Submitted by Val Hiscock on
On Saturday 14th July 2018 thirty-seven members of the Commandery of Wales and their guests gathered at the ancient church of St Senwyr, within the grounds of Llansannor Court, to celebrate Vespers in anticipation of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Following the amalgamation of the Order of St Lazarus with the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1668, this has been a day of devotion for our Order. This is the reason why an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel appears on the reverse face of our insignia.
Before Vespers, for the benefit of first time visitors to the Commandery, the Commander, Chevalier Dr David Woolf KCLJ, gave an introduction to the history of the Order. The Revd Canon Brendan Clover SChLJ presided at Vespers, celebrated using the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Very Revd Dr Sebastian Jones Cong Orat, ChLJ preached the homily. Bro Ambrose Jackson Cong Orat read the lesson, and the Revd Canon David Hathaway SChLJ lead the Commandery intercessions.
During preprandial drinks, enjoyed on the forecourt of Llansannor Court, the Commander conducted a brief AGM. Reports were received concerning the work undertaken with the £7,800 raised by the Commandery over the past year. These projects include the medical student elective bursary, the auto blood analyser purchased for the leprosarium in Kolkata, the work to build latrines for the leprosy mission in Danja, Niger and our on-going telemedicine project, Cyberderm, with the Samburu Trust in Kenya. Mr Danial Morris CMLJ, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and Clinical Director of Samburu Trust, thanked the Commandery for our continued support of this work in Samburu.
Our hosts for the evening, Chevalier Michael Eddershaw KCLJ and Mrs Eleanor Eddershaw OMLJ, laid on a wonderful supper for the Commandery in their home Llansannor Court. All present agreed that this was a very successful summer party for the Commandery. To date £1,035 has been collected via donations on the evening for our ring-fenced account held at the St Lazarus Trust. Several other donations have been pledged, so this amount will hopefully increase over the next few days. Five prospective Postulants for admission to the Order were present.
The evening concluded with congratulations being extended to Serjeant Glenrory Low OLJ on his promotion to Colour-Serjeant, and Captain Sir Norman Lloyd-Edwards KCVO, KCLJ on recently celebrating his 85th birthday. The return coach journey to Newman Hall was accompanied by well-lubricated singing.