28 September 2021

The Society's Council of Bishops is grateful to the Archbishop of Canterbury for acting swiftly to put arrangements in place for the See of Ebbsfleet for episcopal cover during the period in which a permanent appointment will be made. 

Cover will come from serving Society bishops in the southern province and also from the Chairman of the Council. It is envisaged that, in general terms, the Bishop of Lewes and the Bishop of Chichester will cover the South West area of the See of Ebbsfleet, the Bishop of Richborough and the Bishop of Fulham will cover the South Midlands area of the See and the Bishop of Wakefield will cover the West Midlands.

The Society bishops are grateful to Catherine Williamson for agreeing to act as a first point of contact for Ebbsfleet parishes when a need for episcopal cover arises. Catherine can be contacted via office@ebbsfleet.org.uk

We suggest that Society priests celebrating Mass in the See of Ebbsfleet should pray for "Bishop Tony and the Council of Bishops" during the Canon of the Mass, should it be their custom to include such prayers. This will reflect the nature of the episcopal cover being provided by a number of Society bishops. 

Our prayers remain with the Ebbsfleet parishes in their mission and witness at this challenging time.

We offer The Society prayer for all Ebbsfleet priests and people:

Heavenly Father,

bless the bishops, clergy and people of The Society.

Bind us together in love and faith.

Renew us in service and witness.

And by your Holy Spirit

Guide our future and make plain your purposes.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Wilfrid, pray for us.

Saint Hilda, pray for us.

Your prayers are asked for the following candidates as they prepare for ordination. It is envisaged that attendance at the ordinations will be by prior arrangement only  

Ordinations to the Diaconate

Tony Lawrence at 11am on Saturday 26^th June in Portsmouth Cathedral by the Bishop of Edmonton (who is the Acting Bishop of Portsmouth)

Luke Demetri at 11am on Saturday 26^th June in Southwark Cathedral by the Bishop of Southwark 

James Walton at 6pm on Saturday 26^th June in Lichfield Cathedral by the Bishop of Lichfield

Neil Brunskill at 4pm on Saturday 26^th June in Liverpool Cathedral by the Bishop of Liverpool

James Chegwidden at 11am on Saturday 3^rd July in St Andrew, Holborn by the Bishop of Fulham

Sebastian Jones at 11am on Saturday 3^rd July in St Andrew, Holborn by the Bishop of Fulham

Jonathan Fleury at 3pm on Saturday 3^rd July in Ripon Cathedral by the Bishop of Leeds

Edward Gunn at 10am on Sunday 4^th July in Durham Cathedral by the Bishop of Durham

Matteo Zambon at 10.30am on Sunday 4^th July in Blackburn Cathedral by the Bishop of Burnley

David Talbot at 7.30pm on Monday 5^th July in St Katharine, Southbourne by the Bishop of Richborough

Peter Jackson at 3pm on Saturday 11^th September in Exeter Cathedral by the Bishop of Exeter

Ordinations to the Sacred Priesthood

Fr Ross Brooks at 5pm on Saturday 19^th June in St Stephen’s, Wolverhampton by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet

Fr Glen Thomas at 12pm on Saturday 26^th June in St Werburgh’s, Burslem by the Bishop of Ebbsfleet

Fr David Povall at 5pm on Saturday 26^th June in St Paul’s, Clapham by the Bishop of Fulham

Fr Josh Delia at 3pm on Sunday 27^th June in St John’s, West Worthing by the Bishop of Lewes

Fr John Blackburne at 7pm on Monday 28^th June at All Saints, Notting Hill by the Bishop of Fulham

Fr Alan Rimmer at 7pm on Monday 28^th June at All Saints, Notting Hill by the Bishop of Fulham

Fr Matthew Austen at 7.30pm on Tuesday 29^th June in St Thomas, Brentwood by the Bishop of Richborough

Fr Robert Eloff at 6pm on Saturday 3 July in Manchester Cathedral by the Bishop of Beverley

Fr Ross Copley at 7.30pm on Tuesday 6^th July in All Saints, Lincoln by the Bishop of Richborough

A selection of prayers for those to be ordained, for an increase in vocations and for our Deacons, Priests and Bishop.

Responding to the announcement that the Rt Revd Jonathan Goodall, the current Bishop of Ebbsfleet, is to be received into the Roman Catholic Church next week, the Rt Revd Tony Robinson, Chairman of The Society's Council of Bishops commented: "I am sure our entire movement joins with me in wishing Bishop Jonathan well. He has served with distinction as the Bishop of Ebbsfleet for the last eight years, which has been the culmination of many years of devoted service to the Church of England. We also pray for the parishes in the See of Ebbsfleet that their clergy and laity will continue to flourish and that a suitable appointment to succeed Bishop Jonathan can be made at the earliest opportunity."

The Society is delighted to announce the appointment of its first National Missioner. Fr David D'Silva SSC, Priest-in-Charge of St. Leonard's, Scawsby with St. Luke's Scawthorpe, will undertake the role part-time alongside his parochial duties. The Society will appoint a suitable individual in due course to undertake the other half of the Missioner role.

Bishop Philip North, The Society's lead on mission, commented: "I'm delighted that Fr David has agreed to take on this exciting new role, which will refresh our approach to mission across all Society parishes. His immediate priority will be to establish and develop a Catholic mission network across the country to take forward the excellent ideas on mission put forward in Fr James Mallon's book Divine Renovation."

Fr David commented: "I cannot wait to begin working with Society parishes to find new ways to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ boldly and freshly. I know the parishes hold the treasure house of faith which we have inherited dear to them and I relish working with them to pass on that faith on to new Christians."

The Society records its gratitude to the Archbishops' Council for funding this new initiative.

The Society's Mission Strategy may be found here.

The Archbishop of York's office has announced today that Bishop Glyn Webster, the Bishop of Beverley, will be retiring on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2022. The Chairman of The Society's Council of Bishops, Bishop Tony Robinson, commented: "Bishop Glyn has ministered to Society parishes across the Northern Province with great distinction over the last eight years. The Society joins many others in wishing Glyn a long and happy retirement. We pray that the appointment process for the next Bishop of Beverley can be concluded promptly and successfully."