St Elizabeth’s Parish in Foleshill held a double celebration on Saturday 28 June as Parish Priest Fr Moses Pitya celebrated both his Silver Jubilee and the official opening of the new Parish Community Hall.

Parishioners, friends and the community turned out in the hundreds to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Fr Moses’ Ordination to the Priesthood. In a celebration filled with music, dancing and joy, they gave thanks for their priest.

Following the Mass, everyone gathered for the opening of the new St Elizabeth’s Jubilee Hall, with music and plenty of food and drinks.

Born in Lokiliri South Sudan, as a young child, Fr Moses asked his father why the parish priest only came to their chapel once a year. After his father’s explanation of how to become a priest, Moses pleaded with him to be able to train as a priest.

So, after finishing primary school, Moses was taken by his father to the parish priest- a two day walk – and later joined the Junior Seminary of the Apostles of Jesus in Rejaf.

Fr Moses was ordained to a ministerial priesthood into the Religious Missionary Order of the Apostles of Jesus on 3 October 1999. In October 2002 he was transferred to St Elizabeth’s Parish, Foleshill Coventry. 

In Coventry, Fr Moses continued with his special ministry of building community cohesion and strong hospitality in the parish. He converted the former Men’s Club to a parish community hall, which served the parish until 2022 as a centre of hospitalilty and welcome. He spearheaded the demolition of the hall, which was collapsing, and initiated the project to build a new community centre on the site – the St Elizabeth’s Community Hall, which was officially opened after the Mass.

St Elizabeth’s Jubilee Hall

In the past, the old church hall was seen as a place of welcome, and even without any regular official support, several homeless people would walk in as they have heard that Father Moses looks after them. Meetings would be stopped, tea made, and food prepared for anyone in need who walked through the door. The hall was more than a building – it represented community in action. 

More than ever before, our fractured community needs a new heart, but the old church hall had to be demolished because it had become unsafe to use. Hence our decision to replace the old building with a new facility to enable us to continue to deliver a wide range of community support activities and services.

Our local community is one of severe deprivation. This includes, but is not limited to, overcrowding, child obesity, poor health, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), domestic violence, unemployment, malnourishment, poor language skills, and it is also a national hotspot for child sexual exploitation (CSE).

The new Jubilee Hall represents a modern, safe, spacious, multi-functional facility to be used by the parish, local schools, community groups and other service providers of social and welfare support. It is envisaged that the building will, in the future, be able to provide a variety of activities, including after-school recreation, pensioner lunches, weekly coffee mornings, quiz nights, Mums & Toddlers support, Knit & Natter & other recreational clubs, as well as church meetings and functions, for example wedding celebrations and funeral wakes.

The hall will also be made available for private hire, for example for birthday parties or anniversary celebrations. In addition, local support groups in the area including Dementia Care, AA, Slimming World, to name just a few, will be approached to offer our hall for their service delivery.

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