The Pastoral Council supports the Parish Priest in meeting the pastoral needs of a large and diverse parish. Fostering a sense of community and mutual support guided by the Gospels is its core mission.
The Parish Council assists the Parish Priest in his leadership role of planning, organising and reviewing the mission of the parish and how they relate to the five pastoral pillars of hospitality, prayer, formation, generosity, and evangelisation. The Council consists of members appointed by the Parish Priest.
Chair: Fiona Christison
COUNCIL CHAIR
Fiona grew up in an Irish Catholic household in Manchester where she attended St Anne’s Primary, Chorlton Convent and Xaverian Sixth Form College. She studied at Manchester School of Theatre where she graduated with a BA in Acting and Theatre Arts. After Drama School she became a professional actress appearing on TV, Radio and Stage.
She moved to London via a ten year detour which saw her travelling the world and living and acting in Japan and Australia. She eventually arrived in London twenty years ago. She married her Australian husband at St Etheldreda’s in Chancery Lane. Their son was also christened there. They moved to Wanstead and Our Lady of Lourdes in 2013.
Since then, Fiona has run the Toddler Group, catered funerals and been on the Steward of the Gospel committee. She set up the Parishioners in Isolation project during the pandemic. She has been Chair of the Parish Council since 2018 and is a Minister of the Word. For the last six years she has been bringing professional theatre productions to Wanstead.
Two years ago she set up Wanstead Theatre Company with their successful debut show being performed in our very own Pastoral Centre.
Augusta-Mary was born in East London, raised in Wanstead. She attended St Joseph’s Convent School for Girls primary school and Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School.
Having grown up in the parish, Augusta-Mary was a member of the Junior Choir. In 2014, Augusta-Mary began her BA in Education Studies at University College London’s Institute of Education. In 2017, Augusta-Mary graduated and then attended The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS) and received her MA in African Studies, specialising in African Philosophy.
Augusta-Mary has presented her research on the topic of Personhood in New York, Prague, Spain, Northern Ireland, Greece, Israel and Chicago. She served on the Executive Committee for the North American Association for Philosophy of Education between 2019-2023, supporting with the organisation of the annual conference in Chicago and reviewing papers.
Augusta-Mary received her PGCE in Religious Studies from Canterbury Christchurch University, having trained at St Thomas More Catholic School, Wood Green and has been teaching for 6 years.
She is a foundation governor at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School and teaches at Holy Family Catholic School, Walthamstow as a teacher of Religious Studies with a responsibility for developing the Catholic life of the school. She will be undergoing an additional role in September 2024 as Chaplain.
Elizabeth grew up in Aberdeenshire in Scotland where she attended school locally. Thereafter she attended the University of Glasgow graduating in 2000 with a Masters in History where she had found a particular interest in the history of Japan, Renaissance Florence and the USA during the interwar years.
Upon graduation, Elizabeth took a year out participating in the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme); she spent 12 months living and working in the Iwate prefecture in northern Honshu as an Assistant Language Teacher in a Senior High School.
Returning to the UK she initially commenced a career in recruitment that was quickly followed by a career in HR. Elizabeth’s career has been exclusively within financial services and she has worked for a number of international organisations; she currently leads the European people strategy for a Japanese Asset Management firm in The City.
Outside her professional career Elizabeth has a young family, is passionate about the arts and her garden! Elizabeth and her husband have lived in the Wanstead area for 20 years.
Before taking early retirement, Cathy worked mainly for blue chip banks and financial institutions in London, always enjoying her work and always with the same outlook … “ a job is what you make of it” hence succeeding and progressing in her role as a highly motivated Executive Assistant and Office Manager to being an Events Manager where she travelled around Europe and the USA organising events for global heads in the business.
In 2018, she decided to take early retirement and has never looked back. She has been attending Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Wanstead for over 40 years with her family. Following in her beloved mother’s footsteps she was a First Holy Communion Catechist for 12 years and more recently is part of the RCIA team. Cathy also ran the Padre Pio Prayer Group for 5 years in 2008.
She is a Minister of the Word at Mass and is a Sacristan. She loves to serve her Parish and believes it is her way for thanking God for all the blessings he has bestowed on her. Soon after she retired, Cathy formed a Book Club with a close-knit group of friends and this has been going strong for over 5 years.
She has qualifications in Massage Therapy with a Diploma in Anatomy & Physiology and has also achieved qualifications in British Sign Language for the Deaf. She enjoys meeting up with her many lovely friends in Wanstead and travelling the UK or abroad especially with her adorable father and sister.
She is in her “happy place” when she is in the kitchen – cooking and feeding everyone! After many years of working, now her recipe to enjoying life is … “love what you do & do what you love”.
Anne Marie was born in Glasgow and attended Notre Dame High School. After graduating as a teacher she moved to London to pursue a career in magazine publishing. She established a successful publishing services company in Central London in 1990 and retired last year.
Anne Marie met Bob in west London and they married in 1981 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Brook Green. They moved to east London to the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes shortly thereafter and settled in Wanstead where they had two children, now in their 30s.
They are now also blessed with two granddaughters. Anne Marie is Chair of Governors of Loyola Preparatory School in Buckhurst Hill and for many years served as a governor on the governing body of All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham.
Pre-Covid, Anne Marie took on the role of Steward of the Gospel for our Lady of Lourdes and carried out extensive research in the parish which fed into the Vision Document which was produced by the Diocese. This project is currently under review to determine the way forward.
Philippe Freund was born in southwest Germany, the second of six children in a Franco-German family. After attending school in Germany he read law in both Germany and France before moving to London to settle wis his wife Olivia with whom he has three children. He is a practicing barrister and a partner in a city law firm. In his free time Philippe enjoys spending time outdoors with his family, in particular in the Pyrenees from where his French family originates, and playing and coaching rugby for Eton Manor RFC.
With the support of the Parish Council, the Parish Priest is responsible for the spiritual and pastoral mission of the parish, that is, to create a Catholic community centred on Jesus Christ; one guided by the Holy Spirit that joyfully makes known the good news of God’s grace to all men and women of good will.
Evangelization encompasses all the ways by which the Church strives to nourish the faith of those who believe and to bring those who are seeking beauty, truth and goodness into a living relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Formation includes all those activities that help deepen our relationship with Christ and make us more faithful disciples. It includes the support of our schools and faith formation programmes including parish children not attending a Catholic school and those opportunities for learning, prayer and friendship for all adult parishioners.
Pastoral Ministry includes ministry to single people, couples and families, support for those who are grieving or lonely and attention to the food and shelter needs of parishioners.
The Eucharistic liturgy is the source and summit towards which all the activity of the Church is directed and finds its power. It is there that Christ waits for us and we encounter him as the Son of the Living God.
The Church’s call to address the moral issues and social concerns of our times involves raising awareness and, at times, challenging those attitudes and actions that threaten the dignity and rights of every human person from conception to natural death. Social concern and outreach embraces both charity and advocacy.
Parish Life encompasses all those initiatives and activities that strengthen our sense of being a Christian community. Parish Life fosters a sense of belonging among the members of the parish and creates bonds of friendship.
In December 1917, at the invitation of Fr O’Grady, the Sisters of Mercy, opened their convent in Cambridge Park, the stables being converted into a temporary Church.
Later, the foundation stone of Our Lady of Lourdes Wanstead was blessed by Arthur Doubleday, the then Bishop of Brentwood, in July 1927.
The Church has been sustained by the people of God here in Wanstead for 100 years. Long may the faith continue to grow and thrive here.
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