Dear  Sisters,

Just to share with you all  the events of my retirement as Chaplain  to North Tyneside General Hospital.

First of all, I would have loved to continue as the NHS encourages me to do so and I thought of continuing until I am 75 but lo and behold I find myself not able to do it anymore. The spirit is willing but the body is weak! I have greatly enjoyed this ministry, very grateful to God who gave me all the graces I needed. I know he was always my companion as we journeyed along the corridors  of the hospital and ministering to patients, their relatives and the staff.  I can say that for 13 – 14 years  our Charism of Reparation, Healing and Reconciliation  was fulfilled very much during my ministry as Chaplain.  My last word at the end of the Thanksgiving Mass was .”.I have not retired from the ministry in fact I will continue to pray for them all”. The  Ministry  of Prayer- can reach and touch people all over the world.  Our CHARISM- is a beautiful way  of LOVING  &  RECONCILING  HUMANITY  TO  OUR  GOD AND LORD.  I  am  so proud to be a REPARATRICE  and I am full of joy and hope! Deo  Gratias!

Here are the 3 events of my  retirement:

-26^th April 2014 -  Last Saturday Mass for me and was celebrated by the new Chaplain, Fr David Nixon, MSC.  He gave a very good homily.  It was a surprise for me to see several Special Ministers came back from the wards and busied themselves preparing for something? Those Special Ministers who were not on duty this morning started to arrive.We have a good party  with cherry, nibbles, biscuits and a beautiful cake.  They presented me  with a £100.00 voucher, &  a beautiful book about the scenic beauty of NORTHUMBERLAND.

-30^th. April 2014 -  This is my  last day  in the hospital.  Chaplains from Wansbeck, Hexham, Blyth,Morpeth and North Tyneside were present  for my last meeting with them. The lead  Chaplain  at the end announced that we finish the meeting with a short walk to the dining room.  There, a buffet  meal  was  waiting for us.  They presented me with a voucher of £100.00, a big bottle of “Baileys” and a beautifull bouquet of white big roses  and a very big thank  you’s in a big retirement card  signed by them all.

-3^rd June 2014 – A  Mass  in Thanksgiving for my retirement arranged and concelebrated by our Deanery priests.  It was held at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, West Monkseaton. We are now under one parish called Our Lady Star of the Sea. There are another 2 parishes- St. Edward and ST Edmund under it. The Mass was very Ecumenical—the Chaplains are mostly Church of England & other denominations & one muslim.  You will see the rest in the enclosed cutting from the Northern Cross- our Diocesan  Newspaper. I hope you will take time to read it.  I wish you all  good health and well being and we pray for one another—special prayer for me... my knee gives me a lot of pain..I might have a knee replacement… Thank  you and I love you all.  Perla, smr