Church blooms in celebration

Ten major floral displays brought Our Lady of Sorrows Church alive with colour and scent to mark the anniversary.

The exhibition of blooms such as delphiniums, roses, lilies, chrysanthemums and carnations illustrated aspects of Christianity.

The stories they portrayed included Jesus spilling blood, arranged by church member Sue Brown, Jo Goss's highlight of the pieta where Jesus is taken down from the cross, the seven sacraments of the Catholic church, highlighted by Maureen Johnson and Tony Lucas and the church Youth Cafe's interpretation of John chapter 21 verses 1-19 of Jesus speaking to the disciples on the shores of Tiberias.

Other arrangers were weekend co-ordinator Ann Holste, Tony Lucas, Brownies, Felpham Flower Club's Joan Eggins, Jo Baker, Theresa Meaby, Sue Beots, Christine Harris and representatives of St Mary's Catholic Primary School.

The church was open to the public on Friday and Saturday, May 18 and 19 to view the decorations. The event was just one part of three days of celebrations.

They began on Thursday with a Mass celebrated by the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, the Rt Rev Kieran Conry.

Some 20 current and former priests were also present at the evening service. Their experience at the church dated back several decades.

The church was packed with between 400 and 500 people in the congregation. Many of them crowded into the improved parish centre afterwards to see it blessed by Bishop Kieran.

Friday evening featured a Music for a May evening concert. Fr Terry Martin, Mike Carver and Giles Kennedy performed music by Handel, Mozart and Bach for flute, piano and cello. At least 200 attended.

The celebrations ended with a race evening on Saturday in the parish centre.

Mrs Holste said the 125th anniversary occurred with the Catholic church becoming stronger around Bognor. The weekend masses at Our Lady of Sorrows and its sister churches in Rose Green and Slindon involved some 900 worshippers.

Sixteen newcomers were accepted into the faith at Easter. The influx of eastern Europeans was also boosting numbers.

She was confident the church would still exist in another 125 years. 'If the Roman Catholic church in general is still here, this church will still be here,' she stated.

'We have a faith and common purpose in this church which is important to us. It is also important that we feel close to everybody who comes here. Our faith does not stop on a Sunday evening after the end of the services.'

Our Lady of Sorrows church was formally opened and dedicated by Canon Butt on August 16, 1882, after Servite friars had arrived in Bognor two years earlier.

Additions occurred during the first half century and an enlargement was officially opened in November 1957.

Further modifications followed before the Servites withdrew from the parish in 1994 after 113 of ministry. This saw the church pass into the pastoral care of priests from the diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Two priests and three retired priests currently perform the duties at Our Lady of Sorrows and its satellite churches.

The church's light and airy Italianate interior was completely redecorated last year to ensure the building continues to stand as a tribute to the energy and ingenuity of several generations of the Catholic community in Bognor.