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THE NORTHAMPTON SOUTH & WEST PASTORAL AREA

THE GROUNDPLANFOR THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

SOUTH & WEST NORTHAMPTON, ASTON-LE-WALLS, DAVENTRY, TOWCESTER

AND THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES

Presented to The Right Reverend Peter DoyleBishop of Northampton

PENTECOST 2010

NORTHAMPTON SOUTH & WEST PASTORAL AREA GROUNDPLAN

Pastoral Area - OverviewThe pastoral area comprises the three parishes in the South and West of the town of Northampton (Cathedral, Duston & Hunsbury), the parishes of Towcester, Daventry and Aston-le-Walls. It was originally part of a Deanery that also included the other parishes in Northampton town. It borders on the Archdiocese of Birmingham to the West and the Diocese of Nottingham to the North. The main centres of population are Northampton (200,000), Daventry (25,000) and Towcester (15,000). The area expects a sizeable increase in population over the next 10 years. Towcester and Daventry are set to double in size by 2020 and Northamptonʼs population projected to increase to 300,000 by that time. The pastoral area includes a large rural region which takes in a significant number of villages. This includes 3 Mass centres (Kingʼs Sutton, Long Buckby and Yelvertoft).

There is a large General Hospital in Northampton (600 beds), and an expanding community hospital in Daventry (35+ beds). The Princess Marina and Berrywood Hospital are significant psychiatric facilities in the Upton area. There are 2 prisons in the vicinity of Daventry: Onley and Rye Hill (both with a capacity for 700 prisoners). The schools in the pastoral area are both primary and small, St Maryʼs in Northampton (160 children) and St Maryʼs in Aston-le-Walls (90 children). Both cater for significant numbers of non-Catholic children and are beacons for the faith in their respective localities. But children from the area also go to Thomas Becket Catholic Secondary School (1000+ students). However, a large number of Catholic children go to non-Catholic schools.

The pastoral area is served by 2 religious communities: the Daughters of the Holy Spirit and the Sisters of Nazareth, both based in Northampton. These are a precious resource and their communities an important focus for prayer and spirituality.

Ecumenical relationships are strong across the pastoral area. Daventry signed a Covenant, about ten years ago, with the local Churches and which forms the basis of their working together. In Duston the local group of churches have worked together to reach out to the areas with new housing. In Northampton town churches are developing a joint approach to the Alpha programme.

In the town of Northampton all the main world religions are represented: Judaism, Islam, Sikh, Hindu, Bahaʼi, Buddhist, and Christian. There is an Inter Faith Forum with representatives of these faiths that seeks to promote understanding, respect and friendship.

In the town centre there is a Polish Church, with its own resident priest and an associated community of religious sisters. Although it has a substantial congregation and many of its children attend the local Catholic schools, the community is largely unintegrated with the wider Catholic community.

" We recognise that there needs to be close co-operation between this Pastoral Area and the neighbouring one of Northampton East & North. There is " support across the town between the clergy, especially with regard to supply and chaplaincy of hospitals, schools and prisons. The Cathedral is in" a position at present to offer hospitality to priests from abroad and therefore sometimes able to supply priests for other parishes in need.

" In terms of finance the parishes across the Pastoral Area present a mixed picture. Some are in a healthy position, while others are in debt. All " parishes have a Finance Committee.

" All of our parishes have a Safeguarding Representative and adhere to the policies in accordance with the Bishopʼs Conference.

" The parishes in the Pastoral Area fall into distinct pairings which are already working closely together: the Cathedral and Duston, Hunsbury " and Towcester, Daventry and Aston-le-Walls. This configuration of pairings seems to be significant for our development into the future.



Town/Place NORTHAMPTON DUSTON HUNSBURY ASTON-LE-WALLS,KINGS SUTTON

DAVENTRY, YELVERTOFT, LONG

BUCKBYTOWCESTER

Parish/Community

CathedralParish

St Patrick’sParish

Ss Francis & Therese’s Parish

The Sacred Heart & Our Lady Parish

Our Lady of Charity & St Augustine Parish

St Thomas MoreParish

Clergy Canon John UdrisFr Benny JosephDeacon Philip Nash

Rev. Dr. Phillip Swingler

Deacon Mick O’Leary

Rev. Dr. Brendan Killeen

Mgr Sean Healy, assisted by Fr Andy Ollard

Mgr Sean Healy, assisted by Fr Andy Ollard, Deacons David Franklyn and David Smith

Rev. Dr. Brendan Killeen

Mass attendance- Masses 683 - 4 272 - 3 370 - 2 115 - 2

310 - 4Polish Mass x 2 per month

- 60

255 - 2

Finances High repair costs - listed building Good financial position

Very Good Adequate finances Strong financial Management. Outstanding debt

Good financial position

People

Sister Brenda Moore.6 Religious - involved in various ministries.Full-time Secretary, part-time P.A., part-time: cook, cleaner, groundsman/handyman, formation co-ordinator.

Part-time house assistant with some housekeep- ing 15 hrs

Sr. Margaret Walsh DHS

Full-time secretary Part-time housekeeper

Level of volunteering &support of events

Fair Very good Very good Fair Very Good Very good

FacilitiesChurch used for large gatherings + a small Parish Room in adjacent building

Small Meeting Room (20)

Hall (40) Large Room in Presbytery

Large Hall & Meeting Room

Parish Room (25 Max)

Significant Pastoral Responsibilities

Chaplains to General & Psychiatric Hospitals + Prison in Wellingborough. Governors to St Mary’s, Good Shepherd & Becket. Deacon Philip full-time Chaplain at Thomas Becket.

Chaplain to 2 Prisons & Danetree Hospital


Town/PlaceNORTHAMPTON DUSTON HUNSBURY

ASTON-LE-WALLS, KINGSSUTTON

DAVENTRY, YELVERTOFT,LONG BUCKBY

TOWCESTERThe WholePastoralAreaCathedral Parish St Patrick’s

ParishSs Francis & Therese Parish

The SacredHeart & Our Lady Parish

Our Lady ofCharity & StAugustineParish

St ThomasMore Parish

Signature Ministries,Strengths, Charisms

Serving & MinisteringSharing FaithExercisingStewardshipCelebrating

CelebratingExercising StewardshipCollaboratingWorking for Justice

LearningCelebratingWelcomingServing &Ministering

CollaboratingExercising StewardshipSharing Faith

WelcomingCelebrationSharing Faith

CelebratingWelcomingServing & Ministering

CelebratingEx. Stew.WelcomingSharing faithServing &Ministering

Opportunitiesfor growth & sharing

SVP. Would consider giving a workshop

A committed community with breadth of experience in running their parish

Any of the aboveTeams of Our Lady

Financial Management,Prayer, Justice and Peace,Pre-Holy Communion/ Confirmation, Churches Together in Daventry

Children’s LiturgyMarriage Preparation

Expand Success with Youth & young families

Issues &Challenges DemandingAction

Establish a CAFOD/Justice & Peace Group.Facilities for Social Events

How tomanage inthe absenceof a priest inresidence

Further develop music and singing

Establish a wide range of ways of expanding and nurturing our faith practice

Converting the Walking Humbly Plan to ActionLarge Town Development and Growth over next Decade

Forming new & developing existing groups.Ministers of Communion

Managing the decline in numbers of priests

Assessmentof parish &Pastoral areaPosition Relative to the ‘givens’

• Currently the whole area is being covered comprehensively, with Sunday Masses being available to all• Children’s Liturgy and sacramental preparation is a high priority and much effort is involved • The needs of the elderly and the sick are in evidence. Three parishes are addressing the needs of young families and young people. • Every parish has some ecumenical involvement but for the majority of people this may be a low priority• Of the Twelve Marks, Prayer, Conversing and Networking are the ones the Pastoral Area may wish to develop

How the marks of the Thriving Catholic Community relate to parishes & the pastoral area (first box is current Assessment – second is Aspirations)

SVP. Group support for the bereaved,Welcoming, RCIA, Emmaus and Alpha programmes, Children’s Liturgy of the Word

CelebrationEucharisticMinistryCommunity InvolvementSunday School

Regular Catechesis & Provision for Children. Active participation in Sunday Liturgy. Friendly, Caring & Community SpiritMusic

Children’s Liturgy,Teams of Our Lady, Prayer/ Discussion Groups

Catechesis for First Holy Communion, Confirmation and Reconciliation,RCIA, Youth Group,Children’s LiturgyMusic

MusicLiturgyChildren’sLearningWelcoming

Children’s Liturgy Groups Available in all parishes

Working for Justice Involve youth as readers, welcomers, etc at the Sunday Liturgy. Consider introducing Vespers/ Compline, once a week

Continue to expand by attracting the young & by increased commitment

Further develop Celebrating & Mission Marks

Expand commit-ment & involve-ment of younger parishioners & their families.Parish Mission

PrayerJustice

EvangelisingExercisingStewardshipCollaborating


Our Vision for the Future – Next 3 to 5 Years

The Walking Humbly process has encouraged everyone to value collaboration amongst the whole people of God in the daily life, ownership and running of our parishes. Our Priests are our Pastoral Leaders and, if we want our parishes to survive, we must be committed to supporting them with the day to day running and encourage and explore the talents we all have so as to assist them in the building of active and inspiring communities of worship.To this end, we recognise the need to work together as a Pastoral Area, sharing ideas and resources through communication and collaboration, building on the strengths we have identified and widening our horizons in order to develop communities where more people take responsibility for different areas of parish life and everyone feels welcomed, valued and included. A major consideration will be to establish how the Pastoral Area can be served with perhaps as few as 4 priests. We aspire within our pairings to promote mission for the spiritual development of our pastoral area for renewal as parishes and for outreach to the local community.

Practical Action inThe Year Ahead

• Develop greater integration within the pairings of the Pastoral Area.• Each Parish to take their favoured Signature Ministry and share this either with another Parish or across the Pastoral Area.

Proposed Ministries are: Sharing Faith, Evangelisation, SVP, Teams of Our Lady, Children’s Liturgy and Collaboration. Could this take place over one weekend, bringing all our parishes together with some spiritual input too?

• Sacramental Preparation – share ideas and resources, building on these. Consider using the services of Marriage Care for Marriage Preparation. Look at other ways of supporting Marriage and Family Life eg. Marriage Encounter, Teams of Our Lady etc.

• Explore how Pastoral Councils and Parish Forums may be encouraged and developed.• In the event of a reduction of the number of priests, plan how best to provide Mass in the six parish churches of the Pastoral Area

where our communities will gather for worship. • Maintain and develop the chaplaincy to schools, prisons and hospitals through collaborative ministry.• Explore and promote the ministry of the Diaconate across the Pastoral Area

Initiatives have come and gone in the past. This has been the cause of disillusionment and frustration. We seriously need to consider how we can sustain current interest, bringing the practice of our faith to life, with Christ at the centre of all we say and do.

APPENDICES

1. Involvement of the Religious Sisters in the Pastoral Area

2. St. Mary’s Primary School, Aston le Walls – Response to the Twelve Marks


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