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Fr John Danford.
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St.Bede’s Catholic Church, Newport Pagnell, Bucks.
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350 members.
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The Church has strong links with Jamaica. |
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 to St.Bede's Catholic Church in Newport Pagnell, which is in Buckinghamshire. I am the priest in charge of the Church and enjoy serving 350 Catholics in the town, as well as those in the wider community.
Our Catholic community meets in a building that once served as the Town Court House. The building is 150 years old and also boasts having been, in the past, a paper factory!
The Catholic community has been based here for 50 years. In fact, last year we celebrated our Golden Jubilee. Two of the members present at the celebrations had been using the Church since it was opened! My contribution to the proceedings, amongst other things, was painting a picture of the Church.
The Church itself offers a wide variety of spiritual and social services. For children, we provide Children's Liturgy during a celebration called The Holy Mass. The Children's Liturgy is a kind of Sunday school service. We also have an active Society of St.Vincent de Paul, which is dedicated (in the footsteps of the Saint) to serving the poor and needy in the locality. At Christmas time for example, the Society makes up and distributes hampers and visits people. There are the occasional quiz nights too, and fundraising activities which support our needy brothers and sisters overseas. We have a particular project which we are sponsoring in Jamaica, supporting a religious order called "The Missionaries of the Poor". |
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A front view of the St. Bede's Church, Newport Pagnell |
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Father John Danford leading a service for children. |
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We also link up with Christians in other churches for shared activities as part of the "Churches Together in Newport Pagnell" initiative. Although I am in overall charge of the community, we also have a Parish Forum, which is like a Council enabling representatives to discuss and have their say about what they think we should be doing as a community. It's so important that everyone gets a chance to have their say about the life of St.Bede's.
The St.Bede's community itself is friendly and homely, with a real sense of stability and continuity. What we share at St.Bede's is a deep bond of friendship and faith found in the person of Christ Jesus.
If you are shopping in the Milton Keynes area over a week-end, you will find St.Bede's on the High Street in Newport Pagnell. The celebration of the Mass is held on Saturday evening at 6.30pm and on Sunday morning at 9am."
Fr.Dansford, St.Bede's Church, High Street, Newport Pagnell, Milton Keynes. |
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Your guide for this section is Edwin. He is 20, and has grown up in Wales. Click here to read his story. |
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| This is a website of the Catholic Enquiry Office; part of an Agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales |
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