The Bishop of Shrewsbury has a blessed and dedicated a parish hall at a village church in Cheshire.
The Rt Rev. Mark Davies celebrated Mass at Holy Angels Church in Hale Barns on the September 29 Feast of the Archangels Ss Michael, Raphael and Gabriel and afterwards blessed the newly-built parish hall.
A plaque was unveiled by Paul Keeling (pictured below), whose family have been strongly supportive of the project for more than three decades.
The event was attended by five former priests of the parish and by other priests from the local deanery.
In his opening remarks at the Mass, Bishop Davies said he came to the parish with “unalloyed thanksgiving” for the completion of the project after decades of “patience, much work and generosity”.
In his homily, the Bishop said the hall existed “to be at the service of the faith and of the faithful, to serve our unity and our communion and to serve our mission” in the company of the holy angels.
Afterwards, Bishop Davies said: “It will be a centre for parish activities and a place where we come know one another and to give your witness to your faith in Christ Jesus.”
Fr Tom Cunnah, parish priest of Holy Angels, said the dedication and blessing of the hall represented the culmination of “a great deal of hard work and generosity, particularly from our major donors, the local schools, who have been supporting us, and the organisers and villagers of the Hale Barns Carnival”.
He said: “This parish has wanted a parish hall for 30 years and it was a great joy to have the Bishop and clergy form over the past 30 years with us here to celebrate.”
The parish hall was constructed using the same sort of building materials as the church and reflects its early Gothic style, which was inspired by brick-built Quarr Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on the Isle of Wight.