Our
Lady of Lourdes Parish, is situated in west London, but has many
characteristics of an inner city parish. Because of its close proximity to
London Airport and its situation at the economically poorest end of London
Borough of Ealing, it has a relatively high number of refugee families, and also
is home to many families who are inadequately or poorly housed either living in
run-down Local Authority high-rise flats, or in Local Authority-run Bed and
Breakfast accommodation. Poor single people do not even have this 'luxury' and
many, particularly those with social problems of drink, drugs, or mental ill
health, find themselves homeless and sleeping rough. However, the northern part
of the parish is affluent with largely owner-occupiers or privately rented
housing stock.
All this makes for a parish of enormous contrasts; an
older population of people who have lived in Acton most or all of their lives -
young people who are 'passing through' the parish and will stay for a few months
or a few years; settled middle-class families with disposable income - those
living well-below the poverty line; 1500 regular mass attendees many of whom are
involved in various aspects of parish life - those (Catholics and non Catholics)
who rarely attend mass but frequently visit the church to pray or light candles;
and forty-five different nationalities who bring the richness of their language
diversity and culture to the parish. Additionally, Our Lady of Lourdes has
become 'home' to the community of Travellers (Gypsies/Romanies) scattered
through the West of London who use the parish as 'their' church for weddings,
funerals and baptisms, and whose children are prepared in the parish for First
Communion and Confirmation. The presbytery is seen by them as a source of advice
and advocacy for problems of benefits and housing, and for help in all aspects
of their often difficult and marginalised lives.
All of this provides a rich opportunity for both
priests and laity to respond to the challenge of the gospel and the call of
Jesus Christ in His mission statement to be 'good news' to the poor, which here
in Acton we too hear in our hearts. Next door to the presbytery is Emmaus House
- a drop-in centre for the poor and homeless where those who Western society
would choose to ignore or institutionalise can be met with dignity, fed, clothed
and receive other services. Emmaus House began as the response of the Sacred
Hearts Community and a group of parishioners who worked as volunteers, and
although it is now funded by the local Council and the Irish Government together
with continuing generous donations from parishioners and individuals in the
area, it retains its spiritual heart ably led by the Director Sister Aileen
Kennedy, a Sister of the Sacred Hearts, who is assisted by Sister Martin, a Sacred Heart of
Mary Sister.
A new development of Emmaus House has been the purchase
by the parish of a property just round the corner from the church to provide a
place of welcome and companionship during those hours when Emmaus House is
closed. Known as the Damien Centre it was opened and blessed on 5 November 1999
by Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue. The Centre is open from 4-8pm on weekdays and is
staffed by a paid project worker and volunteers from the parish. It provides a
much-needed shelter from the harsh weather for those who are homeless or
inadequately housed, or indeed for anyone who would like light refreshments and
to socialise. (For further information on Emmaus
House and Damien
Centre - including photographs - see specific pages on this web site.)
Many of the clients of Emmaus House are or have been
drug or alcohol abusers. At present there is little to support them after a
programme of detoxification, and they return to the streets where they are
forced back into the company of others who are drinkers or drug addicts for
companionship. With the support of the London Borough of Ealing and the help of
a Housing Association, a six unit house has been acquired to provide a supported
'half-way house' which is being used as 'dry' accommodation to which clients of
Emmaus House can be referred when no longer drinking.
Peace and Justice issues are well supported by the
parish generally. The Peace and Justice Group led to the formation of a local
ecumenical Peace and Justice Group representing all the local churches. This
group has campaigned vociferously for the plight of asylum seekers, lobbying
parliament against unjust legislation, and raising public awareness through the
street collection of signatures to petition the government about the
reduction/cancellation of International Debt.
Fr Joe McGeady, a Sacred Hearts priest who formerly
worked in this parish, and Rosie Stevenson, one of our parishioners, left this
parish in 1998 to work in Mozambique. Mozambique is a country which has suffered
greatly: in the aftermath of its sixteen-year civil war, the trap of
International Debt into which it has been drawn, and most recently through the
dramatic flooding which destroyed much of the rebuilding work which had begun to
take place. The parish has been constantly generous in raising funds for the
Mission in Mozambique and takes a deep and personal interest in what is
happening in that country.
At present the parish is preparing to celebrate the
centenary of Our Lady of Lourdes church during the year September 2002-September
2003. The first mass in our church was celebrated on 28 September 1902.
Archbishop Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has agreed in principle to preside at the
Centenary Mass, which will probably take place in September 2002. At the recent
Parish in Council Meeting many other possible ideas were discussed the minutes
of which can be seen elsewhere on the web site. Certainly there will be events
planned to renew the spiritual life of the parish at this significant moment in
the parish history, with a parish mission suggested for Lent 2003. It is hoped
too that a booklet might be produced about the history and life of the Catholic
Community in Acton and a committee has been set up to begin this process.
It has also been agreed that the occasion of the
church's centenary would be a good occasion to renew the material fabric of the
church. The parishioners who purchased the excellent site in the High Street 100
years ago showed great vision, and we intend to preserve and enhance their
legacy to us so that in another 100 years the parish will still be well housed
and strong.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place four
days a week and is largely attended by the elderly faithful of the parish and
young mothers as well as by the priests who find it a time of great grace for
their own prayer life in the hectic schedule of the parish. The life of the
parish flows from and is animated by Adoration, and the spirituality of God's
unconditional love - the God who has a heart for the world; and devotion to the
Sacred Heart which is the source of compassion for the poor. Fr Damien of
Molokai is honoured in our church with a special shrine and is a symbol and
inspiration to our parishioners to care for the marginalised, excluded and
rejected in our society. Because the church is situated right on the pavement of
a busy high street many non-Catholics (and even non-Christians) pop into the
church during the week to say a prayer and light a candle.
As well as the Sacred Hearts Community we are blessed
to have in our parish two other religious communities: the Medical Mission
Sisters and the Sisters of Charity. The parish is also home to the Servants of
the Word, a number of members of the Antioch Community and some members of the
Emmanuel Community, all lay communities who enrich the life of the parish.
Parish Dances have a strong tradition at Our Lady of Lourdes
and are held regularly, providing a useful source of income and occasions of
great fun when the parish comes together. The Alpha Programme, an ecumenical
evangelising experience, is well supported by the parish and there is a
programme of Parenting which, throws up leaders for future programmes so that
Parenting is continually valued and supported by the community. The catechetical
programmes too are well supported with lay catechists, including marriage
preparation courses, confirmation, first communion and R.C.I.A. It has been many
years now since the parish has celebrated an Easter Vigil without the reception
of new adults into the church, who have prepared for this night over a period of
at least a year- a sign for all of us of the need to renew our own baptismal
promises and the power of the Risen Christ.
A group of about ten parishioners have been meeting
with others from the other three parishes in England served by the Congregation
of the Sacred Hearts, learning more about the spirituality of the Congregation.
At first these meetings took place every 4-5 months, but during the last year
there has been a formation programme with meetings every month, and a group of
our parishioners have now made a formal commitment to the Lay Association of the
Congregation for one year. This ceremony took place in Bedford on the same
occasion that Bro. Cathal, who will be in the parish for the next two years,
made his first vows. Some of those who belong to the Lay Association may
eventually become members of the Secular Branch of the Congregation.
With all this in mind in the coming year Acton will
link with Nunhead Parish, another parish led by the Sacred Hearts Community, and
will continue a formation programme which will be open to anyone who would like
to be more involved with the spirit and mission of the Congregation.
All of this is only a sample and a flavour of the
parish, which is Our Lady of Lourdes, led by the Congregation of the Sacred
Hearts, here in west London. The social and spiritual needs of the parish are
many and complex, but the heart of the parish is strong and good, and securely
rooted in a love of the poor and of God. To live here is to live in a missionary
parish with little respite, but with much love.
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