THE PARISH

Content by: John Knowles

Background
The Parish of St Anne's, Sutton is a parish within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool.
From its foundation in 1849 until September 2004 it was administered, on behalf of the
Archdiocese, by the priests of the Congregation of the Passion (CP's). Since September
2004, it has been under the direct administration of the Archdiocese, with Fr Peter
Hannah as the Parish Priest. However, as is the new practice in the St. Helens Deanery, St
Anne's is clustered with the Parish of St Vincent de Paul, Derbyshire Hill. Fr Peter
serves both Parishes.
The Church, dedicated to St Anne & Blessed Dominic, has been on the present site since
1973. It replaced an older building which had to be demolished due to mining subsidence.
Adjacent to the church was the monastery, where generations of young
men where trained as priests for the Passionist Congregation. Sadly,
this building deteriorated beyond the stage where it was possible to
refurbish it as a monastery or to convert it to alternative use. It was demolished a few years ago.
When the monastery and original church were founded in the early
1850's, Bishop Brown of Liverpool and the Passionist Congregation
signed an agreement that the land would be administered by the
Congregation as long as they remained in Sutton. At the end of the
1990's, the Congregation announced that they no longer had enough
priests to run St Anne's Parish and would regrettably have to leave
Sutton. The terms of the agreement, therefore, came into play and the
land reverted to the Archdiocese. Unfortunately, to cover the costs of
the necessary demolition of the monastery and a dilapidated former
school (being used as a social club) and to build a new parish centre
and parish office, most of the land had to be sold.
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Parish Council
There is a Parish Council, consisting of the Parish Priest, a
nominated representative of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion (who work in the Parish)
and eight elected parishioners. This meets on the evening of the first Thursday of every
 month. There is a set agenda and minutes are printed.
The Council has a series of Development Groups covering all aspects of
parish life. A member of the Parish Council liaises with each group,
which has a Chair and a Secretary. Minutes are produced for members of
the Group and for the Parish Council. Meetings are held regularly.
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Development Groups

Liturgy
This group prepares all aspects of the liturgy in weekday and Sunday
services and the special feasts and celebrations associated with the
Parish.
Represented on the group are parishioners who look after Eucharistic
Ministers, Readers, Altar Servers, Music, Children's Liturgy.
Preparation of the Church for Mass and the Sacraments is done by the
Liturgy Group.
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Faith
Co-ordination of Prayer Groups, Talks and Lectures on aspects of faith
development, visits to Shrines and other places of worship are
arranged by this group.
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Shrine
Attached to our church is the Shrine of Blessed Dominic Barberi CP,
Apostle of England. Here also lie the mortal remains of Fr Ignatius
Spencer CP and Elizabeth Prout CP (Mother Mary Joseph).
The Shrine Group is responsible for the day to day maintenance of the
shrine. It co-ordinates public and private devotion and pilgrimage.
See also the link to Shrine Trust.
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Outreach
Those Parishioners unable to get to church are kept in touch in their
homes or in the local Hospitals, Hospice or Nursing Homes through the
work of this group. There are various groups within the Parish who
arrange visits and organize transport links.
This development group keeps our community in touch with other local
worshipping communities.
Practical help is also provided through bereavement counseling,
Sacramental preparation and work with the local social services and
volunteer organizations.
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Young Parishioners
There has been an elected teenager on the Parish Council for most of the time.
The Parish Youth Club comes under the wing of this group. Currently,
the Youth Leaders and Parents are working with the Parish Council and
the Archdiocesan Youth Coordinator to establish better contact with
our younger parishioners through a more structured youth club.
We would like to hear from those of our parishioners who fall between
teenage and middle age to find out what the Parish might be able to
offer them.
Links with the Parish Primary School are maintained through three
members of the Parish Council being also School Governors.
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Finance
All aspects of Parish finances are looked after by this group.
Spending is carefully monitored, as is income (including Gift Aid).
Financial statements are presented to the Parish.
The Church itself has recently been refurbished, using money which had
been held in trust for the Parish by the Congregation of the Passion
during the time of their administration.
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Other
There are two other development groups currently in abeyance as formal
groups, but which still perform ad hoc service.
The Buildings & Maintenance group oversaw the refurbishment of the
Church and the demolition of the former Monastery and the Social Club,
as well as the building of the Parish Office and Social Centre.
Periodic maintenance will still be done by this group, though the
responsibility for the Buildings is now with the Archdiocese.
The Social Life of the Parish flourishes without the need of a formal
group, though the Parish Council has an important co-ordinating role to avoid events
clashing. A central Parish Diary is held in the Parish Office in which all events in the
Church, Social Centre, Meeting Rooms, School and Parish in general must be entered.
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Sutton Shrine Trust
This exists under the terms of the Charities Commission.
Members are from the Congregation of the Passion, the Cross and
Passion Sisters, the Archdiocese of Liverpool and the Parish of St Anne's.
The overall responsibility of matters concerning the Shrine in Sutton
lies with this Trust. It also maintains links to the Church
Commissions dealing with the causes of the three holy people buried in the Shrine.
Contact can be made through:
The Secretary, Sutton Shrine Trust
Parish Office
Monastery Road
Sutton
St Helens
WA9 3SP

Non-formal Structure
The Parish is not, of course, only run by its Parish Council and
Development Groups.
There are countless individuals, small groups and teams who quietly
work away (and pray) regularly or occasionally for the benefit of the
rest of us. Many are unknown and, therefore, unthanked. The Parish is
grateful for their efforts.
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