Westminster Record June 2009
Parish Profile Tollington Park: 50 years of welcome Jo Siedlecka There's a huge welcome sign over the entrance to the church of St Mellitus in Tollington Park. This year marks a very special year for them - their Golden Jubilee and they are celebrating with many events throughout the year. St Mellitus is an imposing building. A former Congregational church, built in 1870 (bought at a time when the earlier church could no longer accommodate the huge numbers of Catholics arriving from Ireland), it has a large gallery and hall under the church as well several sprawling parish rooms, and boasts a rare three manual Hunter organ, built around 1920. A banner over the front door proclaims "Everyone welcome". The interior of the church is painted very colourfully, belying the fact that parts of the building could benefit from a revamp. (Plans to build disabled access and toilet were put on hold when a bit of the roof fell in and had to be repaired). Large purple banners made by children from the parish school of Christ the King. The Parish Priest is Fr David ArdaghWalter. He decided to become a Catholic while training to be an Anglican priest. Since his ordination in 1970 he has served in several parishes including Barnet and Harrow on the Hill, and has worked with Coptic Christians in Egypt. Although Fr David has been at St Mellitus for about nine years, he says: "I still feel I’m just learning." Fr David arrived in Finsbury Park around the time that the radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza was preaching just down the road from his church. "Its interesting” he said, “after he left, they closed the mosque for a period of purification.” "There's now a moderate Muslim group there and I go along to the Muslim Christian dialogue group.”
72 Nationalities Mass attendance now is about 500 down from the high numbers of the 1960s but still very lively. There were 40 confirmations this year. Fr David said: "An amazing thing about the parish is that it’s always changing. These days we have a huge number of nationalities - recently we counted people from 72 different countries, including many African countries." The parish’s Justice and Peace group offers English lessons for refugees every Friday and is involved with campaigns that support asylum seekers.
Fr David with children mostly from the parish school of Christ the King. Photograph, Robin Humphries.
The group has also created a Peace Garden under a war memorial next to the church, a Peace Corner with exhibitions such as Black History, Christian heroes and heroines and martyrs for our time. They have just received a grant from Islington Council to create some green spaces around the church. The parish supports the cause of the Austrian Blessed Franz Jaegerstaetter. He refused to join Hitler’s army in 1943 on the ground that Nazism was antiCatholic, and was executed on 9 August 1943. He was beatified on 26 October 2007 at Linz. Several parishioners attended the event. St Mellitus supports CAFOD and has special links with the Comboni Sisters hospital in Karak, Jordan. To date they have raised more than £17,000 to help mothers and babies. The Justice and Peace group has established some annual traditions in the parish, with annual events and speakers marking Peace Sunday, Fair Trade Fortnight, Remembrance Sunday and Human Rights Day.
Parish Jubilee The Jubilee has already been marked with a number of special events. On
27 June they will celebrate an African and Caribbean Day with food and music. In July and August there will be a parish picnic and pilgrimages to Canterbury and Lourdes. In September, younger parishioners are going on an adventure weekend and there will be a Ceilidh in the hall. In November there will be a Remembrance Sunday Service in the Peace Garden. On Prisoners’ Sunday, 28 November, Mgr Malachy Keegan, Principal Prison Chaplain is coming to preach. During the Final Jubilee celebrations in December, members of the Congregational Church will visit. Celebrations will conclude with a special Mass and Jubilee Concert to raise funds for the Comboni Sisters’ Hospital in Jordan. The year will be commemorated with a special window chosen by parishioners.
Reaching Out Alex Longmore, a young teacher who was received into the Church this Easter, said: “St Mellitus is a very human, friendly parish. Fr David and all the parishioners put a great deal of effort into all our activities. In our jubilee year we are especially reaching out to the wider community and offering a warm welcome to all who come to see us.”
The Presbytery, St Melllitus Church, Tollington Park N4 3AG Tel: 020 7272 3415 email: tollingtonpark@rcdow.org.uk