Events January - June 2009

June 28 - July 3

The monastic community retreat is taking place, led this year by Fr Jeremy Driscoll OSB of Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon.

The Gloucestershire Oragnists Association spent the morning playing out three organs in the Abbey Church and St Mary's.

Fr Nicholas led a Pastoral Programme Healing workshop.

Fr Alban gave a Plainchant workshop at Wendover to which he took the novices.

The Newbury Choral Society with London Concertante, conducted by Janet Coxwell, performed Haydn's Creation in the Abbey Church.

Acorn, a Southampton based listening group are here for a training weekend.

Year 5 pupils from Oratory Prep School came for a tour conducted by Br Simon and stayed for Midday Prayer.

Salt & Light Ministries - European Apostolic Team are meeting in the Conference Centre & Guesthouse.

Creative Metier, Crossroads & Eternity Youth Church all held meetings in the Conference Centre, and Chapel Row Community Service Group had their AGM in the evening.

Over 400 pupils of the Thatcham & Newbury area primary schools who will be garduating to secondary schools next term came for an activities day in the abbey grounds, concluding with a service in the Abbey Church.

Basingstoke Choral Society & The New London Sinfonia conducted by David Gibson gave a concert of music by Mozart in the Abbey Church, which was filled to capacity. The items performed were Tantum ergo, Exsultate Jubilate (Erica Eloff, soprano), Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Coronation Mass; after the blessing the choir sang Stanford's motet Beati quorum via.

Today we hosted a Quiet Day for St Muchael's parish, Wargrave and Reading 'Teams of Our Lady' in the Conference Centre.

A Pastoral Programme Silent Retreat held this weekend had been fully booked several months ago.

The Bethany Childrens Trust held their AGM in the Guesthouse & Conference Centre.

Catholic pupils from Winchester College came for a pre-Confirmation retreat given by Frs Alban & Hugh.

Br Simon gave talks to pupils from English Martyrs School, Leicester, who came for a day visit.

After Mass at which Fr Abbot presided, the Corpus Christi procession took place, ending in St Mary's Parish Church.

The parish councils of the four areas of our local parish met in the Conference Centre for talks from Fr Paul King.

The staff of Notre Dame High school, Norfolk, had a retreat in the Guesthouse, organised by James McGarry, a member of staff there, who was a former monk of Douai.

AIM met at Douai. Fr Hugh has taken on responsibility for editing their magazine.

The Winchester Catholic Historical Society lodged in the guesthouse whilst having a tour of Catholic recusant houses in the Thames Valley area, led by Fr Abbot.

Various choirs from Berkshire Maestros gave a concert in the Abbey Church in aid of 'Hope and Homes for Children'. The final item on the programme was Berstein's Chichester Psalms a challenging piece for young amateur singers, very well performed.

Fr Nicholas held a Healing Workshop for an invited group.

Shintaido, a Japanese peaceful martial arts group met in the Guesthouse, and exercised in the Park.

Crossroads held a retreat in the St Benet Biscop guesthouse building.

The Reading Anglican Deanery clergy met in the Conference Centre.

The Bishop of Oxford, with his suffragan bishops of Dorchester, Buckingham and Reading held a senior diocesan staff meeting in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

May 31 Whit Sunday

Fr Abbot presided at Mass and Vespers. Click for list of the music at Mass.

Tom Winpenny, sub-organist at St Albans Abbey gave a recital for Pentecost in the Abbey Church.

• Veni Creator Nicolas de Grigny
• Trio Sonata no 2 in c minor J.S. Bach
• Prelude, Adagio & Choral Varie sur le theme du Veni Creator op 4 Maurice Durufle
• Prelude on Veni Creator Libby Larsen

All Saints Anglican Parish, Ascot, held a Quiet Day in the Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre.

Bedfordshire Organists Assocation visited the organs in the Abbey Church & St Mary's.

A group of people came to see the stained glass in the two churches.

Fr Nicholas led a Pastoral programme Pentecost retreat in the Hugh Faringdon and Alban Roe wings of the Guersthouse.

Coach House Consultancy held a residential workshop on the Benet Biscop wing of the Guesthouse.

Fr Nicholas led a Pastoral programme Healing workshop in the Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre.

Nineteen deacon ordinands from Wonersh Seminary are here for a pre-ordination retreat given by various members of the community.

Fr Abbot and Fr Gervase attended the Solemn Profession of Sr Johanna Melnyck at Turvey Abbey, Bedfordshire.

Wycliff Baptist Church, Reading, held a quiet day in the Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre.

A Newbury Spring Festival concert was held in the Abbey Church, given by the Worshipful Company of Singers. The programme consisted of Te Deum by Mozart, Salve Regina and the Little Organ Mass by Haydn and Dixit Dominus by Handel.

A weekend course 'Learn to Listen' is being held in the Benet Biscop Guesthouse.

Fr Abbot taught a University of Reading Dayschool in the Conference Centre on Monasticism & the French Revolution.
Fr Dermot led a Spirituality-in-the-Workplace workshop also in the Conference Centre.

A Newbury Spring Festival concert was given in the Abbey Church by The Sixteen. They sang music by Purcell and James MacMillan, an interesting pairing of contrasting styles of religious music.

Sundial are holding a meeting in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

The Reading & Silchester Methodist Circuit held a leaders' retreat in the Conference Centre.

An oblates retreat was held, led by Br Simon.

The canonical visitation of the monastery took place, conducted by the Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation, Dom Richard Yeo, and the Abbot of Belmont, Dom Paul Stoner.

Fr Romuald gave a Pastoral Programme Day of Recollection for those involved in lay ministries in local parishes.

Fr Dermot led a MONOS workshop at Launde abbey, Leicstershire, The Spirituality & Theology of Work.

The Bridge Pastoral Foundation are holding a weekend session in the Alban Roe guesthouse building, part of the four year course they are teaching here.

A meeting of the Roman Catholic - Methodist ecumenical committee meet in the Conference Centre under the chairmanship of the bishop of East Anglia, Michael Evans, who presided at the Conventual Mass on Wednesday.

A Pastoral Programme Lectio Divina retreat given by Fr Gervase has been fully booked since January.

April 27

The contractors moved on site today to begin work on the monastery library. A new page has been created.

The second, advanced, Maranatha silent retreat is taking place in the Guesthouse.

The Reading Bach Choir gave a concert in the Abbey Church which was well attended: The Bach Family & their Contemporaries. It was directed by JanJoost van Elburg with Nicholas Shaw chamber organ Henrik Persson viola da gamba and Kate Aldridge violone. The first half was devoted to the north German Lutheran tradition and the second half to the Italian Catholic tradition.

• Furchteuch nicht Johann Michael Bach (1648 - 1694)
• Das ist meine Freude (motet a 8) Johann Ludwig Bach (1677 - 1731)
• Preludium VIII in G Johann Casper Ferdinand Fischer (1656 - 1746)
• Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
• Confitebor tibi Domine (Ps 111) Pier Francesco Cavalli (1602 - 1676)
• Stabat Mater Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757)

The contractors arrived to day to erect their huts and fence the area for the new library. Visit the library building page.

The trees planted as a screen on the north side of the abbey carpark in the year 2000, have nearly all grown and have recently been thinned out to allow better growth, with chippings laid between them to prevent weeds growing.

The first of two Maranatha silent retreats is taking place in the Guesthouse.

April 15 - 16

A Spirituality-in-the-workplace network meeting was held in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

April 15

Fr Nicholas led a Pastoral programme Healing workshop in the Conference Centre.

April 11 - 12 Easter Sunday

Record numbers attended the Easter Vigil, at which there were two baptisms and the Day Mass.
Click for list of the music at Mass.

April 10 Good Friday

The Services of Music & Reflections was particularly well attended, with hardly a spare seat avaiable, several people travelled long distances to be present.

The Douai Abbey Newsletter no 34 is published today.

April 9 Maundy Thursday

Thirty-two people arrived for the Easter Triduum this year, evey room in the Guesthouse and the Cottages is occupied. Br Simon is giving the retreat.

Click for a list of the music sung at the Triduum.

April 5 Palm Sunday

The weather was ideal for the Procession of palms from the Parish Church to the Abbey Church. Click for list of the music at Mass.

April 4

Vox Cordis conducted by Charlie Grace gave a fine performance of J.S. Bach's Passion according to St John in the Abbey Church in aid of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, which provided a fitting opening for Holy Week.

Mortimer Parish came for a Quiet Day. Fr Gervase gave them a talk on St Paul.

April 3

The volume published to celebrate our centenary in Woolhampton in 2003 is now out of print. The complete text is now available on line, the photgraphs will follow shortly.

April 2

The trees planted at the north side of the car park several years ago have been thinned, as too many have survived!

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MARCH 2009

Mar 31

Fr Oliver and the novices went to Lewes, Sussex, to fetch a large outdoor wooden crucifix which has been gifted to us by Canonesses Regular of St Augustine of Windesheim. It had stood at their former priories at Sayers Common and Haywards Heath, but was too large for their present home. We are hoping to erect it in the grounds so as to form a calvary shrine. We shall need to obtain planning permission.

Mar 30

The Wulstan Chapter of our Oblates met at Studley for a Day of Recollection led by Fr Gervase.

Mar 28

Fr Gervase led at Day of Recollection for the Union of Catholic Mothers at Wokingham.

Mar 26 - 29

The Knights of Malta are holding their annual retreat here, led by Fr Abbot & Fr Oliver.

Mar 24

Today the Eternity Youth Church and member of the University of Reading Chaplaincy came for a retreat.

Mar 23

This evening we bade farewell to Fr John Bolton of Worth Abbey, who has been living with us for the past seven and a half years.

Mar 20 - 22

Br Simon is leading an Oblates' Retreat.

The Diocese of Oxford is runnning a three day Spiritual Directors' course in the Conference Centre.

Mar 19 - 20

The teachers from St Patrick's Priamary School, Southampton came for a day of retreat.

Mar 19

A training session for new and acting head teachers in West Berkshire was held in the Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre.

Mar 18

Twenty ladies from the Catholic Women's League , Marlow branch, came for a Day of Recollection led by Fr Gervase.

The Knights of the Holy Sepulchre are holding their annual retreat here, led by Bishop Doyle of Northampton.

A Victorian stained glass window of Our Lady has been installed in the Alban Roe guesthouse building. It has come from the church of St Mary & St Peter in St Helier, Jersey, which was demolished several years ago, and has been donated by the parish priest, Canon Nicholas France, a past pupil of Douai School.

The flowering tree at the end of the monastery cemetary has been cut down in preparation for building the library. It was done today before birds had built any nests in it. On the left the site, on the right, the tree in blossom last year.

A former pupil of Douai school, Andrew Lavarello, presented a number of photographs taken by his son, Alexander, in Spain, Chile and Peru, to hang in the Alban Roe guesthouse building. A grant was made toward the expenses of his trip to absorb Spanish and Latin American culture, by the Douai Society, using a fund at their disposal, which is made up of money from a prize fund, left over when the school closed

The parish of Our Lady & St John, Goring-on-Thames, annual Day of Recollection was led by Fr Hugh in the Conference Centre.

A Pastoral Programme Day of Recollection was led by Fr Gervase, for those who minister at Mass: there were twenty particpants.

Fareham Teams of Our Lady held their annual retreat in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre led by Br Christopher and Fr Gervase.

A mediation weekend was held in the Benet Biscop Guesthouse building.

Bracknell Anglican parish have come for a retreat in the Benet Biscop building.

Another lamb was born today. View Fr Hugh's pictures.

Headteachers of Reading schools are holding a meeting in the Conference Centre.

The Bishop of Ely is holding a meeting with his senior staff in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

Thames Voyces performed Dixit Dominus & St Cecilia Mass by Alessandro Scarlatti and The King shall Rejoice by Handel in an Abbey Church concert.

A group from St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill, have come for a Day of Recollection led by Fr Dermot.

Fodhla McGrane and Fr Gervase are leading a Pastoral Programme retreat 'Managing Conflict: the Benedictine Way', there are eighteen participants

A group of young adults from Our Lady of Victories parish, Kensington, have come for a retreat.

The Fraternity of St Peter are holding their Lent retreat in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

Click for list of the music at Mass.

Confirmation candidates from Beconsfield and Bourne End, Bucks, came for a day of retreat.

Notre Dame de Vie held their annual retreat in the guesthouse and conference centre.

Fr Dermot flew to Loppiano. Italy, to give a paper at a Focolare Conference.

An alternative medicine course, 'Bowen Therapy'is being held in the Conference Centre.

'Regenerate' a local ecumenical clergy group, met in the Conference Centre.

Six people are taking part in a Pastoral Programme retreat 'Pancakes & Ashes' during Carnival and Ash Wednesday led by Br Christopher & Fr Gervase.

A Dayschool organised jointly by the University of Reading and the Douai Pastoral Programme was held in the Bl Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre. The title was 'Christian Poetry: Words that Challenge, Words that Heal'. There were twenty-two participants, and the lectures were given by Myra Cottingham of the University and Fr Oliver.

'Resource', an evangelical group of young people from Sheffield, spent the weekend in the guesthouse. They spent Saturday with St Lawrence's Anglican church in Reading, and on Sunday, they had sessions in the Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre here.

It was announced today that Fr Bernard Swinhoe had been appointed Claustral Prior in succession to Fr Boniface Moran, who is to be become assistant priest in the parish of Ormskirk, Lancs, replacing Fr Benjamin Standish who had returned to the resident community. This will be the second time Fr Bernard has been the claustral prior.

A group of visually impaired members of the Berkshire County Blind Society came for Midday Prayer and lunch. In the afternoon Fr Gervase gave them a talk on Benedictine history.

A small group took part in a Pastoral Programme silent retreat.

Twin lambs were born to one of the ewes, but one of them died. Click for photographs.

Thirty-five members of Wycliffe Baptist Church, Reading, came for a study day in the Conference Centre.

A Pastoral Programme retreat "Praying the Psalms" led by Fr Gervase was held in the guesthouse.

The abbot of Solesmes, Dom Dupont, came to visit on his way to Quarr and Ryde.

The Diocese of Oxford are holding their annual 'Post of First responsibility' Training meeting in the guesthouse.

Click for list of the music at Mass.

The Bartholemew Consort conducted by JanJoost van Elburg gave a concert in the evening. They had practiced the whole weekend but sadly it was not too well attended owing to the weather. The programme consisted of Lamentations by Thomas Crecquillon (c1500 - 1557) and Orlando de Lassus (1530 - 1594); Kyrie, Sanctus & Benedictus from Missa: Et ecce terrae motus a 12 by Antioine Brumel (c1460 - c1520)an Easter Mass was based on the antiphon Et ecce terrae motus; Komm, Jesu, komm (BWV 229) by J.S. Bach; Drei Motetten (op 110) by J Brahms; Faire is the heaven & Bring us, O Lord God by William Harris and God be in my head by Walford Davies.

Feb 7 The Anglican parish of St Peter, Burnham, Bucks, came for a Quiet Day in the Bl Hugh Faringdon Conference Centre.	The rockery & its frozen pond.
Feb 6 - 8 The Anglican Parish of St Luke & Christchurch, Chelsea, held a retreat in the St Benet Biscop building of the guesthouse.

More heavy snow overnight: a snowman greets visitors at the front door.

View Fr Hugh's snow photogrpahs.

Feb 3. The sheep in the snow.	Feb 4. Dinner time.

Candlemas Day dawned with snow, the heaviest in the south for eighteen years. The picture, taken from a monastery window, shows a muntjak foraging close to the building.

Fr Gervase led a Day of Recollection for the Wokingham branch of the Catenians.

Fr Nicholas led a Pastoral Programme Healing Workshop in the Conference Centre.

The Abbot of Ealing and their school planning group met in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

The Wrekin Trust met in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

Students from St Bernard's College, Slough, had a retreat in the Cottages.

Seminarians from St John's College, Wonersh, held a celibacy workshop on the Guesthouse.

Fr Benjamin Standish returned to the resident community froma parish assignment in Ormskirk, Lancs.

Fr Nicholas led a Healing workshop for a group from a Southampton parish.

Fr Gervase led a retreat "To God through Music" for a group of catechists from the diocese of Northampton.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Fr Robert Richardson OSB and was followed with burial in the Abbey Cemetary.

Fr Robert's body was received into the Abbey Church this evening; there followed Vespers for the Dead.

Churches Together in Basingstoke are holding a Residential meeting in the Guesthouse and Conference Centre.

Fr Abbot gave a lecture in the University of Oxford on 'Monastic Architecture in the Nineteenth Century.

Reading Borough Council Education department met in the Conference Centre.

A Pastoral Programme retreat Loneliness: A Human Condition was given by Dr Fodlha McGrane and Fr Gervase.

Fr Robert Richardson OSB died during the night.

Mr Stephen Wilson who has been a postulant since September was clothed as a novice before Compline, being given the name, Br Gabriel. Fr Abbot pointed out that the the first monk in our community who had had the name, Gabriel, was the founder member, Gabriel Gifford, who became Archbishop of Rheims and premier peer of France.

Click for list of the music at Mass.

The Rodolphus Choir conducted by Ralph Allwood gave a concert in the evening in the Abbey Church of music by Herbert Howells and composers who had influenced him or whom he had taught.

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