St Ambrose Barlow

Introduction

The church of St Ambrose Barlow on Lakey Lane in Hall Green is a relatively modern building, completed in 1981. The church is an orange brick structure with a raised gable and glazed clerestory.

History

Between 1965 and 1970, regular Masses were held in a mass centre opened in the primary school on Lakey Lane, served from the parish of Holy Souls in Acocks Green. In 1968 land next to the school was purchased, and a building dedicated to St Ambrose Barlow was formally opened on 11th September 1970. Construction work commenced in July 1980, with the first contract signed on 9th July 1980. The first Mass in the new church was celebrated on 9th July 1981.

Parish life

The parish supports the St Vincent de Paul Society, a Catholic lay organisation dedicated to serving those in need within the local community. The parish runs a not-for-profit community café and food club that offers affordable food and support regardless of background or income.

The parish has a social group for the elderly. St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School is the school that serves the parish.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish livestreams Mass over the internet to YouTube, enabling housebound parishioners to engage with Mass from home. The livestream also allows relatives and friends who cannot attend a Baptism, Wedding, Funeral or Service to engage with it. The livestream is used for evangelisation, enabling those who cannot or do not attend church for any reason to engage with Acts of Worship. The livestream camera is intended to allow the first few rows of benches to be seen for funerals, weddings, and for preaching in front of the Sanctuary.

The school is working towards becoming a 'School of Sanctuary' for refugees and achieving the CAFOD 'Live Simply' award. The school's most recent Ofsted was in 2022 and the report commented on many positive features of the school, not least the outstanding behaviour and attitudes of our children. The school's SATs results are consistently well above average. The school's curriculum includes a focus on Catholic Social Teaching, delivering a truly Catholic curriculum to give students the skills, experience, knowledge and confidence to stand up for what is right and address inequality.

Visiting

The hall has an overall capacity of 110 and a seating capacity of 90. SVP members carry out befriending visits to those who may be lonely, elderly, housebound, or going through difficult times.