Our Lady of Lourdes Hungerford (with St Francis de Sales Wash Common) 17 January 2021 SPECIAL EDITION PARISH NEWSLETTER
The Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Hungerford Highlights
Our Lady of Lourdes is still open for Sunday Mass at 9am, and Adoration and Mass at 9.30 and 10am on a Wednesday. All other activity in the church has currently ceased due to the latest COVID-19 restrictions. Please see the weekly parish newsletter for details Other News
Don’t forget that you can also catch up on the news Hello and Welcome ! by reading the newsletter It feels like an odd thing to say -“Hello and Welcome” but for our sister parish at St that is what we did every Sunday as we picked up our Hymn Francis de Sales, Wash and Mass Books. For many in the Parish it has become very Common at difficult or impossible to meet again to say just that, and to stfrancisdesales.org.uk catch up on “The News” over a tea or coffee after Mass on a and the Diocesan e-News Sunday. Nevertheless, “things” have been happening at Our and website at Lady of Lourdes, not least the valiant efforts of some portsmouthdiocese.org.uk parishioners to keep the church open for private prayer and which has a wealth of Mass, clean and safe for all who visit, and all fully in line with additional information. the Governments strict guidelines. Live streamed Mass In the centre of it all is our wonderful parish priest Fr. Zbigniew, who has had the most difficult first full year of Fr. Zbigniew live streams supporting not only Our Lady of Lourdes and St Francis de Sunday Mass at 11am from St Francis de Sales. Masses Sales as our Parish Priest, but also now the whole of the West can also be found on Berkshire Pastoral Area as the Co-ordinating Pastor. To Fr, churchservices.tv and at goes the very biggest “Dziękuję” (which I think if I have numerous churches spelt it correctly is “thank you” in Polish !). throughout the UK. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for the love and support There is currently no live that he has shown and continues to show us. streaming facility at Our Lady of Lourdes…..but who Not to mention of course that he is now a ‘You Tube’ internet knows what is possible in star personality, live streaming Mass from Wash Common ! the future ! Parish ‘Special Newsletter’ No. 1 January 2021 1 Our Lady of Lourdes Hungerford (with St Francis de Sales Wash Common) 17 January 2021
Parish Registrar - An Appointed Person
My roles within the parish of OLOL have changed over the years and I am currently the Appointed Person for the Registration of Marriages at Our Lady Of Lourdes, Hungerford. Pray Without Ceasing This is an official and legally appointed position that has, until now, been carried out by either the Parish Priest or has To "pray without ceasing" - is been undertaken by the Registrar for West Berkshire at this a somewhat daunting task, Shaw House, Newbury. especially with our busy and stressful lives, with work and Many Parishes now have ‘lay’ members of the congregation children, and the never-ending who carry out this responsibility including at St Francis de cycle of housework ? Many of us Sales, Wash Common. I am able to register marriages at pray our morning or evening OLOL and at any Roman Catholic churches within West prayers, or both, and I'm sure all Berkshire should they request it. I had training for this role of us have said prayers at one at Shaw House with the Registrar’s team along with Mary time or another when we hear of a tragedy, or think of those we Holdsworth who is my official Deputy. know who are suffering. But if Let’s hope our services are called upon many times in our we are not cut out for the beautiful church! monastic life, how can we "pray without ceasing”? The simplest As ‘secretary’ for OLOL my duties are currently very light prayer, I have discovered, I can as Yvonne at Wash Common is the main Parish Secretary always do as there are no words whose email address is seen on our newsletter. At present I to remember, nothing; only make sure that we have current, annual licenses for things listening. like music reproduction and lotteries. Many do not realise As I listened one day not so long that the smallest of raffles require a licence if tickets are not ago, I realised that this is what sold and the lottery drawn on the same day. Licenses for the praying without ceasing really sale of alcohol at fundraisers, concerts etc., must also be means - at least for me. It is not applied for to keep within the law. about words, but about heart; making space so that God's I am also one of the sacristans at OLOL, helping Paul and presence is never forgotten, His Mary with the duties and preparations that assist Father love and presence listened to - Zbigniew. and when the world begins to overwhelm, to drown this out; I have been a Reader and Minister of the Eucharist for most don’t stop and talk but stop and of the nearly 30 years that I have lived here. I love to help listen, allow a moment to feel support the congregation by singing with our small music His love and thank Him for it. group led by Clare Webber and cannot wait for the end of We often forget that God restrictions so that we can all sing beautiful, uplifting knows our hearts and we will be hymns and Alleluias once again. heard; we only need to listen. Caroline Ness Parish Registrar Holy McMordie RCIA 2020
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Hungerford Churches Together
Hungerford Churches Together is an organisation set up to There is light at the end promote ecumenical activities in the Christian community of the tunnel because of Hungerford. There are six or seven regular services a year, Christ is our Light ! when all the churches of Hungerford worship together.
Services are normally rotated between the different churches which comprise Our Lady of Lourdes, St Lawrence’s Anglican church, the United Reformed Church and the Methodist Church. Over the last two or three years the Church on the Rock has also taken part in some of the services.
Each of the four churches organises a simple lunch on one Friday during Lent. On Good Friday there is a walk of witness from each church, meeting at the Town Hall where there is an open air service with the Reading of the Passion. There is a street collection for Christian Aid around the third week of May. We also have prayer meetings, and are Longing for light, we wait in involved in the carnival procession, the Extravaganza evening darkness. in December and coffee mornings. Longing for truth, we turn to you. Make us your own, your holy The HCT Committee meets four times each year when the people, annual plan of services and activities is agreed and the budget Light for the world to see. is reviewed. There is a meeting with a representative of Churches Together in Berkshire. The Chairman of the Longing for peace, our world is committee rotates between the different churches but is troubled. currently Rev Mike Saunders from St. Lawrence’s Parish. Longing for hope, many despair. Your word alone has power to Anna and I have been part of H.C.T. for over 20 years, and save us. the committee has been very generous in facilitating the Make us your living voice. fund-raising for our charity, Noreen’s Kids. Indeed it was already fund raising for children in Romania, before I first Christ be our light ! became involved in 1993. Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness. In a society where sadly a minority of the population attend Christ be our light ! church, there is surely a very strong case for the different Shine in your Church gathering traditions of our churches to learn from each other and to be today. a more unified witness to our faith. Indeed some of HCT’s most active members have been Catholics and the legacy Bernadette Farrell 1993 which Brother Gus left still resonates today. Your support would be most welcome !
Robin and Anna Dunn
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Wo n d e r i n g W h a t Ma s s is all about ?
Need a refresher, an update, a revision, a guide or just interested in learning more ?
Check out the video guide at: https://youtu.be/co0qalRkEJs
The new church goes up ! June 2013
Our Lady of Lourdes in the Pandemic
I do not really have anything of general interest to relate to fellow parishioners, but I do want to express my sincere thanks to those who have worked to keep the Church open and safe over the last few months. As a relative newcomer to the parish, only seven years, I am still unaware of precisely who does what and I know very few of the names. This is probably more of a reflection on me and my terrible memory for names. However, I would like to express my deep appreciation of all that goes on to keep the Church open and running smoothly. In particular, for the way the Church is meticulously cleaned and sanitised, the altar and sanctuary are prepared, the entries and exits clearly marked, the social distancing signs, even the locking and unlocking of the Church and the car park barriers, and many more ‘little’ tasks that help to keep things running smoothly. I don’t know everyone involved, I do know some, it would be wrong to name some and not others, but ‘a big thank you to all of them.’
It goes without saying that we all owe a huge debt to Father Zbigniew for saying Mass, but also for his cheerfulness and kind words of encouragement. It must have been a very strange first 18 months as parish priest.
I long for the time when we can return to having the music group. It’s great to have Clare playing the organ but the congregation singing would be wonderful.
Equally I look forward to the time when we can again enjoy tea and coffee after Mass. This is so important in the creation of the parish community, and certainly enabled me to fit in more quickly.
Jim Curtis
Dates for your diary 2021:
Thursday July 1st: The Feast of St. Oliver Plunkett - whose relic is within the church altar.
Monday July 5th: The 7th Anniversary of the Dedication and Consecration of Our Lady of Lourdes. For interest the first church of Our Lady of Lourdes was built in 1939 and demolished in 2012. The new church of Our Lady of Lourdes was built in 56 weeks between March 2013 and April 2014
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The Road to Conversion in the Year of COVID-19
In 2020 Our Lady of Lourdes was pleased to welcome into the Catholic Church four new parishioners; Felicity Burrows, Holly McMordie and Verity and Roman Lambert. They were joined by Chris Trickey, completing his Rite of Initiation (RCIA) with the Sacrament of Confirmation, and two new parishioners in St Francis de Sales, Sue Werney and Arthur Mitchell. For some of them the journey had been long not helped by the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic. Holly, Felicity, Fr. Zbigniew and Arthur at the Reception Mass, 18th September, 2020 at St. Francis de Sales. Felicity gives us some thoughts on the experience below. Covid 19 - The Road to Conversion The year of 2020, dominated by Coronavirus, was for most people an entirely negative experience, with Lockdown severely restricting our lives, loneliness, job losses, mental health problems, loss of accommodation, social deprivation, and of course illness and deaths. I, too, have had many frustrating moments, but one of the most positive outcomes of the change in normal daily activities was having the time, and opportunity, to consider converting to Roman Catholicism. I was baptised and grew up according to the rites of the Church of England, and this seemed a reasonable way of life in my earlier years. In my late twenties I married Mark, a Roman Catholic, and our two boys were brought up as Catholics. Mark was an Army Officer, and until recently, we have spent all of our married life moving house/countries every two years, on average. We were so busy with this lifestyle that I never gave my religion a second thought, although I found myself going to Mass regularly with Mark and the boys, and enjoying it, although of course being denied the Eucharist. As the years have gone by and life’s dramas have been endured, religion has started to play a more significant part in my life. Pre-Covid I was beginning to consider what aspects of the Church mattered to me, and whether I was completely content with the Anglican approach. Throughout Lockdown 1, and the early summer, the Anglican village church was closed and the on- line service proved to be totally uninspiring for me. I began to question whether Anglicanism was enough for me, and I quite quickly realised that it wasn’t, and indeed maybe hadn’t been for several years. All churches of all denominations had been closed, but Our Lady of Lourdes was one of the first to reopen as soon as public worship was allowed again. I was so impressed and encouraged by this positive, strong approach of the Catholic Church, and amazed that Mass was taking place. Meanwhile the Church of England in our village was still not open for services, let alone communion. I found the difference in approach between the two churches quite staggering. It was the resolute leadership and example of the Roman Catholic Church in a time for many of need, desperation, frustration and loneliness that really impressed me. It opened its doors and was there to support the spiritual wellbeing of its parishioners at a time when they needed it most: this led me to want to be a Catholic, to be part of such a positive, supportive and welcoming Church.
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Previously, I had been led to believe that to be able to convert to Roman Catholicism one had to endure an arduous course lasting approximately 2 years: as we had been moving around nearly every 2 years this was never a possibility, as I was never in one place long enough! However, last summer when having the time to talk to someone at Our Lady of Lourdes, and Father Zbigniew, I was given the opportunity to complete the conversion course in a much shorter time with one to one tuition. This was a green light to me and I was so excited about the possibility of converting that I jumped at the opportunity. By the end of September 2020 I was a fully fledged Roman Catholic and I have never looked back. Converting to Roman Catholicism is one of the best things I have done, but in an otherwise desperate, frustrating and tragic year for many. If our lives had never slowed down, if I had never had the extra time to think, and if I had never seen the stark contrast in approach between the Anglican and Catholic Churches, as clearly shown during the coronavirus pandemic, then I might still be an Anglican. However, that is not the case, and I am now able to enjoy in full the sacraments and liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. Felicity Burrows RCIA 2020 Prayer during a Pandemic
The stone from the Gave River May we who are inconvenienced The flat stone at the feet of Our Lady’s statue was Remember those whose lives are at collected from the Gave River, in front of the Grotto in stake. Lourdes. in October 2013 with permission from the May we who have no risk factors local Mairie and church authorities. It is our physical Remember those most vulnerable. link to the site of the wonderful visions of Our Lady of May we who can care for our children Lourdes in 1858. when schools close, See https://youtu.be/dwx8g8z7FUo Remember those who have no options. May we who have to cancel our trips Remember those who have no safe place to go. May we who settle in for quarantine at home Remember those who have no home. May we who are losing some of our money in the tumult of the economic market Remember those who are losing all of theirs. As an element of fear grips our country, Let us choose love. And during this stressful time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, Let us find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbours.
Amen
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Saint Oliver Why has Our Lady of Lourdes remained open Plunkett 1625 - 1681 during this lockdown ?
During the current, third, lockdown a couple of parishioners have contacted me, to ask why Our Lady of Lourdes church has remained open.
In response:
Churches in England have been allowed to remain open in accordance with the most recent national legislation and Government guidelines, including guidance from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.
These decisions are based on the recognition that many of our churches are safe, in fact much safer now than in the early days of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020. We can include our own church of Our Lady of Lourdes in that description. The safety of churches has been affirmed by Public Health England (PHE) in its advice to our Government. This was recognised as a result of A relic of Saint Oliver Plunkett the huge efforts made by the many volunteers and stewards in resides within the altar at Our various churches, in implementing Covid procedures mandated Lady of Lourdes, behind the by PHE. “Chi-Rho” plaque on the front During this pandemic, which is causing fear and alarm to many of the altar. people, especially to those who may live alone, the Church has a unique role in providing a place of peace and reflection in a safe It was sealed into the altar by environment. However, whilst there is currently no obligation for Mr. Barry Humphries, our us to attend Sunday Mass, some parishioners, assuming they don’t local stone mason, on the have any underlying medical problems or the need to strictly occasion of the church being isolate, believe our own church at Hungerford to be a far safer Dedicated and Consecrated by place to visit than out and about shopping in Tesco or Waitrose. Bishop Egan on 5th July 2014. The Diocese of Portsmouth regularly reviews those churches within the diocese that have undertaken to remain open, in The bone relic is shown below ensuring that the highest standards of safety are maintained. This within its silver case. includes a regular review of the Risk Assessment, the role of the volunteer/stewards, the provision of additional social distancing procedures and review of the sanitising and cleaning routines.
Paul Cunane Sacristan
If you would like to write an article please send it to: [email protected] and we will do our best to include it in the next Special Edition !
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