UCM Inaugural Mass held at St Joseph’s Church, Castleford on Thursday, 19 May 2022, celebrated by Very Rev Provost John Aveyard.
During the pandemic when permission was first granted to re-open places of worship, St Joseph’s re-introduced Thursday evening Mass, and it was here where parishioners first mooted how good it would be if we had a UCM within our parish. But nothing came of it until Bishop Marcus’s Pastoral Letter, inviting all of us to help shape the future of our churches and parishes by taking part in the ‘Parish to Mission’ Synod. The Inaugural Mass to re-establish a UCM Foundation in the parish of St Joseph’s Castleford was a direct result of the listening process, but it would not have been possible without the support and guidance of our Parish Priest, UCM Chaplain Canon Laurie Hulme, and UCM Diocesan Officers Margaret Chambers, Susan Oldroyd, and Catherine Simpson.’
Among the (fourteen in total) new UCM members at the Castleford parish is President-Elect Kathryn Waugh who is Carol’s daughter as well as the mother of one of the members of the Bishop’s Young Catholics’ leadership group, ‘The Twelve’ – making three generations of Catholic women actively supporting their parish and diocese! The membership includes Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Organist, Stewards, Missio representatives, 200 Club Organisers, and School Governors – all leading the way in faith and commitment to their parish and diocesan communities.
