More than 300 worshippers gathered at St Edmund of Canterbury and St Thomas More Catholic Church in Loughton, Essex, on 13 September for a special Centenary Mass celebrating 100 years since the parish was founded.
Parishioners were delighted to welcome the Bishop of Brentwood, the Right Reverend Alan Williams, who celebrated the Centenary Mass alongside parish priest Fr Adrian Lowe, Fr Francis Coveney, parish priest of Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila in Chingford, and assisted by deacon Alan Mair.
Following the Mass, parishioners and guests gathered in the church hall for a time of community and a barbecue, organised by a team of willing and dedicated volunteers. The celebration provided an opportunity for people to share memories, reconnect with friends and fellow parishioners, and reflect together on the future of the parish.
Fr Adrian Lowe, parish priest at St Edmund of Canterbury, said:
“Our Centenary Mass was a wonderful celebration of faith, community and continuity, as we gave thanks to God for 100 years of Catholic worship in the heart of Loughton. Our centenary motto, ‘A Century of Faith, Hope and Love’, expresses beautifully what this special year means to us. We give thanks for the faith that has been handed down to us, we celebrate the love and generosity that have sustained our parish, and we look forward with hope to all that God has in store for the future.
He added: “It was a real joy to see the church so full and to welcome visitors and regular worshippers alike as we celebrated all that our faith and parish mean to us. The beautiful Mass and the barbecue afterwards created a wonderful atmosphere of faith, friendship, joy and community.
“The celebrations honour those whose generosity built and have sustained St Edmund’s over the past century. At the same time, they mark the beginning of our planning and preparation for the next 100 years, as we seek to ensure that our parish continues to flourish and grow in faith under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
“Our hope is that, just as previous generations faithfully handed on the gift of faith to us, we too will hand it on to those who come after us. Above all, we want Jesus to remain at the heart of our parish life, guiding us as we seek to serve God and our community for generations to come.
“I would like to thank Bishop Alan for presiding over our Centenary Mass, and I am also incredibly grateful to all the volunteers whose time and generosity helped to make the day such a memorable event.”
St Edmund’s began all those years ago with a small Catholic community and a simple “old tin hut” and has grown into a thriving parish of more than 600 regular weekly worshippers. It was established in 1926 when Bishop Arthur Doubleday of Brentwood agreed that the growing number of Catholics in Loughton was sufficient to warrant the establishment of a new church. Before then, Catholics in the town had to travel to surrounding parishes to attend Sunday Mass.
The first Masses were celebrated in Lopping Hall. In 1927, a piece of land was acquired just off Loughton High Street and a small corrugated-iron church was erected. Affectionately known as the “old tin hut”, it served the growing Catholic community until the present concrete church building was opened in 1958.
A century later, St Edmund’s is a thriving parish at the centre of the Loughton community, with more than 600 regular weekly worshippers, and home to St John Fisher Catholic Primary School. The parish hopes to build on the foundations laid by previous generations, ensuring that children, families, young people, adults and future generations can continue to encounter Jesus Christ, discover the joy of the Catholic faith and find a welcoming spiritual home at St Edmund’s.
It is currently taking applications for its First Holy Communion programme for children and is also running a course this autumn for adults who are interested in learning more about the Catholic faith and joining the Roman Catholic Church.