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CELEBRATE REPORT

by Jenny Baker

Jenny From the letters and emails that have been received following the 16th Celebrate Conference at Ilfracombe, this year has again been a very blessed event. Along with the regular ‘Celebrators’ we had a good number of families that attended for the first time. They came to experience the joy and expectancy of what the Lord would do. And He did do many things. He spoke through the teachings, the worship, the beautiful Eucharistic celebrations. He touched us in times of prayer ministry and challenged us through it all.

So many people that come are committed to the vision of Celebrate, which encompasses the teaching that faith is alive and active and must be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. Many priests that attend Celebrate are greatly moved at the desire of the people to deepen their understanding of what God is saying to the Church today.To assist enthusiastic ‘Celebrators’ to share with others what they have received, and because of the unavailability of Ilfracombe College in 2008, Celebrate Regional Weekends were launched - Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Guildford, Manchester, Southampton, St Albans and Joel’s Bar at Worth Abbey (the youth stream for 18-22yrs) The idea was that a local event would be more accessible for those who either couldn’t afford a week-long conference or who might find it a bit daunting! In effect, these family weekends are ‘mini Celebrates’ giving people an experience of all the elements that make up the main Easter conference.

In the first year of the regional weekends, no less than 3500 adults, young people and children attended. Celebrate had spread! Through the increasing locations and the growth of the regional teams we heard stories and testimonies of how God had used Celebrate to influence the lives of adults and their involvement in parishes. Teresa Theile said ‘The Celebrate weekend in Manchester got me thinking and I put my name down for a parish course. After listening to some inspirational speakers and going to confession for the first time in years (a wonderful experience) I felt ready to give in and ask the Holy Spirit to come into my life and help me.’ Also, many young people spoke about how the strong Christian friendships and the formation that they had gained at Celebrate had given birth to faith filled life choices and career decisions. Sean Rose told us ‘Since graduating I’ve been working for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation on a multi-faith social action project. It’s a wonderful opportunity to witness to my faith and be a visible sign to a sceptical and secular world.’There is so much to celebrate about Celebrate and when returning to the parish it can be difficult to find the words to explain to others just how much we have received and have been blessed. Federica Ali said ‘Coming home to my parish having seen the effect that the fun and faith activities had on my young children, I felt the urge to tell others about what we had discovered at Celebrate and wanted others to experience.’ Sadly it can seem a little scary to the unsuspecting parishioner who often thinks going to a Catholic conference is only for ‘special’ people or the very holy (little do they know!). So to assist in the growth of the weekends and to give a tool to all eager ‘Celebrators’ who want to spread the word, we produced the Celebrate Magazine.

The Magazine is a 28-page full colour brochure that is packed with information about the effect this lively, charismatic conference has had on bishops, priests and people (young and old) up and down the country who have found new inspiration in their faith. The aim has been to present an informative and easily-readable magazine full of short testimonies and photos that sum up what Celebrate is about and the effect it can have on ‘ordinary’ Catholics.

It has details on how to get information about next year’s weekends which we anticipate will spread even further afield!

Since the launch of the regional weekends the Celebrate core team continues to be amazed at how God is expanding our vision and always prepares the ground ahead of us. As one priest comments in the magazine
‘Celebrate is a dynamic and life giving experience and what I dream of for every parish community in Britain – especially my own parish!’

If you would like a copy of the Celebrate Magazine (£1.00+p&p) for yourself or to pass on to friends contact jenny@celebrateconference.org Tel: 01442 - 875 361

CELEBRATE WEEKENDS 2010

Brighton 26/27 June - Cardinal Newman School, Hove.
Contact - brighton@celebrateconference.org

Southampton 9/10 Oct - St Mary’s College, Bitterne
Contact southampton@celebrateconference.org

South West 23/24 Oct - St Bede’s College, Lawrence Weston
Contact - Tony Wadley, bristol@celebrateconference.org

St Albans 30/31 Oct - Nicholas Breakspear School,
St Albans
Contact - stalbans@celebrateconference.org

New Beginnings In Northampton

by Anne Nolan

For a variety of reasons, the Diocesan Service Team for Northampton had rested since 2003. Bishop Kevin had been moved to Southwark and it was not until 2005 that Bishop Peter was installed. Life for the old team had moved on. I would often meet Toni and Gerard Pomfret at various events and we would say, “We must get the DST up and running again.” Then the business of life would take over and the time just never seemed right.

DST

Finally in 2009 the Lord, through Pat Kennedy, gave us a nudge. She asked if Northampton team was ever going to get moving again! The time was right for action. Toni and Gerard approached the Bishop for his permission and blessing, which he gladly gave us. The previous leaders, John & Veronica Murphy and John & Mary Derbyshire decided the time had come for them to pass on the baton. So we then prayed and scouted for new members, particularly a chaplain. We were thrilled to get not one, but two: Frs Simon Penhalagan and Andy Richardson. Soon we had representatives from most areas of the diocese and people who reflected all ages.

Our first event was held in March this year: a Day of Consultation and New Beginnings. Over 60 prayer group leaders attended to discuss and discern the way forward and what was needed to get there. It was a very positive day and now two more events are planned for this year, including a day of renewal in June. Everything has fallen beautifully into place, and God’s timing is perfect!

The new team would like to say a huge thank you to John & Veronica and John & Mary, and to all former team members for laying such a sure foundation in the diocese. May God bless us as we build upon that. Not goodbye, but thank you.

THE ROAD TO PENTECOST - ICCRS EVENT IN ASSISI

by Michelle Moran

Recently we have seen the ministry of intercession developing in many nations. Consequently, ICCRS decided to hold an international event for intercession in Assisi. In the days prior to Pentecost, 320 people from 40 countries gathered together for a special intercession event.

From left to right: Oreste Pesare, Michelle Moran & Cyril John

International occasions always display the richness of the universal Church through the sharing together of different cultures. Cyril John from India gave some profound teachings on intercession drawing from his experience in India, where there is a National Intercessory Network. Similarly, Dr Alex Lengegiu brought with him his African style experience of Intercession, where in Tanzania they would spend the whole night on a mountain in prayer. Two sisters from Latin America brought the Marian dimension and shared with us about Mary our model for intercession. There was also a powerful evening led by Reinaldo Beserra dos Reis from Brazil. He had a relic of Blessed Elena Guerra who was instrumental in getting the Pentecost novena promoted in the Church through Pope Leo XIII.

On the eve of Pentecost, we prayed throughout the night before the Blessed Sacrament. We were simply ‘waiting for what the Father had promised and praying for a new Pentecost. Then on Pentecost morning we took to the streets and had a very colourful parade of the nations walking through the streets of Assisi. This culminated in our joining together with the local Bishop and people in a large tent for a special Pentecost Mass which was marking the end of their diocesan mission. It had been previously arranged that our music ministry would provide some parts of the liturgy. However, to our surprise, the Bishop encouraged us to sing in the Spirit and he explained this to all the people saying that this was just like Pentecost day and we were not drunk but full of the Holy Spirit. We all truly sensed that there was an extraordinary grace of a new Pentecost being poured out. Many of the local people were deeply touched by what they experienced and needless to say, the Bishop was really delighted.

On reflection, we sensed that this international event was just the beginning of something much bigger that the Lord is doing through this strong call to Intercession. We are therefore planning to have another ‘Road to Pentecost’ event next year in Assisi where our focus will be the Charisms.

Hosana Londres

More than 700 people attended Hosana Londres, the annual Latin American catholic charismatic weekend in London which took place over the first May Bank Holiday weekend (30th April-2nd May) at St Anne’s in Whitechapel. This was double the numbers from last year. Because the organisers realised that the numbers coming would be too great to fit into the hall, the Brazilian chaplain, Fr Jose Osvaldo gave his permission for the church to be used. Thus a small team spent all week dragging the church benches into the hall, and bringing in chairs. The church was then decorated with huge swatches of white and red which created a very dramatic feeling. The whole event was televised on the internet and about 1800 people watched this overseas too. Family members in Brazil sent messages to participants at the event.

The sense of party and festivity was added to by the buzz outside where there was the barbecues and stalls offering all kinds of Latino food and devotional material. These included Toni and Gerard Pomfret from Good News Books, who were there for the first time, as well as a lot of familiar faces from the London Day of Renewal, who were sampling the Charismatic Renewal Brazilian style for the first time. The main speakers were all Brazilian and included Dunga and Fr Marcel Anderson from Cancao Nova, and Flavhino, a well known singer and preacher who all spoke in Portuguese. As well as the talks, worship, Mass and times of prayer, there was an exhuberant concert on Saturday evening with Flavhino and Dunga. In an effort to reach out to English speaking people, for the first time all the talks were translated into English from the stage and Ros Powell, from the Midlands, became the first English speaker to give a talk at the event. Those who would like to see more about it should google hosana londres 2010 and they can read more and see what happened.

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