Dear Brothers and Sisters,
There was a reading,
used last week for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, that has lingered at the
back of my mind all week. It is from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans:
‘Nothing therefore can come between us and the
love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried...These are the trials
through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.’
(Rm 8:35,37)
Many of us have and are still continuing to face the trials of working,
shopping, conducting everyday business, maintaining familial relationships and
looking after both physical and mental health, all under exceptional
circumstances. I think those words of St. Paul help to ground us amidst the
present worries and challenges we are all facing. Jesus Christ, Our Lord, is
with us through thick and thin and as we move forward it is by imitating him in
his love, his sacrifice and his mercy, that our future reunion, as a parish
family, around his Altar is possible.
The good news is that many of our churches are beginning to open albeit
at different stages. There are all kinds of factors that are contributing to
the slow and gradual re-opening of places of worship both nationally as well as
locally. These range from a lack of volunteers because of their age and
underlying health issues to people returning back to work and so not having the
time to give. The ‘R’ number, not only regionally in the North West but in
specific areas and local authorities, is still very high and that has affected
the re-opening of some church buildings. Things maybe moving slowly but thank
goodness they are moving – the power of prayer!
The Bishop, in an email sent to all priests today, wrote in regards to
the various conditions and requirements needed for a church to be opened:
‘You may think my preferences are likely to discourage and even
frustrate and annoy people. I accept that as preferable to placing people at
risk - a risk that we still do not fully comprehend. I believe that we best
show our love for our brothers and sisters by taking all the precautions to
keep them safe and well. Can you imagine living with the evidence that some of
your parishioners had died through a contagion proven to have been passed in
your church?’
It would be hard to argue against this common sense.
Now for us at St. Mary’s the practical work begins. Yesterday we had
the official compulsory diocesan inspection. A risk assessment is now being
produced and therefore we have completed one of our our Bishop’s conditions for
re-opening church. There are some more things we still need to do…
The PPE required for our reopening will be ready for collection next
Friday 3rd July.
‘Address: Fitzpatrick Hall (next to Our
Lady of the Rosary School and St JH Newman Parish Centre), 1 Davyhulme Rd,
Urmston, Manchester M41 7DS. The opening times are 10am – 2pm with 10 minute
slots allocated per collection (on the hour, 10 past the hour, 20 past the hour
etc…)’
Can a parishioner who is able to collect our PPE from the address above
please email me in the next few days at sean.obrien@dioceseofsalford.org.uk
Without it we cannot re-open.
Volunteer work begins on the church grounds later next week. In
accordance with government directives and social distancing measures, it is
vital that people contact Navada Keenan who is kindly facilitating this work.
Navada can be contacted at keenannavada@gmail.com
.Thank you to those parishioners who have offered their time and services
already. We don’t need Alan Titchmarsh or Monty Don, we just need helpful and
practical hands.
Karen Beard, the parish Housekeeper, will be contacting those who have
volunteered their cleaning services this week. Thank you again to Karen and
that good number of parishioners who have stepped forward.
You will have read the letter from the Cardinal and the Archbishops of
England that was posted on the parish website yesterday. You will have seen
from that letter how important stewards are going to be in the foreseeable
future. Their role will not just be assisting at church for periods of private
individual prayer but also to welcome and facilitate a safe environment once
Mass and other forms of public worship begin. At the inspection yesterday, it
was pointed out to me that stewards would seat people from the front of the
church first. At the end of Mass they would guide those sat at the back of
church to the exits first, as well as giving the signal for when each row could
walk up for Holy Communion. I had not thought about any of these practicalities
including the limited numbers which are allowed in church.
Thank you to those who have volunteered to be stewards and to Jennifer
Pickles who has been overseeing this. As you can imagine more are needed
because the number of stewards will dictate when St. Mary’s re-opens and what
liturgies and services we can provide from Mass to funerals, from private
prayer to baptisms. Jennifer can be contacted at: jennifer.pickles@virginmedia.com
The Salford Diocesan Safeguarding Department has emailed the following
about those who do volunteer to be stewards.
‘It is so important that all those who are given positions of
responsibility are known to you and are able to be trusted. Having a volunteer
not known to you, who cannot be given approval by others, risks putting
yourself at risk and being accused of not maintaining standards of
safeguarding. Remember that there are some people, not of the diocese, who will
try and test our ability to do this. Whilst given to maintain the guidance of
the CBCEW in matters of safeguarding at all times we have to accept that these
are difficult times when we are looking for volunteers. It is advised that at
least one of the stewards has had safeguarding training whilst not all stewards
require to have a DBS certificate.’
There will be a future email to all those who have come forward as
stewards about the requirements and conditions that the safeguarding department
have asked for.
The re-opening of St. Mary’s is becoming a reality and not a distant
hope, the knowledge of exact dates and times is only a short way off. I am
truly looking forward to seeing you all again when, as a family, we can be
physically present before the Tabernacle and allow the Lord to refresh us.
God Bless and Keep praying
Fr. O’Brien