 | ||
|
In a secluded location near St Austell, it is an extended farm cottage with outbuildings and space to wander. A tiny stone outbuilding has been converted to serve as a chapel for Mass and the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. Father David Mead, on leave of absence from his Birmingham diocese to set up the centre, speaks particularly of -
| |
| "People for whom the normal things of a parish might not say a great deal"
was an early subtitle Fr David found himself using. "Being with people
where they are in their faith, rather than where someone thinks they should
be" came along as a less presumptious way of putting things. Latterly, he has found himself saying - here's a roof, here's a bed, here's a place to be quiet: if a chapel is part of the need, here's a chapel, and if a priest is part of the need, here's a priest. The centre is intentionally small and homely. Initially, it can cater for five in privacy, more if people share. Work on the outbuildings is aimed at giving more individual peace and privacy. Ongoing finance comes from donations from those who attend, with the guidance that material costs (the mortgage hurts a bit!) might be something like £15 per person per night, including meals. The centre, opened in February 1998, is still in very early days. It is still too early to ask Father David what type of person has so far come along, and aware of the need for privacy, he says he wouldn't tell anyway!
| ||
