St John Henry Newman

A fascinating day with Dennis Woodhouse at St Margaret Westminster on Newman. Ben King, Roderick Strange and Eamon Duffy, Angela Tilby and other excellent speakers. His hymns and poetry seem to me to have had the greatest influence. The Apologia and sermons are clearly very influential as well as the prayers. Gerontius has changed our view of the afterlife. Evensong was sung by the choirs of the Abbey and cathedral and they sang Bruckner Os justi and we visited the shrine of St Edward and prayed for our country. Saw Fr David Stansley. To the annual feminist theology lecture with Anna Macham. Asked about hymns not mentioning women apart from mothering Sunday and Mary. If we are an inclusive church why is everything so male despite the large numbers of women in ministry? I am not in favour of changing texts to inclusive language especially poetry but where are the new texts? Met a Methodist minister from Croydon who worked in S. A a Catholic working for women's ordination and the organist of St Margaret Lee and we recalled Roger Snewin.