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W hen visiting a parish for a profile in The Record it is rare that the priest offers to pick me up in a car to go around the parish, as their ministry is typically centred on one parish church. Fr John Byrne, a priest whose energy for his ministry is infectious, had other ideas. Instead he was keen for me to see as much of his parishes as possible and speak to the people who make up the Catholic community in Hemel Hempstead, a shining example of 3 separate parishes working together.. A Different Type of Ministry Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire s largest town, has a lively and growing Catholic population served by four churches, three of which Fr John serves as Parish Priest along with Fr. Floribert and Deacon Simon. On our way to St Mark s, Hemel Hempstead West, I asked him how he manages the responsibilities of his three churches, not to mention his work as chaplain and governor of John F Kennedy Secondary School, along with St. Rose s and St. Cuthbert Mayne Schools and the celebration of Mass at HM Prison The Mount, Fr John s response was an interesting take on modern ministry and how important technology is for it: It s a different type of ministry today. When I first came to the parish I put my Parish Profile Westminster Record | February 2014 Page12 Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster Hemel Hempstead: mobile number on the notice board and now I redirect my landline to it. With three parishes to serve it s the best way to keep in touch with people and on top of everything. Three Distinctive Communities, Three Distinctive Churches The first church we visited was St Mark s, the newest of the three parishes and rather surprisingly built in the heart of John F Kennedy School. Its location means that students pass it every day on their way to lessons and are able to celebrate Mass in their year groups, whilst the lightness of the building provides a wonderful environment for prayer and reflection. As well as being used by the school, St Mark s also serves the Ordinariate community in Hertfordshire for Mass each Sunday. After being in the bustle of the school I expected that the next church we would visit, The Church of the Resurrection, would be far calmer. This was not the case, as the Church is part of a community centre which was hosting a parent and toddler group that day. Fr John explained to me that the Church is shared and a number of the families there belong to the Anglican and Free Churches. Fr John stressed to me that the Catholic and the other denominations, whilst worshipping separately, are based on a covenant of working together whenever possible. This means that governance through a Joint Council, as wel as activities like Fairtrade, a done in collaboration. Around harvest time each year there is a Pulpit exchange for one Sunday when Fr. John and the Anglican Vicar give the homily at each other s services. The final parish on our visi was St. Mary & St. Joseph, Boxmoor, the original parish in Hemel Hempstead where the office for the three parishes i based. The Church s simple design helps to highlight the stained glass windows in the church. One of these commemorates the founder of the parish, Fr Henry James Harvey, who also set up the parishes of Tring, Berkhamsted and Rickmansworth so, as Fr John says, there is a long tradition of serving parishes from Boxmoor. Capturing the Imagination of Young People Following the tour of the churches I met members of the different parishes at the new presbytery, built in 2011 thank to the contributions from all t congregations, which includes 2 flats for retired priests, Fr. Bernard Scholes and Fr. Brian Reynolds. This, one of the parishioners said, was a catalyst for bringing them clos together , a unity symbolised, most visibly, in their joint Ma held in a marquee for the close of the Year of Faith in Novembe I asked them what they felt Good Shepherd Window commemorating Fr James Harvey The close of the Year of Faith Mass, when the three parishes came together for a joint Ma We shouldn t do separately what we can do together
