When visiting a parish fora profile in The Recordit is rare that the priest
offers to pick me up in a car togo around the parish, as theirministry is typically centred onone parish church. Fr JohnByrne, a priest whose energyfor his ministry is infectious, hadother ideas. Instead he waskeen for me to see as much ofhis parishes as possible andspeak to the people who makeup the Catholic community inHemel Hempstead, a shiningexample of 3 separate parishesworking together..
�A Different Type ofMinistry�
Hemel Hempstead,Hertfordshire�s largest town, hasa lively and growing Catholicpopulation served by fourchurches, three of which FrJohn serves as Parish Priestalong with Fr. Floribert andDeacon Simon. On our way toSt Mark�s, Hemel HempsteadWest, I asked him how hemanages the responsibilities ofhis three churches, not tomention his work as chaplainand governor of John FKennedy Secondary School,along with St. Rose�s and St.Cuthbert Mayne Schools andthe celebration of Mass at HMPrison The Mount, Fr John�sresponse was an interestingtake on modern ministry andhow important technology is forit:
�It�s a different type ofministry today. When I firstcame to the parish I put my
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HemelHempstead:
mobile number on the noticeboard and now I redirect mylandline to it. With threeparishes to serve it�s the bestway to keep in touch withpeople and on top ofeverything.�
Three DistinctiveCommunities, ThreeDistinctive Churches
The first church we visitedwas St Mark�s, the newest ofthe three parishes and � rathersurprisingly � built in the heartof John F Kennedy School. Itslocation means that studentspass it every day on their wayto lessons and are able tocelebrate Mass in their yeargroups, whilst the lightness ofthe building provides awonderful environment forprayer and reflection.
As well as being used by theschool, St Mark�s also serves theOrdinariate community inHertfordshire for Mass eachSunday.
After being in the bustle ofthe school I expected that thenext church we would visit, TheChurch of the Resurrection,would be far calmer. This wasnot the case, as the Church ispart of a community centrewhich was hosting a parent andtoddler group that day. Fr Johnexplained to me that the Churchis shared and a number of thefamilies there belong to theAnglican and Free Churches.
Fr John stressed to me thatthe Catholic and the otherdenominations, whilstworshipping separately, arebased on a covenant of working
together whenever possible.This means that governancethrough a Joint Council, as wellas activities like Fairtrade, aredone in collaboration. Aroundharvest time each year there isa Pulpit exchange for oneSunday when Fr. John and theAnglican Vicar give the homilyat each other�s services.
The final parish on our visitwas St. Mary & St. Joseph,Boxmoor, the original parish inHemel Hempstead where theoffice for the three parishes isbased. The Church�s simpledesign helps to highlight thestained glass windows in thechurch. One of thesecommemorates the founder ofthe parish, Fr Henry JamesHarvey, who also set up theparishes of Tring, Berkhamstedand Rickmansworth� so, as FrJohn says, �there is a longtradition of serving parishesfrom Boxmoor.�
�Capturing theImagination of YoungPeople�
Following the tour of thechurches I met members of thedifferent parishes at the newpresbytery, built in 2011 thanksto the contributions from all thecongregations, which includes 2flats for retired priests, Fr.Bernard Scholes and Fr. BrianReynolds. This, one of theparishioners said, was �acatalyst for bringing them closertogether�, a unity symbolised,most visibly, in their joint Massheld in a marquee for the closeof the Year of Faith in November.
I asked them what they feltGood Shepherd Window commemorating Fr James Harvey
The close of the Year of Faith Mass, when the three parishes came together for a joint Mass at John�F Kennedy School
�We shouldn�tdo separatelywhat we can do together�
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Parish Profile
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“WYD has left me inspired,spiritually enlightened andI loved every second of it.”
The Statue of the Evangelist in St Mark�s Church
was the greatest challenge fortheir parishes, to which theyinstantly replied: �capturing theimagination of young people�.
Whilst the HemelHempstead parishes havecomparatively youngcongregations, the parishionersare aware that often whenyoung people leave home eitherfor studies or work they canlose contact with the Churchand other young Catholics.
To address this challengethe parishes, in partnershipwith Our Lady Queen of AllCreation at Hemel HempsteadEast, formed in 2007 HIYA(Hemel Initiative for YouthAction) to provide young peoplewith a sense of community intheir parish and build
relationships with other youngCatholics to help them sustainand develop their faith. Thegroup began with providingactivities for 11›14 year oldsbut has recently grown toinclude a young adults group.Claire Pritchard, Youth Workerfor HIYA, said that the newgroup �provides not just asocial evening but a chance foryoung adults to discuss theirfaith and explore challengingissues. The young people havereally taken ownership for thesuccess of HIYA�.
The group has also beeninvolved in social action, with12 young people taking part ina sleep out at St. Albans Abbeyto highlight the problem ofhomelessness and raise funds
for the Dacorum EmergencyNight Shelter (DENS). In totalthe young people raised over£2,000.
Social Action: Not JustAbout Money ButCommunity
A commitment to socialaction has not just beenembraced by the young peoplebut by everyone in theparishes. As part of theirGrowing in Faith project thepeople chose to enhance theircharitable activities by forminga local Caritas body. This bothprovides activities for people inthe parishes, in particular oldermembers of the congregation,by hosting tea parties andpicnics in local parks, andsupports those in need throughdonations to groups includingfoodbanks, homeless sheltersand community trusts.
An unexpected outcome,one of the parishioners told me,was that the new projectsbrought more people into thelife of the parish in the localarea, fostering the sense ofcommunity.
In recognition for its workCaritas received a certificate ofappreciation from the localcouncil, a testament to thesuccess of the work which theyare doing. Undoubtedly, with somuch going on and planned forthe future, the good work islikely to continue!St Mary and St Joseph, Hemel Hempstead Boxmoor
ass at John�F Kennedy School The youngest member of Hemel Initative for Young Adults (HIYA)
