Westminster Record May 2008 Vol 18 No 119
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Bringing people together to worship the Lord
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Parish Profile St Thomas of Canterbury, Fulham By Graham Stokes , who is training to be a priest at Allen Hall
There are not many parishes that can claim to be home to not just one, but two Premiership football teams. St Thomas of Canterbury in Fulham can! To the east of the parish is Stamford Bridge home of Chelsea, whilst on the opposite side of the parish, as well as at the opposite end of the Premier League, is Craven Cottage, home of Fulham; St Thomas’s parish brings together supporters of the rival clubs. Indeed throughout the parish there is the theme of bringing together people from all sorts of different backgrounds, all united through gathering around the altar to worship the Lord and then any other table they can get their hands on to build community!
Friends’ group that prepares liturgies and social events focusing on those within the parish community who have special needs; this alone contains families from three continents! St Thomas’ is also the host to a plethora of social activities. These range from those lasting a fortnight, such as the parish Caribbean cruise, to those lasting a single night such as two very successful Italian and Portuguese evenings. As with all the other activities of the parish these are characterised by a diverse group of people coming together to celebrate their diversity as a Catholic community in inner West London – although I have had to take others’ word for that on the cruise as someone had to stay at home and man the fort!
One of the oldest Catholic parishes
I am spending the third year of my seminary training living and working in the parish with the resident priests, Fr Norbert Fernandes and Fr Anthony O’Gorman. In my first six months here I have been struck by the huge variety of events that bring together people.
Fifteen families are also attending the second baptism course of the year in preparation for their child’s baptism into the parish community. This course is run by a new missionary movement within the church, Verbum Dei, who have a small house in the parish. I have been to the junior youth club which brings together over twenty children a week for a whole host of children’s activities ranging from bowling to making spring rolls. There is also a thriving ‘Friends for
Restoring the Church to the vividness of Pugin interiors at their best The foundation stone of St Thomas was laid on 16 June 1847 and it opened on 30 May 1848. At the time of the design and building of the Church, architect Augustus Welby Pugin was working on drawings for the interiors of the Houses of Parliament. From 1960 onwards, a series of campaigns of work sought to adapt the use of the building to a revived post-conciliar liturgy. At the same time it has dealt with a number of practical issues including renewing decayed plaster; and providing new heating and electrical systems. Beyond these tasks, the parish has also sought to return to the vividness of Pugin interiors at their best. There is no evidence for Pugin's original decorative scheme for St Thomas: it is reported that 'colouring' of the interior only began some years after his death. Accordingly, the present work uses motifs used by Pugin and his immediate followers in a new scheme which starts at its simplest furthest from the altar with painted bands and stencilled flowers outlining the reveals of arches and windows. The decorative scheme reflects the liturgical arrangements while, at the same time, bringing back into relief many of the qualities of Pugin's work that had become diluted over the years; not least, the fine stained glass is now framed in colour, allowing it to shine with a new vividness.
Sacramental preparation Firstly they come together from across all cultural and social backgrounds to one of the five parish Masses each weekend, as well as a Portuguese chaplaincy mass on a Sunday afternoon. People come together to help run and to take part in the sacramental preparation programmes with some 60 children preparing for First Holy Communion, 40 young people preparing for confirmation and 14 adults who became full members of the Church at our Easter Vigil.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Fr Norbert Fernandes at St Thomas of Canterbury in June 2006
Fr Norbert Fernandes Distinguished history The parish’s long and distinguished history is also not overlooked. It must be one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the country as well as the diocese, and a special mass will be celebrated in June – with no doubt another social celebration - to mark the 160th anniversary of the first Mass being said in the church, at which Cardinal Newman gave the homily; there’s something to live up to! Fittingly, the church has recently undergone an extensive restoration project, restoring the spirit of much of the original Pugin decoration. It is very rare amongst Catholic parishes in having an adjacent cemetery – long closed for burials – which contains a fascinating array of monuments and mausoleums to both people and their faith, many from the late nineteenth century.
Fr Norbert’s departure from Fulham, after 10 years as parish priest was announced soon after Easter. Reflecting on his time at St Thomas’ Fr Norbert commented that he ‘could not have asked for a better place or community to be parish priest for the first time.’ Having to move on to a new parish is part and parcel of the life and ministry of a priest and Fr Norbert adds that his time at St Thomas’ has helped him discover even more the riches of the priesthood and the joy of serving the Lord in that way. So, as St Thomas’ looks forward to the next 160 years, starting with the arrival of a new parish priest, I will hae many happy memories and valuable experiences of how people have come together in Fulham as I look forward to continuing my formation back at Allen Hall.