CATHOLIC PARISH OF RAINHAM
PARISH GROUPS
[BACKGROUND] [KNIGHTS OF COLUMBA] [LEGIONS OF MARY] [RAINHAM CATHOLIC LADIES CLUB] [UNION OF CATHOLIC MOTHERS -UCM] [ST GERARD'S SOCIETY] [THE NEWMAN CIRCLE] [CATENIAN ASSOCIATION] [MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER] [THE CLERGY FRATERNAL AND THE LAY FRATERNAL - CHURCHES TOGETHR IN RAINHAM & CHURCHES TOGETHER IN TWYDALL] [ECUMENICAL GROUPS] [RAINHAM LUNCHEON CLUB] [YOUTH DISCUSSION GROUP]
Fr. Curtin wanted a spirit of community and friendship to permeate the parish and encouraged participation in house groups; Catholic Associations and Societies as a way of achieving this.
Knights of Columba
When Fr. Curtin arrived there was only one Catholic Association in Rainham that retained an unbroken link with the parish’s earliest days. This was the Knights of St. Columba of Medway Council 151. This Council had been established in the Parish of Our Lady of Gillingham on July 25th 1926; and was the Mother Foundation of Chatham Deanery. Although Rainham has had its own parish priest since 1963 and was erected as a parish in 1970, the Knights in Rainham have remained with the Mother Council.Legions of Mary
The only other Catholic Association active in Rainham at the time St Thomas’ Hall was opened in 1934 was the Legion of Mary, which continued strongly with both senior and junior branches meeting regularly until the early 1960’s. An attempt to revive the Legion under Fr. Gleeson was unsuccessful.Rainham Catholic Ladies Club
It was not until 1964 that the Rainham Catholic Ladies Club was formed; though during the 1950’s many of our ladies were members of the Medway Catholic Ladies Guild, and two, Irene Jeffrey and Magda Pole, both served terms of office as President. This Guild was able to attract speakers of the standing of, for example, Fr. Agnellus Andrew and Fr. Malachy Lynch to address their meetings, but in the early 1960’s with the demolition of the Sun Hotel (Chatham’s premier hotel) and loss of other attractive venues in Chatham, it could not continue.Catholic Union Mothers(UCM)
When Fr. Curtin came, the Rainham Catholic Ladies Club was renamed the Ladies Circle; and finally, the Union of Catholic Mothers (U.C.M.) was established in Rainham in the autumn of 1978. The U.C.M’s principal aim is to defend Christian values in family life and to offer practical help to any family in difficulty. Our own Foundation raises funds for national and local charities in alternate years and has a varied programme of social events. A Rainham member, Mary Hamblin is currently the U.C.M. Diocesan Welfare Officer and attends meetings at Diocesan and National Level.St Gerard Society
Fr. Curtin wanted young mothers to feel included in parish life and was particularly keen to establish the St. Gerard Majella Society; a house group movement designed to meet the spiritual and social needs of mothers of young Catholic children. Fr. Curtin had been closely associated with this group in the Home Counties during its first eight years and had seen its rapid growth there: but after a year in Rainham the results exceeded his expectations. There were almost 50 members in four house groups, and two of these groups, named for St. Catherine and St. Anne, continue to meet.Other house groups sprang up, notably St. Peter’s, St. Mark’s and St. Thomas More’s. These groups, and most others had an invited priest as a member who regularly attended the meetings, so not only were friendships formed, but there was a deepening of faith and prayer life as well. These groups have now ceased to meet, although one, St Peter’s, only recently.
The Newman Circle
The Newman Circle which is part of the national Newman Association was started in Rainham by Gerald Mancini. Fr. Curtin attended all the early meetings starting each one with a house Mass, until, to suit the needs of commuting members, the monthly meetings were changed from Monday to Sunday evenings. Membership of the Circle is now ecumenical, and in addition to the monthly meeting the Circle endeavours to make a retreat day annually.Catenian Associations
When Dr. Kary Pole founded the Medway Towns Catenian Association Circle in 1950, Rainham was still a fairly small village on the fringe of the Medway Towns and the catchment area for membership extended from Rainham to as far west as Gravesend. By the mid-1970’s Rainham was virtually a town in itself and with development in Sittingbourne and the villages in between, a more locally based Catenian Circle became desirable. Fr. Curtin encouraged this, and with some dual membership with the Medway Towns Circle, the Swale Catenian Circle was founded in 1978.Marriage Encounter
“Marriage Encounter”, a movement designed for the enrichment of married life sprang to prominence in the parish in the 1970’s and was vigorously encouraged by Fr. Curtin. The core group in the parish was very enthusiastic and many couples were invited to spend “Marriage Encounter” weekends away from their families and friends to take stock of their relationships. Most couples, while not wanting to become active in the movement, appreciated their weekends, and for some, the experience made a lasting difference in their marriages. The movement is no longer active in the parish.The Clergy Fraternal and the Lay Fraternal -Churches Together in Rainham & Churches Together in Tywdall
The Clergy Fraternal and the Lay Fraternal were formed in Rainham soon after Fr. Curtin came. Both groups worked independently, but the Lay Fraternal always had the approval of the clergy for the many church services, days of prayer and social events they organised in the Fraternals’ early years. A relatively long period of inactivity was ended when the two groups merged to organise events jointly; and with the ending of the British Council of Churches (B.C.C.) and the birth of Churches Together in England (C.T.E.), became known as Churches Together in Rainham. The Twydall Churches had earlier broken away from the Rainham Fraternals to organise their own ecumenical programme; and with the birth of C.T.E. became known as Churches Together in Twydall.Ecumenical Groups
Radio Medway (now Radio Kent), led the country in producing ‘Lenten Talks’ which were designed to foster discussion and ‘phone-ins’ from ecumenical groups. Groups in all parts of the parish follow these talks.Rainham Luncheon Club
The most practical ecumenical venture must be the Rainham Luncheon Club, which in October 2000 celebrated its 20th birthday. Every Wednesday of the year, four teams, each with members drawn from the three churches/parishes, and working on a rota basis, prepare lunch at Signal Court for 30 housebound people. For some of these people, brought in by an ‘Age Concern’ Ambulance, or private car, it is their only outing of the week.
Youth Discussion Group
The Youth Discussion Group was started by Fr. Peter Soper who came to the parish immediately after his ordination in 1974. Membership was limited to those who had been Confirmed and fell within the 15-21 year age bracket. This group was immensely popular and very strong and brought Rainham to the forefront in Diocesan Youth matters. Fr. Soper was appointed to another parish in 1980; but under Mrs Kathy Eaglesham and senior members the group continued successfully until Mrs. Kathy Eaglesham left the area in May 1989. When the senior members moved on as well the group finally ceased to be able to renew itself and the Youth Discussion Group folded.The Youth Club was started in the parish in January/February 1955: but over the years there have been many changes in membership requirements and some quite long periods when club activities were suspended. Matthew Micallef took over the leadership of the Youth Club in 1991 since when it has run continuously. Currently membership is limited to boys and girls in School Years 6-8.
As well as supporting membership of house groups and Catholic associations where there was always some serious input, Fr. Curtin did not ignore the importance of activities that were purely social in content. Foremost among these were the day trips to France, which were arranged initially by John and Denise Ellery, but later, as now, by Ben Gamman. The duty free allowance when these trips began were fairly modest, but the attraction lay as much in having lunch together as in the shopping. These day trips to France remain as popular as ever, but are not now organised as frequently as they were.
Fr. Curtin always went on the French trips. He enjoyed socialising whether being entertained in a parishioner’s home or as one in a crowd. He also enjoyed good food and wine, and even when he took small groups of parishioners on pilgrimage to Fatima, a shrine for which he had a deep devotion, he knew where to take the party to savour the local specialities and the good but reasonably priced wines.
