St. Francis Archives

This Archive starts at the most recent date and goes backwards to when the records began to be kept on the Milford-on-Sea Online web site. Hard copies to date are available in the Parish Records for Milford care of Father Gerrit Vervenne at New Milton

It has only just occurred to us, on 28th May 2000, that we should keep an archive of events taking place at St. Francis now that we have a new Parish Priest. This means we have lost some earlier entries, but better late than never so here we go:

A party was held in the Maryland Room on Friday evening, 5th May, to mark its refurbishment. A Mass in honour of St. George whose feast day coincided with Easter this year on 23rd April, was said by Father Vervenne at 6.30 pm, prior to the start of the festivities. Many thanks are due to Philip and Joan Caswell who organised the occasion, and to all who worked so hard to make the evening a success.

The coffee morning took place as planned. Father Vervenne was presented by Andy Gage with a cheque for the Parish amounting to £300 from the 100 Club, and the draw was made. Payments of £30, £20 and £15 were made to John Murphy, Catherine Brown and Mr. Ronchetti respectively, and the final amount for the month, £10, was won by Father Dunne!

A trial began this morning of loud speaker facilities. Reports of how it went the following Sunday will appear here later.

For most people the loudspeaker seemed to work very well, but a small minority with super-hearing found a high-pitched whistle very disconcerting. It's expected that this will be sorted shortly.

The Garden Party took place at 2 Island View Close on Saturday, 24th June, when the sun shone after a hesitant start in the morning. Those who attended had an excellent time, and thanks are due to Mr. and Mrs. Caswell for their generosity and hard work to make the party possible and to everyone else who helped to make the afternoon a great (and profitable) success. A sum in excess of £130 was raised.

At this month's coffee morning, when the start time changed to 11 am to give Father Vervenne enough time to get over from Confessions at New Milton, the lucky 100 Club winners were Mr. Alex Soares (83) who won £15, and £10 each went to Miss J. L Runyard (99) and Mr. A. Gadd (8).

St. Francis welcomed a visiting priest in the form of Father Austin Malloy, on holiday with his sister Mrs. Ursula Beachey in Milford. Father Malloy comes from a small Parish in Cheshire, St. Gregory's in Bollington. He said Mass from Monday to Thursday during the week, for which those who attended were most grateful since we can no longer have a daily Mass in the village.

The Quarterly Parish Meeting was held in the Maryland Room, during which a vote was taken on the preferred time for Sunday Mass, since the change to 6.00 pm had resulted in a smaller congregation. Unanimously it was agreed that from the first Sunday in September, Sunday Mass would be said at 9.15 am, and Holidays of Obligation would offer a Mass at 9.00 am. Our thanks are due to Fr. Vervenne who will find Sunday mornings very pressured as he drives between here and New Milton for three Masses.

Father Vervenne drew the numbers for the 100 Club, and this month the winners were Mrs. Margaret Langford, whose lucky number 25 won £15, and Mrs. P. Salt and Mr. K. H. Domaser, who each won £10 with their numbers 80 and 3 respectively. There were, naturally, cries of dismay from those whose numbers never saw the light of day.

The last Coffee Morning on Saturday saw a very small selection of the congregation to bid it farewell. The faithful few waited hopefully while Father Vervenne drew the 100 Club numbers to the usual gnashing of teeth as yet again no winner was present. This month £30 went to Mr. John Davies (No. 90), £20 to Mrs. Rita Ford (97), £15 to Mrs. Joyce Howes (No. 82) and £10 to Mr. John Langford (No.68). Well done the Langfords for two months in a row - one 'hers' and one 'his'!

The painting will be starting in the next week or so, and is expected to last some time. A new Cross will be installed over the Church in due course, replacing the old one which has long since disappeared.

The above is the result of Father Vervenne's artistic talent portraying a Samaritan's eye view of bringing refreshment to the installer!

The new Mass time which changed to 9.15 am on Sundays definitely seems to suit more people. There was a full house this morning, but as the Mass was being said for a New Milton parishioner, Don Wilson, several people came from New Milton. It will be easier to judge the effect of the new time next Sunday. Tuesday will mark the first anniversary of Fr. Vervenne's initial Mass at St. Francis and the parishioners congratulated him and thanked him for the time he has devoted to us.

Father Gerrit Vervenne, questioned about all the building work at present going on at St. Francis, vehemently denied a rumour that it was all being done prior to selling the building for conversion to a night club! He said that he had every intention of ensuring that the RC parishioners of Milford-on-Sea would always have access to their own church and the newly installed cross over the church would certainly suggest that a night club was unlikely.

Father Vervenne will be away for the next couple of weeks, and Canon Dwyer will be available in case of emergencies on 01425 612271.

Advance notice is given of a meeting on 4th October to make arrangements for the Christmas Fair. Times will be given later, and the meeting will be held in the Maryland Room.

The meeting regarding the Christmas Fair arrangements, originally planned for 4th October, has been moved to 2.30 in the Maryland Room on 11th October. This is because 4th October is St. Francis of Assisi's Feast Day, and thus the Patronal Feast of our Church. We think it is very likely that Father Vervenne will say a 10 o'clock Mass on that day at the Church. He is not available to confirm at the moment, but we will do that one way or the other as soon as we can.

Father Vervenne was welcomed back after his holiday to the Coffee Morning, which was well attended with quite a buzz about it. There were of course the usual moans among those who numbers failed yet again to come up, but delights in the form of £15 and 2 x £10 were there for Mrs. C. Orton (No. 64), Mrs. M. Garth (No. 28) and Mrs. B. Lister (No. 76).

The crib figures are being restored to their former glory in time for Christmas 2000, starting with the ox and the ass, who have now been returned to find themselves in Father's office, either side of the bookcase, instead of to the cupboard in which they normally live. Doubtless they will shortly be returned there to avoid the office looking as though it has relocated to Bethlehem as further figures arrive back!

The outside painting of the Church has now been completed except for the setting up of a Notice Board on the right hand outside wall panel beside the front doors. The indoor refurbishment of the church itself will be starting shortly.

Father will be saying Mass for us on St. Francis' Feast Day, 4th October at 10.00 am.

The carpenters were busy last week, chopping off the longer bits of several pews on the right-hand side of the church, giving an additional side aisle. The same will happen to the other side this week.

There was some consternation when worshippers arrived this morning to find a complete absence of anything to kneel on! The kneeling pads are being repaired and should be back in place for next Sunday's Mass.

All the seats are now the same length, the new kneelers are in place, and we now have a smart notice board outside the church on the front wall giving details of Masses, other Services, details of Our Lady of Lourdes, New Milton, and Father Vervenne's telephone number. More crib figures have been returned to the Church and the rest will follow in due course. The statue of St. Francis has now been discovered to be suffering from woodworm, and will shortly be removed for treatment.

Unfortunately time seemed to be more pressing than usual (longer hymns?) and Father paid us an all too-fleeting visit to draw the lucky winners in this month's draw at the coffee morning, which was even better attended than previously. Stiff upper lips were in evidence as the volume of moans from the unsuccessful was much lower! The winners were Mr. Arwel Roberts (No. 30) who won £15, Val Culmer (No. 51) who came away with £10 booty, and John Murphy who collected £10 with his number, 79.

Frantic preparations preceded the opening of the Fair. Painting the church has taken up a great deal of time this month. This is now finished - by and large - and the gilded statue of Our Lady has now been installed in the porch. The benches now all measure the same length, and the route of the Communicants is now a beautifully organised affair with people able to circulate easily up the central aisle and down the side aisles.

The usual worries that there wouldn't be anything like enough to display at the sale again proved groundless and the Fair opened with one of the biggest downpours in recent years. Everybody made a huge effort and the result was that this year's Fair was one of the most successful for several years: a total of £901.37 was raised. Father Vervenne arrived in time to patronize the Tombola and the Raffle, but resisted buying any jewellery or toiletries.... There was a long list of items in the Raffle and Fr. Vervenne found his voice fading by the time he got to the last item, and sadly his ventures in the Tombola didn't provide any suitable refreshment for him.

Visitors to the Fair commented on the relaxed atmosphere, and congratulations are due all round for a lovely morning.

So that next year we shall be able to compare results, below is a list of amounts raised by individual stalls:

Bric-a-Brac	42.26
Gifts & Toiletries	314.35
Jewellery & Accessories (inc Christmas Garlands £10)	52.60
Books	33.75
Cakes	70.50
Tombola	148.01
Raffle	129.90
Refreshments	15.50
Entrance	14.50
Donations	80.00
Total	901.37

St Francis's statue has been treated, and returned in polished clothes looking very smart. The statue was, according to writing on the back of the base, produced by Christofle et Cie Paris in 1874, and, it states, was made by a Spaniard, Alonso Cano, who not only painted but was also famous for polychrome statues. That artist died in the mid-1600s, and research indicates that although Christofle et Cie was founded in 1830 or thereabouts, it produced silver flatware and porcelain, and had nothing to do with wooden statues. The information depicted on the plinth goes on to say that the work by Alonso Cano was 'after' - presumably some artist, but at that point the plinth was cut, and the name of the artist who inspired him lost for ever. However, Cano did work with a painter called Francisco de Zurburan who is known to have influenced him.

But enough of history...distant history at least! December 1st saw the presentation to Father Vervenne of £300 from the 100 Club Draw for Church funds, and five lucky winners were announced. They were No. 24, Mrs. Anne Todd who hit the jackpot and collected £30, Mr. John Murphy came second with No. 61 and walked away with £20. The three in joint 3rd place were No. 71, Miss Helen Lister, No. 93, Mrs. Middleton and Mr. P Murphy at No. 9. They each collected £15. By increasing the number of winners, the cries of delight managed to drown the moans this month. Everybody seemed in good form and there was a real buzz about the Maryland Room. Remnants from the Fair were on sale and raised an extra £36.40, bringing the Fair income to £937.77.

Father Vervenne had been impressed by the extra cleaning work done during the preceding week and thanked the cleaners. He also thanked Sarah Bell and Katy Passmore for the work they had undertaken during the year in restoring various statues, including the crib figures and St. Francis.

On the downside, it is becoming apparent that with all the improvements in the Church, cleaning cannot continue to be the rather casual fortnightly affair which it has become. It has only been possible to continue that system because hard-working individuals, including Father Vervenne himself, have come in to do extra cleaning. This will be sorted in the New Year.

Many members of St. Francis of Assisi's congregation attended a celebration Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes in New Milton to mark the 60th Anniversary of the priesthood of Canon Timothy Dwyer, who has for several years said Mass for the Milford parishioners while firstly Father Dunne, and now Father Vervenne go away on holiday. Thirty priests, some from the New Forest and others from parishes where Canon Dwyer had worked, as well as some from Guernsey and Jersey, joined former parishioners from his past years' service in giving thanks for this much-loved priest. Other tributes came in the form of greetings from His Holiness Pope John Paul, the Archbishop of Westminster, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and President Mary McAlease of Eire. Canon Dwyer was for some 14 years Parish Priest of Windsor, which involved services in St. George's Chapel as chaplain to the Irish Guards and other footguards, and visiting their barracks.

The celebration in 'St. Francis of Assisi' of the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Jesus took place in the repainted and restored church with the repainted and restored crib figures. There were so many people there that for the first time in years the upper altar area was occupied. Suitably for Christmas night a tiny baby was one of the occupants: a three-day-old girl, whose name at that point was still uncertain - Lydia and Maria were the sure choices, but the order was unsettled!

To-day we celebrated the Epiphany with the newly painted Kings gleaming in their acrylic robes. The light shone in the right place for the crib's finale and it will all disappear till next year. There was no singing at Mass this morning due to lack of the choir, some on holiday and others suffering the usual winter ailments.

Father Vervenne officiated at the drawing of the lucky numbers, and this month was Ladies' Day, when Val Culmer, (No. 51), lucky last month, was even luckier this month as she took the top prize of £15.Nos. 16 and 11, Mrs. D. Dunn and Mrs. D. Smith each won £10. As Gretchen Nagel reached 34 for the umpteenth time the coffee drinkers sang Happy Birthday to her under the auspices of Father Vervenne.

To-day's draw turned up trumps for No. 39: £15 went to Father Vervenne - a good omen for his birthday on 9th February! £10 each went to Caroline Brown (No.75) and Angela Eldridge (No. 83).

The terrible wet weather was an inducement for members of the congregation to stay on for coffee this week and the hall was full. The outside door to the Maryland Room had jammed, and entry to the Maryland Room was made down the stairs at the altar end of the Church. Everyone arrived dryshod which was good news for the new stair carpet.

In the parish newsletter Father mentioned that while we had a smart visitor-friendly hall now, it was a pit it was never used for anything but the monthly coffee mornings and quarterly Parish Meetings. The idea then took shape that maybe a wine and cheese/or something 'do' might be arranged for some good cause during Lent. Funds for St. Dominic's Priory Chapel were suggested but other ideas would be welcome, although time is running pretty short to get anything organised before Lent starts on 28th February.

Possibly to Fr. Vervenne's surprise, there was a larger number in the congregation for this morning's Mass than for some years. It made a good start to the season of Lent. Stations of the Cross will be said after the Communion Service on Friday morning during Lent. They will also be said in Our Lady of Lourdes Church in New Milton on Thursdays during Lent at 7.00 pm.

The Coffee Morning was well attended, which was just as well because it gave an opportunity to explain to members of the Parish what exactly a Beetle Drive was. Imagination had previously been working overtime.

Winners of the delightfully inflated (for the lucky ones anyway) handouts this month were No. 66, Hunni and Tim McArthur who went home £30 richer. 2nd prize went to Mrs. C. Bannon, No. 44, who was not at the Coffee Morning but will be richer by £20. Mrs. D. Dunn got £15 with her No. 16, and Margaret Tew matched her No. 10 with a £10 prize.

A Parish Meeting has been called for Wednesday, 14th March at 7.00 pm. Mass will be said at St. Francis at 6.30 pm on that day.

An invitation has been received for two parishioners to attend the Celebration of the restoration and the re-opening of St. John's Cathedral (Portsmouth) on 20th May at 3.30. Those who would like to go should get in touch soon with Fr. Vervenne.

In spite of - yet again! - appalling weather on the evening, the Parish Meeting was well-attended. Philip Caswell resigned as Social Secretary after serving the Parish for six years, during which among other social occasions he organised the annual Garden Party in his own garden. This involved a great deal of work, shared by his wife Joan. Other notable events for which he was responsible included Father Dunne's farewell party and the welcome evening for Father Vervenne on his arrival in the Parish. Philip was thanked for all his work by members of the congregation who were present at the meeting, and the loss of the service of both Philip and Joan will be felt by St. Francis. The main reason for their retirement from the running of social events is failing health, and we wish them well.

Two volunteers to take the place of Mr. & Mrs. Caswell were Anne and Lincoln Chattee, who are fairly new to the Parish but have long connections. Their grand-daughters are servers at Mass on most Sundays. The reputation Anne & Lincoln earned in their previous parish precedes them and we shall look forward to seeing how much more can be done in the Maryland Room!

Final arrangements were sorted for the next week's Beetle Drive. So far 30 tickets have been sold, and there are 6 left. Numbers are limited by the quantity of tables.

The vexed question of clashing dates for the Coffee Morning and the singing at Mass has been solved by keeping the Coffee Morning to the first Sunday of the month, and the singing put to the last. It was also agreed that better known hymns be chosen to make it easier for a congregation out of the habit of singing anything!

After coffee, Father Vervenne unveiled the plans for further improvements to the church, designed to improve the contact between the Blessed Sacrament, priest and people. The extra level on which the present altar stands is to be eliminated and the whole new lower sanctuary area carpeted. A new wooden altar has been ordered, and the tabernacle, which at present is on the 'high' altar, will be moved to a stand on the wall behind the new main altar. The wrought iron gates will be retained for the time being, but alterations will later be made to the top area. It is not yet quite clear where the sanctuary lamp will be placed.

The reaction to the proposed changes was generally favourable and there were few protests, although there will undoubtedly be some as alterations are made. Father Vervenne hopes everything might be ready for the First Communion service on 27th May. A general feeling that it would be right to dedicate the altar at least ended in a suggestion that Bishop Crispian be invited to perform the ceremony on 4th October, the feast day of St. Francis. Many of those present were not aware that the church itself had not yet been dedicated.

The Spring Beetle Drive took place as planned: 28 people actually played, including Father Vervenne. Winners' names will be listed on the next publication of this website. There was a small raffle, which raised over £30, and with donations and sale of tickets, the total amount raised was £143, which Fr. Vervenne has presented to Sister Margarita at St. Dominic's Priory to go towards the building fund for the proposed chapel. The remaining three people turned their hands to counting money, making tea, putting out the generously donated cakes, and banging the bell for beginning and ending of the Beetle games. The afternoon was pronounced a success and people who'd never previously experienced a Beetle Drive seemed very enthusiastic about the prospect of another one sometime.

Attendance at the Coffee Morning for April was pretty good considering that quite a number of parishioners were sharing the Golden Wedding celebrations of Margaret and Gerry Hazleden.

The main qualifications this month for winning something in the monthly 100 Club seem to have been a surname beginning with the letter 'G', and even better to have initials A.G. Andy Gage, the organiser of the whole thing, won the first prize of £15 with his No. 34 (Cries of "A fix! A fix!" were quickly squashed...). Mrs. M. Garth collected £10 with her No. 28, and Mr. A. Gadd pocketed a further £10 with his No. 8.

Andy reported that the £100 Club was in good health with full membership, and a request for another number was 'lurking in the wings'.

The Easter Services at St. Francis were well attended, especially the Mass on Easter Sunday. Joan Caswell was responsible for the flowers this year, which were beautiful, and she had taken special care to match the choice of flowers to the colours of the Pascal Candle in shades of pink, greens and white.

The Lenten Alms collection this year was in aid of the Oakhaven Hospice, and the amount collected was £78.08.

Canon Dwyer will be available in case of emergencies from 23rd April at 01425 612271.

We welcomed the return of Father Vervenne after a short holiday. There were a lot of people at Mass this morning, and included little 28-day-old Lucy, who was angelically quiet! Our thanks go to Canon Dwyer who stood in in Father's absence. As we heard from Canon Dwyer, no problems arose that he needed to deal with.

The Coffee Morning was well attended, but the winners of this month's money seemed to be absent. This month, the prizes, £15 and 2 x £10 were drawn as follows:

No. 62 - James Guy

The First Communion children will be having their Big Day on 27th May.

More alterations to the church are planned to start at the end of this month. Details of what exactly will be happening will be published as and when they become available.

The Social Committee under its new Chairman, Lincoln Chatee, met in the Maryland Room. Plans were considered about forthcoming events, and although other dates have still to be finalised, the proposed date of the Garden Party is 23rd June and it is hoped the event might take place in the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes in New Milton subject to Father Vervenne's approval. It was also suggested that the theme of the party might be a Teddy Bears' Picnic, with bears and their furry friends paying an entrance fee of 50p, the proceeds of which might be sent to the charity Aid to the Church in Need, who had made an appeal during Mass on Sunday 13th May. The animals' owners would be let in free. Another Beetle Drive was mooted for October, the Christmas Fair would take place either on 24th November or 1st December, and it was suggested some social 'do' might take place over the Christmas season, perhaps a combination Wine and Cheese evening with a Quiz.

The church was full for the celebration of the First Communion of Kate Atherton and Francesca Gadd. Dressed in their white dresses with veils, the little girls - as always on these occasions looked quite angelic - and everything went smoothly. The church flowers were beautiful and the ladies had decorated the tables reserved for the first communicants and their families in the Maryland Room. Everybody congratulated the girls and wished them well on this special day. We pray they will always remember it and what it means to them for the rest of their lives.

There will be a 'breakfast' in the Maryland Room immediately after the 9.15 am Mass on 27th May 2001
for our little new Communicants
Kate Atherton and Francesca Gadd
to whom we wish all blessings

No steps! They had indeed arrived, as expected, but were so huge that beside them the altar looked like a mere adjunct to the Sanctuary. The steps made a return journey by the same van in which they had arrived and another wait ensues. So to-day Father progressed from the side door, through the front door, escorted by Ian Bulloch. At the end of Mass, contrary to expectations, he did not follow Ian down the aisle but used a small pair of steps and good muscles to get through the door approximately a metre up the wall! The rose carpet is now laid.

After a week, when any visitor to St. Francis might have wondered what on earth was going to happen at Sunday Mass, no one needed to have worried: Sunday arrived, and generally delighted members of the congregation found a smaller, much more modern altar, the tabernacle already ensconced where the old stairs to the upper section had been. A new door opened at the side on the higher level, as yet with no steps, but they are promised for Monday, 25th June. The second dais has disappeared. By the time Friday comes, the rose carpet will have been installed. Here endeth the next phase of the refurbishment. As nothing had been done, certainly for the preceding 17 years, the accumulated cash has now been spent on the fabric and contents of the building, marking the beginning of a new era for St. Francis under the care of Father Gerrit Vervenne.

Father Vervenne revealed to-day the loss of two collection plates. As these are made of wood we cannot imagine where they might have gone, and if taken, by whom? An intrusive woodpecker? It is hoped they might turn up at some point, but in the meantime a couple will be borrowed from Our Lady of Lourdes to ensure smooth running of the collections!

Day of the Garden Party - what is it about our choice of dates?! The rain came down, fortunately not in the buckets of the previous day, or indeed of earlier in the day itself. Father had set out a table in the garden - just in case - and in the event a few brave souls indulged in a 'cuppa' outside. The rest stayed in the Hall at Our Lady of Lourdes and enjoyed a successful event which raised more than £272.00. Congratulations to the new social secretary, Lincoln Chatee and his wife Anne who had worked, along with several other parishioners, to produce teas, cakes and stalls. Many thanks are also due to members of Our Lady of Lourdes Church who turned up in force to support the Garden Party.

1st Prize - £30 Father Dunne
2nd Prize - £20 Derek Goss
3rd Prize - £15 Arwel Hughes
4th Prize - £10 Mr. P. Salt

During the Coffee Morning a cheque for £300 from the 100 Club was presented to Father Vervenne for St. Francis of Assisi church.

The funeral of Mrs. Tanya Drake-Brockman took place at mid-day with a Requiem Mass.

Attendance was rather low at Mass to-day but the Maryland Room looked quite full for morning coffee. The draw took place almost as usual. The first prize was No. 63 for Kit Webdale, £10 each were won by 74, Eve Goss and 66, Tim and Hunni McArthur. The latter's ticket was drawn by Sarah Bell who just happened to be sitting next to Hunni - who has promised to return the compliment one day! Sarah wishes......

A Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Miss Audrey Streatfield took place at noon. Audrey was 88 and for many years was a primary school teacher at assorted schools in the local Forest area. Her family attended the funeral together with many members of the WVS, with whom she worked for several years, particularly in the field of Meals on Wheels.

A welcome visitor from Germany, who on previous visits has acted as altar server, gave the congregation a treat this morning. Julia Domaser, brought her flute and played a composition by Gluck during the Communion, and a well-known recessional, the name of which completely escapes the webmaster at this moment!
This will be surely be corrected when Julia reads this on her return to Germany, where she checks up on activities in Milford, particularly in St. Francis' Church, every week....

The Coffee Morning was held as usual on the first Sunday of the month, as was the draw. The Webmaster is delighted this month to report the names, as this month's big winner is Sarah Bell* (No. 54) to whom Fr. Vervenne presented a cheque for £15. £10 each went to Kurt Domaser and Mr. P. Ronchetti with numbers 3 and 13 respectively.

Several holiday makers joined us this week and in fact appeared to outnumber the regulars.

We thanked Canon Dwyer for looking after us and in token presented him with a box of chocolates.

Canon Dwyer said Mass this morning in place of Father Vervenne who is now away on holiday.

Monster Draw month! A full Maryland Room saw four winners this month. Joan Durrant collected £30 with No. 14, Philip Caswell, No. 22 received a cheque for £20, Anne Todd's No. 24 brought her in a hands £15 for third place and Margaret Guy brought up the end of the list with £10 for her ticket No. 89. No wonder there was a jolly air to the proceedings this month!

Father Vervenne announced that John and Pat Kimber had made known their intention to retire, due in both cases to ill health, from the work they have put in so hard for so long with the choir. After Mass he thanked them for all the hard work they have done over the last 10 years and warned the congregation if they were going to carry on singing they would have to do it by themselves!

We were reminded that October was the month of the Rosary, which would be said in St. Francis on Wednesdays and Fridays after the Communion Services which take place at 10.00 am. There was also a request for a volunteer parishioner to go with Fr. Vervenne to Bournemouth for one of the diocesan Health & Safety meetings, which takes place on 16th October.

As well as these interests for October, there is a national move to appreciate the extra hard work modern clergy of all persuasions have to do because of falling numbers in the rolls. At the Monthly Draw Father Vervenne was treated to a poem of appreciation by St. Francis' resident poet, Val Culmer, and presented with a box of chocolates, with love and thanks for all he does and has done for us.

Do we ever stop to think of all the things our Priest must do?
As well as fending off the brickbats fired from me – and you,
On top of all the Masses (and in our case they’re four)
He has to give a welcome to the beggars at the door,
And those who want his presence at events they have arranged
May not appreciate, perhaps, some other thing’s been changed.
He longs to put his feet up but has many things to do
And with calls upon his expertise those times are all too few.
So let’s put our hands together and breathe a thankful prayer
That the ‘Father’ we’ve been given, is one to truly care.

Our once decrepit church is now a wonder to behold.
The meeting-room, once off-putting, is now no longer cold
But welcoming and warm, with nice new chairs and tables too….
A kitchen that now sparkles, as does the welcome, cunning ‘loo’!
On top of all this humdrum stuff, he cares about our souls;
He organises Masses at the times we made our goals,
He gives sermons to the point and absolution as we need
And we can trust him at our end to wish us all "Safe trip, God speed!"
And on the whole we think that he deserves ten out of ten –
We really are so very blessed to have Father Vervenne!

The Draw took place after the presentation, and No. 18 was the winner, giving Mr. and Mrs. J. Brydon £15 to enjoy. Anne Croll collected £10 with her lucky No. 46, while Eve Goss's No. 74 also gained her £10.

October 4th - Feast Day of St. Francis

To-day saw the return of Fr. Vervenne after his holiday when he said Mass for us at 10.00 am. We are pleased to welcome him back!

'The old order changeth...' and the former altar complete with the brass candlesticks, a memento from the convent days before the setting up of St. Francis of Assisi Church, has now disappeared. Fortunately when the gold curtain which hung behind the altar was ordered, it was full length, which means that the removal of the altar has not left an unfortunate gap exposing the wall below. At the same time, the pews have been turned to face the new sanctuary, and if they are required for overflow use, the gates will be closed for safety reasons. It is proposed to put a palm or similar indoor plant on a pedestal in the centre of the area where the altar stood.

The alteration will be welcomed by some, if not all, but as time goes by custom will smooth ruffled feathers, as it usually does!

Father Austin Mulloy, brother of Ursula Beachy, is visiting again, and will be saying Mass daily on Friday and Saturday of this week, and on Monday to Thursday inclusive next week (November 12th - 15th). Mass will be at 10.00 am.

The Beetle Drive was attended by 28 people and another two workers! Gretchen and Katy produced the tea and acted as MC. The game progressed to the furious rattle of the dice, kindly lent by Sandy Nailard, and the winners were:

Best Gentleman's Score (255) - Fr. Vervenne, who won a bottle of wine
Best Lady's Score (253) - Joan Coffyn, who won a carved and painted wooden
box from Ceylon.
Booby Prize - won by Anne Scarnell, was a bag in the form of Walt Disney's
Grumpy!

With the money raised by the raffle, a total of £124 was made to forward to Cafod towards the fundraising for Afghanistan.

To-day's Coffee Morning was seriously well attended. It was the first cold Sunday of this coming Winter so the coffee was most welcome.

John & Pat Kimber were officially thanked for all their work in the choir and a presentation made by Pat Marshall to mark the occasion. She pointed out that the choir had only had two organists since the setting up of St. Francis - Lesley Frank, who also restored and painted the Stations of the Cross, and John Kimber.

Those made richer in the eyes of their Bank Managers this week were Harry Batty, lucky number this time 100 which netted him £15. Pat Kimber collected £10 with her No. 56, and Philip Salt, one of the luckiest participants in the Draw since its inception gained the remaining £10 prize with his No. 88.

The church was completely packed, and extra chairs had to be brought up from the crypt for some of those standing on the raised portion of the church. The crib's new roof looked smart under the invisibly suspended star, and will probably be improved next year when it and the new walls have 'mellowed' with the growth of some greenery and maybe a little snow. It is expected the current designers will have a rethink over the year.....

An extra £20 for the Fair was raised by the sale of a bracelet, bringing the total even nearer to the magical £1,000 at £983.42....maybe next year!

Plans are in hand for a new exterior to the Crib this year, and with the alterations to the church of St. Francis during the year, a new site was needed to erect the Crib which wouldn't hamper the Priest's and Altar Servers' access to the steps on the right-hand side of the altar. A dais was designed to make use of the lowest step to the altar on the left-hand side, allowing access to the emergency exit now sited in the former Lady Chapel.

Alas, as usual, cries of protest were raised. Changes having been made to the arrangements of the pews so that the congregation could circulate easily on the return from the altar, there were bound to be problems with the continuation of previous traditions. May goodwill prevail and new steps forward be welcomed rather than condemned out of hand!

Final total for the Christmas Fair amounted to £963.42, compared with £901.37 last year. The Parish newsletter's comment:

'Our sincere THANKS to all those, who in any way, helped or supported the Christmas Fair. The total raised: £963-42. A really magnificent effort.'

Coffee morning and 100 Club draw. There were the remains of the sale to tempt those who'd missed their chances the day before, and as there were five winners in the Draw, attendance was reasonably good. Len Runyard, who wasn't present, scooped the biggie of £30 with his ticket, No. 77. Eve Brown, who was also not there, won £20 with her ticket at No. 15. Third, fourth and fifth drawn were lucky with their tickets, Nos. 43, 95 and 2. Neither Ray Salt nor Molly Woodford were there to collect their winnings of £15 each, but Gretchen Nagle, who works so hard producing the tea and coffee on first Sunday mornings (as well as other times) took happy possession of her cheque for £15. Father Vervenne was presented with a cheque for £300, but as he regretfully pointed out, the money was for St. Francis of Assisi and not for him personally! His ticket again failed selection from the velvet bag.

The day of the fair. We will have a breakdown of stall by stall success as soon as the figures are available. First impressions are that the takings are down on last year, but that is due to the fact that attendance was lower. They say rainy fairs make the most money because people feel they HAVE to go in case nobody else does. This year, the weather was fine and sunny - do I need to add more? We can always hope donations from guilty parishioners might make up the difference!

The goods on sale were the best for a long time, and there were some excellent bargains to be had.

Provision for enough seats for those attending Midnight Mass was well organised this year and the church was full. It is always a pleasure to see so many people at Mass. The crib looked somewhat different again with lighting relatively subdued after last year's brilliant light, which was prone to blowing the bulbs! Doubtless it will go through another transformation next year....

Christmas visiting has obviously started with the Exodus from Milford while the inflow, being mainly the younger generation, still have to go to work tomorrow, Monday, 23rd December. Doubtless St. Francis will be much fuller come Tuesday evening for the First Mass of Christmas!

The Sherry Party and its attendant mince pies went off with good support by the twinkling lights of the tree. No sign yet of the crib apart from the base waiting for it all to happen.....

A Penitential Service was held this evening where the attendance was down on last year. A pity: It was an excellent service, for which the organist who had come over from New Milton, and Father himself both gave up over an hour of their time for the benefit of the parish. Those who were unable to come, for whatever reason, missed out on a good thing.

The church celebrated the reception into the Catholic faith of Daphne Jones, who was welcomed with applause. Mass was enhanced not only by this cause for celebration but also by the voice of our own young soloist, Lauren Bannon, accompanied by her sister on the guitar. They played 'The Angel Gabriel to Mary came', an advent hymn which has made few appearances this year, even on Classis FM!

On a more sombre note, Father Vervenne announced the death of Dr. Paul Murphy, a professor of Zoology, who died on Saturday morning. His funeral will take place on Friday, 20th December at 1.00 pm at St. Francis.

The attempt to incorporate some part of the Morning Prayer from the Divine Office into the existing Communion Service and followed by the few parishioners who attend regularly has ended in dismal failure. It was so unpopular with the majority that it risked discouraging even those faithful who do attend.

It has been decided to discontinue the experiment after to-day's service and to return to the former, simpler version, using prayers from the day's Mass.

Coffee Sunday coincides with the First Sunday of Advent. We are starting a new venture this year: we are having a Christmas tree with a difference. It is called a ‘Lights of Life’ Christmas tree. It is set at the back of the Church and is there to offer a source of help to the bereaved at Christmas.

The tree is initially adorned with a simple set of lights and no other decoration. Nearby there are pens and a basket of small coloured remembrance cards with ties on them so that they can be easily attached to the branches of the tree.

Anyone with memories of a deceased loved one, whether they have suffered the loss recently or many years ago, is invited to write the name of their deceased relative or friend on a card and then tie the card or cards on the tree.

The idea of the lights of life Christmas tree does not originate in Milford-on-Sea. ‘Lights of Life’ began about 14 years ago in Canada at The Victoria Hospice in Victoria, British Columbia. There are now Trees of Remembrance kept across Canada, and in New Milton there has been one since 1998.

Winners galore this month: there were five prizes to hand out, but the big scoop was put into Father Vervenne's hand - sadly for him destined for St. Francis of Assisi's Bank Account...he still lives in hope, while St. Francis benefited to the tune of £300, a cheque for which amount was presented by Andy Gage.

Prize winners this week in the 100 Club were: £30 - No. 60, Mr. P. Reilly, 2nd prize of £20 went to Anne-Marie Atherton with her ticket No. 17. 3rd, 4th and 5th all amounted to £15 each, and went respectively to Nos. 14, 43 and 68, which translated into people went to George Durrant, Ray Salt and John Langford.

The hall was looking very Christmassy this morning: after the fair the Angels had stayed up on the walls, there was a bright little Christmas tree, and a stall with remainders from which Gina managed to extract another £50! The total is steadily mounting to the £1,000 level. Will we make it? Keep your eyes on this column....

Gretchen made a selection of tasty sausage rolls and a plateful of mince pies which added greatly to the jollies of the morning.

Our dear St. Francis of Assisi Church was broken into some time this morning, Thursday. The break-in was discovered by Father Vervenne.

The intruders gained access via a back basement window and entered the sacristy where they obviously hoped to find something. There was nothing there so they searched Fr. Vervenne's office and found some keys which opened nothing. They then broke open a door behind which they hoped to find cash. There was none to be found and the burglars left by the back door.

Police are investigating the crime and scene of crime officers will be attending the premises.

We heard this morning of the death in Canada on Friday of Mrs. Norah Sweeny's sister, Nancy.
May her soul rest in peace.

Yesterday's Fair got off to a splendid start and it was difficult to move around the well displayed stands. At the moment the total raised stands at around £920 but there are additional amounts still to come in so there is a still a chance we could smash the £1,000 level....donations gratefully accepted!

As usual the Tombola raised a great deal of interest - and where did the whisky go? Into Fr. Vervenne's grateful hands - along with a box of Maltesers and, oh! - was it hand cream?

Extremely judicious selection of talent, where members of Our Lady of Lourdes Church were 'assigned' to play for St. Francis Church - since they are numerically much superior to Milford's church - meant that an honourable win for New Milton's team was achieved by an extremely narrow margin - was it one or three points? Maybe four? Whatever - very slim, and an excellent evening was had by everyone with unexpectedly favourable comments on the food supplied at Bashley Park. Contented opinions at the end of the session signalled a return match next year.

This morning's Coffee Morning brought out the doors of gifts for the Christmas Fair, now only 20 days away! There are also rumours of exciting things being made and rescued from attics and garages to fill the stalls on 23rd November. The organisers keep their fingers crossed!

The Coffee Morning was quite well attended, in spite of the wet weather which did eventually give way to sunshine. The very heavy hail storm in the half-hour before Mass started may have put off a few of the older members of the congregation so numbers could have been higher in more clement weather.

Winners this week were Mrs. R. Middleton, whose No. 93 won her £15. Andy Gage. who spends so much time in charge of the running of the 100, had taken up a ticket whose previous owner had died and with No. 5 he won £10. The last £10 was scooped by Mrs. Myrtle Watson with her magic prime number, 41, who was delighted!

Earlier this month Father Vervenne was present at a ceremony and service to mark the start of building the new Catholic school of Our Lady and Saint Joseph in Pennington. It is hoped the school will be up and running by the start of the school year in September 2003. (Anyone who read this page earlier in the week will have discovered that the school would be 'up and running'....after which there was a blank. Hope this now puts their mind to rest!)

The meeting in New Milton called by Monsignor Peter Doyle from Winchester duly went ahead with attendance higher than expected, since one of the local churches failed to notice that the required number of representatives from each parish was two to three people! The Agenda was wide, and those present split in smaller groups to discuss the apparent main problems of to-day which affected all of us. High on the list came consideration of how to transmit the faith to the young, always assuming they were coming to church followed by how to encourage lapsed Catholics to return to the fold. Top of the list of course was what was going to be done about the shortage of priests and how parishes would be obliged to work together under the care of a single priest. One really useful suggestion was that parishes who are likely to find themselves in this position might consider getting to know each other well before the moment arrived!

Tidy discussion of such a wide ranging agenda was rather difficult, given the size of the meeting, and the meeting concluded with a single item for the next meeting, to be held on 21st November, to set up a deanery council to discuss matters further.

A welcome was offered to the new Dean for the New Forest, Canon Alan Griffiths, who is a specialist in liturgical matters.

On 17th October there will be a meeting at 7.30 pm at Our Lady of Lourdes to discuss matters relating to the Parish as it is now and as we hope and expect things to be in the future. This is to be held under the auspices of the New Forest Deanery. Rita Ford and Sarah Bell will represent St. Francis.

On 12th November it is planned to hold a Beer & Skittles evening at Bashley Park. A list for choice of food will be available from next Sunday (20th October). We are trying to get a team together to represent St. Francis & Our Lady of Lourdes.

Coffee Morning produced three winners, one at £15 and two at £10: Mrs. K Connaughton got the biggy with her No. 81, and the smaller amounts went to Mrs. Gilfillan with No. 42 and Sean Quirke with No. 36. It may interest some members of the parish to know that Mrs. Gilfillan is the sister of Father Kevin Delaney who occasionally came to look after us when Fr. Dunne was away.

The meeting duly took place and was very well attended. It opened with a prayer and the outline provoked a lively and interested discussion, during which several ideas were mentioned. The one which would have the most effect on the life of the parish was the suggested re-formation of a Parish Council. Among other ideas put forward, coffee mornings every Sunday with a larger rota of people willing to make the refreshments were thought to be feasible. Past and fond memories of The Grail and the setting up of Groups supporting its aims were mentioned. Joan Caswell agreed to look further into whether it still exists today and if so, whether it has any helpful literature we could have.

Comments were made on the importance of people getting more used to the idea of Eucharistic Ministers taking the Sacrament to the sick rather than depending on the services of the Priest all the time. It was pointed out that too much was often expected of our hard-working and aging population of priests. The importance of the Eucharist in our Catholic lives was stressed although it didn't appear to be a very high priority among the parishioners as a whole.

Generally it was felt that the parish does need to make an effort to weld itself into something that will have a positive effect on the whole community in which we live. The importance of the young and middle-aged was brought into the discussion. A lot of the current work in the church is done by a few golden oldies who obviously fade with time, and there must be people to replace them as the years go by.

Rita Ford took the opportunity to give a short report on the Youth in the Forest 2002 venture during the summer, and to introduce the Walkers for God proposed by the Winchester diocese (Anglican) as an ecumenical plan for 2003. It was at that point we began to realize the Parish was top heavy with people who wouldn't be the least bit interested in walking from an age point of view. We began to grasp the idea that unless we had a structured base with a reasonable collection of all age groups we couldn't do much.

The general feeling at the end of the meeting was optimistic and that we could do something if we put our minds and hearts in it - and that we would!

Copies of the outline of the meeting with a brief report of it will be available at the church on Friday 4th October and next Sunday. Space will be left at the end for anyone who has any ideas to write them down and return their suggestions to Father Vervenne in time for them to be correlated for the meeting on 17th October.

A meeting has been called to take place after Mass on Sunday next, 29th September. It will be a discussion on '...a brief outline of the life and mission of the community, to share information, and to identify issues of common concern and action.' The quotation is from a letter from Monsignor Peter Doyle, who is arranging an 'informal Deanery gathering' in the Parish Hall at New Milton on 17th October.

The funeral took place today of Ena Batty, wife of Harry. She was 80 years old at the time of her death, and had suffered failing health for some years, which she bore not only with stoicism, but also a lovely smile. May she rest in peace.

Gina Frank returned to Mass today after her holidays in Germany. She came with pictures of the wedding of Julia Domaser to Dirk Sandman at the church of St. Regina in Drensteinfurt on 16th August. Members of the congregation will remember Julia not only as an Altar girl, where some of the very young members confused her with a large angel, but also as a musician of considerable talent when she played to her on her clarinet during Mass. During the year she worked at the South Lawn Hotel she devoted much of her free time to helping in St. Francis, especially on the cleaning front!

September 1st

September got off to a gentle start from the point of view of numbers at Coffee - it does seem a shame that with a decent hall people are so reluctant to stay for a little while after Sunday Mass to take time to meet visitors and other members of the parish. All too often they continue to remain strangers to each other. Who knows when we might need their prayers, and it is so much easier to pray for people we know!

The lucky people today were lucky indeed: mother and daughter gained 1st and 2nd prizes with numbers 71 and 98, gaining between then the princely sum of £50. Who were they? Helen & Trixie Lister! Peter Reilly collected £15 with his No. 60 and the rear was brought up by a couple, Jim and Agnes Brydon who fetched up £10 richer. Jim deals with all the Gift Aid calculations and claims.

Thin attendance at the Coffee Morning today meant there was more chocolate Swiss roll to go round, yum-yum!

The carefully picked numbers this week were Nos. 37, 8 and 74. Sadly all the others, including the Webmaster's, were ignored. The winners of the £15, £10 and another £10, were AnneScarnell, Tony Gadd and Eve Goss. Lucky people!

The month's start saw the return after holiday of Fr. Vervenne. He wrote in the Parish Newsletter this week of the acute shortage of priests in the area in which he had been staying: 6 Parishes and one Priest, a retired missionary aged 80, recently recovered from a stroke, who managed to say one Mass on Saturday evening per parish. The communities managed with Communion and Prayers in the meantime. How fortunate Milford is!

We wish Fr. Vervenne a successful Clog Dancing Interlude and welcome the ministrations of Canon Dwyer.

Mrs. Joan Durrant died peacefully at home, in the company of her family. Her husband, George, was received into the Church by Father Vervenne in March, also at home, after Joan had been told she only had days to live. She bore the subsequent delay with courage and humour. Her funeral will take place at Bournemouth Crematorium on 24th July, family members only. It is hoped to have a memorial service at St. Francis of Assisi later in the summer.

A Requiem Mass took place today of David Whiteford Erskine Bell, husband of Sarah, father of Sally, Tim, Joanna, Katy and Michael, Grandfather of Christopher, Jonathan, Matthew, Andrew, Hannah, Alexandra and Ginny (Virginia). May he rest in peace in the Kingdom of God.

Coffee Morning again and the 1st Prize was lifted with No. 68 by John Langford. As it was not one of the higher pay-out months, his muscles remained in good form! Monica Roberts, who sadly no longer attends St. Francis Church owing to family commitments which make the earlier Mass time difficult, won the 2nd Prize of £10 with ticket No. 21. Monica is now a parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes but is happy to support St. Francis via the £100 Club. Mac Hutchinson rounded up the proceedings as her No. 29 took the last available £10. A special note should be made here that a particularly delicious chocolate cake was on offer today....

David Bell, dear husband of Sarah, died today in Lymington Hospital, following a stroke yesterday. He had been unable to attend Mass for some time, but received Holy Communion at home yesterday morning, and Extreme Unction from Father Don Clements in Lymington Hospital.

His Requiem Mass will take place at St. Francis at 11.00 am on Friday, 12th July.

Today was the thirty-third anniversary of Fr. Vervenne's Ordination. It also marked the arrival in St. Francis of a crucifix carved from oak by Allan Rowlands, a well-known carver who formerly lived in Sway. As well as being a notable carver, he also wrote and published poetry. The crucifix has been set in front of the altar, which is also made of oak. The picture at the top of the page doesn't really do justice to the carving because the wood matches the altar so closely, but the reaction of most people who have seen it in the church is that it is 'Lovely!'

A party was held to mark the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in the Maryland Room. Attendance was good and we were able to welcome some of the congregation from Our Lady of Lourdes in New Milton. Food was plentiful, provided by members of the parish as gifts and some financed by the entrance tickets of £5, which also included wine and soft drinks. Lincoln Chattee arranged for the music and also for entertainment.

To many people's great surprise, Lauren Bannon, 11, who often serves as an altar girl, showed a completely different side of herself as she performed several songs. She has a most beautiful mature voice and could well end up joining the illustrious company of young singers who seem to be bursting on to the entertainment scene these days. Those at the party will remember we heard her here first!

Her Majesty was toasted and everyone sang God Save the Queen, after which the celebration cake, decorated to match the wall decorations and made by Leah Shaw, was cut. The cake was made in two parts: one square was iced showing a crown, and the other with Queen Elizabeth's cipher, and both surrounded by satin ribbons emblazoned with the Union Jack. As far as the cake was concerned, general consensus was 'Delicious!' The wall decorations were made by Sarah Bell. Everyone agreed it was a memorable evening and it raised £262 for parish funds.

Always a few problems in the Summer with visitors to Milford staying with family, and Milford residents escaping them by going on holiday themselves. A combination of these sorts of circumstances together with the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee produced another fairly rushed affair this morning although it was Big Payout Time. Pat Marshall scooped the lion's share with her No. 67 and walked away with £30. No. 98 produced a name we haven't seen for a long time, Trixie Lister, who was £20 the richer, and a relative newcomer, Claire Weaver collected £15 with No. 58. Myrtle Watson was a delighted 4th with lovely prime number ticket 41, "Haven't won a thing for years and years!" was her incredulous comment.

Andy Gage, the 100 Club Treasurer, presented a cheque for £300 from the profits of the club to Father Vervenne for Parish funds. Father expressed sadly the thought that yet again he didn't see his name written in the payee's space....

This month's Coffee Morning produced a speedy draw in which the ladies dominated: Di Mussert, Alexandra Baxter and, much to everyone's pleasure, Irene Hutchinson, known to all as 'Mac' and recently widowed, collected respectively £15, £10 and £10 with their numbers 53, 78 and 19. It being a Bank Holiday weekend, people tended to rush away this morning to tend to visitors etc.

Some research done by Father Vervenne has thrown some light on two of the statues at St. Francis. In the entrance porch, at the time of Fr. Vervenne taking up his duties at the church, was a wooden statue. This appeared to represent St. Joseph and Our Lord as a child. Rumours persisted that at one time this statue was of Our Lady, although it all seemed rather far-fetched. Fr. Vervenne now reveals that he has seen the former head, which was removed to make place for a new one, since two large statues of the virgin was more than the church needed! The decapitated head is in the possession of Canon Tim Dwyer...

The present large statue of Mary (see above), was presented to the church by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Mary of the Angels who ran the Maryland Convent, when after some years in which several moves took place, the nuns finally moved out of the area.

The Franciscan Sisters of St. Mary of the Angels moved originally to Milford from Bugle Street in Southampton, which was very near the docks. The statue is made of iron and stood on the roof of the convent in Southampton. It is said that sailors returning home used to look for the sun shining on the gold statue to welcome them safely back from their days at sea. It was restored a couple of years ago during the renovations of St. Francis of Assisi church in Milford.

A course has been arranged for Eucharist Ministers (officially designated Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, which does not trip lightly off the tongue - hence its rare usage!) and Readers. This will be held jointly with those of New Milton on Saturday 25th May.

While it appeared many parishioners were away on holiday attendance at the coffee morning was quite good. The lucky winners this month were at £15 and ahead of the field, Margaret Langford, whose ticket No. 25 scooped the winner. £10 each went to Sybil Elmslie and Gordon Renshawe with tickets 47 and 96 respectively. There was an incipient gnashing of unlucky owners' teeth, but most of the teeth present were clamped happily around cake and biscuits. It is time a 'thank you' went to the people who organise and serve the coffee on these Sunday mornings. so, a big Thank You to Gretchen, Margaret and Angela and all others involved in this work.

One the final run-up to Easter, the Lenten Penitential Services in both churches were as popular as ever. The Stations of the Cross on Friday at 11.00 am, and were moderately well attended. Thursday evening Mass was held at the church of Our Lady of Lourdes, New Milton, and many members of the Milford congregation were there. Mass at Milford on Easter Sunday saw most of the parishioners in church, including many who had also attended the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening at New Milton. Prayers were offered for the repose of the soul of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Our congratulations and thanks go to Fr. Vervenne who worked so hard for both the churches over Easter. We consider ourselves fortunate to have a Good Shepherd Pastor who takes such care of us!

The news was received to-day of the sudden death of one of the most regular attenders at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Milford-on-Sea. Colonel Douglas V. Hutchinson died on holiday in the Caribbean.

After hunting around for a suitable holiday in the bulb fields of Holland it was decided we were far too late to do anything constructive this year, and it was decided to try to make it for 2003. We await further news of the other suggestions for social activities.

The first proposal is a trip to Holland to see the bulb fields in the second half of April. Details of this will hopefully appear at Mass next Sunday. The party for the Queen's Golden Jubilee will be celebrated in the evening in the Maryland Room on Friday, 14th June, and will be the sort of buffet we had for Father's birthday party, but with a small charge to cover the cost of expenses, any profits going to the Queen's chosen charity for the year, Bernardos. A day trip to the Isle of Wight is proposed for some time in September, a Beetle Drive in October, Christmas Fair on 23rd November in the Maryland Room and the year brought to an end with a Christmas Sherry and Mince Pie party after Mass on the last Sunday before Christmas.

It is noted that the lack of a Summer Fair will mean several hundred pounds missing towards Church funds, so a Fair will probably also be organised. Stand by for further news.

Safely returned from a few days break, Father Vervenne arrived for Sunday Mass with an impressive piece of equipment which turned out to be a CD Player with all the trimmings. He caught a volunteer, who protested ignorance of the operation of such a machine, and persuaded the unhappy victim that it was so simple anyone could do it. He explained carefully how to put in the CD which would produce organ music so that congregation could enjoy singing some hymns again, and which buttons to press.

Numbers were put up, hymn books distributed and the 'organist' was stationed beside the monstrous machine, primed to press the right button. Only there were so many buttons!

Not only did the substitute musician fail to press the right ones, but when they were finally engaged, the congregation failed to catch the tune at all while confident former choir members sang strongly and forcefully, but could not catch up with the music.

By the time the fourth - and last hymn - was reached, some sort of unity was achieved, and general feeling was that with a bit of practice it would all come right. It has therefore been proposed that those who are interested in singing come in half an hour early on a Sunday to run through the hymns for the day. Further, that the person appointed to operate the sound system gets control over it!

It has to be said that Father Vervenne took the whole shambolic episode in his stride and remains encouraging and optimistic.

To add to the general excitement of the day, the March draw took place in the Maryland Room. It was one of the big draws, in that the top prize was £30. This was won by Harry & Ena Batty with No. 100. The 2nd prize of £20 went to Ursula Beechey as her No. 26 was drawn. Next No. 24 gained £15 for Ann Todd, and finally Peter and Daphne Igoe will share £10 won when No. 49 emerged from the velvet bag.

An ambulance was called at the end of Mass to rescue Mrs. Joan Durrant who had experienced a mild heart attack. Lymington Hospital reported later than she was resting comfortably.

A most welcome addition to St. Francis to-day was the simple crucifix on the table against the curtain at the back of the church. It doesn't dominate or attract the eye away from the primacy of the tabernacle. It is just 'there', when you want it to be.

A meeting of the Social Committee has been called for Wednesday 27th February at 2.00 pm for all members. It will be held in the Maryland Room with the idea of discussing and planning social activities for the year, with special thought given to the Queen's Jubilee. As well as existing members of the Committee, anyone else who is interested in helping will be most welcome.

Extract from Parish Newsletter of 17th February:
BIRTHDAY...My most sincere thanks to all those who made a contribution towards my 'Holiday Fund' on the occasion of my 60th birthday. Thank you also for cards and presents received and the wonderful social gathering on the day at Milford-on-Sea.

The sun came out as everybody arrived for the celebration of Father Vervenne's 60th Birthday. The ladies of the parish came up trumps with a selection of delicious cocktail canapés which went down well with wine, soft drinks and enthusiasm. Father Vervenne was presented with a tangible puppet Holiday Piggy Bank which contained a cheque from his parishioners at Milford on Sea, and Audrey Henegan, on behalf of the members of the New Milton parish, who had also been invited to the party, presented him with an even more handsome cheque and a continental kiss on each cheek to celebrate the occasion continental style!

With the Christmas Season finally over, we start the path to Lent, with Ash Wednesday in only 10 days' time. The prospect of Father Vervenne's 60th birthday party on 9th February led to some frantic activity before and after Mass in the Maryland Room. Father kindly pretended he noticed absolutely nothing out of the ordinary going on. Mind, the number selection might have given the congregation reminders had they been necessary that 60-something was definitely flavour of the month.

Mrs. Kit Webdale with No. 63 took lion's share of £15 - only a little lion this month; Mr. John Murphy with a different number this month - No. 61 took home a mere £10 this month, and Peter Reilly came in third, but still with £10, with his No. 60.

After an evening Mass, the Parish Meeting at took place at 7.00 pm. Sadly neither was particularly well attended, but at the meeting in the Maryland Room those present heard that Health and Safety procedures were now in place, and Fr. Vervenne asked whether any member of the parish had any suggestions for additional measures. It was suggested that a First Aid Box be installed. Father pointed out that generally he was around when there were people in the church and he had one in the car, but of course when the cleaners etc. were in the church this wasn't necessarily the case. It was agreed that a First Aid Box would be arranged. Fire extinguishers would be overhauled or installed where necessary. Arthur Bishop wanted some information about what to do until the arrival of an ambulance if one of the parishioners had a heart attack. Father Vervenne said he would immediately be available to concentrate on giving the Last Rites! He confirmed that Sherry Gadd was the official Health and Safety Officer for the Church.

The Nuns at St. Dominic's Priory had selected 30th November for their Christmas Fair. As we had been asked to ensure the dates didn't clash for the third year running, Sarah Bell then proposed 7th December for our Fair, probably on the grounds it would be more 'Christmas Party'ish, but Pat Marshall quite rightly pointed out that that was really too close to Christmas, and it should be held the week before St. Dominic's Fair. A final decision has not yet been made.

Father Vervenne mentioned Gift Aid Forms, which have now taken the place of Covenants. It transpired that many people hadn't realised that covenants were now outmoded and hadn't yet got round to dealing with Gift Aid Forms. Something will be done to publicise them. He also gave the news to those present that St. Francis Church had received a legacy from Tanya Drake-Brockman, who died last year, and is fondly remembered by those who knew her. She worked hard in the church, particularly fostering social occasions and arranging parish excursions.

Bobby Cowdell expressed a wish that a crucifix be put against the end wall of the church, where the curtain is at the moment. This suggestion evoked an enthusiastic response, and while Father pointed out that a big one would cost a great deal, he did agree to investigate the possibility that the diocese might have one available that we could have, especially in view of the many closures of churches in the Portsmouth area.

Sadly there was no tea or coffee available. The meeting came to an end. Unfortunately no one thought at the time to offer Father a vote of thanks for giving up his time to say Mass for us and chairing the meeting without refreshment, postponing his supper till about 8.30! Next time we will do better.

St. Francis' Church hosted the 'Week of Prayer for Church Unity' this year, and attendance was higher than expected and Father Vervenne welcomed the members of all the churches in Milford. Apart from a little glitch with some of the singing, the service went well and the final hymn, 'Guide me, O you great Jehovah', to the famous tune 'Cwm Rhondda' almost raised the roof. The theme of the service this year was the 'Water of Life' and this could hardly have been more appropriate at a time when those, whose homes had been destroyed in the eruption of the volcano Mt. Nyiragongo which towers over Goma in the Congo, were desperate for sources of clean water as they fled their home in hundreds of thousands.

After the service those present who could stay went down to the Maryland Room where there was a splendid tea. The year's organiser of the occasion, Christine Luxon of All Saints', said in a letter thanking us for all our help that the high point of the whole event as far as she was concerned was the friendship and fellowship, ignited during the service, positively glowed during the tea!

So all those who helped in welcoming our brothers and sisters in Christ, take a bow!

In this week's newsletter Father Vervenne announced that sadly there would be no First Holy Communions in either parish this year. With regard to the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Bishop will be visiting us on 18th June, and anyone over 13 years of age - and that includes adults - who wish to make their confirmation, should get in touch with Father Vervenne as soon as possible.

The Maryland Room filled rather more slowly than usual to-day - the weather was so much warmer outside people started nattering/dawdling as soon as they were outside the church, but attendance was good. Winners this month were John Murphy (No. 79) whose bank balance will have soared by £15, Anne Scarnell and Peter Barton with Nos. 37 & 85 respectively pulled in £10 each.

A new sanctuary lamp holder carved in oak and made for us by one of the New Milton parishioners was installed after Mass and looks very elegant. Thank you to the artist/carpenter in New Milton.

It was Gretchen Nagel's birthday - again! How fast the years go, but she collected a chorus of Happy Birthday - it seems no time since it was sung on the very day last year. Plans were announced for a drinks party on Saturday 9th February to celebrate Father Vervenne's 60th Birthday, to which both parishes are invited and which it is proposed be held in the Maryland Room.

By this Sunday Fr. Vervenne had produced a newsletter for Milford alone (instead of sharing with Our Lady of Lourdes in New Milton) as a graceful thanks to everyone for their cards and gifts.

We wish everybody in the Parish all God's blessings and our own good wishes for the Year of Our Lord 2002.

This is being inserted as a special occasion in view of the rarities of Weddings to be held at St. Francis of Assisi RC Church since it was opened in 1967

On 15th October, St. Francis had the pleasure of seeing the celebration of Holy Matrimony between Nicolas le Magoariec and Mandy Larke. The photograph above shows Mandy arriving with her father, Peter Larke; the one below, the happy couple stepping out towards the future. Our best wishes go with them.

I seem to have lost some pages here - Fr. Vervenne has the 'hard copy' of this site, so they will be in the records of the parish. Sorry! Shall try harder next time.
This is being written on 8th February 2003