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 Forty Hours Devotion. |
In the immediate post-war years there were few dramatic developments in the liturgy. Corpus Christi processions and the May crowning of Our Lady continued as well as the Forty Hours Devotion in the 1950's when the parishioners brought their candles. The parish became actively involved in Father Paton's Family Rosary crusade in July 1952. In 1959 there is still mention of the old parochial ceremonies such as the Image of the Divine Child on the altar at Christmas, the decoration of the Christmas rood screen and, of course, the constant devotion to St. Antony and the celebration of St. Francis of Assissi's feast day. However, signs of radical change were coming. In November 1962 a Novena was held to pray for the success of the planned Second Vatican Council and the decrees of this council soon made their presence felt.
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 1951: Children of Mary participate in the Corpus Christi procession. |
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 High Altar before the 1976 alterations. |
In September 1964 the Friars began preparation for mass in the vernacular which was celebrated for the first time in November in that same year. In July 1965 Bidding Prayers were intro- duced. In 1966 a temporary altar was set up in order to enable priests to say mass facing the people. In October 1968 the Friary enclosure was restricted even further. In Lent 1974 the laity experienced the new rite of Penance. In 1975 the Kiss of Peace was officially adopted. In 1986 the first Lay Ministers for Communion were commissioned and Communion allowed to be taken in the hand.
At the same time the parish continued its strong musical tradition, choirs being re-formed in 1955 which not only sang at mass but performed small concerts both at St. Thomas of Canterbury and elsewhere. Folk masses also appeared and, at the same time, the parish inaugurated their own innovations, be it the Passion plays during Holy Week or the decoration of the church with paintings done by pupils of the parish. Prayer groups of many kinds had existed for years but, in 1988, they were organised more systematically, fitting in with the zoning of the Parish. Special emphasis is laid on the seasons of Lent and Advent, programmes of guided prayer have also been introduced.
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 1957: May Queen Pamela Green, a pupil of St. Antony's School, Woodford Wells. |
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 Fr. Richard Peek ofm with members of the parish choir photographed outside the Friary's main entrance. |