The Bishop launched a new programme for the diocese called Hope in the Future on 4 October 2017. The patron of this initiative is Saint Francis of Assisi whom The Lord tasked to rebuild His Church in 1205 whilst he was praying before the crucifix in the church of St. Damiano in Assisi. At first Francis thought he was to oversee the repair of crumbling buildings but he soon realised the request was to reinvigorate the living church ie: the people.

In his introduction The Bishop called for all parishes to become ‘missionary parishes’ and asked the laity consequently to become more involved in transforming the diocese into a missionary church and in doing so would ensure that the priests would be able to devote more of their time to pastoral duties.

At the launch of Hope in the Future last year Jo Wiggett and Peter Cunningham represented the parish and received from Bishop John, along with representatives of other parishes, a picture of the crucifix of St. Damian. This is displayed close to the baptismal carvings at the front of church.

Over the last twelve months or so a small group of parishioners who expressed an interest to become involved with the programme have met a number of times to assist in the preparation of the initiative and to discuss how it may benefit the parish of Ss. Aidan & Oswald.

The delivery of Hope in the Future has been broken down into 5 Stages:

CELEBRATING OUR PARISH: This stage commenced with the launch on the 4th October 2017. We were tasked to look at what we already do and how we celebrated the ‘missionary activity’ that already takes place.

We already have many activities taking place within the parish with many different people involved. We now need to build on these and also look at further ways to enable us to develop into a ‘missionary parish.’

HARVESTING OUR TALENTS: The emphasis of this stage is encouraging all our parishioners to become involved in parish life, using their own unique skills and put them at the service of the church.

LIVING THE SUNDAY EUCHCARIST: The weekend liturgy is seen as the ‘shop window’ of the parish. However, we need to build on this celebration to ensure that we are mission orientated via our welcoming, inclusiveness, hospitality and worship.

PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS: This stage will concentrate on opportunities to engage with others and hopefully will attract new members into our parish family as well as providing formation to deepen engagement.

Some of the groups already operating in the parish include:

• Hope in the Future Team: Father Stephen; Peter Cunningham; Jo Wiggett; John Fraine; John Roberts; Annmarie Stewart; Hannah Stahr; Kay Hirst; John Beeston
• Closer working with School. Closer links will be developed between our parish and school. Already it has been agreed to reintroduce Family Masses, the first one being held on 18^th November.  The school held a walk to Tandle Hill Park for pupils. Staff, parents and friends on 28^th June as part of Pope Francis’s ‘Share the Journey’ initiative.
• St. Vincent de Paul Society are working with our school and are developing youngsters working within the parish as ‘Mini Vinnies.’
• Parish Website: David Ferguson Jr. is currently updating the site to make it more user friendly and to contain a wider range of information about our Parish.
• Diocesan Marriage Preparation: Henry and Sue Stahr are running this course in Community Room.
• Churches Together in Royton: Ray Coverley
• Welcome Centre: Peter Glynn
• Scripture Study Group: Fr Stephen
• Caritas: April Cowburn
• Credit Union: Mary McGrath
• Rosary Group: Sheila Heap
• Children’s Liturgy: Tracy Molyeneux
• Sacramental Programme: Angela Preen
• Jackpot Club: Veronica Chilton
• Church Cleaning: Anne Clarke
• After School. Holiday Club: Moria Harwood
• Mums & Toddlers Club: Anne Butler

Parishioners are encouraged to become involved with any of the groups that are running within the parish and further details are available from the above parishioners or Father Stephen.

Ss. AIDAN & OSWALD'S PARISH -

HOPE IN THE FUTURE

UPDATE No: 2

Well, as promised here is the second of an occasional series of Hope in the Future Updates. We are now well into the second stage of the programme which is focusing on Harvesting Our Talents. The Bishop asked that by the end of Year 2 all parishes should have a ‘Shared Leadership Team’ in place. Many parishes have completed this task or are well on the way to doing so by this October, which will see Stage 3 commence.

The group of parishioners which has been meeting, developing our response to Hope in the Future, discussed the formation of a Shared Leadership Team. We agreed that initially this Team should take on the role with a view that is very much seen as an interim structure, whilst Hope in the Future becomes established both within the parish and across the diocese. Whilst at the moment there is no definitive number of members, it is thought that the numbers should be around 12 to 16, in order to keep it to a manageable size. The structure of the team will be reviewed in early 2020, to ensure that it is fit for purpose and to introduce a rolling programme of new members.

 

The current Team consists of: -

 

The President – Fr. Stephen                            

The Chair – Peter Cunningham

Finance /Admin Rep. – Jo Wiggett    

Safeguarding Rep – Anne-Marie Stewart

Welfare Rep – John Fraine                                           

I.T Rep – John Roberts

Sacramental Programme Rep – Angela Preen  

School Liaison – Emma Neary

Ecumenical Rep – Ray Coverley                             

Youth Rep – Hannah Stahr

Kay Hurst -  Parishioner Rep                         

John Beeston- -Parishioner Rep.

To be successful it is imperative that the team is reflective of the parish family. It is acknowledged that we have a wealth of talent within the parish, some of which we hope will contribute to the development of Hope in the Future and it is envisaged that working groups will be set up to look at specific projects.

Parishioners are encouraged to approach current team members with any ideas which they feel would be of benefit to the development of Hope in the Future. 

The Bishop asked that each deanery be represented by a priest and a lay person. Our Deanery representatives are Fr. Gasper Oladosu and Peter Cunningham, who meet with other reps from across the diocese.

Currently we are working to update and digitise the Parish Register and indeed many parishioners have already submitted pro-formas with updated information. If you have not yet completed one, please ask one of the Welcomers for a copy and return it, completed, next time you come to church.

We are also working closer with the school, strengthening the links that have been in place for many years. Indeed, the Family Mass today is one of the new initiatives that has already come from this closer liaison. We have been blessed with having an excellent Sacramental Programme structure within the parish over the years. I am pleased to be able to tell you that it is being extended to include preparing children for their reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation in Year 8. This will, no doubt, require extra input from parishioners, but following an appeal last week by Angela Preen for volunteers, a number of parishioners have answered the call.

Another initiative that we are working on is a Welcome Pack to inform parishioners about all that is happening in the parish, not only in relation to worship, but in offering support to the different groups as well. Initially all families will receive a copy, but it will be especially useful for new parishioners.

Over the coming months parishioners will have various opportunities to become involved in different aspects of parish life. Please think about how you can help your parish to develop.

 

Stay with us, Lord, on our journey.

 

Peter Cunningham - Chair  Parish Shared Leadership Team