Following the anxiety and grief of Fr. Des illness and death, the parish had to face another worry; not only who would succeed Fr. Des, but would we get a priest at all! The Salvatorian Community in the UK has no surplus of priests to draw on.
We have been so fortunate! Fr. Terry, Des brother, has indicated that he would be happy to return from Tanzania. This cannot have been an easy decision for him after forty-six years serving the Church in a specialised ministry to the people of Tanzania. He would have preferred to stay until he was seventy-five, in three years time, but accepts that now would perhaps be the right time, sooner rather than later.
Fr. Terry will return home in six to twelve months time and, all being well, after a period of reintegration and with the Bishops consent, will be appointed to the Church of our Lady here in Chipperfield. This will enable Fr. Terry to ease himself back into our society amidst friends that he knows well. He speaks of Chipperfield as a “home from home”.
Announcing this good news after Mass, Fr. Peter Preston SDS, who is Provincial Superior of the Salvatorian Order, told us that during the time before Fr. Terrys arrival, a priest will come to say Mass and perform baptisms and funerals, but the parishioners and established committees will have to take on even more responsibilities for the running of our parish.