St John the Evangelist The Willows Church

Transcription

1 St John the Evangelist The Willows Church What Our Faith Means to Us Parish Record of Faith 2009

2 First published in The Parish Priest, St. John the Evangelist, The Willows, Kirkham Contributions to this book have been made by the parishioners of The Willows Church and children of The Willows Primary School. Contributions are used with permission and the source acknowledged, where this has been provided by the contributor. Minor typographical corrections have been made to some contributions, whilst preserving the spirit and meaning of the original content.

3 Foreword The impressive reflections which go to make up the Record of Faith are a tribute to the strong Catholic Tradition of the Parish of St John the Evangelist, Kirkham. I find it very re-assuring that the attachment to our Catholic Faith as expressed in the Record of Faith spans all generations of the parish family and bodes well for the future. The long distinguished history of the Willows Parish is something to be proud of and for which we give thanks to Almighty God. I congratulate the Parish on its recent 200 th Celebration. This Record of Faith will stand as an eloquent witness and written record to a Parish which cherishes its Catholic Faith. +Michael Campbell OSA Bishop of Lancaster

4 Contents Faith in the Lord 1 Strength and Consolation 7 Virtue and Grace 11 The Family of the Church 15 Modern Perspectives 20 Faith in Our Lives 26 Thoughts of Tomorrow 35

5 Faith in The Lord I am completely in awe that Jesus gives himself to me a sinner. Being part of a community and belonging. Trusting that God is always looking after myself and my family and He teaches me to treat others as I would like to always be treated myself. My faith is the reason I try every day to be a better person and one who will be as ready as possible to be with Jesus in Heaven when that day comes. My faith gives me the strength to help other people who are in need especially family and friends. It is the Spirit within that gives me a special way of coping. Being a Catholic means belonging to a community with all the joys and frustrations that involves. It means belonging to a worshipping community who share a desire to follow the path laid down for us by Jesus and God our loving father

6 He is there when you want advice for many things. To talk to and thank him for the many graces and blessings you receive. I don t know what I would do without my Lord God. My faith and religion mean everything to me and when I come to church I am visiting the home of my best friend. I may not read much but I talk to God every day. It is not like a telephone because his line is never engaged, he is always there to help and understand. He means everything to me and he means peace and glory. For me knowing that God is listening when I pray, without prayer I think I would feel alone. My faith means for me trying to be closer to God and to love and treat others as he wants us to by Christ s example. It is also a sense of strength and inner calm amongst life s trials and troubles and the feeling of unity through sharing prayer with others at Holy Mass. Ian Hawksworth - 2 -

7 Jesus lives in me. Believe in the power of prayer. He did. Well I have already had the last rights when I was a baby. I was very poorly so I believe Jesus saved me. I am working with the mission to seafarers, I knit for them hats and scarf etc. Because I believe Jesus is using me in this way. Because they suffer no worse poor condition etc. I also won 50 pounds last year. I knitted the most hats for age concern but most of all I love Jesus. Trying to be a good person and to follow God. Barbara Richardson My faith is my closeness to God, it is extremely important to me. For me God loves me unconditionally and has and is always there for me whatever else has altered and changed throughout my life. I d like to think that in my own way I ve done my best to love and respect what I think is God s will or what God wants-by prayers, attending Church and trying to live a good life. When I am in Church I feel more relaxed, there is a lovely atmosphere about it. I know Jesus is all around us and keeps us all in His care and watches over us every day

8 I believe that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to save us-to save me. In my life I know that Jesus is with me through my bad choices and good. I look to him for help and strength and am thankful that he is there. It means being constantly aware of God s love and wish for us to be reconciled with him despite our imperfections and our stumblings as we travel through life. I think about how much I love Jesus. I love him a lot. I think about how kind he is to me because he gives me love. Faith to me means the love of God whose only son died for us. Who would love us as God does. Who would teach us the way of Christ. I believe that Jesus is with us always and if you have faith your prayers will be answered like mine are in many ways Thanks be to God. God loves me even with all my faults and failings. Through good and hard times he is always there full of love. He carries me. He created me. He lived for me. He died for me. He rose from the dead for me. He is always there

9 My faith means to me to become close to God. My faith means the strengthening of the love between God and myself. Knowing that even if and when I go astray the love of God will welcome me back home to Him. It also helps me through scripture etc to think of others and their needs and hopes. Faith is love and all the positive things in my life derive around my faith and acting like I ve bee asked and shown through the Gospel to others (making them smile), So faith is happiness. My faith is shown in this way, however also my faith is my closeness to God and His amazingness. I believe that Jesus is the Holy Spirit because his disciples were waiting in a room [and] the Holy Spirit came to the room [and] they heard the word of Jesus. Bethany W, Year 3, The Willows Primary School - 5 -

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11 Strength and Consolation The last twelve months have been very difficult. Praying has in many ways pulled me through at the times I needed most. Through the night when sleep wouldn t come I would say my prayers, my mind seemed to flash. I have always used prayer as my solace. My faith is a friend to talk to when no one is there, someone to ask for help, to turn to. A constant source of support. When life seems hopeless and desperate, your faith will always be there to turn to and comfort you. My faith is a central rock for my life, without it there is something missing. My faith brings comfort to me. My faith brings me hope. My faith means everything to me. Without it I would have nothing. Comfort, satisfaction and belief and help in and from God. Reason for living and hope in time of our death

12 Faith means to me:- Community, purpose, inner peace, belief in Christ and humanity, comfort in times of stress, illness, tradition, history, identity, future. A rock in a stormy sea. At times a steep uphill challenge, a varying tide, but always there guiding and informing, stalling and questioning how I go about my life. Faith means everything to me. I do not know what I would do if I could not pray to God, it means so much to me. He has helped me in most ways. Faith to me means help on my journey through life and the promise of Resurrection. God helps to protect me from bad things. My faith means everything to me. I could not go from day to day without God to help me. It sees me through troubled times and happy days. I thank god for my faith

13 Faith and church to me conjure up a sense of community and belonging. A large family who will help in times of need. Something to fall back on - knowing you are not alone. Today, Church is being rejected by many but it is always there, a steady rock to lean on. To be part of the family of God in Kirkham. Faith is the ever-present belief that I am part of God s family here on earth and hopefully in the next life. My faith, joined with the Hope that when my life here ends I come up to the expectations of God my Father. R.H. My faith means everything to me. All through my married life faith helped me through. In sickness and when I lost my dear husband 4 years ago after 66 happy years together, the Rosary helped me through. I thank God for my family and friends. May God always guide me. My faith means everything, all that I have! Without faith life would not be worth living

14 My faith means everything to me and coming to this church strengthens it. Faith is something I turn to when unsure, confused, frightened, unhappy, because it is the only thing that I can do when nothing else helps. Faith is something I recognise when happy, confident, thankful and glad because God has created this state for me. It is simply there for me at all times. My faith gives me a reason for my existence. I enjoy the feeling of being part of God s Big plan. It helps me question unanswerable questions. My faith certainly helps me to be the person I am. Paul Walsh My faith is the creed which I try to live by. Chris Massey God is helpful. I m friendly to people. I go to church sometimes. God is always with me. He helps me with everything. I love God and I believe in God. Declan, Year 2, Willows Primary School

15 Hope of everlasting life. Virtue and Grace My faith means everything to me and I could not imagine a life without it. It gives me hope always and comfort in the hard times. It keeps me striving not to sin and gives me hope and forgiveness when I do. It gives me purpose and informs all that I do. Courage and strength. S.M.Awbery My faith to me means hope, hope for the future. My faith has helped me through many, many difficulties especially in my married life and status. It has helped me believe again in the goodness of people and their friendship through the Beginning Experience especially this when I was in the Yorkshire Diocese. I have met with some difficulties through my marriage status especially within the Church and in one case with a Priest himself. It was only my faith which brought me back to the Church

16 I trust and hope that after death I will see Our Lord and His Mother and all my family and friends who have died. Hope for Salvation. My faith means that I can be positive about everything because God loves me. When I have a difficult decision to make I can pray and then leave it in God s hands - trusting that either the right thing will happen or the correct choice will become clear. Diane Gallagher Faith to me is being able to reflect on things which I have done and things which I am going to do, and knowing that, no matter which path I choose, God will always be with me, guiding me towards the right path and forgiving me if I choose the wrong one. Faith is knowing that there are other people around me living in hope for a better future, for less violence and for more peace. Faith is the one thing which brings together millions of people throughout the world, so faith is togetherness, and being able to understand the views and feelings of those around us. Lucy H.Fielding

17 The Church means to me Love. Sally Gillett aged 4 It teaches what is right and wrong, it gives me a focus. Having belief can also bring challenges - when things can be tough and do not seem to be going well, I sometimes ask Why? But on a better day I realise that things happen for a reason and God is actually looking after me and that what will be, will be. Faith gives you a strong foundation on which to live your life. Faith gives you hope for the future, strength to overcome difficulties. Faith helps you to love, and to be a better person than perhaps you were yesterday. If I had not got my faith, then my life would not be as rich as it is today, and for that I am very thankful. My faith means that I believe God has given me talents. Joe Gallagher It is hard to express in words my gratitude to Our Lord for the gift of Faith and for His life, suffering and death and resurrection. It is the Faith and Trust in this great Love and forgiveness and promise to be with us always which gives meaning to my life and helps me cope. I believe especially in His Risen Presence in the Holy Mass and the Eucharist and other Sacraments and the strength this gives. I am happy to be a member of the Catholic Church and all that it teaches and hope I will remain faithful

18 My faith is the one thing which makes me believe the world can be a wonderful peaceful place. Happiness is peace of mind. A humanity in mind and body. A peaceful body. A heart that loves and cares. Faith is belief in God and his wisdom, strength and love. Faith means living the gospels everyday. Praying and thinking of ways to live and interact with people in a better way. Prayer is the greatest resource we have to actually know God. Charlie McMahon I like church. I go some weeks. God is great! I can keep my faith by praying. I like singing hymns in church. I trust in God. Poppy, Year 2, The Willows Primary School

19 The Family of the Church Faith to me:- The Church and the Community. The Family. Making the right choices. My faith draws its inspiration from the sense of community and belonging at this Church (The Willows). What does my faith mean to me? Inner peace - Church where I go to reflect. Community - sharing time alongside like-minded people. Trying to be the best person I can be (most of the time). Learning to accept myself and others. Rules by which I can live. Sharing ideas with God. My faith brings my family and friends together. Sam Hall

20 To me faith means hope in God, in life after death, in humanity to do the right thing. It also means the actual buildings of the Church, a wonderful serene place to sit and contemplate. Finally it means the family of people that make the Church and contribute to the Faith. Being part of a community. Being Unique. Belief in God. Belief in Jesus. My faith helps me to get through the tough times. I don t know how I would manage without my faith. My faith carries the truth all the time. I enjoy my Sunday Mass. During Lent I find the Stations of the Cross very moving and all the services of Holy Week seems to bring the meaning of the Church to me. I find it hard that people I see in Church just walk past when I see them in town. T.H. It keeps me attached to my parents, aunts, uncles and friends who have died. It is the continuity of my family through the past, present and hopefully the future. George McAteer

21 Being a member of God s family and believing that God is always with us and that we are never alone. What does my faith mean to me and why do I have it? Before I was old enough to understand who God is, and before I discovered my faith in God I discovered faith in my family that they would care for me and guide me as I grew until I was able to care for myself, that was the start of my journey of faith. My faith is important to me because it helps me to love my family. Tom, Year 4, The Willows Primary School My faith means me thinking about God and heaven; guiding me through life. Whenever I go wrong I know that God will be there, and will forgive me. It is nice to think that we as a parish are all a big family. In fact we as a world are a big family. Danny Davies My faith is important to me because I go to church every week and it makes me feel part of the Willows Parish. Cameron, Year 4, The Willows Primary School

22 I believe that God created humans because he wanted to be alive on earth and for us to be with him in a big family. Dana, Year 6, The Willows Primary School A feeling of belonging, especially within this caring and friendly parish. Being able to balance the highs and lows in life and the strength my faith gives me, especially in difficult times. I feel the poem Footprints represents so much. To see the encouragement given to the young in this Parish, making them feel happy and welcome within Church - a place to be relaxed in - not a place to feel fear in. My faith is important to me because it helps me remember to say thank you to God for keeping my family who have died safe in heaven. Morgan, Year 4, The Willows Primary School

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24 Modern Perspectives Time out from routine of the week. Space. Reflection. Support. Relaxation. Peace of mind. My Faith gives meaning to my life gives moral guidelines to live by helps me overcome difficult times in my life. E.B. To put my problems into the perspective of eternity. Hope. An oasis of peace. Hope

25 My faith gives structure and meaning to my life. Without it I would feel cut adrift. My life would feel pointless and I would have no motivation and the little pleasures that I enjoy now would seem somehow empty. E.H. Comfort, commitment, structure. Shapes and orders life. Gives it purpose and meaning. Gives a spirituality which would otherwise be lacking, particularly in this modern world. PEACE, LOVE, JUSTICE. Comfort, support, a sense of belonging. Everything. Love, peace and tranquility in both good and bad times. A true sense of belonging. My faith gives meaning to life. Without it life would be a long pointless exercise despite any happiness experienced. Faith, hope and charity

26 It helps me face the day to day events both happy and stressful. Without my faith I would be a nobody. Faith keeps me going year after year. It makes a dreary week more bearable to live and I pray for friends and family to keep them safe. My faith: It gives me security, peace, knowledge. Someone to turn to or even just something to do when I have free time. Todd Michael Joseph Davies aged 11 It is my core, rooted deep within me. Belief and hope for the future. Stability. Helps to keep sanity. Lucky to have faith. Security. My faith is my way of life. My quiet time to contemplate and try to do good deeds. My faith gives me structure in my daily life

27 My faith to me is the central thread which holds my life together. It holds me up when I am down. It s the silent comfort and the noisy celebration and holds the answers to all my questions. My faith is my being. I could not imagine life without it. I think of it as one Big Family. My faith helps me to sort my troubles out, keeps me calm when I need to be when something happens and someone needs my help. My faith makes me feel special and gives me a purpose in life. Gives me strength when things get tough. To think of some power greater than everything - not material. Calm. Peace. Love. Thinking quietly through the days, walking in the countryside and in hard times faith means everything

28 I believe in God because - look around you - do you think it all happened with a big bang? It s far more likely that God was part of it. He loves us no matter what we do. He comforts us. Thomas Lowe, Year 5, The Willows Primary School

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30 Faith in Our Lives Because I know Jesus went through all these different things before me it gives me strength and courage to carry on. I think I would be lost without God in my life. My faith means the freedom to choose how I wish to live and act. In this knowledge I will be given the strength and courage to do so by Almighty God. Footsteps My faith is one of the constants in my life and the Willows is part of that. I went to the Willows school as did both of my children. I was baptised and married at the Willows and remember as a boy the joys of Easter Sunday. The beautiful hymns of Benediction, the faith instilled (or hammered into us) by Dinger Singleton the headmaster. For more than 60 years the Willows has been the rock of my faith, the place in which I feel comfortable, a part of. My faith helps me to meet life s problems and hopefully to survive them. Although far, far from perfect, without my faith and belief I would be a much imperfect person. Paddy Nevin

31 My faith is my life. If I didn t have my faith and the community of the Church it would lead me to despair. Many years ago I stopped going to church. Then after a personal crisis when my marriage was going through a difficult stage I had an overwhelming desire to return to church. I could not explain it. So I visited my local church, spoke to the priest and was welcomed back with open arms. A couple of months later my marriage broke down. I was devastated but found great comfort and solace in going to Mass. I was able in my lowest ebb to talk to God and pull myself back. I honestly believe I was given a sign of faith to prepare me for the difficult time I would be going through. Since this event I have attended church and tried to live my life through Jesus. I would be lost without that input and my faith is so much stronger for it. I had reached rock bottom and someone sent me a sign of faith, whoever it was I am eternally grateful. A deeper understanding of what life is all about. The ability to appreciate what I have got in life - one life, one God, my family and friends. To realise you can change some things but not everything. Life is what you make it

32 My FAITH is my PRIDE and JOY which I couldn t live without. I am totally reliant on it. I am completely certain that the Lord is there for me at all times. I let Him take my worries on His shoulders. I trust that He goes before me always guiding my path through life. This gives me confidence. I am very well blest and my FAITH grows stronger every day. I thank GOD for His great gift to me. Faith to me is a great comfort most of all as it makes me feel that I am not alone. I would feel totally lost without my faith. My faith is not just my religion but my way of life. My faith means to me life in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. Without faith life would have no meaning for me. Faith is a gift for which many thanks. The Church is the anchor which holds me fast to the faith. The Eucharist nourishes my faith. My Faith is like a parent who watches over me and gives me guidance, teaching me to strive to be a better person. Deborah Gillett

33 My faith teaches and reminds me to love, understand and be compassionate with others. That I am not alone and that I will be answered in times of need. It reminds me who I am and who I ought to be. My faith is what guides my life. It keeps me going in times of trouble and sorrow and makes me thankful for the blessings I have received. It helps me to make all the important decisions in my life. My only regret is that I find it difficult to be a missionary and pass my faith on to others. My faith means coming to church to hear the word of God and pray that this may lead me to live a better life. I hope through this that I will live as Christ would wish me to even though I fall from grace at times. It makes me try to love my neighbour as myself and hopefully be a good member of the community helping others worse off than myself. My faith makes me thank God for all our goodness in life and pray that I will bear crosses that come my way with patience and dignity

34 My faith means everything to me, it s the reason for my being. I have been through lots of different situations in my life - pain, sorrow, loss of people and different things. One thing that lasts, one thing that has seen me through all these times is my faith. My faith means all to me. In many ways it gets me through life. It has kept me strong through much of my life, especially losing my Grandad. Without my faith a big part of me would be lost and I would not be who I am. In the worst of times it keeps me going. It is always there keeping me positive and hopeful. It surprises me how strong my faith is. To me faith means we pray at Church, we pray for people in heaven and we hope they are OK there in heaven. When you go to Church give money. When you are praying pray for people in heaven! And pray for the people that have died in the past. So pray now! When you are at home or school or Church. So pray every day. Maisie May Davies My faith is my guiding light through life. It points the way forward and lights the path. It gives a point to being on this earth, a sense of purpose. It gives me strength when I most need it, when everything looks bleak it gives me hope- solace in the midst of woe

35 A young child will run into the open arms of a parent without any concept of danger or fear, we simply trust in our parents and have the faith that they will be there for us and care for our every need. As I grew older I began to realise that I had to do things for myself but I still had to have trust and belief in my parents and family to protect me and guide me in matters of faith and in general. I believe that my faith is the backbone of my life supporting me in all that I do and keeping me on the straight and narrow. When I am sad, I feel that God is with me and ask him to guide me and give me strength. When I am happy I thank God for all that he has given me. Without my faith I don t know how I would have coped with all life s ups and downs, my faith has helped me to keep things in perspective, to realise what is important in life. People who don t have faith have said to me things like that is why I don t believe in God when referring to things like earthquakes or when a person dies at a very young age and they say why would God allow things like that to happen? Having faith does not provide answers to these questions but prevents the need to know why, I feel that we need to trust in God, this can be hard sometimes but if there was no greater purpose, how hard would it be to live in a world full of tragedy and sadness? Faith means everything, to practice in our daily lives, to keep us on the right path

36 As a young boy and man my faith was strong with no doubts. The shepherd looked after his flock with wisdom and understanding. Right and wrong were distinct and taught and explained by the Parish Priest who visited his flock and sought out the missing sheep. The Church seems to be more accepting of what used to be wrong and appears to be afraid of the world and is losing its moral leadership. Sometimes I feel out of step with my faith. Its guidance in the modern world i.e. Faith I have, but the Church appears to be in disarray. We have readings, once we had sermons setting our feet on the right path. Does the Church in the 21st. Century know the path or is it that the path is known but we are afraid of the world? Let us not be afraid of the truth. My faith dictates everything I do, my conscience will not let me do willingly what is wrong and if I do wrong I must put it right. My faith means everything to me. It has kept me sane through a lot of unhappiness. God has always helped me. L.Blott Help for us to live a good life, forgiveness for sins, peace at the end of our days, good community spirit

37 Funnily enough I was just thinking a few minutes ago about how grateful I am for my faith. It is a great source of strength because I know I can always turn to God when things are bad. I know he will listen to me. Also faith gives meaning to life. Otherwise why are we living? Our faith also means that we have something else to judge our lives by; we don t have to judge our success or failure by the world s standards. My faith is my reason to be. It is knowing that there is some greater purpose - a reason to keep going when things get tough. My faith helps me believe that I can do things; that my wife and children benefit from having me around; that in a material world there is something more important - love, relationships, God. I believe that my route to God is through Jesus. That by following Jesus example I will be a better person. My faith means always looking forwards to the future; constantly trying to be a better person; Jesus as a role model - loving, forgiving, respectful, patient, tolerant, seeing good in others and in the world. Accepting that material wealth never brings happiness, only more greed. Seeing beyond the capitalist society in which we exist into a world where everyone is an individual with something to give. Realising that happiness is not about short term pleasure but about fulfillment - being the best we can, and accepting our best is good enough, not compared to others but in God s eyes. My faith is personal to me, nurtured by the Church, encouraged and replenished at weekly Mass

38 My faith is a way of life, a source of joy in the good times and support in the not so good times. My faith makes me think continuously of the way I live my life and how I can be a better person. Obviously a belief in God but also a way of life and treating others and helping them in any way necessary. I believe that God created the world because he believed in people. Leah and Bethany H, Year 5, The Willows Primary School Here I am Lord it is I Lord also Do not be Afraid are my favourite hymns because I think of the seafarer. I am reaching out to them. Bernadette Richardson

39 Thoughts of Tomorrow I think it s important to keep the faith and stand up to be counted as a Roman Catholic. We have a rich heritage and long may it continue. It adds a lot to society. 1. An investment in our future through the children. 2. An extension of our love for our fellow Christians. 3. An expression of thanks for what we have been given. 1. Strength for life. 2. Without faith life would be empty. 3. Hopefully gives Christian values to our children who are our future in Christ. 4. There are times of doubt and Mass and faith relieve those feelings. The only thing is that we take it all for granted, but, how long can the Catholic Church continue to minister in the way it does now? Faith is love and kindness. You must try to keep it till you die. Clara

40 I believe that God believed in us and that he built us in his image to help us to look after the world. Emily, Year 6, The Willows Primary School My faith can seem a fragile thing; sometimes difficult to embrace without it shattering. And yet, this great gift from God is also most enduring: passed to me intact through countless generations, and forming a deep bond of continuity with my family, parish, and Church. The light of that faith lies within me now; it motivates me to live my life attentive to God s plan for me, and fulfill my obligation to pass the same faith on to other generations, through all my words and actions. CMW I believe that people should follow God because if they do the world will be a better place. Lewis, Year 6, The Willows Primary School

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