Archbishop of Southwark celebrates the 75th anniversary of St James the Great
The Most Reverend Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark, accompanied by his Private Secretary Fr Philip Glandfield, visited St James' on Sunday 13th July 2014. He presided at the 11.00am Mass and preached the homily.
At the end of Mass, Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD, presented the LiveSimply award to Fr Bryan who accepted it on behalf of the parish.
The Archbishop then presented the Fideliter Servienti award of the Archdiocese to Sheila Simon, in recognition of her many faithful years of service to St James'. Sheila was accompanied by husband Frank. Just a few days later, on Friday 18th July, Sheila passed away . Thank you Sheila for your determination not to miss the celebration of the parish which you did so much to enhance.
The Archbishop thanked Fr Bryan for his ministry at St James' and then introduced Fr Tom Cooper, the newly appointed parish priest, to the congregation, and Fr Tom said a few words.
After Mass the congregation accompanied the Archbishop into the parish garden where he blessed and officially opened the LiveSimply Garden. He spoke to many parishioners in the garden and the hall. A free buffet lunch was provided by way of celebration.
Photographs of this happy occasion have been divided into four groups and can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate link below. The beautiful floral arrangements were made by Bridie Duck and Angela Murray. Mary Hutchinson and Mark Edwards mounted exhibits around the church giving an insight into the life of our patron saint, St James the Great. The LiveSimply display had been assembled as part of the CAFOD assessment which took place on 20th June.