The Shepherd, June 2006
BROOKWOOD NEWS
NEW CATECHUMEN
ON THE LAST SUNDAY IN LENT, Sunday 9th April, Keith Whitfield from Winchester was made a catechumen at Saint Edward’s Church. Keith who is married to a Russian and is a Russian-speaker, finding that his name was similar to the Russian word for a whale, asked that he might be named after the Holy Prophet Jonas, as indeed he was. We ask prayers for him, both that he might receive the grace of Holy Baptism in due course and that he might be helped through his period of sickness.
BAPTISM AT SAINT EDWARD’S
LAURENCE, the son of John and Joanna Russell, was baptised at Brookwood on Sunday, 14th May, the Sunday of the Paralytic. His sponsors at the font were Charalampos Sophianopoulos, who came over from Greece for the occasion, and Elena Holden, one of our parishioners; Fr Peter Baulk was the celebrant of the mystery.
NEW INCENSES
WITH THE HELP of Michael and Margaret Woodrow, the perfumers, we have now introduced three new incense fragrances to our selection. The first, “Sarov,” was suggested by the Woodrows three years ago to commemorate the centenary of the glorification of Saint Seraphim of Sarov, but, despite their encouragement and help, we have delayed until now in producing it. It is a fragrance reminiscent of Saint Seraphim’s spruce forests. The other two new fragrances are “Jasmine” and “English Lavender.” For the first time in six years we have also revised our prices for incense to reflect current costs, and a new pricelist, available on request, was printed in April this year.
VISITORS FROM THE ORIENT
ON HIS WAY to attend the IV All-Diaspora Council in the States, Father Protodeacon Vasily Yakimov from Australia stopped over in England and spent a few days at the Brotherhood. On Friday, 15th/28th April, the feast of the Life-Giving Spring, he served with us at the Convent of the Annunciation in London. On the following day, he served at the St Boniface Mission in Ryde, returning to attend the Vigil at the Russian Church on Harvard Road that evening. On Sunday morning, he returned to Brookwood, to serve with us at Saint Edward’s.
Father Archimandrite Daniel (Toyne), the pastor of the Orthodox parish of the Resurrection in Singapore (OEc.Patr.), paid an all too brief visit to Brookwood on Thursday 18th May.
An from the Occident: On Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May, we were visited by Father Antony, an Australian convert to Orthodoxy, who was tonsured at the Sacred Monastery of Esfigmenou on the Holy Mountain and now serves as a subdeacon at the San Francisco Cathedral, “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”
BUILDING PROGRESS
THE APPEAL has, in less than two years, topped the 60% mark, and now stands at £390,852.72. We would like to thank all those of you who have contributed so far, making this possible. Now, as May draws to its close, we have been having contractors visiting and viewing the site and studying the renovation work to be done on the Old Mortuary to prepare their tenders. Five companies are competing in this regard, and we anticipate receiving their submissions on 8th June. Thus, by the time you receive this issue, our Building Committee should have accepted one of the tenders and be entering into a contract with a firm to undertake the work. If you have not hitherto supported this appeal, please do so now and give as generously as you can, so that a project which has been singularly blessed so far may be brought, to God’s glory, to a good conclusion.
BROTHERHOOD WEBSITE
DAVID JEPSON, our webmaster, reports that in January this year we had 6,806 “hits” on our website (www.saintedwardbrotherhood.org), in February the figure was 7,754, and in March 9,497, and in April 8,055. Actually, in meeting delegates at the IV All-Diaspora Council, we also found that our website and “The Shepherd” are much more widely known and read than we had ever imagined.
SAINT BONIFACE MISSION, RYDE
IN JUNE, we hope to have the Divine Liturgy on the Saturday of Pentecost Week, 17th June. This is the day before St Boniface day (5th/18th), and, D.V., rather than celebrating in the chapel at Ryde, we will do so in the tenth century church at Bonchurch, where by tradition St Boniface landed and preached to the people. Details from Mrs Barbara Woodford: telephone 01983 565 805.
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PRACTICAL TIP
IN CHURCH, stand near the front; at a meeting or conference, sit near the back. 
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