St. Helen’s and St. Mary the Virgin form a dynamic duo

Built in 1879, St. Mary the Virgin in Blackburn Hamlet has a long history in the diocese. It was always a small church, filled to capacity with just 50 people, but in recent years, that’s been rare.

The church had to close entirely during the pandemic and had to wait longer to reopen because its small size didn’t accommodate social distancing.

When health conditions allowed, St. Mary the Virgin (SMTV) reopened and parishioners came back, but their numbers had dropped, Janet Hope, one of two rector’s wardens, told Crosstalk. They made attempts to attract new people, but the historic building has some limitations that probably didn’t help. It doesn’t have running water or Wi-fi.

 “We all started talking about it and weighed the pros and cons, did a lot of soul searching about it, and just decided we had to do something,” said Hope. “People still needed a [parish] home to go to…. There was good solid 35 still on our parish list, so we looked at our options,” she said, mentioning that they considered going to several churches. “We looked into joining with St. Mary’s [Navan] and Trinity [Bearbrook] and closing up our church.” But she added that they hoped to find a way to keep the building that meant so much to people, some of whom had been going there for 40 years, open.

Fortunately, SMTV was in a good financial situation. “We had a solid budget….We have a rectory that is self-sufficient…It’s rented out and tenant occupied,” said Hope.

They found a warm welcome at St. Helen’s. “We met with [Archdeacon] Rhonda [Waters], and after much deliberation, we thought St. Helen’s might be a fit,” Hope said. “Our council met with their council and reiterated again that …there was no debt coming with us. Even if there was debt, they would have taken us. They were just so happy to have St. Mary’s.”

The votes on both sides were unanimous (minus one person at SMTV). The parish had its final service last fall and then joined St. Helen’s for Advent. 

Amalgamating as one congregation with two properties allowed St. Mary the Virgin to keep its building open and to use it for occasional services throughout the year.

“It was easy for us to say yes because of size and proximity, a shared interest in being very community-facing,” Waters told Crosstalk. “The St. Helen’s Parish Council was very excited and continues to be committed to understanding ourselves as now being a parish that includes Blackburn Hamlet. We’re still figuring out what that means…. I think that makes the St. Mary the Virgin folks feel good because they were really committed to ministry in Blackburn Hamlet. We picked up their outreach and fundraising activities.”

St. Mary the Virgin used to do an annual fundraiser, selling simnel cakes at Easter and donating the proceeds to the Norman Johnson Secondary Alternate Program. “We did the same fundraiser, but instead of selling cakes to a congregation of 20 people, we were selling to a congregation of 120 people,” said Waters, adding that the outreach committee has visited the school and is interested in building on the relationship.

“St. Mary the Virgin had reached a point where they no longer had the numeric capacity to do the work they wanted to do,” Waters said. “And by joining St. Helens, they weren’t going to have to abandon that work, but they were going to have new partners in that work. And I think that we have been able to really live up to that.” 

She added that SMTV parishioners have offered an example “in their capacity to understand that they have a ministry, not a parish, and that they wanted a faithful way to sustain the ministry that God had given them and were aware that sustaining the parish was not allowing them to sustain their ministry anymore.”

Waters said they are still figuring out “how to make good and faithful use of the St. Mary the Virgin church site, other than, of course, the cemetery, which continues to be an important ministry.” 

Hope said that they planned to meet with the council for our area to see how the building might be used to benefit Blackburn Hamlet. “It’s a beautiful building and it has valuable space that might be able to be used for meetings or a food bank location.” 

Waters added that a number people from St. Helen’s “have really fallen in love with the intimacy and the beauty of St. Mary the Virgin Church.”

Lorna Ponting was one of the St. Helen’s parishioners who helped SMTV parishioners settle in. “We certainly welcomed them with open arms because we all understood what a huge decision this was for St. Mary’s,” she said, adding that their “sweet little church” becoming a part of the parish was a bonus. “We had an Epiphany service there in January … and then we all came back to St. Helen’s and had a potluck dinner. It was a perfect way to start the year officially with St. Mary the Virgin joining us….       Then the first service of Holy Week was held at St. Mary the Virgin.”

Ponting added that the SMTV parishioners who have started attending St. Helen’s have been very enthusiastic about getting involved. “They want to be readers, they want to be lay admin people, they want to help making a coffee… they’ve really come in keenly.”

Linda Dacre, who shared Rector’s Warden duties with Janet Hope and was also the organist, says she likes change and is adjusting well, but she still misses St. Mary the Virgin. “I loved my little church…. I miss its windows, I miss its ambience, I miss the acoustics. …. It’s such a small church. St. Helen’s is a different proposition. It’s a very professional layout and excellently laid out for music… It doesn’t have the same feel because it’s bigger, but it takes time to get to know people. …And the only way you do that is to get involved with groups within the church,  so many of us are doing that. And I think over time, that’s what it takes to do a successful merger.” She added that everybody’s been very kind, introducing themselves and asking questions about SMTV and how we’d like to be involved in St. Helens.

Waters sees a rich exchange in the blending of these two worshipping communities. The people who came from St. Mary the Virgin, she said, “were so brave and so truthful and so faithful, and I think the St. Helen’s people who are paying attention, have really seen that. And it’s contributed to a renewal, I think, here at St. Helen’s of really kind of missional orientations, so it’s been a real gift.”