Parish Leadership
Priest in Charge
Father Alessandro Renò
Parish Deacon
Deacon David Curtis
Diocesan Bishop
Bishop Peter Doyle
Parish Secretary
Keyna Godward
Safeguarding Officer
Appointment coming soon
Parish Leadership
These books have enabled us to bring focus to our vision for the development of our parish:
Several chapters of these books are available to download above!
The Parish of Great Missenden:
A loving, sacramental and mission-oriented community with Christ at the heart of all we do
Parish Finance Committee
Treasurer: Roger Platt
Canon 537 states that each parish should have a Finance Committee. In addition to this, as a matter of diocesan law, each finance committee has the following role:
- to assist the Parish Priest in the management of the Parish funds
- recording and banking receipts
- paying bills
- keeping adequate records
- producing annual budget figures
- making the quarterly returns to the Diocese
- preparing a presentation of the annual accounts to the Parish
- to assist the Parish Priest in maintaining and promoting the parish income ensuring:
- the efficient running of the Gift Aid scheme
- that it is known how to bequeath money for the benefit of the Parish or a Diocesan Fund
- to consider with the Parish Priest the import of financial messages from the Bishop or the Finance Office
- to assist the Parish Priest in discussing with the Diocese and with the professionals when repair and maintenance work is called for or a major project is under consideration
- to be a small confidential group with whom the Parish Priest will feel able to discuss financial matters freely
- to review regularly the Parish Health and Safety Policy
- to assist in the maintenance of the buildings.
As a Parish we offer our sincere appreciation to the former members of the Parish Finance Committee who have served with total dedication over many years: John Fox (RIP); Tony Lea; Tony Ounsworth; Nigel Hughes; Peter Kirk; Kevin Enskat and Austin Cashin. Indeed we owe particular thanks to Austin for the incredible diligence he has shown in his role as Chairman of the Parish Finance Committee.
Roger Platt
Peter Harper
Parish Steering Group
Chairperson: Michelle Collins
Communications Officer: Jane Larkham
Minute Secretary: Jane Curtis
Pope Francis has observed that “the parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration”. Pope Francis has indicated that “if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters.”
The Parish Strategy Group is resolved to working with the Parish Priest to create that necessary environment of constant adaptivity and self-renewal. In striving to grow closer to God and to develop a personal relationship with Jesus, as Bishop Peter has asked us to do, the Strategy Group is working to help achieve the following aims:
- To promote the spiritual nourishment and enrichment of our parishioners.
- To bring together socially parishioners from the two churches in our one parish.
- To encourage parishioners to be evangelisers in a community of missionary outreach.
- To ensure the future viability of our parish as a thriving Catholic community.
Bishop Peter has challenged us to be more outward looking, even if this proves to be painful and means embracing the new. With an ageing clergy and fewer vocations to the Sacred Priesthood the Bishop now has to plan to run the diocese with only half the Priests he had when arrived in the Diocese. The pressure to change is very real and many parishes, including our own, are facing a time of transition and change. We have reached a crunch point. Wonderfully, we have been given the opportunity to show that the church communities in Great Missenden and Wendover can form a single thriving Parish sharing wisdom, friendship and facilities, as well as our Parish Priest. The goal of the Strategy Group is to create a loving, sacramental and mission-oriented community as described by Pope Francis, a community where all people are loved, treasured and nourished. We would like our community to be a place of spiritual and social fellowship. It must also be outward looking with a missionary orientation. Above all, Christ must be very visibly at the heart of everything we do. Inspired by the many years of service and dedication of the people of this Parish, we look to the future with confidence and hope as we try to continue this legacy for future generations. The future of our parish in Great Missenden and Wendover is in our own hands: now is the time to act!
The Steering Group (formally Strategy Group) has been an invaluable part of the life of our parish family and we thus offer our very sincere appreciation to its members for their unfailing support and very wise counsel. We particularly want to thank those people who have taken the opportunity to stand down following the desire to restructure this group: Clive Bird; Elizabeth Burroughs; Joanna Hale; Ted van Duyvenbode and Roger Platt. Each of these people will remain very involved in the life of our community and will continue in their various other parish roles.
Avril Baigent
Michelle Collins
Jane Curtis
Jane Larkham
Keyna Godward
Mark Haines
Parking
Immaculate Heart of Mary – There is very limited car parking at the Church but a nearby public car park is available off Link Road, HP16 9AE. (A pay and display system is in operation. Charges are payable Monday to Saturday. Parking is free on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Blue Badge Holders can park free of charge. You are advised to check that these details are correct at the time of your visit).