PARISH IN FOCUS: ST EDMUND OF CANTERBURY, LOUGHTON, ESSEX

The living stones of faith
LOUGFrl'ON Is ALMOST at the end of the Central Line between stations that speak of London's wooded green edges. Sunlight, trees and birdsong greet the traveller who steps out from the platform. This is suburban Essex. The brave new world. life is gentle here, less rushed.
Catholic churches are usually signposted by a tiny blue plaque nailed to a tree or an arrow pointing the wrong way. But Loughton is different. A major roadsign, bold in black and white, heralds the location of the church.
Sitting in the presbytery, I tell Fr O'Shea of parishes I have visited where priests were refused permission to put up signs. One brave heart resorted to flying the papal flag to defy the burghers. Loughton bears no tracery of and-papist sentiment. "We are very ecumenical here," he says. 'We are very much part of the community."
The parish of St Edmund owes its existence to the perseverance and dedication of the laity and, in part, to a noble gesture on behalf of the Catholic Herald! In 1926 Montague Poulain wrote to the bishop begging his "kind and earnest consideration in a matter constantly before the Catholics of Loughton the pressing need for Sunday Mass in that locality". The bishop arranged for Fr Albert Lopez, a Spanish priest of the Claretian order, to travel to Loughton every Sunday to say
Mass at Lopping Hall. But a church was needed.
A committee was formed to find a site and funds were raised with loans from the diocese and the bishop. The building was the gift of Charles Diamond, publisher and editor of the Catholic Herald. The small, timber framed, tin-clad church would serve the faithful of Loughton until September 1934 when fire engulfed the building.
It is a tragic story. When the firemen finally entered the church they found the badly charred body of a man who was later identified as Alfred Springlet Noakes of East Dulwich. He had been released from prison in July after serving a sentence for church breaking and entering. At the inquest they surmised that the deceased was carrying a lighted candle which set fire to the waxed floor.
Insurance monies paid for a new tin hut' identical to the old but in 1956 a new church was built, heralding the new age. St Edmund's evokes that decade in every aspect. "It is a building of its time, a building of great light and simplicity," says Fr O'Shea. "What we have today we owe to people with great foresight. The people who collected bingo money and organised fetes and bazaars, built what we have today." The Claretians served the parish until 1978 when the Jesuits took over. Fr O'Shea was appointed parish priest when St Edmund's came under the auspices of the Diocese of Brentwood in 1992. The presbytery, of course, was built for a commu nity. With rooms to spare the parish provides for various facilities under Churches Together in Loughton.
"The Voluntary Care group is based here," says Fr O'Shea. "It was a practical ecumenical gesture on our part and it helps the whole community, not just Catholics."
This is a young parish with a strong parish council and a congregation very much involved with the life of the Church. "We feel that the church should always have its doors open and that we, as a Catholic community, should seek a wider role in the town as witnesses for the area."
For such a simple building it has great presence and spirit. "They built what they could afford," says Fr O'Shea modestly. 50s curves predominate. It is a great square of a church, with the sanctuary stepped up and set back. A new ambo, chair and stone altar with repeated triangular motif lend a cohesiveness to the image. The colour and light of this church raise the senses. Fr O'Shea smiles: `We decided to paint the interior yellow. It lifts your spirits, especially in winter."
Decoration is limited: wrought-iron columns entwined with flowers, plaster saints of faded colour and the embroidered drapery that hangs suspended from the baldechino. Overwhelmingly there is light. The window panes are rippled, as though rain water was running against the glass. They cast a muted light against polished wood and tile. "The people are proud of this church," says Fr O'Shea. Maureen, one of the parishioners, is on her hands and knees as we speak, ironing the sanctuary carpet! To remove the candle wax," she laughs, holding up brown paper.
The Blessed Sacrament chapel reveals a new painting by Gary Bevin of Sistine chapel, Goring-by-Sea, fame. It is a copy of a Benedictine painting, a triptych of gold and blue and green. It is the only real splash of colour amid the soft hues and pale light.
We discuss the future of the parish. Lay involvement is still strong. "My job is to encourage and develop the gifts of the people. 1 get a lot of strength from their involvement sharing the ministry, decision making and consultation. The happiness as a priest is in that sharing, to share the joys and sorrow of the people, you feel part of the community.
"Our task here is to meet not just the people in the pews on Sunday but also those who are on the margins, who may have been wounded or misunderstood by the Church."
Back in the beginning the Spanish priests who were first here spoke little English. The people of Loughton, out of necessity, were therefore always involved as a creative, active and integral part of parish life. A tradition to build upon. "I like to think of them as the `living stones' of this parish," says Fr O'Shea. "Our debt to them is enormous."
Christina White