CONGREGATIO DIVINUM CARITAS

By Ms Angela Murphy

Saturday 30th April, 2011 was a very special day in the lives of three young people: Daniel aged 24, Dolores (Dolly) aged 22 and Finn aged 10 who is significantly affected by a rare disability. It was on this day that the three youngsters received the sacrament of Baptism in a service administered by Canon (Father) Jerome Lloyd in the Prayer Chapel of Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Brighton.

Finn’s parents Sean and Angela were already members of the ORCCE when the children were baptised; they joined after they decided to part- company with the Roman Catholic Church, feeling very uneasy about its very limited support of equal opportunities and also its moving away from the traditional liturgy. On reflection, they say that leaving the Church in which they were baptised wasn’t difficult; indeed far from being “racked with regret”, on the contrary they have found that membership of the ORCCE has reinvigorated their catholic faith.

Despite being completely comfortable in their new (religious) home, they were somewhat reticent about contacting Fr Jerome given that they live about 60 miles away from Brighton and they knew their Parish Priest would want to visit them in West London. Far from being a hardship, Fr Jerome was only too willing to make arrangements and visit the youngsters at home.

In preparation for the visit, Father Jerome had extensive discussions with the parents and also sent them a large amount of preparatory literature. When he did visit, he was made most welcome by all – in particular Horace the family’s 65Kg Dogue de Bordeaux who perhaps also got wind of Fr Jerome’s cat, Mr Watts. Fr Jerome discussed the significance of baptism with the youngsters in a way that made everyone feel at ease.

On the day the children were baptised the family were blessed by beautiful weather, clear roads and available parking spaces – perhaps clear evidence that their guardian angels were looking out for them. On arriving at the Methodist Church they were introduced to Peter who was going to sponsor Finn and assist Father Jerome. They were also lucky to meet with the Rev. Cynthia Park, Minister of the Methodist Church; with characteristic Christian generosity, she had given permission for the service being held in the Church. The family were overjoyed when she asked if she could both attend the baptismal service and also receive Holy Communion.

The sacrament was dispensed by Fr Jerome during a beautiful traditional service. Speaking afterwards, the children’s grandmother Lola described the liturgy as “Marvellous – it was just like the services we went to when I was younger”. Nanny Lola had already made clear to Father Jerome beforehand that she was certainly not a practitioner of "charismatic" or "spirit- led" worship!

Angela and Sean described the whole thing as “wonderful and a little overwhelming”. The service concluded by Father Jerome giving the children each a striking certificate of baptism written wholly in Latin which, needless to say, will be treasured by all. Daniel, who admits he was apprehensive, described his receipt of the sacrament as “Massively significant” whilst Dolly was keen to tell her friends in great detail what had happened. Both Daniel and Dolly are now thinking about confirmation and, Deo gratias, this will take place during the autumn of this year in London.