LPA Rep. Statement – January 2008

The new Diocesan system of Local Pastoral Areas (LPA’s) is now up and running. December saw the first formal meeting of our Local Pastoral Area Team since the Bishop’s inauguration of the new system in Hartford last October. The new LPA’s have now replaced the old system of Deaneries.

Each team is to elect or appoint a Priest Chairperson and a Lay Chairperson. At an earlier meeting, Father George Malecki from Saint Augustine’s, Castlefields, accepted the post of Priest Chair and Chris Cunningham from Our Lady’s, Palace Fields, accepted the post of Lay Chair. Since then Pauline Stitt from Saint Luke’s, Frodsham, has accepted the appointment of Secretary to the LPA.

At the December Team meeting, it was agreed that we would meet regularly approximately every two months and that each parish would host the meeting in turn.

The current arrangement of Mass times across the six parishes of our LPA mean that on any Saturday evening, a minimum of three priests is required and on a Sunday morning, that number rises to four. That’s fine when all priests are available. The difficulty arises when priests need to provide cover for one another, be it for holidays or in times of sickness and ill health. Over the coming months, the LPA team will be looking carefully at mass times to see if it is possible to co-ordinate the number of masses in such a way that the minimum number of priests needed on any weekend is reduced, thereby ensuring that present Mass cover is maintained. Reduction in the number of Masses is not under serious consideration at this moment in time.

Father Colin Wilson, though retired, provides invaluable help and support through his willingness to help when and where needed … especially in both Holy Spirit and Saint Martin’s parishes during the week. He also continues to fulfil the role of Chaplain to both Halton Hospital and Halton Haven Hospice.

There are some interesting developments relating to Saint Chad’s Catholic High School. Discussions are under way exploring the possibility of the school becoming multi-denominational. The good name and popularity of the school is also seeing this year the number of applications far in excess of places available.

On the catechetical front, the LPA team is promoting, among other things, a unified approach to the sacrament of Confirmation and Father Peter Wright’s ‘Foundations’ group reaching out to our Young People is really starting to take off.

Among suggestions so far put forward, plans are a-foot for a regular LPA newsletter, our own LPA website and a joint social evening.

The full minutes are published in the church porch. Do have a read of them and if you have any issues you would like to see raised at the next Local Pastoral Area Team meeting at the beginning of February, please do let me know. As your elected Parish Representative, I am here to make sure your views are made known where it counts.