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Miscellaneous

New term  At Ampleforth the new  term and new school year began on 3 September 2007. Mass for the Feast of St Cuthbert was celebrated to mark this term in the Abbey Church on 4 September 2007.

Solemn Profession  Br Columba Moujing made his Solemn Profession at Mass on the Feast of the Dedication of the Abbey Church, 6 September 2007. At a Solemn Profession a monk makes his vows as a monk for life - the vows of Obedience, Stability and Conversion of Life. Br Columba arrived at Ampleforth in 2003 from Saba in the Far East.

Feast of the Dedication of the Abbey Church. 6 September 2007. The Abbey Church was consecrated on Wednesday 6 September 1961, and was opened on Friday 8 September 1961. On the day of this Feast, candles are lighted all around the walls of the Abbey

Praying for Zimbabwe. At St Benedict's, the parish In Ampleforth village, there was a continuous reading of the whole of St Mark's Gospel on Saturday 9 September 2007, this done as a prayer for the people of Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwe Ampleforth has the monastic foundation of Christ the Word, but this was a prayer for the people as a whole. It was the initiative of Mary Sturges, and amongst those taking part were FR BONAVENTURE KNOLLYS (C53) [the Parish Priest of Ampleforth], Father Michael Cartwright [the Vicar of Ampleforth], FR CHRISTOPHER GORST (O65) [at one time Prior of the Monastery of Christ the Word in Zimbabwe], FR JEREMY SIERLA, and CONRAD BIRD (O07). Zimbabwe's current economic and food crisis, described by some observers as the country's worst humanitarian crisis since independence, has been attributed, in varying degrees, to a drought affecting the entire region, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the government's price controls and land reforms. Life expectancy at birth for males in Zimbabwe has dramatically declined since 1990 from 60 to 37, the lowest in the world. Life expectancy for females is even lower at 34 years. The infant mortality rate has climbed from 53 to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births in the same period. 5.5 million Zimbabweans currently live with the HIV.[posted 9 September 2007, updated 10 September 2007

The sixth anniversary of the events of 11 September 2001 was marked at the community Mass on 11 September 2007, when the celebrant, FR CHRISTOPHER GORST (O65) invited us to pray for the innocent victims of the attacks on the Twin Towers and on the Pentagon, and to pray for all victims of terrorism, and for victims of war. Thus prayers were said in the Abbey Church just 56 minutes before the anniversary time of the first attack at 1.46pm London time [8.46am New York].

The funeral Mass of Bishop Augustine Harris, Bishop of Middlesbrough 1978-1992, took place on 12 September 2007.  He died on 30 August 2007. Ampleforth is within the Diocese of Middlesbrough. Thus Bishop Augustine Harris was a regular visitor to Ampleforth for ordinations, confirmations and other events. Fr Abbot and a number of the community attended Bishop Harris's funeral Mass in Middlesbrough Cathedral on 12 September 2007. After Communion, at the request of Bishop Harris, the monks sang the In Paradisum