60^th Anniversary of the Parish of St. Fergus’, Paisley

When my predecessor, Bishop James Black, the first Bishop of Paisley, came to bless and dedicate the first Church of St. Fergus’ on 12^th February 1950, two years after the opening of the parish in January 1948, he pronounced words which were so relevant to the parish community of that time and which remain prophetic for the parish community of today, 60 years later. The Bishop said, “You have achieved the building of a church. Now you must go forward to build a parish.”

As I leaved through the very detailed and informative Souvenir Brochure of the Solemn Opening of the new Church of St. Fergus in 1971 by Bishop Stephen McGill, it is clear that the community of St. Fergus’ did indeed go forward to build a parish. And it seems to have been a parish rich in priests and religious sisters and sodalities and activities. The average roll of St. Fergus’ Primary School from 1961-1971 was a figure in the excess of 400 children. The whole picture suggests a generative and vibrant parish community with a strong parish identity. Some of you may well remember those times here and elsewhere with affection.

Far-reaching social and demographic changes have influenced the development of St. Fergus’ Parish to the present day. We live in different times now. The community is smaller. There are fewer priests and religious sisters. But while we give thanks for the past, we cannot afford to live in the past or to wallow in nostalgia. There is too much to do. The task, as Bishop Black said all those years ago, is still to continue to build a parish.. The foundations have been laid by our predecessors and we need to go forward with hope and trust. There is a strong parish identity here at St. Fergus’. There is a community here which is devoted to the parish. You have a young and active and able parish priest. There is a Catholic primary school in the parish. The Diocese of Paisley is committed to St. Fergus’ Parish as an essential presence in this community. All the ingredients are in place for the parish to fulfil its mission to its parishioners and to the wider community.

The readings from tonight’s Lenten Mass suggest important spiritual and religious themes for the mission of a Catholic parish. Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray: prayer and worship in union with Christ remains the heart of a Catholic parish and of a Christian community.  Through the prophet Isaiah, God promises that his word will always be effective: a Catholic parish must always be nourished and inspired by the Word of God in which the Lord himself never ceases to speak to us. And Jesus emphasises for his followers the importance of forgiveness: a Catholic parish has to be a place of reconciliation for its parishioners and a sign and instrument of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation in the community. In their own way, these holy things, the Word of God, prayer and worship, the ministry of reconciliation, already open up the future of parish life,

My dear brothers and sisters, we live in interesting times. The certainties and the securities of the generations which first built up this parish have given way to a new situation. No longer can we presume that Christian and Catholic faith and life will be transmitted seamlessly from one generation to the next. The future of the Church is for each person and each community to believe more and to believe better. Tonight is a time to give thanks to God for 60 years of parish life here at St. Fergus’ Parish, Paisley. It is also a time to look forward with faith and with hope to the future of this parish, a future in which the parish will be the means through which its parishioners will come to believe more and to believe better so that God’s kingdom may come among us. 

St. Fergus’, Paisley

12^th February 2008