,cultivating personal spirituality,and theological education, wehave adopted the strapline‘prayer, study and community’.

One of the main priorities of myappointment was to ‘restore thereligious life’ by establishing aregular pattern of worship at StAntony’s. Once the residentialcommunity is in place, this willobviously be much easier – in themeantime, however, it’s a bit of a

Prayer, Study and Community

by Fr Nicholas Buxton

Prayer

Study

13

None of these plans can be realised, however, withoutsignificant investment in the facilities. A major projecthas been initiated which will involve a total reordering ofthe ground floor areas of the Priory. This will include thecreation of a specialist library for the study of spirituality,improved accessibility, a seminar room suitable fordelivering courses and workshops, and a completeprogramme of essential refurbishment works to the wholebuilding. The property at 72 Claypath – where it isintended the community will reside – is also in need ofmajor refurbishment before it can be occupied.

In all of this, St Antony’s continues to be what it hasalways been: a place of spiritual refreshment andexploration, offering space and Christian hospitality forgroups and individuals to enjoy stillness and quiet, spendtime on retreat, or attend programmed activities.

The future is exciting – and the scale of the work that liesahead is considerable. The development project alonerepresents the single most significant building workssince the construction of the chapel. No small taskindeed! But one that will reap immeasurable benefits forall the great many people who continue to knock at thePriory door in search of ‘something more’.

Various other courses and programmes will also bedeveloped, including workshops in contemplative prayerand other spiritual practices, as well as seminars andspeaker events. It is hoped that in time the Priory will, inpartnership with other local providers of theologicaleducation, become a significant resource for the study ofspirituality across the region.

Perhaps the most exciting new development is the plan toestablish a small residential praying community. This willcomprise up to six people at a time, male and female, whomight have found themselves at some sort of a crossroadsin life, wondering where God could be calling them next.

There is a great deal still to work out in terms of how thecommunity will function. Essentially, however, the idea isthat it will provide an opportunity for people who may beexploring a sense of calling, broadly understood, and forwhom the experience of spending a year immersed in thediscipline and structure of a ‘new monastic’ religiouscommunity, sharing a common life of work and prayertogether, might be powerfully transformative.

And people are already starting to enquire about thepossibility of joining it.

Community

Alfred Conway trained at Kelham Theological College,SSM, from 1939 to1945, all the war years.He was ordained deacon in 1945, in the first cohort ofordinands after the war. The ordination took place in thecrypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, as the main bodyof the cathedral was being repaired from bomb damage.

He went to Kelham as a 17 year old to ‘the Cottage’, wherehe studied general education alongside theology. Alfredhad not passed Matric because he had failed the mathssection, and therefore, had not expected to be acceptedfor Kelham. However, the shame of failure slipped fromhis shoulders when the Admissions Fr threw back hishead and laughed derisively at the idea that a good manand a potentially good priest should be rejected for thesake of a maths paper!

At Kelham, he learned the life of daily prayer and the workof toil and labour of the religious community, gardening,cooking, cleaning and looking after the pigs. As he wasthere the length of the war years, the students wereenlisted in the local Home Guard and were engaged onregular home guard duty. Alfred loved telling stories ofguarding the sugar beet factory near Newark!

Another story was of finding a boat which he and others,under Bullock-Flint, a fellow student’s captainship,eventually managed to set sail on the River Trent!

Alfred served in parishes from Fulham, Derby, CroxleyGreen, Herts, to Liverpool; an ordinary priest in ordinaryparishes. He was hardly ordinary for his training at

Kelham was such that he knew his vocation and lived hislife of prayer and service to God and his congregations.He worked diligently preaching, teaching, praying,visiting. He built ecumenical links with the otherchurches in all his parishes. He inspired a number of mento to seek ordination. He supported USPG and, inretirement, served in several parishes in the Diocese ofGibraltar.

He had the advantage of a perfect match with his wife,Audrey and they opened the Vicarage door to all, withhospitality a cornerstone of reaching out to people. Theyworked tirelessly and with joy.

Alfred struggled, like so many of his generation andtraining, with the concept of allowing women into thepriesthood and joined the Forward in Faith movement.However, as he grew frail and had a couple of lengthystays in hospital, he was offered prayers and communionby the young female Chaplain who took time and troubleto talk and share with him and in the end he acceptedcommunion from her and prayed for her ministry.

He was totally bereft when Audrey died in 2003, but was

LEGACY in a long life & ministry Reverend Alfred S. Conway (17/10/1922 - 05/06/2018)

14

15

once again strengthened by his Kelham training andorganised his days as though being part of a religiouscommunity, praying, working, reading, reflecting.

He continued his ministry in the East Devon villages where he lived in so-called ‘retirement’ until he was turned 90.When asked if he would retire, his answer was, ‘my duty is to serve’. His strong sense of duty he carried within himselfand from the ethos from the six years he spent at Kelham.

He was so graceful and accepting in his gradual decline. His home became an oasis of calm, as he patiently waited,and, as he said, ‘I am perfectly content with my view, my pipe, telly and books’. He was not afraid and left this worldstrong in faith and with gratitude, dignity and thanksgiving, and with the love of all of his family, his congregationsand his friends.

May he rest in peace, alleluia.

The Society received a request that a member join the parish of Kelham and Averham on Armistice Day, toremember those from Kelham Hall that had lost their lives in the two World Wars. I was asked to attend, to readthe names of those who had presented themselves from the House.

On arrival at Averham Parish Church (Kelham church was under repair)I was struck by the occupants of the back pews: they carried rifles, andwore their tin helmets! Each soldier bore a name card giving briefdetails of the person they were meant to represent thus:

He is buried at Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, Plot 13, Row G, Grave 6

The research had been carried out by two parishioners who had consulted the Society’s Archives and localnewspaper reports to reconstruct the thumb nail sketches for each volunteer from the House. Indeed, theresearchers had stumbled upon an article which recorded that in 1916, “a number of monks, wearing their habits,walked from Kelham Hall to the Recruiting Office in Newark to enlist”; I imagine that caused quite a sensationamongst those who sought to discuss whether the War was “just”.

During the First War, the House lost 23, comprising 1 Professed priest, 1 Lay Brother, 5 novices and 16 students.The numbers for the Second War: 7, made up of 1 Professed priest and 6 students.

As the church began to fill up, the cardboard soldiers gave up their pews and were placed round the wall of thechurch, maintaining their witness.

The parish had commissioned and had made a memorial of those from Kelham Hall who fought and did not return;this is now placed in Kelham Parish Church and provides rather more detail than the example above with photoswhere available, and a picture of the regimental cap badge. The Society bought a duplicate which is available forinspection at St Michael’s Priory.

Remembrance Sunday 2018

by Allan Hargreaves

Aubrey Charles Nixon Whiston

1897 – 1918

1915 Joined the Society as a school boy scholar

1916 Enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery

Served as a Gunner

1918 Killed in Action aged 20

Father Herbert Hamilto

n Kelly was a leading theologian of his time, founder of SSM and author of The Gospel of

God. Kelly was born in 1860 in Lancashire, England, the third son of an Evangelical parson. As a boy he was

excessively shy and not good at either games or school, giving him the sense of inadequacy that haunted him

all his life. Kelly left M

anchester Grammar School in 1877 and entered the Royal Military Academy at W

oolwich

in 1878, destined for the artill

ery. The onset of deafness and a growing religious conviction led him to resign his

commission and in 1880 he went to Queen’s College, Oxford, as an ordinand. His academic success was minor

(a fourth in history), but at Oxford he discovered the work of Charles Kingsley and FD Maurice. From his father

he had already learnt the power of steadfast and unassuming devotion to duty. The Milita

ry Academy had

taught him the power of organisation. Kingsley and Maurice helped him form his vision of God. As Kelly

understood it, theology was inseparable fro

m life. It

was not a matter of intellectual propositio

ns about an

abstraction called ‘God’, but personal knowledge of the Living God, learnt th

rough every aspect of God-centred

living. Kelly was ordained in 1884 (with no theological training) to

a first curacy in the village of Leeds, near

Maidstone in Kent. In 1886 he took up another, a

t St Paul’s, Wimbledon Park with St Barnabas, Southfields.

Years later he summed it all up: ‘It

took me just over 10 years to learn my utter uselessness—as a soldier (exit

1879), as a student (e

xit 1883), a

s a parish priest (exit 1

890). Note how a man’s incapacities may direct his

calling.’ Kelly’s vision of th

e Living God led him to devote himself to fin

ding new patterns of ‘divine service’ with

special emphasis on theological education that provided ‘ time to read and think, to get bewildered, and to fin

d

a way through’. He believed there were hundreds and thousands of ordinary people, not especially high church

or pious who wanted to devote their lives to the service of God by the service of others. And SSM was the means

of bringing these ordinary people together and organising them so they could support and instruct one another,

to do in combination far more than any one of th

em could do in isolation. Indicative of the existential approach

that guided his whole method of ordination training, he referred to SSM as an ‘idea’ or an ‘atmosphere’, w

here

faith is primary and religion secondary. After stepping down as Director of SSM in 1910, Kelly tra

velled to the

United States and Canada. He moved to Japan in 1913, helping set up a theological college in Tokyo. Following

his return to Kelham in 1920, he continued to lecture, read and write well in

to his seventies and eighties. ‘The

Gospel of God’, published in 1928, grew out of his lectures and summarises his teachings. Father Kelly died at

Kelham on 31 October 1950 on the eve of All Saints and three months after th

is 90th birthday.

Published by Society of the Sacred Mission European Province

Contact details:

St Michael’s PrioryNewport Road, Willen,Milton Keynes, MK15 9AATel: 01908 241974Email: charityadvice@aol.com

Ad gloriam Dei in eius voluntate