Father Mike Muhia SAC (centre) with Father Liam O’Donovan SAC (right) and Deacon Duncan Brown (left)
Two days ago Father Mike arrived in Hastings to begin his life as Parish Priest of St. Mary Star of the Sea, taking up again a Pallottine tradition that goes back to 1883. The day of his arrival there, I am reminded, is also the 9th anniversary of my departure from Shankill before heading over to Hastings where I would spend eight and a half very happy years.
Largely due to the decline in our numbers, the Irish Province of the Mother of Divine Love made a decision to withdraw from Hastings and at the same time the East African Region of the God of Infinite Love decided that they would take up where we left off, decisions that were not easily made and the transition proved very challenging and even traumatic. But we trusted that God was in charge, a lesson that was hard learned when Father Emmanuel died so unexpectedly just days before he was due to take up his post as parish priest in place of me.
The intervening six months were demanding for the parish as they were without a parish priest and some felt they had been abandoned. But, perhaps that period brought home more clearly how difficult it has become to staff parishes. And the people kept the place going, the life that I had experienced among them continued, held together by Deacon Duncan who went and found Father Peter who came out of retirement every weekend to celebrate Mass. Others helped too, including Pallottines in Greenford and Barking and our own Father Stephen who is a native of the parish.
I now feel a bit like Simeon in the Gospel who prayed, “at last all powerful Master, You give leave to your servant to go in peace.” To let go of the heartache I have felt ever since leaving Hastings, to experience the relief that the people I love so much now have a good pastor to shepherd them. To let go without ever forgetting how deeply they are carved into my heart and bone. May God bless Father Mike and all at Star of the Sea with His Infinite Love.
Below, I share some reflections on how it has been in Hastings over the past year.