Diocesan Link APRIL 2026 Newsletter from Arundel & Brighton
Diocesan
Link APRIL 2026 Newsletter from Arundel & Brighton
He Is Risen
Welcome to this edition of my web newsletter April 2026
Holy Week and Easter are upon us. I hope everyone has had a
rewarding Lent and is looking forward to Easter.
Do welcome those who have been newly received into the
Catholic Church: Neophytes, those receiving the sacraments of baptism,
confirmation and Holy Communion, and those received into Full Communion. Filled
with the Holy Spirit they will be buzzing. Many will want to share their story.
Do be open to listening to them. The energy of new Catholics can invigorate a
parish.
Mystagogy is the period following entry into the Catholic
Church. In some parishes it may last for the Easter season, but there will be
some RCIA teams who enter into a year long Mystagogy period assisting and
supporting the new Catholics to learn, engage and develop their faith.
RCIA: First Ever
National Study of RCIA/OCIA Candidates – full details of how to join the survey
are given in this blog.
Happy Easter
Sue Petritz
Diocesan Link for Arundel & Brighton
______________________________________________________________________________
Join us for an update on the Synod
on Synodality’s considerations on women in the life of the Church, in
conversation with Dr. Phyllis Zagan, world expert on the question of women
deacons and a member of Pope Francis’s initial commission on the topic.Phyllis Zagano has written an article this week in the Tablet. She also has a new book being published and will give details during the webinar.
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/whatever-happened-to-women-deacons/
_____________________________________________________________________
The position of
women in leadership across the universal church is recognised and celebrated.
Ministries are explored and discussed including the female diaconate. A
suggestion of new ministries for women is raised.
Contribution from Helen Burgess Vice President of NBCW
_______________________________________________________________________
Synod releases Final Report of Study
Group on women in the Church
The General Secretariat of the Synod publishes the third Final Report of the Study Groups, which is from Study Group No. 5 on 'Women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Church.'
_____________________________________________________________________
Phyllis Zagano has written an article
this week in the Tablet
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/whatever-happened-to-women-deacons/
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for a
challenging Position. Look below.
Director: The Catholic Union Seeks a New Director to lead, influence, and expand
the Union’s impact across the Church, public life, and wider society. We are
seeking an exceptional leader who can act as a credible spokesperson and
ambassador for the Catholic Union, building trusted relationships across the
Church, parliaments and wider society and helping to grow the Catholic Union’s
influence and engagement in the years ahead. The Catholic Union is being
supported by Macaulay Search. To explore this opportunity further
please contact Anita Motha: anita.motha@macaulaysearch.com
Further details can be found at: www.macaulaysearch.com/opportunities Closing date: Friday 10th
April
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday April 20th
7.00-8..pm
Catholic Women Walking with Women: A Faith Journey Through Life’s Seasons is a year-long webinar series designed to meet women where they truly are, in the real circumstances and rhythms of life, and to explore how God walks with us in every season.
Please join us on Tuesday 24th March at 7pm
as we speak to Emma
O’Connell as she speaks on:
- The
spiritual significance of pregnancy and motherhood
- Catholic
teachings on life and parenting
- Finding
strength in prayer and the sacramental life
Join us on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82962690627?pwd=EB6Te5k0PvIava9oWVbadB0V3FH4WX.1
Meeting ID: 829 6269 0627
Passcode: 473262
Monday 20 April at 6.00pm. The Art of Beauty, a Catholic Union webinar to explore the place of beauty, amongst the other transcendentals, in the moral formation of the person and of society. Chaired by Catherine Pepinster, well known journalist, attendees will hear from Father Patrick van der Vorst and Stefan Kaminski. Booking essential. To register email info@catholicunion.org.uk for zoom link.
_____________________________________________________________
NBCW
next Book choice starting late April. Do let me know If you are interested in
joining the zoom group, as researching
the day and time which suits most. We
meet approximately every 3 weeks to
discuss a chapter. Email Sue @
nbcw@abdiocese.org.uk
or it will be on events page of www.nbcw.co.uk
RCIA: First Ever National Study of RCIA/OCIA Candidates. St Mary's University, Twickenham with Word on Fire Institute, and two other universities is this Lent undertaking the first ever national empirical study of catechumens & candidates for the RCIA/OCIA. At a time of talk of a 'Quiet Revival' this study will enable the church to enhance pastoral planning by helping us learn who is joining, how they met the church, what their profiles and personalities are and what they have found helpful. The hope is to reach every parish in England and Wales with an RCIA process. Please circulate the online survey which is entirely anonymised and confidential. It can be found here https://tinyurl.com/RCIA26 For further information email francis.davis@kellogg.ox.ac.uk
IF Tech is your thing!
Tech Group. The Catholic Union is convening a group to examine technology, especially AI, and if you would like to join, please email info@catholicunion.org.uk
__________________________________________________________________________
I came across this icon which I thought deserved to be shared
The icon has recently been painted for a church in the US of all the women mentioned in the New Testament - there are 58, and the researcher thinks that she could probably have found more if she had had time!!
The icon was posted on an FB page by Axia Women, a community
of Orthodox women in conversation. Heather MacKean is a Canadian iconographer
who made the icon, starting with 18 names of women in the NT. The icon was
commissioned by the University of Portland.
In the Orthodox tradition, names are given to many of the New
Testament women who do not have names in the original text - notably the Woman
at the Well, Photini - and the 'tradition' also provides backstories for them,
as well as accounts of what happened next!
The list includes the women named in Romans 16.
The 58 women of the New Testament included in the work are:
- Anna-the mother of the Theotokos
- Elizabeth-mother of John the Baptist
- Prophetess Anna who witnessed the Presentation of Christ
to St. Symeon in the Temple
- Widow of Nain whose son Christ raised from the dead
- The poor widow who gave the 2 mites in the temple
- The wife of Jairus and daughter of Jairus
- Peter’s mother in law
- Junia, a woman apostle praised by Paul
- Apphia, another woman apostle. She was the wife of
Philemon, the first bishop of Gaza. She was martyred with her husband.
- The Mother of Rufus ( and Alexander) who was probably the
wife of Simon of Cyrene. Paul commends her as his 'mother' because of her
loving maternal care for him
- Lydia who was baptized with her whole family in Philippi
by St. Paul. She is considered to be 'Equal to the Apostles' in the Orthodox
Church
- Chloe of Corinth who alerted Paul to the divisions in the
Corinthian church
- Persis who Paul calls a beloved friend and commends her
for her hard work for the church
- Thekla who was converted by Paul. She is also considered
to be 'Equal to the Apostles' in the Orthodox Church. She worked with Paul and
Barnabas to spread the Gospel . She lived for many years as a hermit in a cave
in the desert. She is considered to be the first female martyr.
- Syntyche and Euodia who were co-workers with Paul at the
church in Philippi
- Priscilla who with her husband Aguila were fellow tent
makers and co-workers with Paul in spreading the Gospel.
- Eunice, Timothy’s mother
- Lois, Timothy’s grandmother who Paul commends for her
sincere faith
- Nympha, mentioned by Paul
- Phoebe the deaconess
- Mary the wife of Cleopas and mother of John Mark who had a
church in her home
- Mary of Rome who treated Paul with tremendous kindness
- Basilissa and Anastasia who were converted by Peter and
Paul and became martyrs
- Damaris who is considered to be the first Athenian woman
converted by Paul
- Julia who is mentioned by Paul
- The Syrophoenician woman who asked Christ to heal her
daughter. At first he denied her request but when she persisted, he did heal
her daughter
- Tryphena and Tryphosa commended by Paul for their hard
work for the Lord
- Zenaida and Philonella who were cousins of Paul. They
provided free medical care to the sick
- Berenice and Drusilla, daughters of Herod Agrippa and
converts to the faith
- Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate
- Candace, Queen of Ethiopia
- Photini- the Samaritan woman at the well who converted her
whole family after her encounter with Christ. She is also considered to be
'Equal to the Apostles' in the Orthodox Church. She was martyred with her 2
sons and 5 sisters- Anatole, Phota, Photida, Kyriake and Paraskeva
- Domnina the daughter of Nero who was converted by Photini.
Domnina brought into the faith with her a hundred slaves.
- Rhoda
- Mariamne the sister of the apostle Philip
- Enkhidia, Charilene and Hermione who were Philip’s 3
daughters. They were prophets and unmercenary healers. Hermione also became a
martyr.
- The 7 Myrrh bearing women- Salome, Joanna, Mary, Susanna,
Martha and Mary who were the sisters of Lazarus and Mary Magdalene
From the iconographer: 'After I varnished the icon I found
out that Dorcas and Tabitha are the same person, and I also found out that the
woman with the flow of blood was named Bernice. So the next time I am in
Portland, I would like to change the name of the woman currently labeled Dorcas
to Bernice. There are 58 women in total in the icon not counting the
Theotokos.'
Source: Axia
Women and also Iconographer Uses Old-World Painting Technique to
Proclaim Scripture
[sidenote from your moderator: I grew up in the Ukrainian
Catholic Church and learned a lot of scripture through icons.]
____________________________________________________________________________
Comments
Post a Comment