Faith stays strong at Brisbane’s ‘church in exile’
Reverend Ken Howell conducts the 9am Mass at St Mary's Church, South Brisbane, on Sunday July 11. Photo: Michelle Smith
KATE DENNEHY July 19, 2010 – 10:37AM
The pictures tell the story of attendance at the two St Mary’s Catholic churches at South Brisbane with the rebel congregation substantially outnumbering the traditionalists last week.
Fairfax Media’s Sun-Herald dropped in unannounced at the 9am services on a recent Sunday to check on parishioner numbers following last year’s very public split.
The church sanctioned by Brisbane Archdiocese’s Archbishop John Bathersby attracted about 45 people while the rebel St Mary’s-in-Exile had about 240 parishioners.
Father Ken Howell officiates at the original location, while Peter Kennedy – who does not use the title ‘Father’ – tends his flock down the road at the Trades and Labour Council building.
Archbishop Bathersby sacked Mr Kennedy as administrator of the church in February last year for unapproved practises including giving communion to divorced and gay people, priests not wearing traditional vestments and baptising babies using unorthodox wording. He gave his last sermon there in April last year before taking about 1000 supporters with him.
Mr Kennedy said last week the break-away group attracted about 500 people over three weekend services. “If there’s a special event about 1000 might come but normally there’s around 500 although not all of those would come every week,” he said.
The Dean of Brisbane’s St Stephen’s Cathedral, Fr Ken Howell who has taken over as administrator of St Mary’s said the decisions made last year were not about numbers, but about ensuring Catholic worship and teachings were restored.
“I am pleased to say that this has occurred and whilst we may be a small community, I am encouraged by the weekly growth of this community and the enthusiastic commitment of the people who have made St Mary’s their Parish,’’ he said.
But advertisements for St Mary’s Masses have appeared in the local paper, presumably in the hope of boosting numbers.
Mr Kennedy said the church had been used for many community events when he and fellow priest, Terry Fitzpatrick celebrated Mass there, including events run by the social justice group, Micah Projects and indigenous Australians.
Partly on the strength of those events, the Brisbane City Council in 2008 – when it was trying to have its controversial $370 million Go Between Bridge approved – agreed to give St Mary’s $1.5 m for noise mitigation because of the predicted extra traffic.
“Now the church can only be used by Catholics for worship so it’s become a very expensive exercise when so few attend,” Mr Kennedy said.
“They (the Catholic archdiocese) are only keeping it open to save face and no other church would be kept going with so few.”
He said the rebel church was part of the Progressive Spirituality Network, a group that has gained popularity with many denominations in the last 10 years.
It updates Christian beliefs and practices in line with the modern world and the latest findings in science, psychology, and sociology.
Mr Kennedy said the group ‘‘reinterprets as metaphor or even denies’’, the supernatural and miraculous elements of Christianity, including core beliefs like the virgin birth of Jesus and the resurrection.
Fr Howell did not comment on general church attendance numbers but said the Brisbane archdiocese would take part in a national church census next year that would supply updated figures.
Archbishop Bathersby said he was delighted with ‘‘standing only crowds’’ at the cathedral at Easter time, especially the number of young people.
Source: The Sun-Herald
23/07/2010 at 8:28 pm Permalink
This article by Kate Dennehy and accompanying photo contains some minor omissions: first of all, me! I was at home in bed with the flu, and we had no organist for that reason (the one mass in a very long time without an organist). You can just make out Sabrina on violin and the choir behind her. Kate’s coverage, based her coverage on this service might have produced such an article, especially if she had not stayed around after the mass to have a cup of tea and discover the warmth and friendship in the tight-nit community there.
I did make it back the next Sunday 9am tho to play organ and there seemed like a crowd, 80 or 90 or so and there was a baptism after as well, or I’m not counting, I never sat there when Peter Kennedy was officiating counting parishioners’ heads like sheep. I do remember being at many masses with Peter Kennedy tho with similar numbers as recently as 2007, the Saturday night vigil mass regularly hovering around the 30-80 mark, and any of us who have been to a St Mary’s worship service with this number of people may prefer the quieter crowd instead of the large throng – or some may prefer both.
I’ve been asked within the last week if I would get involved in starting up the music at the SMX vigil mass, as there’s currently no music there, but alas, I think I’m coming down again with another virus and will rest! And two voluntary contributions a week to “St Mary’s” music and all I’m doing is enough! I have contributed recently though to SMX music with a free photography shoot for Josephine Brown’s “Swoon In June” at St Andrew’s Anglican Church, South Brisbane, in which the name “St Mary’s”, or “exile” did not appear once – sad that, since members from both “St Mary’s” attended.
The quote from Peter re: St Mary’s currently being used by Catholics only for worship is not correct: activities from the “Kennedy” era such as the enneagram group still meet weekly on the premises, although I do not attend this, but I don’t mind at all such a groups being there.
In fact, the presence of such groups still at St Mary’s, and others such as myself and others at both churches who refuse to be labeled, and who don’t fit into the mold of “rebels” or “traditionalists” (since when does the church I attend reject the the latest findings in science, psychology, and sociology? according to Jesuits who have given homilies recently in St Mary’s it does not) shows to me just what a church is about – it may be many grand, and great things, but it’s also just my little parish.
St Mary’s is my local community meeting place, where I’ve come to feel through good and bad times, at home, no matter how many attend any particularly event there – only at the moment, my community is somewhat split in two, and well, that’s sad, that’ just life.. I live with it…
25/07/2010 at 12:10 pm Permalink
post-script.. any publicity good publicity. twice the numbers at st mary’s masses this weekend lol. smx too? ah, it’s all good.
26/08/2010 at 8:28 am Permalink
Perhaps it is ‘Time to Create’ a vessel that contains the aspirations of St.Mary’s In Exile and allow the ‘Time to Protest’ (against ‘wot is’ i.e. Rome/Pope/Bishops etc ) to dissolve .
Are we ‘in exile’? This word suggests a separation, a yearning and an eventual ‘belonging’ back to the source. Are we not already both the ‘belonging and the source?
Tramping through the Promised Land seems like a big waste of time, who is going to be Moses and the burning bush, who cares? Why not just get on with a ‘sustainable, encouraging, and expressive community of love and action’ (which is there already ), leave and let live!
I don’t much go for the Mary McKillop Saint thing either… it’s another thing designated by the church- to be holy etc… but that’s probably not very generous of me!
regards christa
05/09/2010 at 1:59 pm Permalink
Christa I guess the question is would a spiritual community built around and to support Micah, such as “St Mary’s Micah”, or “Micah Spirit”, or “Micah “Faith” (or any number of names better than this a brain storming session could produce) be ethical? i.e. is it propper to have a faith community linked so closely to a welfare agency? I have no issue with that, but others in the welfare sector might. That’s really the great achievement of Peter Kennedy from very early on in the 1980s till now – supporting Karen to grow her Micah agency, apart from any experimental theology and liturgy St Mary’s may have developed. I think the first name “St Mary’s Micah” still allows the current ‘protest’ activities (or not) and avante guarde liturgy but redefines SMX for the 2nd major half of what it really has been for many years – to support welfare and social justice work.
I remember when I came back regularly to St Mary’s in 2004 (1990-2003 I only came to half a dozen events a year, prior to that I was heavily involved), and I saw the terrible state the church was in, I set about after talking to liturgy co-ordinator Joan Mooney to volunteer my time to wash down the church, do as much of the high cleaning as I could, and remove the black grime off the paths, and make the place look nice. Peter walked in one day and said “What are you doing – they’ll just close us down, and put in someone else!”. I told him that made no sense, given the way South Brisbane had been growing in population over the last few years… and that’s turned out to be true – a substantial number of the old St Mary’s congregation now are locals.
I remember at the same time (2005) a ‘heritage’ group a few of us tried to start to help maintain and restore the meeting – we had a meeting, Marg Ortiz told us that Terry wouldn’t stay – and that was the end of the heritage group – no more meetings. As someone who’d been involved with St Mary’s for so long, and being a musician at a venue which is one of the best I know for music, heritage really mattered to me, and still does – a big reason why I’m back at the old St Mary’s.
So from the above paragraphs, I guess you get a picture of how things panned out – it certainly wasn’t just 2008 were all the issues happened – there is the element of ‘protest’, but yes, other alternatives which still allow for SMX members to express themselves, even perhaps as one part of their name, to retain “St Mary’s”, but not claim to be St Mary’s at Merrivale street, although the majority of their congregation did originate from there, but that is not all of SMX.
05/09/2010 at 2:01 pm Permalink
sorry, typo 3rd paragraph in above message “a group a few of us tried to start to help maintain and restore the meeting…” i meant “and restore the church”
20/12/2011 at 11:35 am Permalink
Typo first paragraph last line – I hope – tight-nit or tight-knit?
Joan Medlam