Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. After the Ascension, the disciples and Mary did as Jesus had told them – they stayed together in Jerusalem. On this day the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them, and the Church was born! The crowd could hear the apostles in their own languages and Peter went out and preached so powerfully that thousands were touched and converted. And so the journey of the People of God, the Church, began. We, of course, are writing the latest instalment of that history with our lives and words.
While the earliest stages of the Church had no need for special buildings, and was persecuted much of the time, soon greater acceptance and stability came. Numbers grew, requiring buildings to house them and especially the worshipping Church. So a tradition of church buildings began, from mighty cathedrals to simple parish churches.
Care for our 3 Churches buildings and contents is an ongoing responsibility for us all. The project to put a new roof on Christ the King Church was recently completed on schedule. We should be dry and secure for a good period now! We thank new chair of Christ the King Parish Council Chris Stevens for handling most of the responsibility for this project.
Meanwhile, St Brigid’s is gearing up to celebrate 50 years of the church building. We have four aspects to the celebration of this event. On Sunday September 21st, anniversary of the first Mass in 1964, there will be a Jubilee Lunch at the New House Hotel. Tickets for this event will be on sale from next Sunday, at £20 adults £10 children. There will be a choice of two starters, mains and desserts plus vegetarian option on the day. On Monday evening 1st December Archbishop Stack will celebrate a Thanksgiving Mass on the anniversary of the Blessing of the Church by Archbishop Murphy. Between September and November there will be competitions for the children and young people of the churches.
Lastly, new sanctuary furniture has been bought to mark the occasion. Specially commissioned for St Brigid’s, all the pieces have a St Brigid’s Cross carved into them. It will take a little while to find the best arrangement for the furniture, and the lectern will be fitted with a radio microphone, but I’m sure the environment for our worship of almighty God will be enhanced by a “matching set” to mark 50 very special years.
Fr Matthew