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THE VOICE RESPECTFULLY DRAWS THIS NOTICE TO THE ATTENTION OF ITS READERS
CONTACTING THE VOICE
The editor of this paper is Rev. V. Farrell and his address is Holy Family Church, Links Road, Blackpool, FY1 2RU. Telephone number: 01253 351258. Email: voicechain@aol.com. Letters for publication must be accompanied by a full postal address and a telephone number where the writer may be contacted. Please state "For Publication." The full address will not be used on publication, but we will NOT publish letters where we are asked to withhold names entirely. Letters may be edited. Articles submitted for publication may be sent to the same address. If not sent by email it is preferred that they are at least typed.

In Better Voice
I have always been an avid reader of The Voice and now it is even better with all the interesting reading in it. I stood outside St Mary of Furness Catholic Church in Ulverston after 10am Mass on Sunday 30th January and gave a copy of the February Issue of The Voice to all our parishioners. They were delighted to receive them at this earliest opportunity. We were left with only 3 copies on the table at the back of the Church. This can only be good for every Parish. More copies of the Voice will be read if only one parishioner at each Mass gives them out to the people. Very few seem to stop to take one from a table at the back of the Church.
Colette Greenwood.
CWL Branch Publicity and Liaison Officer
Ulverston

Being the Christian Presence in a Rural Community
The article in the January issue gives a very narrow, and indeed misleading, perspective of the hand of friendship, which has been extended for many years by the Anglicans at St Michael's, Burgh by Sands to the Catholic community in and around this rural area west of Carlisle. It is quite incorrect to suggest that the Vigil Mass held at St Michael's was a 'Mass of convenience' A Vigil Mass has been held in Burgh by Sands as part of the parish of St Edmunds, Carlisle for nearly a quarter of a century. At first the Mass was held in the Village Hall and then, at the invitation of the Parochial Church Council, moved to St Michael's itself. The association between the two Christian faith communities, was further strengthened in 1994. A 'Sharing Agreement' under the 'Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1969' was signed on 7th September 1994 by the Rector of St Michael's and representatives of the Carlisle Diocesan Board and the Parochial Church Council for the Anglican community, and Bishop Brewer, Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster. This Agreement states that "the Roman Catholic Church shall be entitled to say a Mass in the Church Buildings at 6.00 p.m. each Saturday and on any Holy Day by agreement (with St Michael's)". For its part the Roman Catholic Church is to make a contribution of one third of the annual running costs (excluding repairs) of the Church Building. For the last ten years the Vigil Mass has been said in St Michael's nearly every Saturday under the Sharing Agreement, until it was stopped abruptly at the end of October 2004. The Vigil Mass when it started in the 1980's might perhaps, in today's terminology, be classified a "Mass of convenience". But, over the years, it had become far more than that and was truly a "Mass of community". It is only now that the Catholics in this rural area realise how great is the loss of community that existed by joining in the weekly Vigil Mass at St Michael's. A few now attend a Mass at St Edmunds, or Morton Chapel; more attend a Mass at other parishes in Carlisle according to convenience or previous connections with these parishes. Some go to an Anglican service. In summary, little thought or consultation had been given to where people would wish to go for Mass in the future, and the related pastoral care. It was against this long association that early last year the present initiative for the Anglican and Catholic communities to work more closely together took root. It had undoubtedly long been the hope of the Anglican community that the Catholic community would join them in a closer sharing of Christian faith. That the Vigil Mass at Burgh by Sands should be ended just as there was real hope for the two communities to work together is a mystery. It shows a singular lack of appreciation by the Catholic Church of all that the Anglican community in Burgh by Sands has done to foster closer links with the Catholic community. To succeed now will require more than nominal support from the Catholic community in and around Carlisle.
Christopher Thompson
Burgh by Sands

In the January edition to which the Christopher Thompson refers, we mistakenly referred to the church as St. Richard's instead of St Michael's and spelled the place name wrongly, "Brough" instead of "Burgh" by Sands. We apologise for these errors. Ed.

A Future for Cumbria!
As a Catholic contemplating moving to Cumbria over the coming months, I do hope that the Diocese of Lancaster possesses a more traditional Catholic aspect than that presented in your diocesan newspaper, wherein one notes:

• Dr Rowan Williams described as a "perfectly orthodox theologian"
• An obsessive fascination with ecumenism
• A desire to exploit the shortage of priests to impose "collaborative ministry" on the Church
• Open contestation of the Church's moral teaching on contraception and homosexual practice (Listening Day suggestions)

Editor's Comment: It would be unfortunate if any readers were mislead by Mr Johnson's remarks, we therefore add a few facts that may help.

• Dr Williams is indeed an orthodox theologian. You may not see eye to eye with a particular theologian's beliefs, OR his religious affiliation, indeed she or he may have none, but in an academic sense she or he may still be fairly described as a "perfectly orthodox theologian".
• Ecumenism: We have covered Ecumenism twice in 29 issues and apologise that it has not been more. (Pope John Paul in 1982 in Liverpool, " Restoration of unity among Christians is one of the main concerns of the church.") And Jesus at the Last Supper. "That they may all be one."
• Collaborative Ministry: "exploiting!" "impose!" If only we had more to report! What a curious attitude.
• Listening Day: The Bishops were well aware of the official teachings of the Catholic Church on these matters, and had no need to consult people to learn them. They made it clear from the start that they wanted to hear what people actually felt in their hearts, however "false" that might be. We promoted Listening Day from the start and published the official questionnaire produced by the Bishops when the project was launched. We reported "Listening Day" itself as it happened, adding nothing to what was said on the day.