 |
Who, What, Where and Why?
Who?
I am Father Len Black, a Roman Catholic priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Ordinariate was established by Pope Benedict XVI in January 2011 to allow Anglicans and Episcopalians to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church while retaining much of their Anglican heritage and traditions. For me, this was an offer I could not refuse.
In June 1972 I was ordained deacon in the Scottish Episcopal Church and priest in 1973. I served that church faithfully from 1972 until 2011 as Curate, Priest-in-Charge, Rector and as Dean of Moray, Ross and Caithness. Throughout my ministry I worked to promote the unity of all Christians with the Apostolic See and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the rich treasures of our tradition. |
In recent years however, many Scottish Episcopalians had grown increasingly unhappy about the way their church, and indeed the Anglican Communion, was drifting away from the truths, both theological and moral, handed down through the traditions of the Church from Apostolic times. The establishment of the Personal Ordinariates within the Roman Catholic Church came as a 'life-line' to myself and to many faithful Episcopalians and Anglicans.
The Ordinariate was the structure created by Pope Benedict XVI through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to bring these groups into the full life of the Catholic Church in such a way as "to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared" (Pope Benedict XVI).
At the start of Lent 2011, along with a number of lay people from St Michael and All Angels, Inverness, the church where I had served as Rector for the previous 31 years, and from other parts of Scotland, we began the process of preparation to enter into full communion in the Catholic Church. At the same time, I began a course of study for Formation for the Catholic Priesthood at Allen Hall Seminary in London. For the first year I traveled to London every week and for the next two years, every three weeks!
During Holy Week 2011 the first groups of former Anglicans with their clergy from all parts of Scotland, England and Wales were received into the Catholic Church - about 1000 lay people with around 60 of their clergy. These former Anglican clergy were already in a three year process of formation and were ordained Priests in the Catholic Church during Easter-tide 2011. I was ordained as a Catholic Priest by Bishop (now Archbishop) Philip Tartaglia in St Mary's Church in Greenock (photo right).
Today I serve as Senior Pastor to the Ordinariate Group in Scotland. We have Ordinariate Mass centres in Inverness, Whithorn and Edinburgh and on occasions in other places including Elgin and Stirling as well as a presence in Stornoway. |
 |
 |
What?
I have been building websites since the year 2000, first for the Church I served, then for the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness (Episcopalian), then for the Diocese of Aberdeen (Catholic) as well as Moray Firth Radio, the local radio station in Inverness where I served as part-time Religious and Community Programmes Producer. This led to my being asked to build and maintain many other websites for church organisations, charities and small businesses, the largest being the Forward in Faith website for the traditionalist group serving Catholic Anglicans ... a group which I was also involved with.
I continued my work for Forward in Faith for two years after entering the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, giving them a years notice that I intended to step down. This I did in May 2014. |
Almost immediately, as one 'web-chapter' ended, a new 'chapter' began when I was asked to take over the Ordinariate website! It remains a busy and active website which I see as part of my ministry within the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. This website, Father Len's Pages, is just one of my many ways of relaxing!
Where?
Here ... on our own domain Angelforce, of course. The Angelforce domain was first registered in the year 2000 with Calico UK, a local internet services provider based at Cromarty on the Black Isle, 20 miles from Inverness. Its purpose was to bring together the various activities which I, and my wife, Ruth, are involved with, here in Inverness, in the Highlands of Scotland, and beyond. |
 |
Although not hosted on Angelforce, there is also Loch Dress, the business set up by our daughter, Mary, an independent dress designer and maker who, uses Silks, Tartan, Celtic designs, Harris Tweed and more to create her "unique contemporary yet timeless designs which celebrate our Scottish Heritage in stunning style!"
 |
Why?
Why not, you might well ask! When we established Angelforce in the year 2000, it was because I was looking after the Episcopalian parish of St Michael and All Angels in Inverness. Initially I was trying to find a domain name for the parish, but Marks & Spencers had 'snapped up' everything and anything to do with St Michael, their trademark. We found Angelforce and the rest, as they say, is history.
By then, Ruth's Ecclesiastical Embroidery website had become firmly rooted within Angelforce, as had my own Web Design service, so Angelforce came with us when I left the parish in 2011. All Ruth's ecclesiastical embroidery work is made to commission with each piece individually made. |
Today the original domain - angelforce.co.uk - hosts Ruth's ecclesiastical embroidery, while angelforce.info hosts my web design and publishing websites (as an Ordinariate priest, I am self-fundaing). Our latest domain - angelforce.scot - is entirely mine, personally! Oh yes ... and there's also angelforce.info which hosts Angelforce Web Design along with Publishing, Printing and Tyyesetting, the other strings to my bow.
Ruth's Ecclesiastical Embroidery work is inspired by Scotland, its history, its fabrics and by traditional Pictish and Celtic art. She always tries to find some way of making the piece particularly relevant for the person for whom they are intended, either in the choice of fabrics or in the designs themselves. Her tartan-lined chasubles and embroidered stoles are in demand all over the world. As well as Ruth's ecclesiastical embroidery work, her main work is under the name of Anna Macneil ... you can find out more here at annamacneil.scot |
 |
|
The main reason Why? ... is Father Len's Favourite Links which were a feature of my parish website. They grew and grew and attracted interest and comments from all around the world. I have always enjoyed finding and sharing links to other websites, ecclesiastical and otherwise, and the loss of my parish website left me without a home for them. And so ... Father Len's Pages were born.
The Ecclesiastical Glossary pages have been in the planning stage for many years ... and I'm still working on them ... as is the Calendar of Scottish Saints. One day I will finish them both ... I hope ... when time permits! |
In the meantime, I hope you have as much pleasure exploring these pages as I am having in creating them ... and come back again soon and see how they are progressing.
With every blessing,
|
