In September 1990 Fr. Paul Hardy arrived to replace him. It was a time of transition. Work had already begun on St. Edward's church, with a presbytery adjacent. On October 14th, the day after the feast of St. Edward The Confessor, Bishop Leo McCartie laid the foundation stone of the new church. The signatures of parishioners were sealed in a transparent air-tight box and placed behind the stone.

On Christmas Night 1990 Fr. Paul celebrated the first Mass in the new church. During the next six months the finishing touches were added to church and presbytery; the car park was surfaced and landscaping planted. Bishop Leo, in consultation with the Diocesan Council of Priests, formally established St. Edward's as a constituent parish of the Diocese of Northampton. Then, on June 7, 1991, Bishop Leo consecrated the church.

With the church built, the next few years were spent laying foundations for the community of people who would gather there. Preparation programmes for Baptism, Reconciliation, Communion, Confirmation and marriage appeared. Much of the credit for them should go to Holy Family Sister, Martina Murray. Two parishioners, Meg Abraham and Sue Farrell, were commissioned as Key Catechists in 1999. Meanwhile, Celebration became an annual feature of life for younger parishioners.

We put together a thriving music group, whose members and leaders were mainly teenagers. In a Covenant for the Poor to mark the Christian millennium we raised almost £3,000 for a poor Brazilian parish run by Fr. Mike Freyne MHM. His nephew, Steven Morgan, secretly arranged for the congregation at a 10.30 am Sunday Mass to sponsor him in a surprise bagpipe medley. Also in those ten years we established a tradition of innovative worship. That's why our parish Mass on Sunday, July 2, 2000 was televised live by ITV. Later that month 22 teenagers and 5 adults set off on Rome 2000, a two-week camping trip to Tuscany and Rome.

So; that's the story of our first ten years. Watch this space.

Photos:
Above, top right: Bishop Leo blesses the foundation stone. The signatures of parishioners are already in place.
Left above: Bishop Leo anoints the walls of St. Edward's with the Oil of Chrism.
Right above: Meg Abraham (left) and Sue Farrell (right) are commissioned as Key Catechists.
Left above: Steven Morgan with his bagpipe surprise.
Below, left to right: Innovative worship; Frederick Hottinger plays Jesus in a Good Friday mime of the passion and death of Christ. Innovative worship; a gospel dance for Easter Day. Young musicians. Families enrol in the first Communion programme. Wedding day. Diamond wedding celebration.