St. Mary's Church are two beautiful stained glass windows. At the first window you could fall eye as you enter the church. On this window we see an image of Mary as Mother of Perpetual Help. She comes into the picture as the Mother of God, who by her 'yes' to the angel explains the fact of new life, a new beginning. But she is also seen as Mother of the Church, Mother of all believers, who is close to us in the name of God in joyful, but in sad circumstances. The second window we see, if we leave the church again: it is a window depicting Christ the King, which is the completion of our lives as believers. Someone said to me: "These two windows are a beautiful symbolization of alpha and omega, beginning and end." These words: alpha and omega, beginning and end, I think now there are two closed churches in our parish. On 3 January, it was the closing celebration in the Holy Ghost-Our Lady of Perpetual Help (St. Mary's Church); on January 10 we celebrated last in the Ariëns Gedachteniskerk.

Of course, the closure of these churches does a lot of grief. In recent times we have discussed extensively about it before. And as with every goodbye to the pain of the loss will still remain the same impact. But I hope that the alpha and omega of our faith may sustain. At Christmas we celebrate in the Child in the manger a new beginning. The Three Kings feel this perfectly. Attracted by a bright star, they set off. They do not know exactly where. Yet they go out. On the way they stop for a moment in the capital Jerusalem with King Herod. But they do not allow themselves to bring him astray. They are not standing still, but going beyond, the star chasing that goes again to them shine. The encounter with the Christ Child reveals them, why they went on their way. They discover that he alpha and omega, culmination and source of their life. This gives them the courage to go new ways. By another way they turn back, therefore, going to meet the future from a new perspective. Maybe we can also help this, now we as pilgrims seek our way, now we have two churches that were near and dear to us, have closed. It's not like it was. That's true. But both lock celebrations had an 'open-ended': the church doors were open, and with Christ in the Holy Reserve ahead as the Good Shepherd, we went on our way, searching and groping for direction, we as new religious communities North and may go south in our city. Not everything is fixed. Together we will have to 'tracking'; there are new compounds and other linkages will have to be laid. Yet there are already some beaten 'pickets. Because closing a church does not mean that the faith community, who was at home there, would cease to exist. Rather, she also continues, albeit in a different way and in a new context. What will remain, in any event, is the opportunity to meet each other.

To this end, two new parish supports created: the faith community "Maria" in "The Cabin"; and for the faith community "Ariëns Remembrance" in "The Roef". On Thursdays will be held prayers there, with an opportunity to meet and talk to a cup of coffee or tea. The choirs of the Ariëns Remembrance and Mary will continue to sing. They are scheduled in the celebrations at St. Joseph, St. James and St. Jan.

Hopeful I find the invitation that I read in the previous Pilgrim for the New Year celebration of the new religious community in the South St. Jan. For this, three 'old' sites teamed beaten and mark a new beginning.

Maybe we can do it this way: the "tension" between alpha and omega - portrayed in the two windows in the St. Mary's Church - always keeps us going again. For every "end" means always a new beginning. Then from this inspiration that we will continue our pilgrim way, even in Catholic Enschede. That may be so, we ask, through the intercession of the patron of our parish, "Saint James the Greater".

Pastor André Monninkhof