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DOWN IN THE COUNTRY, SOMETHING STIRRED
Hidden away in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ Department of Dialogue and Unity is a small sub section which deals with rural issues. For some years one person on behalf of the CBCEW attended meetings of the Churches’ Rural Group (CRG). This is a Churches Together in England (CTE) coördinating committee bringing together the rural interests of CTE member churches.
When two priests, Fr. Robert Miller and Fr. Harry Doyle, were appointed to attend the CRG about ten years ago, they discovered that the other churches, some very active in rural areas, wondered what the Catholic Church was doing. The Catholic Church is seen as a church of the towns and cities, yet every rural area is in somebody’s Catholic parish. Commuters and retirees may have replaced many of the farmers, but they are parishioners out there, and they should not be forgotten.
Fr. Harry and Fr. Robert also wondered what the Catholic Church was doing. They arranged a national conference for rural Catholics in an attempt to discover the answer. The first conference brought together some thirty Catholics, mostly but not all clergy, at Garstang in Lancashire. It became apparent that some dioceses took their rural areas seriously, some not. Few circulated information about key issues. There was a desire for an annual conference so that members could encourage each other and benefit from shared information. A website soon followed: www.catholicandrural.org.uk. Conferences have included comparative presentations on rural ministry in Catholic Scotland, in the french diocese of Poitiers, the Anglican diocese of Canterbury and the Catholic diocese of Oslo, testimony that the conferences meet a real need. Although ‘rural’ means much more than farming every conference includes ‘A View from the Farm Gate’. Speakers have included an agricultural journalist, The Archers’ agricultural storyline editor, a fruit farmer, the President of the National Farmers Union, and the Chairman of the British Wool Marketing Board will address the subject. Visits are also included, most recently to a 2,200-cow dairy herd. Details of the 2012 conference can be found on www.catholicandrural.org.uk.
A number of dioceses began to send a representative to each year’s conference. To have diocesan representatives proved useful. It has been necessary to approach them variously over such issues as Foot and Mouth Disease,Bovine Tuberculosis,
Single Farm Payment registration of diocesan-owned farms, rural migrant workers, flooding, Foot and Mouth Disease, Blue Tongue, and the closure of the Bernard Matthews turkey factory due to Avian Flu. Recruiting such people has not been easy. It became apparent that the oversight of a Bishop for rural issues would be helpful. Bishop O’Donoghue of Lancaster volunteered to be the first, and on his retirement was succeeded by Bishop Cunningham of Hexham and Newcastle. Bishop Cunningham made it one of his first tasks to ensure every English and Welsh diocese provided a rural contact. Most now do.
Annual conferences allow important subjects to be considered. They are supplemented by training days. A day shared with the CRG looked at Pastoral Care in Quarantine Situations. Another day looked at the plight of the many rural Catholic migrant workers. One introduced Catholic clergy to the resources of the Arthur Rank Centre at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire (www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk ), home of the denominational national rural officers and all the rural charities . In July 2010 a day on introducing a rural module for seminarians and deacons-to-be was offered for Catholic directors of pastoral studies. The generosity of various groups has financed a limited number of free places for seminarians at the annual conference. Training days and conferences have to be self-financing.
Slowly contact is being made with wider ecumenical groupings. Catholic membership of the CRG has allowed access to the wisdom and Friendship of members of other churches. It has also pointed beyond to the Churches European Network and the International Christian Rural Association. Catholic involvement in these groups is limited at present as the rural budget covers only membership of the CRG and travel to its meetings.
If you are a rural Catholic, or your urban parish includes large rural areas, you may like to know more about this rural ministry. You can visit the website. You can also contact either of the two clergy who serve Bishop Cunningham and the CBCEW. Fr. Harry Doyle (01772 782244) is well-known throughout the north-east for his prize Suffolk rams and as a senior priest of Lancaster diocese. Fr. Robert Miller (01398 324217) of Clifton diocese serves Tisbury in Wiltshire. Either priest would be happy to discuss their work. Conference details are posted on the website or can be obtained from Fr. Robert.
Catholic and Rural Parishes
