“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Through the history of Israel, we see how God had allowed His chosen people to be migrants and how He guided their paths in mysterious ways. Similar to the stories of those great exoduses, the story of our migration to the United Kingdom also tells of the mighty guidance of the Lord throughout our journey and gives witness to His unique plans for each of us and the community.
With the government’s recruitment drive in health care around the year 2000, there was an influx of people from many parts of the world especially India. The City of Bristol, with its excellent location and welcoming atmosphere, attracted a good number of professionals from Kerala. A few of the families with Christian background, who were zealous in their faith and fervent in keeping the traditions, gathered together to organise a prayer group and had prayer meetings every week.
In September 2001, at the outset of the formation of St Thomas Catholic Community (as it was then called) the first Syro Malabar Qurbana in Bristol was celebrated by Fr Joseph Narikuzhi at St. Nicholas of Tolentino Church. We gratefully remember Rev Fr Richard McKay who welcomed us with a father’s heart and cared for the migrant community with utmost warmth and great affection.
Monthly Holy Qurbana was celebrated by various priests and in October 2002, a working committee was set up to look at matters of interest to the community. 10 days rosary celebration was started that October itself. Rev Fr Sunny Paul MSFS (parish priest of Holy Ghost Church, Yeovil) kindly agreed to take responsibility to conduct monthly Qurbana in January 2003.
Regular catechism classes started from March 2004.
In October 2004, Fr George Valliamthadathil MSFS was appointed as the Director of the Syro Malabar Mission of Clifton Diocese for 2 years. He was based at St Nicholas of Tolentino Church where monthly Holy Qurbana was offered. STSMCC is grateful to Bishop Declan Lang, Clifton diocese, for appointing him. Fr. George’s appointment gave a sense of identity to the community. In March 2005, full Holy Week observances were conducted in Syro Malabar Rite. We started teaching Malayalam as part of Catechism classes in April. another important event during this period was the celebration of St Thomas Day (Dukhrana) on the 2nd and 3rd July, 2005. Since then, Dukhrana is celebrated on the first Sunday of July every year. First Summer Camp for children was conducted in August 2006 and is continued annually thereafter. Fr George served the congregation until he was transferred in October 2006, and we are grateful to him for his valuable pastoral care in forming the young community.
In October 2006, the community moved base to St Joseph’s Church, Fishponds, and pastoral services were carried out by visiting priests- Fr Anil Paul SVD, Fr John Kudiyirippil MST, Fr Thomas Parayadyil MST ( Syro-Malabar London Co-ordinator), Fr Roji Narithookkil, Fr George Cheeramkuzhi and many other Syro-Malabar priests celebrated Holy Qurbana for us. We especially remember Fr Jiji Alakkalam for his formative work in our community.
On 1 June 2008, our Youth Group was formed and was called STYL (St Thomas Youth League). On 16 August 2008, the Women’s Group was formed with the name CLASS (Catholic Ladies Association for Support and Service) and the motto - Sharing the grace of Mary. In November 2008, our website, syromalabarchurchbristol.com, was inaugurated by Rev Fr. Eric Foxwell, parish priest at St Joseph’s Church.
Dukhrana Thirunal was celebrated at Clifton Cathedral in July 2009 and we had a wonderful Perunal celebration with Ganamela and traditional stalls at Clifton Downs.
During 2009, Women’s Forum developed a Malayalam Alphabet poster with English sounds to help the children learn Malayalam.
We gratefully remember the then Vicar of St Joseph’s Church, Fr Eric Foxwell, for welcoming the community at St Joseph’s and providing all the facilities to accommodate our needs.
From September 2009, we were privileged to have Rev Fr Joy Vayalil CST, who took charge as the Resident Priest of St. Joseph’s Church where STSMCC was based. Fr Joy with his unique vision, great wisdom and manifold talents helped STSMCC to define its character, develop its identity and shepherded the community to greater pastures.
We started celebrating Holy Qurbana on 3 Sundays a month. In October 2009, Family Units were established. In Dec 2009, we approached Bishop Declan Lang with the request for Syro Malabar Chaplaincy and initial thoughts on procuring exclusive premises for STSMCC.
The first Youth Camp was conducted successfully in April 2010, at Barton Camp. In May 2010, on the day of Pentecost, the first Vidyarambham was celebrated in the church.
2011 was the year of thanksgiving and celebrations of 10 years of our community. In September 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the first Syro Malabar Holy Qurbana in Bristol, a wonderful Documentary on the 10 Years of Grace was prepared and presented by Fr Joy Vayalil. To mark the 10 years of our community, Bristol Bible Kalotsavam was conceived, and the event was conducted in October 2011. This was the first Bible Kalotsavam in Europe and the event served as a great platform to celebrate the glory of God and the beauty of our faith through various art forms. During the same time, we also prepared and published the Syro Malabar Holy Qurbana Book - with Translation and Transliteration, which is extensively used in the UK and abroad and was reprinted in 2014 and 2016.
In January 2012, our dear Sisters, Sr Leena Mary and Sr Grace Mary arrived in Bristol. On 3rd July, Rev Fr Paul Vettikkattu arrived, in time for the Dukhrana Perunal on the 4th. On 6th July, we celebrated First Holy Communion in Syro Malabar Rite for the first time in Bristol. Children were prepared to receive the sacrament for the first time in our traditional way. A unique audio-visual presentation of the Luminous Mysteries, innovative and fascinating in its script and visuals, was written and directed by Fr Joy and was presented on the day.
In October 2012, Fr Paul took charge of STSMCC and has been the inspiration, guide and strong pillar of our community ever since. With the zeal of St Paul and with the fatherly care of St Joseph, he has been leading the community and it is through his constant guidance and sincere efforts that we are today a thriving community, with great dreams and aspirations, and bonded together in faith.
On 15th June 2013, the first gathering of all the Syro Malabar communities in Clifton diocese was organised under the vision and leadership of Fr Paul and Clifton Diocese Syro Malabar Family Meet was conducted at Greenway Centre, Bristol. In August 2013, CDSMCC Souvenir was published.
We held many discussions on having our own premises and explored various options. The years followed were of intense action where we contacted authorities of different churches, local councils, and agencies and visited numerous properties towards this dream. The registration of St Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church Bristol as a Charity Company in October 2014 was another important step in realizing our dreams.
In 2015, the Church Project was officially inaugurated. Seeking divine providence, we started daily Adoration. A special prayer was written to pray for the success of the Church Project and was prayed after every Holy Qurbana and during family prayers.
Our Catechesis department played a major role in the preparation of a prayer book for children, with transliterated prayers, named Lakhu Mara, which was published by the Eparchy in July 2018.
On 31st July 2018, we became a Mission, and the area under the Mission was extended to cover Bristol, Trowbridge, Bath, and Weston-Super-Mare. With a futuristic vision towards achieving parish status and to enable all members to participate, Fr Paul initiated to celebrate Holy Qurbana every Sunday morning.
The constant searches, enquiries, meetings, studies and prayers of six years finally came to fruition in Nov 2018. We were successful in our bid and secured the buildings and land, known as Bridge House Farm, at Siston Common, Bristol, to be the site for the new Church and Community Hall.
On 2nd December 2018, the Foundation Stone for the new church was blessed by His Beatitude Cardinal Mar George Alenchery. January to June 2019 was the period for gathering ideas and suggestions and the planning process.
In October 2019, Planning Application was submitted to South Gloucestershire Council. The application was rejected in August 2020. Further extensive work was done and the appeal was submitted in December 2020.
In June 2021, our prayers were answered, and efforts blessed, the appeal was successful and Planning Permission was granted.
Through the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19, our community stayed together in prayer and spirit. In March 2020, we started YouTube channels for the Church and the Sunday School, and online Holy Qurbana and catechesis lessons were conducted. We also held live broadcasted assembly via YouTube on the STSMCC Sunday School channel. Family unit gatherings and prayers were organised via Zoom and this held the community together in faith and solidarity.
Our Youth Group published an e-magazine, ‘Horizon’ in December 2020, which showcased the creativity and aspirations of our young people.
September 2021 is another landmark in the history of STSMCC as we inaugurated the celebration of 20 years of grace. The festivities commenced with Holy Qurbana on September 18th. We were blessed to have Rev Fr Sunny Paul as the main celebrant and expressed our gratitude to him for his guiding role in the initial years of the community. The day concluded with a Fun Fair in the school playground.
As thanksgiving for the 20 years of blessings, it was decided to build a house for a needy family in Kerala. The whole community came together with donation of £20 symbolising the 20 years and the project is the proof that small deeds together lead to wonderful results.
October 2021 saw the completion of the 1st House Building Project by the Women’s Forum.
From November 2021, with the restarting of Catechesis classes in two baches, Holy Qurbana was celebrated at 7.45am, 12N and 3pm, with adoration at 2pm.
In July 2022, the House Building Project in thanksgiving for the 20 years of blessings was completed.
St Thomas Syro Malabar Church Bristol was erected as a parish by Mar Joseph Srampickal on July 3rd 2022 during the Dukhrana Thirunal festivities and it was an occasion of great joy and thanksgiving.
More than 100 members joined in the parish pilgrimage to Fatima in October 2022.
With complete trust in divine providence and confidence in the vision and zealous faith of the parishioners, the Church Project is going ahead towards construction phase. The pre commencement conditions are being discharged and we are finalising the Tenders.
Alongside many other fundraising activities, a Mega Raffle Draw with a chance to win £25,000.00 is being organised to raise funds.
Construction of the new church is expected to begin by June 2023 and with God’s abundant grace, the Church Project will be complete by July 2024.
Proud to be a witnessing community, STSMCC celebrates all important events in the Syro Malabar liturgical calendar with true zeal and devotion. Over the years, we have grown to be one of the largest parishes in the Eparchy of Great Britain, with more than 450 registered families and 16 family units in Bristol, 2 in Bath and 5 in Weston-Super-Mare. More members are joining our church family every day and their presence makes our community even more vibrant and energetic.
Under the prayerful guidance of our Bishop Mar Joseph Srampickal and the leadership and pastoral care of our Vicar, Fr Paul Vettikattu, STSMCC continues to grow firm in faith and fellowship. Through devout prayer and sincere actions, we seek heavenly blessings on our parish to keep the flame of faith that burns bright in our hearts alive through generations to come.