SAINT
BARTHOLOMEW'S
-GAZETTE
No. 1, August, 1948
Passing Parade
E have to record the
passing over, as our separated brethren would have it,
of the Strorbury Gazette. Reading the editorial
in its first issue in September 1945, we note that the
objects of the Gazette were :—
First, to provide a
record of what is done at the Youth Club and to
stimulate the interest of parents and other people in
the activities of the Club,
Second, to outline
the principle events of the parish life of Streatham and
Norbury.
We venture to submit,
in all humility, that the Strorbury has fulfilled
this twofold object. While we lament the passing of the
Strorbury into the annals of the "has beens," we rejoice
at the birth of the St. Bartholomew's Gazette,
which we trust will be a worthy successor. We shall
endeavour to maintain the objects of our predecessor,
but with this difference: First, to record the principal
events in the parish life of Norbury and second to
continue to stimulate the interest of parents and others
in the activities of St. Bartholomew's Youth Club.
So while the trumpets
proclaim the birth of St. Bartholomew's Gazette,
we bestow upon it our blessing and wish it long life and
every success.
Though many
parishioners have been away on holiday during the past
two months, the parish has been very much alive as will
be seen from the reports of the principle events, which
will be reported under the separate titles of
"Fatima"—"The Way of the Cross"—and "Walsingham."
It has always been my
policy as parish Priest to get my parishioners
financially interested in the Parish. This does not mean
that I am forever begging for money, for in the words of
Holy Scripture, "I am ashamed to beg." Further more, the
generosity of my parishioners, which is known throughout
the diocese, has put me in a class above the clerical
beggar. But it does mean that I take you into my
confidence in all financial matters of the Parish. For
this reason I give you the amount of the Sunday
collections, and once a year a balance sheet so that you
can see for yourselves how your money is spent. It is
your money, and I am only your administrator. And just
as I have to give an account of my stewardship to the
Bishop, so I give it to you.
On my appointment to
Norbury on the 12th June 1945, there was a debt of
£4,000 on the parish. Soon after my arrival the property
at the back of the church was on the market, and I was
successful in the purchase of this property. It was
vital for the future development of the parish, for it
is hoped in the distant future to build a new
Presbytery, possibly a Parochial Hall, and certainly the
extension of the Church. This property cost £4,500. So
in 1945 there was a burden of £8,500 on the Parish. Your
generous support has enabled me to clear the original
debt of £4,000, the last £500 having been paid this
June.
To all I offer my
grateful thanks, and I look forward to the liquidation
of the present debt of £4,500 by the end of 1950.
We offer our
congratulations to Mr. P.C. O'Neill, a well known
parishioner, upon whom His Majesty the King conferred
the Medal of the Order of the British Empire (Civil
Division). His name appeared in the List of Honours
published on His Majesty's Birthday on the 10th of June,
1948.
We also offer our
congratulations to the following, who received their
first Communion in St. Bartholomew's Church on July 2nd
, the Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady.
Celia
Parkes. Michael O'Meara. Christine
Robinson.
Sylvia
Thorpe. Cynthia Cassidy. Laurence
Philippson.
Patricia
Cole. Kathleen McGowan.
Among the forthcoming
events in the parish there will be the Feast of St.
Bartholomew, our Patron Saint, on August 24th. It will
not be possible to observe the feast with full
solemnity. Sung Mass on the Sunday within the octave
will not be possible as many of the Choir will be absent
on holiday. But on Sunday evening the sermon will be
preached by the Rev. Charles Byrne, Vice-Rector of St.
Joseph's College, Mark Cross, and a former Rector of
Norbury.
A Mission, which has
become an annual feature of the Parish, will be given by
a Jesuit Father, commencing on Sunday, September 26th,
and ending on Rosary Sunday, October 3rd.
Parochus |