Fr Frank Herron. Foxrock Parish tells us that the most remarkable feature of the community is “the participation of so many of its parishioners in parish life”.
The parish serves 4,000 households and vital to its running is its core team: Fr Frank Herron, parish administrator; Fr Gerard Doyle, curate; Archdeacon Ciarán Holahan; Maeve Davidson, parish pastoral worker; Tom Fortune, sacristan; Evelyn Healy, parish secretary and Maeve Carrick, manager of the Pastoral Centre.
However, Maeve Davidson says the vibrancy of the parish can be seen through the up to 600 volunteers who are involved in the parish in very many ways, the great sense of ownership among the parishioners and the desire to care for one another.
The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is a dynamic group with a wide representation of parish life among its members, including three former members of the Youth Club. At its beginning about three years ago, the current PPC set about developing a strategic plan based on what parishioners had to say.
Focus groups were convened and, having listened to the people, the PPC developed its plan under four headings: Community, Communications, ‘A Church for the Poor’ and Working Better Together. The PPC continuously keeps its objectives under review under the leadership of Brendan Lannoye, who is probably the youngest chairperson of a PPC in the diocese. “I count myself, and the parish of Foxrock, very lucky to have such a fantastic, brilliant and wonderful bunch of people,” he says.
Welcoming
There is a Community and Welcoming Group who visit new parishioners and welcome families to special celebrations in the church.
Community events take place regularly and most recently the parish hosted an evening ‘Up Close and Personal with Fr Peter McVerry’, at which everyone who attended was invited to bring some food for sharing in a ‘potluck supper’ and the event raised funds for the Fr Peter McVerry Trust.
A dynamic Communications Team has been established with the emphasis on building engaging and sustainable communications throughout the parish, such as pulpit messaging, weekly news bulletins, weekly update emails and interactive social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
Underpinning all of the work of the parish is prayer and faith formation. The Faith Development Group has had a long history of providing and supporting faith programmes for parishioners and many parishioners have received certificates in catechesis. Others have gone on to study theology at third level.
Apart from the sacramental programmes for children, the Faith Development Group, have recently begun to provide courses for the schoolchildren’s parents and there is a Catechism Studies course for adults. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is provided for small children by Noreen Carroll and a team of trained catechists.
The parish has provided catechesis for adults preparing for Baptism and Confirmation every year for the last five years. This coming autumn, a marriage enrichment course will be provided for married couples. Ongoing formation is also provided to all involved in the various ministries and there is an emphasis on good, inclusive liturgy as a means of supporting people’s faith. There is a very strong Baptism Team, Funeral Team and Liturgy Group.
The Family Mass Group, a vital part of parish life, has been going strong for almost 20 years and this year, the choir, under the direction of Goretti Newell, will have been singing at 11.15am Mass every Sunday for more than 40 years.
There is also a relatively new Youth Music Group who sing on Saturday evenings at the Vigil Mass and there are new young Ministers of the Word who came on board when they were preparing for Confirmation.
The Lectio Divina group meets every Monday. An Intercessory Prayer Team meets once a month specifically to pray for the parish, its priests and people. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is available every day in the Convent Chapel of the Disciples of the Divine Master within the parish and many parishioners attend.
The Parish Pastoral Centre was opened in 2009 and it provides a place for people to gather for both social and spiritual reasons. Every week the manager Maeve Carrick and the team of more than 80 volunteers cater for over 2,500 people.
It facilitates over 40 parish groups who use it on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and hosts First Holy Communion, Confirmation and graduation receptions for the parish schools. In particular it was a vital asset in June 2015 when the Berkeley tragedy occurred and it offered a place where so many people, especially young people, could gather together.
There is a coffee dock in the centre open each weekday morning and a large number of parishioners gather there after morning Mass. Every Sunday the centre’s volunteers provide the “Mass Café” (so called by the children) and while the adults socialise, there are Bible stories and chess lessons for different groups of children.
It is clear that Foxrock Parish greatly values the participation and involvement of its parishioners and depends on the willing service of its volunteers. Fr Frank has been heard to say to the people: “This is your home. If you are not here, it is an empty place and nothing can happen.
“When you are here, anything can happen.”