Joanna Lumley opens new diocesan centre in St Leonards

Actress Joanna Lumley reminisced about her time as a pupil at St Mary’s Anglican Convent School in St Leonards-on-Sea when she officially opened the magnet, the new Chichester diocesan study and conference centre in the town (on Saturday 13 December).

The award-winning star of TV’s Absolutely Fabulous, The New Avengers, and a host of stage and screen roles, said it was “one of the great honours and privileges” of her life to be opening the centre, which has its roots in the Community of the Holy Family. The community ran the convent she attended for six years on the Ridge at Holmhurst St Mary. Funds released by the sale of the community’s land and buildings made possible the development of the buildings in St. Leonard’s, at one time the Christ Church school.

Miss Lumley recalled many aspects of convent life, including the Stable chapel, the constant ringing of bells throughout the day, chapel veils, and pet mice, which were kept in the underwear drawer.

Paying tribute to the sisters, she said: “I think all of us who went to the convent must have been quite bad, but not very bad! We came away from that school feeling we had been well cared for and well taught, and that we had learned a lot to prepare us for life in the wider world.”

At the well-attended ceremony, the Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Revd John Hind, dedicated the centre and blessed each of the rooms individually in the presence of invited guests from the Church and wider community.

The new centre offers a large meeting room, four other rooms, a small chapel and an extensive theological library, which is currently being catalogued.

The centre is called the magnet, after the Mother Agnes Trust, from the name of the community’s founder, and set up in 1997 to administer its remaining resources.

It is already being used for a number of study courses including the Bishop’s Certificate, training for Readers and a Diploma in Religious Education run under the auspices of the University of Brighton. Deanery events for clergy and laity have also taken place, and parishes have had study days.

The work of the magnet is being planned in an ecumenical way. The Diploma in Religious Education course is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, and use by others is a possibility.

There is also an emerging community role for the magnet, and a growing partnership with the Hastings Borough Council. Recently the three-day consultation exercise on the next phase of the regeneration plans for Central St. Leonards was held there. The centre also houses at present the office of the Police Priority Area, one of ten new initiatives in crime reduction set up in needy parts of the country. The magnet’s contribution to developing further the community’s capacity to plan for regeneration and development will be a priority.

Bishop John commented: “Many throughout the diocese have a great concern for the people and communities in this part of the diocese, so this is a particularly exciting project for us. It is especially wonderful that the parish church of Christ Church should be prepared to dedicate so much time to something on their doorstep which has significance across the whole community — outward looking rather than concentrating on their internal affairs.”

He also paid tribute to his predecessor, Bishop Eric Kemp, who attended the service, saying that it was his vision that could see the great potential in the project where others could not.

Joy Gilliver, the diocesan adviser for the education and training of adults, said the redevelopment of the building represented a huge commitment to the local community by the church.

Further details and information about booking the centre are available from the centre Co-ordinator, Canon Keith Pound, the magnet, 1 Christchurch Courtyard, London Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex TN37 6GL (01424 431489)