FROM  THE  PROVOST

Increasingly, I am being asked by parents and others whether it would be possible for the Fathers to organize some sort of crèche here for young children, on Sunday mornings. My answer is: yes, it might, might, be possible to try and do something, but it would have to be you parents and other acceptably responsible lay adults who organize it and run it, on a voluntary basis, with all the necessary safeguards firmly in place.

It seems that the  reason why many people are asking for this is not simply because of the disruption and noise made by very young children at the 9.00am, 10.00am and 11.00am Sunday Masses. One expects a certain amount of noise from young children. Interestingly, a number of parents have said they themselves often find it difficult to concentrate on the Mass because their own children are running around, jumping up and down, and generally causing mayhem. I answer: yes all that must indeed be very distracting for you (and for others), if that is what you allow your children to do when in church. I do of course realize that it is not always easy to prevent it, without making things worse. And it is all too easy for those of us who do not have to look after young children to be full of theory and bluster as to how they should or should not behave.

Some parents I spoke to recently were surprised (and I think pleased) to learn that children are not obliged to attend Sunday Mass until they have made their first confession and first Holy Communion.

A children's crèche would need very careful planning. The safety and well-being of the children would of course be absolutely paramount. 

If any parents would be interested in helping me to consider the feasibility of a crèche, please contact me. I am not at this stage asking for your help to organize one. I am simply asking for some ideas and input for what I suppose might best be called an initial 'feasibility study'. It might be that the difficulties involved would be too great. On the other hand, anything we can do to make Sunday Mass a more prayerful, a more recollected, and a more uplifting experience for all concerned is surely worth thinking about. The first step would probably to be to arrange a preliminary meeting one evening, to consider together what would or would not be  feasible.

May I emphasize again that if parents want something like this, we can certainly consider it most seriously and if it seems viable to all concerned, we can certainly try to make it happen. And by 'we' I mean you  - you parents.

If you have any comments or suggestions, and would like to be involved in thinking this through, please contact me by email only:  Praepositus@aol.com