West Calder trio awarded Archdiocesan Medal

Molly Wade was awarded in recognition of her outstanding years of service and contribution to the work of the Catholic Church both in her parish and in the Archdiocese itself.

Molly worked in the Diocesan Office from 1995 to 2006 and she was known and respected by many throughout the Archdiocese, clergy and laity alike.

Molly’s contribution to the life of her parish was described as "remarkable". Amongst her many roles she has done the secretarial work, published the weekly bulletin, counted and banked the weekly collection, arranged the flowers, led the singing as cantor and served as the church rep on St Mary’s Primary School Council.

Molly has been a tremendous support to a number of priests over the years. She was a constant help to Monsignor Lawson, to Fr. Chambers, both in The Lanthorn and in West Calder when he served here, and to Fr Kevin Dow. She then acted as housekeeper for Fr Dow when he served in both Bonnybridge and Rosyth.

Despite personal tragedies Molly has never wavered in her faith and in her devotion to the church . This has been shown over very many years.

The lives of many priests and parishioners have been greatly enhanced by the selfless work of Molly Wade and there is no more worthy recipient of an award than her.

Cathy Regan

Cathy was awarded  for her service to the parish and in particular for her service to the parish of St Thomas in Addiewell before it amalgamated with West Calder and for her work in helping to ensure that the merger went smoothly and has continued to do so.

Cathy supported Fr McMahon in the 1970s. Although he was very independent Cathy was always on hand to help him in the house when needed,especially on special occasions or on when guests were coming. She also helped clean the church at that time. When Fr Bremner came to Addiewell she took on greater housekeeping duties and helped look after Fr Bremner’s mother.

Around this time she took on extra duties in the parish including responsibility for counting and banking of monies. In 1987 Fr Bremner moved into the parish house in Stoneyburn where Cathy continued to support him.

Around 2005 Cathy took on the role of housekeeper to the priests who lived in West Calder, a role she continues.

Cathy is a very quiet, prayerful and highly respected parishioner who has served both the parishes of St Thomas and Our Lady and St Bridget in a conscientious manner for almost 50 years.

Lawrence Curran

Lawrence's service began in 1941 when, at the age of 8, he became an altar server. This is a role he continued until he left school.

He then took on many voluntary roles whenever he was needed. If work was needing done in the church, its building or its grounds Lawrence was always one of the first to answer the call. He preferred to be involved behind the scenes so his efforts weren’t always visible to most parishioners.

On reaching retirement at the end of the 1990s Lawrence dedicated much of his time in more noticeable roles. For over 20 years now Lawrence has served as Sacristan, taking responsibility for ensuring that everything needed for the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments was in the right place and in good order.

His service to the parish has also gone full circle in that he has served on the altar once again since his retirement from work.

He serves at Mass during all liturgical seasons, at Sunday morning Mass and at Funeral Masses.

Indeed as one person who recently attended a funeral was heard to say,” It’s amazing that Lawrence is still serving on the altar!”.

Lawrence has also taken on the responsibility for training young altar servers in a very supportive and caring way. He hasbeen involved in parish life, has been a great example to all and has been a true servant to priests and people alike for almost 80 years

The Archdiocesan Medal for Outstanding Service to the Church was established in 1975 by Cardinal Gordon Joseph Gray, Archbishop of St Andrews & Edinburgh. Over those 43 years, only 100 or so medals have been awarded for “outstanding voluntary service” to the Church at a local level.