The Henson Journals

[11]

Saturday, May 10th, 1930. Consecration of St Aidan's, Chilton

I expended the morning in preparing the sermon which I delivered in the afternoon, when I consecrated the new Church of St Aidan, Chilton, which has been built for the district cut out of Ferryhill. Happily the weather was fine, and there was a large gathering of the people. The Vicar Wilkinson, is deaf and eccentric, so there were all the materials for a muddle, but nothing more untoward than his starting the choir to leave the church before I had pronounced the Benediction actually happened. I preached from Zechariah xiv.20.21: & Revelation xxi.22. and took occasion to speak about the conditions of the pitman's life, & the reasons why the pitman was rather specially fitted to be a good Christian.

Ella (whose birthday is today) went with me, and Reggie Smith & Mary Radford. There was a good muster of the local clergy. I was pleased with the number of boys & girls who lined the approach to the church. Among them was a Salvation Army officer & a team of little victims! The frontiers of orthodoxy are fairly drawn in Chilton!!

[12]

I finished Dom Butler's account of the Vatican Council. The unanimous collapse of the Minority Bishops after the Council is from the Protestant point of view quite unintelligible. What the value of Papal Infallibility actually is seems hard to say. With the doubtful reception of the condemnation of Anglican Orders there appears to be no certain example of its exercise.

We gave a dinner–party. There came to dine the following:–

The Bishop of Gloucester & Miss Headlam

General & Mrs Kirke

Colonel & Mrs Hereward Sadler

Peter & Enis Richardson

Commander & Mrs Stopford

Reggie Smith

Mrs Radford

With ourselves, Fearne & Pattinson we numbered sixteen.

I had no opportunity of talking with Headlam about the Lambeth Conference, save that he told me that he was entrusted with the dealings with the Eastern Churches.

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