Parish Profile
Westminster Record March 2012
Shepperton: A small but mighty parish By Lucy Jenkinson With just 300 parishioners, Shepperton is a small but mighty parish. This summer Shepperton will be celebrating its 75th anniversary on the feast day of St John Fisher – after whom the church is named. The parishioners of St John Fisher are more like one big extended family than a group of individual ones. The parish plays a big part in organising the annual Diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. This includes running fund raising activities throughout the year so that the cost of the pilgrimage is not prohibitive. Gerald Daly, the Assistant Director of the Diocesan Pilgrimage says, “Shepperton is a power-house for promoting the pilgrimage!” That such a small parish takes on such an enormous task is an incredible thing, and helps to ensure the success of the pilgrimage year after year. One of their recent fundraising ventures was a Parish Panto that raised £1400 and involved actors as young as 8 and old as...well 60 plus anyway! The organisation for the
Fr Peter Scott
Panto starts in September and rehearsals take place every weekend throughout the winter school term until the performance after Christmas. Paul Lavery, who played Lady Victoria Sandwich, said that the panto is only possible through the support and dedication of everyone involved. Shepperton is also responsible for helping to organise the Annual Mass for the Sick held in Westminster Cathedral to coincide with World Day for the Sick. Paul Lavery and Dapne Argent, two proactive parishioners, talk enthusiastically about the inclusive nature of their parish. For all the fun and games the young people in the parish have, the sick and elderly are not forgotten. As an integral member of the parish Care Group, Daphne says that with an ageing community there are plenty of people who are more or less house bound. Along with other volunteers, Daphne organises home-visits, food shops and birthday cards and presents for older parishioners who cannot make it to Mass. It is a vital service that is a life line to people who often have no one else to rely on. Fr Peter talks with a massive smile on his face about the enthusiasm of the parishioners and their willingness to support what he calls his “often crazy” ideas. “The parish,” he says, “is run by the people”. He fulfils the role as Healthcare Chaplaincy Co-ordinator for the Diocese of Westminster during the week and then ‘comes home’ to celebrate Mass at the weekends. This is just one of the many roles Fr Peter has had since being ordained, as he has been a chaplain in three hospitals, Pastoral Director at Allen Hall and taught at St Mary’s University College at Twickenham. After being a lodger in presbyteries for 16 years, Fr Peter described his move to Shepperton as a ‘real blessing.’ Fr Peter is on a mission to beautify both the inside and outside of the church to reflect the vibrancy of the people who worship there. Each year Fr Peter travels to Florida for a month, to give a priest there the chance to go home to Ireland. The parish in Florida is similar to the one in Shepperton and always make Fr Peter very welcome. A group of people with Alzheimer’s in St Peter’s parish, Florida, make beautiful stained glass and two window panes have been commissioned and installed in St John Fisher back in Shepperton. Shepperton is fully embracing the London Olympics, with three of the key events in the parish calendar will be Olympic themed. To this end there will soon be an Olympic Pancake race, followed by an Olympic Golf
Parishioners Paul and Daphne with Fr Peter outside St John Fisher church
Tournament in April and an Olympic raft race as part of the Shepperton summer fair. The parishioners at St John Fisher take on those from the two neighbouring Anglican churches in the raft race and they are hopeful that this year will be the third win in a row for Shepperton’s Catholic raft racers! Whilst there is no parish school in Shepperton, children in the parish can attend some excellent Catholic schools in the surrounding area. Fr Peter expresses his admiration for the young families who regularly attend Mass and for their children who are all friends regardless of going to different schools every day, simply because of their connection to the church. ‘It’s a wonderful thing to witness,’ says Fr Peter. On 22 June this year, St John Fisher’s feast day, Fr Peter and the parishioners will be celebrating 75 years of Shepperton parish. To mark this occasion the usual feast day bbq will be extended into a week-long celebration of all the parish has achieved and its plans for the future. To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Fr Peter is opening up the parish hall and car park for a community party. People from Shepperton will be welcomed to bring their own food and drink and enjoy the extra bank holiday in the surroundings of St John Fisher. This is also Fr Peter’s way of saying Thank You to the local people who aren’t parishioners but who so patiently put up with not being able to park in front of their own homes on Sunday and the occassional noise from weddings, christenings and catechism classes.
Shepperton’s main fund-raising task at the moment is for a stone altar and lectern. After the new church was built in 1965, wooden ones were installed with the aim of changing them in accordance with Vatican II. Over 40 years on, the wooden ones remain and stone ones are needed to give the church a ‘sense of permanence’. £12,000 is needed to replace the altar and lectern and the parish is well on its way with a Blue Peter-esque counter about one third full. Fr Peter acknowledges that it is a big ask to expect people to contribute when there is so much else going on and in hard economic times. I left Shepperton feeling uplifted. The positive determination of all those involved in parish life is infectious. Life in the village of Shepperton may be easy going – but St John Fisher’s is a hive of activity.
Stained glass windows depicting the church and Our Lady
Mass times and information Sunday Mass (Sat 6pm), 8.30, 10.30 (Children’s Liturgy); Holy Day Mass as announced; Weekday Mass as announced; Confession Sat 5.30pm 15 Wood Road, Shepperton, Middlesex TW17 0DH Tel: 01932 563116 Email: shepperton@rcdow.org.uk