January/February 2004
The Bishop's visit to the ParishDuring January and February this year, our parish was blessed by three separate visitations - one to to the church, and one each to the two Mass Centres - by Bishop Jamesa O'Brien.
Below are a selection of pictures taken by a number of parishioners, to whom we're grateful.
On Sunday 8th February, there was an open Parish Meeting, some notes for which were taken by Tim Stevens, and reproduced here.
Please enjoy this record of Bishop O'Brien's visit
Bishop James O’Brien spoke to a gathering of people from throughout the parish last Sunday and it was great to see him looking so well.
He
thanked all those who had been praying for his recovery. The following are
a few notes of his messages and the author apologises in advance if in his
keenness to listen he missed something important.The Bishop spoke of his last visit to Rome and his audience with the Holy Father who was particularly interested in the activities of the Diocese.
Bishop James highlighted the position of the clergy, working not for their own sake but in service to the Church
with
the Bishops acting as represen- tative of the wider Church, the Diocese.
He informed the meeting of his new responsibility for the Deanery with visitations
to parishes, schools and convents etc.He urged all in the parish to participate in the At Your Word, Lord programme as a means of bringing a new spiritual life to the parish. He recommended the viewing of the AYWL launch video to any that had not seen it.
He recognised
the need to respect the autonomy and integrity of parish priests but offered
this invitation to deeper thinking of our faith within parishes.Bishop James revealed the heavy workload that came with the registered charity status, highlighting the bulk of assets within the church buildings estate and need for constant maintenance.
He spoke of the loneliness of the priesthood and the need for the parish to consider how it cares for its priests and how we the people show our loving support.
The Bishop emphasized the threat to the priesthood in foreign lands with the fact that more martyrs have died in the last century than in any other.
He raised these concerns:
|
Young
people leaving the faith and he asked how do we encourage them to stay? We
spoke of the potential of a youth leader. He encouraged youth engagement
outside of Sunday Mass. |
|
Family and married life and he questioned how we show our support to the
family unit? He stressed the devastation of marriage break-up and the importance
both parents within the family. He endorsed marriage care and counsellors,
highlighting the Mary Corbett programme. He praised visible examples such
as couples leading prayer. |
|
| Justice
in the 3rd world enquiring how do we respond to issues of poverty and 3rd
world debt? He developed the focus upon local poverty |
|
| Interfaith
relations offering the opportunity to ask how can we join together in prayer?
He recognised vast improvement between the different faiths of the world
to co-exist for the greater good. We are asked to pray for those in the Middle
East. |
Also,
on Sunday 8th February, Des Coyle was awarded the Gold Medal of the Archconfraternity
of St Stephen in recognition of 50 years' altar serving. The Bishop
made the presentation to Des at the 12 O'clock Mass.The St Albans Observer printed a story about this, which is reproduced here. The full article was run in the 19th February issue of the St. Albans Observer, to whom we're grateful for this picture (ref Jane Parr, Y05507).
Award for altar boy.
A St Albans man has been awarded a gold medal by the Catholic Church in recognition of 50 years service as an altar boy
Mr Des Coyle, 57, of St Paul’s Place, who has been helping at Mass at Ss Alban & Stephen Church in Beaconsfield Road since 1954, has received the Gold Medal of the Archconfraternity of the Guild of St Stephen.
He was presented with the medal by Bishop James O’Brien when he made his annual parish visit on 8 February 2004.
The Bishop thanked Des for his commitment and loyalty.
Parishioner Sara Nash said “Des’ contribution is appreciated by everyone in the parish and he sets a tremendous example of service.
“Ever ready to assist, he has also been known on very rare occasions to lead the hymn singing"
Reprints are available
for most of the pictures here.Contact us by e-mail at:
photos@albanstephen.com