Saint Brendan Closure Letter

CANDIDA CASA, 8 CORSEHILL ROAD, AYR, KA7 2ST

Telephone: 01292 266750 Fax: 01292 289888 Email: Bishop@GallowayDiocese.org.uk

13 June 2009

Statement of Bishop John Cunningham regarding the future of the Parish of Saint Brendan's, Saltcoats
and the impact on the Parish of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, (Saint Mary's), Saltcoats.

I know that the last few years have been difficult for you. You have looked on anxiously as the Church, hall and house at Saint Brendan's continued to deteriorate. The sale of the piece of land adjacent to the Parish property to Stewart Milne Homes was completed in January 2008 after much negotiation by Father Hayes, the diocesan Estates Office and the diocesan lawyers, which Father Hayes tells me was the result of work begun by your former Parish priest, Father Eddie McGee and his hard-working committee at the time. The completion of this sale raised hopes that at last the necessary repair work on the Church properties could begin.

To that end a general survey was commissioned from Davis Langdon Associates with the hope that they would be able to direct the focus of the work involved to bring the buildings into the required current standards. It was a great shock to me, as well as to yourselves, that this commission reported that the buildings were in fact in a much worse condition than originally thought. In fact, the Davis Langdon report puts a £1.5 million figure on the cost of repairing the buildings of Saint Brendan's Parish. This does not take into account any extra works needed should the repairs prove to be even greater than anticipated once begun. It is our experience across the Diocese, with properties of many ages and construction, that the initial quote is often underestimated and we could easily expect this initial cost to increase quite substantially. I know you will have had this experience even in your own homes.

I subsequently instructed Father Hayes and his committee to commission a second report from a structural engineer, which the first report had suggested. This report by Scott Wilson Scotland Limited was received in February this year and I am afraid it supports the findings of the Davis Langdon report. A further briefing to Father Hayes and Mr John Wilkie, the Diocesan Estates Manager, by Mr Joseph Dobson MRCIS, Director of P3 Property and Construction Consultants and his colleague Mr Bob Rooney of G&R Building Services Consultants, on a recosting of the initial report only really held up the possibility of keeping the buildings for at most a few extra years, still costing hundreds of thousands of pounds and with no real impact on the long term viability of the buildings.

The reports themselves tell us that a building of the construction of Saint Brendan's properties have proven in other areas only to have about a 40 year life-span. Examples of this have been witnessed in Cumbernauld, Livingston and Birmingham to name a few. In these towns and cities, their 1960s steel and concrete buildings are now demolished. Another consideration is that the number of parishioners actually attending Saint Brendan's has decreased year on year since the Parish was initially established in 1965, from Saint Mary's in Ardrossan Road, the mother Church of the town. Last year's Parish accounts show a shortfall of over £10,000 to meet your routine costs, which indicates that the Parish could not hope to meet the cost of the required repairs. Unfortunately, neither is the Diocese in a position to cover the amount of financial assistance that would be required to save the buildings here in Corrie Crescent. I have reflected long and hard on the evidence at hand. I have ascertained from Father Hayes and his committee members, the opinion of you, the parishioners of Saint Brendan's, that he and they were careful to listen to since the weekend of Palm Sunday, when it was necessary to shore up the side wall of the Church in order to continue to use it. Father Hayes has shared with me that although the initial impact was shocking you have nevertheless remained practically focussed and he tells me that with a sad and heavy heart you have the feeling that in all probability the preservation of the Parish property may not be feasible.

I have also considered the professional reports at hand, the advice of the Council of Priests of the Diocese and the comments of the Diocesan Finance and Estates Committee. I have discussed the matter with the Diocesan Trustees who have given me their unanimous opinion which I concur with.

My dear people, it is with a heavy heart that I have to announce the closure of Saint Brendan's Parish and place the pastoral care of you, her dear people, under the Parish of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, (Saint Mary's), Saltcoats. Father Jim Hayes will remain as the Parish priest of the enlarged Parish of Saint Mary's. This will take effect at midnight on Monday 20 July 2009. I have arranged with Father Hayes to join you in Saint Brendan's on that evening for a Mass of Thanksgiving, to celebrate the 44 years of Parish life under the patronage of Saint Brendan. This will in fact be the final liturgical celebration of Saint Brendan's Parish community. Fom Sunday 26 July, the four Masses presently scheduled between the two churches will be celebrated at Saint Mary's. I am assured that every effort will be made to assist those without transport arrangements to gain access to Ardrossan Road for Mass.

I share with you the great sadness you must feel at this time and next weekend, 20 and 21 June, I shall join you all to offer with you Sunday Mass, to share with you the pain of the situation that has been forced upon us. I wish to join you, to pray that God will give us the grace we need to endure this pruning that you will remember Jesus spoke of in the Gospels - recently proclaimed in our Sunday Liturgy. Our prayer will be that He will continue to bless the good work that for over forty-four years the people and priests of Saint Brendan's have achieved and to support members of both communities as you prepare for the great changes and challenges that face you as you unite the gifts and talents of two great Parishes, restoring to the town of Saltcoats one Catholic Parish community, as it was from 1856 till 1965. I know that you will continue to work with Father Hayes and the Parish committees to ensure a welcoming and life-giving union takes place as a mother Church welcomes the return of her beloved and rightly proud daughter Church.

All assets of Saint Brendan's Parish community will transfer to Saint Mary's and I have instructed Mr John Wilkie to work with Father Hayes and the community to secure Saint Brendan's site immediately following the final service. All religious furnishings, artefacts and sacred vessels and vestments will be retained for use in Saint Mary's, or elsewhere in the Diocese, or in churches in other Dioceses. The subsequent disposal of the property and land on the site of Saint Brendan's will come under the management of the Diocese. We will of course keep Father Hayes completely up to date on the progress of the project and he in turn will share that information with the Parish. I know the next few weeks will require great sacrifices, not least from the people of Saint Brendan's - but also from the parishioners of Saint Mary's, as you all adjust to the changing circumstances and, with a generous spirit of welcome and service, offer and receive the many gifts and talents available into the new life of a newly enlarged Parish community.

I pray too for your Parish priest, Father Hayes, that he will continue to have the grace he needs to lead the community in this time of great change. I pray that Saint Brendan, the Navigator, will continue to lead you in the weeks and months ahead in the work that faces both Parish communities and that you will be truly blessed in the united Parish, invigorated by this opportunity to turn this situation into a period of renewal under the patronage of Our Lady, Star of the Sea.