Chaplaincy of Aquitaine

Previous News

Happy Birthday Irene!

Irene Birt celebrated her 80th birthday with the Newts on Tuesday 14th January.  Irene was one of the original founders of our Anglican group in Condom and has worked tirelessly to keep our group together.

Also in the photograph is Caroline Herbert who has taken over the roll of warden from Sue Torne.

Christmas Fair: becoming an annual tradition

Our Christmas Fair was held in the house of Marian L'Estrange in the centre of Condom, off one of the busy roads leading down to the river. 

For several months the Ladies of the 'Newt' craft group had been meeting to make aprons, pot-holders etc for sale on our handicrafts stall as well as some knitted garments and other items gifted by the congregation. We also had a stall selling jewellery, hand-made cards, and some ingenious cushions with pockets sewn into them for books, ideal for Christmas gifts made by Ann Benner. There was also a popular Tombola stall which did rather well. We also had a hat stall and the ever-popular cake, coffee and tea stall in the kitchen, manned initially by Pat Wright and latterly by Irene Birt. There was a good show of cakes and mince pies, made by Ron Benner, and the cakes were made mainly by the ladies of the Anglican community, with a significant contribution by the ladies of 'The Gathering'.

After lunch things slowed down a bit, but attendance was steady, in spite of continuing rain. The Fair continued till just after 4p.m. At the end we tallied up the proceeds, which came to a surprising 600 €, which was divided among the Bluets, the Royal British Legion, and our Church charity Tread.

Our thanks are due to all who made cakes, manned the stalls, and contributed generally to a very jolly and rewarding day. Our especial thanks must go to Marian L'Estrange who lent her house, and was a superb hostess. The Fair looks set to becoming an annual tradition.

Ladies Social Group: NEWTS

Our group meets once a month: if you would like to attend, please contact Claire Owen: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We are delighted to share news from our very lively meeting of the Ladies "NEWT" group at Pat Wright's on Wed 18th September.

Newts = A social group for ladies who want to do a bit more than just go to church. Chats, crafting Tea and nibbles are guaranteed. Not sure what we will be putting to rights next time? BUT Don't we always need a general catch up?

At this get together a date was decided on for the Christmas fair at Marrian Lestrange's house (Nov 30th). This will raise money for the British legion and Les Bleuets de France. So we set to amongst much chatter and started to make items to sell. More talk and cake happened than actual production of pot holders but I think everyone cut out at least one.

The March meeting will be held at Lavinia Pearce's home on the 18th when Pancakes will be made. There was even talk of a pancake tossing competition, watch out all!

There will also be a meeting on April 15th at Claire Owen's.

Harvest celebration: we give thanks!

The church was very well-decorated for Harvest, featuring many gifts from the congregation, arranged in front of the Altar, with a very beautiful, specially-baked loaf in the shape of a sheaf of wheat. (The old-fashioned kind, made by our own retired master-baker, Ron Benner. Our gifts go to the charity 'Resto du Coeur' in Auch, which helps to feed the homeless.

There were 33 of us, with Rev'd Charlotte Sullivan presiding at the Eucharist. This was a joyful service, with the theme of Thankfulness. Charlotte spoke eloquently, of keeping a 'Thankfulness diary', emphasising all the reasons to be glad about the season, and about our very fortunate lives in general. The idea is that one centres on five different reasons to be thankful each day.

Afterwards, we enjoyed a lunch which had been prepared by the congregation, led by Jennifer and Alan Story, and arranged by Caroline. The barbecue had been supervised by Paul Hames, and was a fitting accompaniment to the delicious salads. What a blessing to enjoy such a time of fellowship together.

We thank God for another Harvest, and now look ahead with Thankfulness and Trust to what promises to be an uncertain year. What we do know, is that God will be with us what- ever the circumstances may produce. We truly can 'Rest in the Lord'.

Thank you letter from "TREAD" charity

We have received a letter of thanks for our recent donation of 1 445 €. Many thanks to all who contributed towards this amount, especially Ann Benner and Claire Owen, who worked so hard to raise funds.

Read the letter here.

Fundraising for Chap-Aid charity at the St Puy fair

Sunday May 26th marked the annual St Puy May Day festivities, and once again the Anglican Church in Condom was there with a stall to raise money for our nominated Chap-Aid charity 'Friends of Tread', which supports children and young adults in rural southern India and helps them through school and vocational training, with a specific focus on helping girls.

We had been busy for some weeks organising the collection of books, encouraging everyone to make jams and marmalade and of course to bake a cake. The parish did not disappoint and we also had support from friends around the community.

On a miserable and rather cold morning for the end of May our stall was overflowing with home made goodies as well as a great selection of books. By lunch-time most of the cakes, jams and marmalade had been sold as well as half the books. The weather did pick up in the afternoon but it was very much a case of the early bird catches the worm and although there were fewer visitors than in previous years we still raised €374 for 'Friends of Tread'. A big thank you to early birds Sylvia and Paul Hames for organising everything and to the many helpers who turned out to man the stall.

March celebration of 10 years as the Anglican Church in Condom

Our worship on the 28th of March celebrated ten years of our community’s presence in Condom. Despite the many twists and turns of parish life it was good to be with those, still living in Condom, who had attended our services from the beginning. Likewise it was good to recall those who have moved on to live elsewhere and to give thanks for those who want to worship with us now.

The day was a wonderful coming together of those who helped us get started from Pau, those from the Roman Catholic community by whose generosity we have somewhere to worship, those who have created another meeting and worship place in Condom, The Gathering.

Growing together in Christ reminds us that oneness with God is not intended to be a private experience. It is not just an exclusive relationship with God it is a corporate one. The Archdeacon, the Venerable Meurig Williams likened the experience to visiting IKEA. We all share the same path and the same frustrations, no shortcuts, individuals yes but all are held together in the Triune of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

As we look forward to the next ten years may our vision be of Oneness a place of love that is reflected in our lives, a place that promotes caring in our wider community. That we may be honest acknowledging that sometimes our getting it right gets in God’s way. Honest about our failings; we are still work in progress but confident that through our discipleship God will work through us and by working through us we will make a difference to each other and the wider community. We are thankful to our heavenly Father and to all those that have and do guide us on our path.

10th anniversary celebration of Tony's ordination

On Thursday 28th June, we were privileged at Condom to celebrate the 10th annivesrary of our Chaplain Tony’s ordination, together with his wife, Ingrid. At the beginning of our Eucharist Service, Tony was presented with a green liturgical stole as a gift by our lay reader, Mike Torne. The ‘before’ and “after” photos show Tony undressed and dressed!

Tony then led us in our service which was appreciated by the whole congregation. No celebration would be complete without a cake, superbly made by Sue Torne, and a cup of coffee which we all enjoyed after the service. The candles on the cake should have been ”10”  but there weren’t enough! Tony did manage to blow out all the candles and made a wish! Many thanks to Tony and Ingrid for sharing with us their important day.

The Chapel

A Brief History of the Chapel of Our Lady of Piétat

In 1520 a local man, Raymond Berenjon, was caught in a thunder storm. His horse was killed by a lightning strike but Raymond survived and vowed to build a chapel on the spot, a short distance from the town of Condom.

The chapel was built, but suffered serious damage in the French Wars of Religion 1562-98 (nearby Nérac was a protestant stronghold). The chapel was restored after the civil war and gradually during the 17th and 18th centuries additional buildings were added to the chapel and a hospital established. With the Revolution of 1789 the chapel suffered serious looting and damage. In 1820 the government decided to sell the building complex to a Condomoise family who turned the buildings into a school under the authority of the Daughters of Mary and Sisters of St Joseph of Rodez. More buildings were added in the following centuries and in 1977 the sisters left and the school and chapel were entrusted to the laity. The school continues to this day as the Ecole Notre Dame de Piétat and the chapel is used for regular mother and children services.

The Anglican community held their first service in the chapel in 2008 as an outreach project from the Chaplaincy of Pau. On January 1st 2014 the Anglican Church in Condom joined the bigger Chaplaincy of Aquitaine.

Contacts

Priest with the Responsibility for the Sector of Condom:

Chaplain: Rev'd Tony Lomas - 06 72 31 72 87 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Local Wardens:

Caroline Herbert - 06 84 98 75 87 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Local Treasurer:

Paul Mazzotti - 05 53 88 77 74 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Team members:

Irene Birt - 05 62 28 80 97 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Chris Herbert - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Richard Horsman - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Lavinia Pearce - 05 62 29 44 06 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please contact any of us with questions or suggestions, we would be happy to hear from you.