From Southend to Aylesford 2016

The 50th Annual Pilgrimage to Aylesford Priory Sunday 12th June 2016

This was the 50th pilgrimage to Aylesford of Province 12 although it is now known as the Southern Provinces pilgrimage and the many coaches and travellers brought with them the rain and overcast conditions but this did not dampen the mood at all.  When our full coach left Southend-on-Sea early that morning, we were basking in glorious morning sunshine but we all knew that the weather would change. There was a time when we used to depart from Southend by boat and meet coaches at the other side of the Estuary but for the time being, we will continue to serve the local parishes by putting on a coach with local pickups for now.

Every Sunday nearest the feast of Saint Columba, the Knights have made Aylesford in Kent its spiritual home.

Umbrellas to the ready

Ever since the Knights helped with the rebuilding of the Priory after World War Two of which many of our deceased members were personally involved with, we have made the pilgrim journey to celebrate Mass, and this year we were honoured to have Reverend Father Innocent Obonyi M.S.P. presiding for us and on this 50th anniversary it was fitting that Father Innocent said Mass for us as the Provincial Chaplain for Southwark Province 12. Assisting with Mass were Reverend Deacons Alan Boxall and John Newman, and with pilgrims crammed into the sides under shelter from the rain, Father Innocent preached his homily about forgiveness in this Year of Mercy. Present were Supreme Knight Brother Charlie McCluskey and Deputy Supreme Knight Brother Bertie Grogan, and Brother Charlie commented after Mass that if we took Father Innocent around the parishes to talk about the Knights then our numbers would swell to twenty thousand.

Reverend Father Innocent Obonyi

Due to the adverse weather, the Full Knighthood degree was transferred from after the homily to immediately after Mass had finished so that it could be carried out in Saint Joseph's chapel where seventy brothers from twenty-four Councils were raised to full Knighthood. We were delighted that four of our members at Southend 192 were part of those raised to full Knighthood and the rain held out for photos afterwards.

Our four from Southend-on-Sea

In the afternoon, we processed en masse through the 'Rosary Way' finishing in the open air church for Benediction, recitation of our Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady and sang the National Anthem in honour of Her Majesty's 90th birthday before all departed our separate ways home with renewed vigour and undampened spirits.

Thank go to Liam and his wife Sandy for their efforts with filling the coach.

Walking the 'Walk'

Walking the 'Walk' for the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS)

Group photo at the end of the walk with certificates

On Saturday the 4th June, the Knights ran our annual seafront sponsored walk for the BCCS from Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Helen in Westcliff-on-Sea to the parish hall of Saint George and the English Martyrs in Shoeburyness. A walk of various guises has taken place each year for must be over twenty years without a nod towards the archives but it must be noted that this would not happen without the support of our parish priest at Saint Helens; Father Joseph who without his support this annual event would stumble. Father Joseph gives us our starting point; a Mass for everyone involved to participate and not just those walking.

We are also thankful to the parish of Saint George who allow us to use the hall for rest and refreshments at the end and we have not always had clear established start and finish points in the past.

Margaret

There are several other key players who also play a major part in the success of our walk - Julie from the BCCS who is ever present in the hall at the finish in her own time to meet and greet the weary travellers and hand out certificates with gratitude. Husband and wife Frank and Val who open and set up the hall and provide hot drinks and a mountain of biscuits for the walkers to enjoy and always with a welcoming smile which really does help. Also thanks must go to Margaret who every year raises extraordinary amounts of funds for the BCCS and without Margaret we really would miss the effort and promotion that she brings.

Frank and Val

So what happened this year? Well, the return of the winter weather we had during the week was pleasantly replaced by the 'right' walking weather when we set off. It wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cold with cloud cover and no wind. A contrast to previous years which have either been blistering hot sunshine or persistent drenching rain. Cars were left in Shoeburyness early in the morning and those from Shoeburyness were collected and taken to Saint Helen's for the start of the 10am Mass.

One of the pier trains in the gloom of the cloud and below the train are the still waters of the Thames Estuary

We had fourteen walkers in total with John and Hilary making the train journey (not the pier train) from Stratford to Westcliff-on-Sea to walk separately to the main group and met us in the hall at Saint George's. We had Brian walking from Saint John Fishers in Prittlewell having locked up that church after morning service and walking the extra journey to meet us on route, and a thank you must go to Faustina who did most of the walk despite not being well and stopped on route to get the bus back home.

As always the seafront walk is never a race and we have a Knight to the front of the column of walkers and one at the rear to keep an eye anyone who may need some assistance and also to stop our chairman from pretending to tie his shoe laces while the others continue and then nipping into The Castle pub for a swift pint before catching a taxi back to the fold before anyone notices. That last sentence may not be true but it is always best to be prepared!

Walking along the seafront in Westcliff-on-Sea with the tide in (to the left of the picture)

It is always fun to find out who was first to reach the hall and then to shock them that as 'winners' they have to do a lap of honour which naturally is the whole walk again. We did the five and a half miles in good time and the walk gives those walking an opportunity to catch up and talk and it is surprising to not realise how quickly the walk can be finished when one walks with others in conversation and taking in the beautiful views along the seafront.

It is early days yet before we find out how much the whole event raised. Exposure and promotion is always good and the funds raised go towards the great work that the BCCS do not just in the Catholic schools around Essex but their demand sees them regularly called to other schools to help young children also and it is an honour for us to be able support them in any way we can.

We hope to be able to continue to run the walk again around May/June 2017 and we always welcome new people taking part as every penny raised regardless of the how much or little or always very much appreciated.

Thank you to all who took part and to all who supported in any way.

Learning by Observing; Saint Saviours Eco Coffee Morning May 21st 2016

On visiting the Eco Coffee and Swap Shop at Saint Saviour's Anglican parish in Westcliff-on-Sea recently I was privileged to see how they make it an annual success, and to see how their community get things done in a different way to how we would operate.

A sign stated that to be 'Christian was to take care of our environment', and the community were doing this thoroughly with information and ideas everywhere to be seen as well as recycling tubs for ink cartridges, mobile phones, stamps, batteries and even Council recycling bags to take home with you. The tubs were all labelled 'Caring for God's Creations' with an explanation as to how these are recycled and where the money raised from the mobile and stamp recycling goes. They had a swap shop running that you could take items to for a voucher to exchange for something else if you wished or you could simply donate to help others. They were reusing items to make crafts and they had a raffle of items including items that were eco-friendly. Reverend Father Lee Mullen was quietly sitting at a stall making crafts backing up the parish with action which was very good to see instead of the customary token hello before retreating out of view. Amidst all this, the church was open. With the Church at the centre of this event there was even a chance for quiet reflection and that was the balance that created an air of calm amongst the excitement.

Just one of the ideas for people to discover

The organising left nothing to chance as signs directing you to the different areas were easy to follow and there was information just everywhere. The people were warm and inviting, the drinks and cakes were fantastic but the detail and attention could be found in everything. For instance, they were selling 'Kit Kats' that were Fairtrade 'Kit Kats' ensuring a decent wage for those involved in the production of the chocolate which is of course only 'fair'. Care for others and care for the environment was the wrapper for the days event.

In line with our very own CAFOD LiveSimply award that we are pursuing this gave a great opportunity to preview what our event could achieve later in the year. We plan to hold a community event in a hall providing information on a range of initiatives to help local people, support and protect the environment and do it inside a Christian environment. Through a conscious decision to take care of our resources and to look after our environment we wish to adhere to the duty of care outlined in Laudato Si by Pope Francis.

Of course an event like this only works with the backing of the community regardless of the exhibits, information and support that is available on the day. The Knights of Saint Columba covering Southend are not tied to any specific parish as we work everywhere in the Borough of Southend but we hope we can offer something to the community once we have our date set around October time.

Naturally we will be providing refreshments such as Fairtrade tea, coffee, and yes even Faitrade Kit Kats with thanks to Saint Saviours parish for the 'heads up'!

By Damian Dillon
Knights of Saint Columba 
Southend-on-Sea 192

Successful and Fun Evening at Our Bollywood Night - Saturday 16th April

Our Bollywood Night on Saturday 16th April raised £1,115.83 so a big thank to all who contributed in any way.

It was hard work that started back in 2015 when the original plan was to have an auction but we changed it to an evening of Indian culture with an Indian buffet, music and film, and we held a raffle with a staggering 21 prizes to offer. We sold just over a thousand tickets for the draw and with 21 prizes the odds were good of winning one of the prizes and we had 108 people at the door all greeted with their own garland for the evening.

Mike with coffee ready to meet and greet the 108 guests for the evening

Thank you to all the people and businesses that contributed and helped to make the evening a success at the Mazenod Hall in the grounds of the parish of Saint Peter in Eastwood. We had a slideshow projecting a promotion of all the businesses, contributors, and the raffle prizes onto a large wall throughout the evening so that those present were aware of how the evening was being supported.

Most of the prizes on display before the start of the evening

During the evening, guests took the chance to have their picture taken professionally by Picture Perfect Pro who also donated one of the top prizes. This proved popular with the guests who had travelled from all around the parishes of Southend and from further a field also.

The run of tables ready for the range of hot Indian food.

The Ashiana Indian Restaurant in Southchurch provided the food for the buffet at a great price with a wide selection of dishes to choose from and they brought it, piping hot to the hall for us straight from their kitchen. Everyone was delighted with the food and one couple won two tickets to Sunday lunch at the Ashiana in our raffle draw. For dessert Liam had risked a frozen car that afternoon by buying a car load of ice cream tubs that had people coming back for seconds. Duncan with Phil manned the bar and were serving drinks all night long including Fairtrade tea and coffee as part of our commitment to our CAFOD LiveSimply work that our Council are working towards.

The raffle draw as it was under way

We drew tickets for the prizes in two intervals; just before the food was served for prizes from twenty -one down to ten, and then after dinner our ten top prizes with the flat screen TV being the first prize - just to build some excitement. The money raised on the evening is to be split across several charities that we are supporting currently, with the main benefactors being MISSIO, Nazareth House in Westcliff-on-Sea, and the Brentwood Ecclesiastic Education Fund for the training of new priests in our Diocese.

It was a real joyful evening, and for everyone to say how much they enjoyed themselves as they left to go home was good to hear. We tried hard to better our Jazz evening from September 2015 and I think this Bollywood evening was equally as good. Special thanks to go all the Knights present who helped with setting up the hall, working throughout the evening and clearing up afterwards. The wives were fantastic too especially with organising the men in the kitchen as the amount of washing up was phenomenal. We tend to struggle to take pictures as the evening progresses because we are always in the thick of the action and the same applied here as all the Knights were busy each doing their own particular task to keep the evening flowing as smoothly as it could.

Promoting our sponsored walk on June 4th

Onwards to our next event which is our sponsored walk for the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society on June 4th and we couldn't miss the opportunity to promote this to our valued guests (along with our Knights pilgrimage by coach to Aylesford Priory on the 12th June too; closest Sunday to the Feast of Saint Columba).

Thank you all.

Social at St Peters on Sat 16th April with brilliant raffle prizes

Raffle Prizes to be drawn on Saturday 16th April 2016

On Saturday 16th April the Knights of Saint Columba present a celebration of Indian culture through food, film and music at Saint Peter’s Mazenod Parish Hall, Eastwood, Essex. It will be a two course Indian buffet to include vegetarian options, followed by ice cream priced at £10 per person. Wine, beer, juice, tea and coffee will be on sale. 

It is a chance for people across the parishes with the Southend Deanery to get together with members of the Knights and to enjoy a fun social evening together with several parishes all together.

During the evening, our raffle will take place once all ticket stubs have been collated and placed into the draw, and then one ticket at a time will be drawn for each prize.

Because of the generosity of several businesses, individuals, and organisations, we have had donated a large array of prizes for the draw. There were too many to list on the tickets sold so we have had to produce a list on the internet for participants to view.

Below is the current list last updated on Friday 25th March.

There are still gifts and details to be confirmed which will be added to the list below as we get them.

If you wish to buy any tickets, please contact us on the above details:

RAFFLE PRIZES (last updated on Friday 25^th March)

·      42” Toshiba Television

·      Picture Perfect Pro – Professional photographer – Family portrait printed onto 16” x 12” canvas  worth £150

·      2 Tickets for a show at the Cliffs Pavilion (details of show to follow)

·      2 Tickets for the Odeon Cinema

·      Bottle Whisky

·      Bottle Brandy

·      Bottle Champagne (x2 prizes)

·      2 People for Sunday Lunch at Ashiana Restaurant, Southchurch

·      A Limited Edition Print (details to follow)

·      Bottle Red Wine (x3 prizes)

·      Bottle White Wine (x 3 prizes)

·      Tomassi’s Restaurant Voucher

·      Strand Productions – A Days Course – “Script Management” worth £200

QUIZZYLIMPICS COMES TO SAINT JOHN FISHER'S IN PRITTLEWELL 

This was a long time coming after this quiz had changed venues and dates on more than one occasion but after advertising this in the bulletins around the five parishes and seven churches locally, the Knights of Saint Columba finally held this event in the Borough of Southend-on-Sea on the evening of Saturday 20th February and a very enjoyable evening was had by all present. This regional quiz was contested with a chance to reach the grand final as part of an initiative by the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS) and was free to enter which made the evening very attractive.

The teams set about choosing a name for their tables and if points were awarded for the names they all picked then the scoring would have been high before the quizmaster had even asked the first question.

Sitting at the top table helping the quiz to function along its merry path can certainly give you a relieved feeling when you see the questions and think 'Oh I know that', and then when the answer is finally given, you realise that what you thought was a name of a type of tortoise was in fact one of the most deadly snakes on the earth. Yes I was having a bad day and lucky for the teams that I wasn't placed on one of their tables!

With that confession out the way, the quiz was highly contested with two teams tying for last place and two teams finishing joint first. Thankfully the two teams that came first represented two different churches so they qualified to both go forward to the BCCS Quizzylimpics final on March 18th in the hall at Brentwood Cathedral.

We held a mid quiz raffle with some fantastic prizes on offer; well it wouldn't be the same if we didn't and a retiring collection for the BCCS ensured that as a fundraiser the whole evening was a worthwhile exercise.

New Member joins Southend-on-Sea 192

The parish of Saint John Fisher has a new member of the Knights from within their community

Today, on the fifth Sunday of the Church's year, and after the Gospel where we heard Simon leaving his fishing boats to become a fisher of men, a new brother; Brother Duncan, joined our Council during Mass at Saint John Fisher's Church in Prittlewell.

Father Lee, who is parish priest at Saint John Fisher's, and is also a Member of Honour spoke some very kind words about our work and support locally, and after the solemn declaration, initiated Brother Duncan into our Order which was followed by a round of applause from parishioners. Brother Duncan, has pledged to support the clergy and the Church and has already been a great help with the work of the Knights this year and we wish him many fruitful years ahead.

Chairman Liam welcoming Brother Duncan after Mass had finished

Most of the Knights present took advantage of the sumptuous cake and coffee on sale in the hall after Mass on the last Sunday before Lent begins. A much needed energy boost ahead of the forty days of Lent to come!