On Sunday 6 July, parishioners of St Anne’s church joined together for a triple celebration: the Silver Jubilee of St Anne’s Church, the 30th anniversary of Fr George Waraich’s ordination and the Jubilee Year. Past parish priests also came to join in the celebrations.

Bishop Timothy Menezes celebrated the Mass and gave the homily:

If we had to sum up the Scripture Readings of today’s Mass, the readings for this Sunday in the Church’s Year, we could say:

Rejoicing
Suffering
and being sent out for Mission.

As we gather in this house of God, dedicated to his service and glory, and a witness to the wider neighbourhood and community, there is a strong sense of rejoicing today.

Rejoicing as a Jubilee people in 2025, and recalling the rejoicing of a new Church in the great Jubilee 2000 and all the hopes that characterised the dawn of a new millennium. And recognising God’s many blessings to this community of faith and the wider parish over this quarter of a century.

Suffering - simply to say that a significant jubilee of anything does not forget the challenges of life, the tears that have been shed in this building of prayer over these 25 years. As St Paul says, being the Body of Christ, the Church, we carry in our bodies the marks, the wounds of Christ.
And it is true to say that we bring to the life of prayer of our parish the needs of a wounded world in much need of healing.
How often has the holy sacrifice of the Mass been offered here for those who are sick or those who have died and for their families.
May we never cease to be a people who believe in the power of prayer.

Today is a day of thanksgiving for the Sacramental life of the Church lives in this place.

For those who have lived the faith from baptism and by choosing baptism for their children.

For St Anne’s Catholic Academy of which it is said:

This attractive well cared-for environment reflects the school’s overtly Catholic mission , ethos and identity. It provides a place of welcome, safety, stability, inclusion and aspiration for all. At its heart is mutual respect and concern for the welfare and well-being of all.

Congratulations to St Anne’s School. I know that the whole parish can be proud of what you have achieved to be at this point of excellence. What an important part of this celebration.

Returning to the Sacraments, he Sacrament Reconciliation which has been celebrated here and the importance of reconciliation in every Christian community and in every family home. I encourage you to continue to see or to rediscover the benefits of coming before the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and knowing the healing power of God in your lives.

The memories of First Holy Communion days and Confirmations celebrated here and the faith of children and young people.

The marriages that have begun in this holy place, seeking God’s blessing on the love that unites couples as they begin the adventure of marriage and family life.

And so we come to priests and priesthood.

It is wonderful today to celebrate this Jubilee Mass with priests who have been so much part of the story of this church and its life over these 25 years.

Fr Michael Stack - the master builder or at least the overseer of not one but two churches. Fr Michael who has made a major contribution to our understanding of the Church’s Pastoral Care of the Sick, and his own witness to death and resurrection during the pandemic. Fr Michael, we cannot tell you what a joy it is to celebrate this day with you and to thank you for everything you have done for this parish and community.

Fr Stephen Day. Thank you for your faithful ministry here at St Anne’s and St Joseph’s, and subsequently in Coventry and in Leamington and Lillington. And may I acknowledge the support of Kate and your children to your priestly ministry. I know that alongside her own vocation, Kate has always been very much a parishioner and member of the community and that is appreciated by parishioners and fellow clergy.

Fr Simon Stephens who was parish priest here for a short time but I have always known that in quiet ways, Fr Simon serves the parishes to which he has been appointed with sensitivity and respect.

And Fr George Waraich. Now, sort of my reason for being here today is that I have known a good friendship with George which led me to visit his diocese of Jalandhar in northern India some years ago - including a memorable visit to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Who could ever have known all those years ago that your parish would be served by a Punjabi priest. But I know how faithfully Fr George serves here as well as his duties to the Punjabi communities for which he was sent. And Fr George will always be proud to know that when Pope Benedict came to Birmingham to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman in 2010, the intercessions of the Mass were read in a variety of languages spoken by Catholic communities in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, and the Indian language of choice was Punjabi….but don’t tell anybody from Kerala that! And it is also good to share with Fr George the celebration of 30 years of priesthood this year and we are grateful for the years that have been ministered here.

‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.
Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out labourers into his harvest.

In the life of every parish, there is something very special about praying for and supporting a parishioner through the process of discernment to seminary and to priesthood and the celebration of the First Mass of Fr Michael Glover here in St Anne’s Church on 14th July 2012, the year of the London Olympics!

Fr Michael has served in parishes of the Archdiocese and we congratulate him on the completion of his Further Studies in Rome recently - and what a time to have lived in Rome over such momentous days of the death of Pope Francis and the Election of Pope Leo XIV.
And now Archbishop Bernard has appointed Fr Michael as a member of the formation staff of the seminary at St Mary’s Collrge, Oscott, a challenging role, and a sacrifice for a priest whose natural habitat is in a parish, and we pray for you, Fr Michael, and we thank God for your parents and your family for producing a vocation for the Church.

It will not surprise anybody to hear me say: let this Jubilee celebration as Pilgrims of Hope and an earnest prayer for vocations sow the seeds of another priestly vocation from this parish and a school and parish family and Catholic homes who actively desire this.

Deacon Andrew Landsberry, every priest’s favourite funeral director, and a resident of this parish, whose work and Diaconal ministry centres on Coventry. deacon Andy speaks of his love for this part of the world which is his retreat from work with his wife Kate and family and he values the pastoral care they have received from Fr George.

(It is important to mention Mgr Tom Farrell - still known to many as Canon Tom or Fr Tom. It could be said that aside from those who actually constructed this church, he has probably had more connections with it than its parish priests:

As Diocesan Treasurer, Episcopal Vicar and now Dean he has been a request visitor and supporter of this parish since the late 1990s and we thank you, Mgr Tom.)

And just for the archive, when Bishop Philip Pargeter had laid the Foundation Stone of this Church in between one Archbishop retiring and another one arriving, then in November 2000 Archbishop Vincent Nichols came to bless the new Church, I had recently been appointed as his Secretary and this was one of my first ceremonies to MC. So no treasurer there!

Having spoken about all of the Sacraments, and of Fr Michael Stack’s invaluable ministry as a hospital chaplain and writer on the pastoral care of the sick, we thank God for every person who has received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick throughout the history of this parish.
This is often where the most important work if a priest is done - not widely known but, as in the healing ministry of Jesus himself, known to the one who needs it at any given moment and to their family.

Rejoicing and suffering are part of our story and in this church dedicated to St Anne, mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, we pray for and thank grandparents who have kept the faith and cared for their families and their grandchildren and how much more important has this role become over these 25 years.

Sending out for mission…

This is a wonderful day of memories and accomplishment. It is also a day for mission and for evangelisation.

How many people are in the church today as well as how many people have entered this building over the past 25 years.

And how many people pass this church almost every day of their lives but have never been inside to experience its peace because they wouldn’t presume to without being asked. So who is going to invite them in?

May this day of Jubilee in a year of Jubilee for this Church and the whole Catholic community with Pope Leo be a joyful day of being sent out for a new mission, credible witnesses to the live of God which you experience here, and keen to accompany others pilgrims of hope on our journey to heaven.