Buried at Westcliff-on-Sea, where she died, Sr Jane Mary is one of few Sisters who are not buried at Ditchingham. I have no idea why she died there: whether she was staying with her friends, or whether she had been ill and was there to convalesce; whether she knew she was dying when she went. I do know that she had friends nearby, as they arranged for her burial. M. Louisa was present, but (as far as I know) no other Sisters went. Neither do I know for certain who those frien

It is a dark time of year: with the days growing shorter and the skies often grey, it can seem as if there is very little light around at all. It is no wonder that we want to brighten up our lives with Christmas lights, whatever we may feel about increasingly early decorations. It also makes it a good time of year to focus on the Benedictus (Luke 1:67-79), and especially the last few verses. It is easy to become so used to certain parts of the Bible that we really do not hear

While looking through a book of early Associates, I came across some recognisable surnames; surnames that were the same as some of our early Sisters. I made note of these, to research a possible link. One of those Associates was Louisa Florence Gottwaltz, admitted as an Associate of the second order in 1897, and withdrew in 1912. She was the sister of Alice Frances Gottwaltz, who was professed as a choir Sister in 1897 and died in 1910. While there is an obvious link between

How often do you mislay items that are valuable, necessary or just significant to you? It’s easy to do; you put your keys down somewhere while thinking of something else … and then can you find them again? How many of you would throw a party when you’ve found it? Possibly if it’s something really valuable to you, then there might be text messages sent round telling people that what was lost has now been found. Of course, in New Testament times, then it would be impossible to