St Paul - Dawley

Introduction

In 1958, Dawley Town Hall was used for Catholic services and negotiations began for the purchase of land on Paddock Mount, where a church hall was opened in 1964.

History

Between 1639 and 1767, 'Papist' families were recorded in Dawley, but there is no evidence of a Catholic community of any size until the twentieth Century. From 1979 the Anglican church of Saint Leonard's, Malinslee, was used for Mass on Saturday evenings, and in 1980 Sunday Mass was also celebrated in the Hollinswood Community Centre. Dawley was created a separate parish in 1978 and by 1980 the hall had been dedicated to Saint Paul.

Parish life

The parish is a Roman Catholic Parish in Telford, Shropshire incorporating Saint Mary's, Madeley and Saint Paul's, Dawley. The parish also serves the communities of Broseley and Stirchley. Saint Paul's is incorporated in the Parish of The Good Shepherd.

The SVP is an international, voluntary, Christian organisation whose aim is to serve those in need. The SVP Conference in the Parish of the Good Shepherd offers help and support to parishioners or anyone who is lonely, bereaved, in need of emergency financial help or just needs a listening ear. The SVP Conference provides a space to meet and chat in the Lower Room of Saint Mary's Presbytery.

The SVP provides financial support to two SVP Conferences in poorer parts of India and has taken on a project to build a house for a needy family in India. The SVP helped set up SVP Conferences elsewhere.

The Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) was established in 1965, with the aim of assisting anyone with a financial housing problem. Grants of up to £400 are available to support vulnerable older people living on low incomes in England and Wales. Friends of the Elderly have four grant streams open for older people who are of or over state pension age, have savings of less than £4,000, and who do not fit the criteria for other funders.