Taize evening
News from Sr. Mary Helen
Summer greetings to you all! I hope that you are all having a good summer and have had some opportunity for rest and relaxation. We had a good retreat with our sisters in Brownshill with input from Fr Martin McLoughlin, OSB, former Abbot of Prinknash Abbey. Now various sisters are profiting to have some time away and a bit of a break. Sr Mary Stella is in France at La Plaine where she will celebrate her jubilee (60 years of profession) with Sr Bénédicte and Sr Martine (50 years of profession).
I recommend to your prayer two Bernardine sisters who have recently died. The first, in July, was Sr Maria Teresia of our small community in Japan. She was 92, and for the last few years has been in a care home run by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Sr Pascha from our Mother House in France was able to go over to Japan for her memorial Mass. This leaves only two elderly sisters in Japan, the last of our mission there. They are both in the same care home, living in a spirit of faith. The other sister is Sr Marie Xavier, who died last week, aged 90. She had a very missionary heart, to the point that she had leave of absence to go to Romania for several years where she taught French and English and had an outreach to young people. A most unusual way of living her Bernardine vocation but she did an enormous amount of good. She returned to France for her last years. May they both rest in peace and intercede for us.
At Hyning, Sr Evelyne will be leaving us on the afternoon of Sunday 23rd August. She is looking forward to returning to her native country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and hopefully she will be going to university in the Autumn. Life in Goma remains difficult; the epicentre of the current ebola crisis is only a few hundred kilometres away and the source of much fear. We thank Sr Evelyne for all she has done -we will miss her very much.
Meanwhile, we will be welcoming a young Vietnamese sister in the coming months, when we can sort out the immigration paper work. Her name is Sr Marie Bernadette Phuong. We look forward to having her as part of our Community.
On Friday 28th August and Thursday 8th October, there will be evenings of Taizé prayer at Hyning - lasting about an hour - I do hope some of you will be able to come and swell the ranks. There is a poster attached, please share the news.
One of my summer 'holiday' jobs has been to tidy out our liturgy cupboard in which I have found lots of treasures!! We have a large number of tatty old psalm books (grail psalter translation - the one we use in our Divine Office) and also some old Terce booklets. Also lots of copies of Folk Hymnals and Songs of the Spirit available, if anyone has a touch of nostalgia for the 1960s, 70s and 80s! Should any of you want any of these, please let me know in the next week and I'll save it for you. Otherwise they will go to recycled paper.
May news - Concert coming up
Clerical Errors Concert returns. Booking essential. Last year we had to turn people away. No turning up on the day. Apologies in advance but we don't want to disappoint people. Please contact hyningbookings@yahoo.co.uk for a ticket and to pay in advance.
Events
Some people might be interested in forthcoming events at Hyning or on the national level.
Here is one worth considering .The Synod and Women: Which Way to the Future?
Phyllis Zagano in conversation with the National Board of Catholic Women
Thursday, 26 February 2026
6:30–7:30 PM (GMT)
Join us for a timely discussion on the future of women in the Church and the ongoing Synodal journey.
#Synod #CatholicWomen Phyllis Zagano Click here for more detail.
Also don’t forget the forthcoming Lent retreat this weekend at Hyning. Places still available.
Two events in March as well.
Card making day
March 17th
Fundraising in March
January News
The community enjoyed a peaceful few weeks in January. We had our Regular Visit with Sr. Elizabeth Mary and had several good community meetings and time together. The Guesthouse is now open again and Mass is back to 8:30 am on weekdays.
Mass times over Christmas
December news!
Apologies for not updating this page very often this year. A lot of our news appears on Facebook and social media sites and sometimes I forget to put it on here. 2026 will be a new start. In the meantime our Christmas newsletter is out, so click on the link for all the news! Follow us on Facebook and social media for more up to date news.
Closed time and Mass times change.
In August we normally close for a few weeks. So we are now closed to resident guests except for family visits etc to give the community a bit of a break until the 21st August. Mass is now at 9 am until the 19th August, but Office times remain the same. People are still welcome to come to pray with us and say hello.
Icons for Beginners
This week Sr. Mary Stella is leading an Icons course for Beginners. Here is some of their work so far.
Taize evening
Feast of St. Benedict
Today we are celebrating the feast of St. Benedict, Abbot and Father of Western Monasticism. Happy Feast to all those who follow the path of St. Benedict.
Concert June 1st by Clerical Errors
Booking essential!
Mass and services over Easter
100th birthday!
Our first English sister is 100 today. Happy Birthday Sr. Mary! More pictures to follow!
Vocations weekend April 2025
Vocation Weekend @Hyning. Why not come and see?
Mass times over the Christmas season and January
October 24
This week we are having a prayer and garden week. The weather has been good some of the days. I took advantage of the sun to create an Autumn gallery for you!
