Our Lady of Sorrows

Introduction

Our Lady of Sorrows in Effingham was begun in 1912 and opened and consecrated by Archbishop Amigo on 8th October 1913.

History

In 1912 George Pauling was granted a Private Oratory in The Lodge, where two dozen local Catholics worshipped, forming the nucleus of the parish. The Baptismal Register commenced on 6th December 1913, with the first entry being Walter Nicholls, a convert, whose baptism was conditional. The first burial in the cemetery was that of Helen Christina Wray on 27th September 1915. The first marriage took place in October 1917 when Lieutenant Philip Ryk Myburgh married Marjorie Esther Henderson.

In 2012 the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows was conjoined with the Church of the Holy Spirit, Fetcham to form the new Catholic Parish of Effingham and Fetcham. The centenary of the church was celebrated in 2013.

The Baptismal Font is pre-Reformation, originally from an Oxfordshire church, discovered during the First World War in a house at Henley-on-Thames. George Pauling is remembered inside the church in a stained glass window at the front, and his mother in a stone plaque nearby. George Pauling, founder, died of influenza in the 1919 epidemic aged 64 and was buried in the cemetery beside the church he founded.

The church is in the Early English style, designed by Edward Bomer, closely following the plan of a pre-Reformation church. The Altar Canopy with its marble pillars was removed to make room for re-positioning the existing High Altar to the front of the Sanctuary to enable the Celebrant to face the congregation. New lighting and heating systems were installed and the Church was redecorated.

Parish life

The parish serves the communities of East and West Horsley, Ockham, and Great and Little Bookham. The parish has taken part in the Shoebox Appeal since 2015, sending nearly 100 boxes each year.

A Confirmation Programme for young baptised Catholics in Year 10 and above is held every two years. A Parish Team, a small group invited by the Parish Priest, supports the running of the parish. A Parish Finance Committee, established under Canon law, manages parish finances and estate. The parish has a Parish Library.