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News from Ireland
International Youth Forum in Dublin this July In July this year (15th-18th) the Emmanuel community is having its first ever International Youth Forum in Ireland. Although many Irish young people have travelled with the community to forums in France, and the USA, this time this youth experience will take place on our own doorstep. Every summer for the past 29 years the Emmanuel community has held summer forums for young people throughout the world, the first of which happened in Paray Ie Monial in France. These never fail to be occasions for new discovery and deepening of faith. Twenty-one year old Paul comments, "I had heard a lot about these international forums from my brothers and sisters and good friends who had been. So two years ago, I decided to go myself. I was totally amazed by the great number of people of my age praying, singing and giving praise and thanks to Jesus. I really loved these 5 days and my faith has really been strengthened and I wouldn't miss them now for anything." Nineteen year old Mary went to the forum held at the Benedictine university of St Vincent at Latrobe in Pennsylvania, USA for four days before the World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. She comments, "I think the greatest thing I took away from the Youth Forum were all the great friends I made and all our conversations. Not all of our conversations were "deep and meaningful" but the things that we talked about were things I definitely wouldn't talk about normally with even my close friends." The Emmanuel community, which began in France, is a Catholic Association of Christians of all states of life: lay people, both married and single, men and women consecrated in celibacy and priests. Pierre Goursat, a well known art critic, founded the community in 1976 together with Martine Lafitte Catta, a young medical student in Paris in 1976. By the time it received official recognition from the Holy See in 1998 there were 6000 committed members of the community in nearly 50 countries. These included 116 priests, 110 seminarians, 15 permanent deacons, 150 sisters and 15 brothers consecrated in celibacy. Today it is present in 60 countries including England, Ireland and Scotland. The ministries of the community include youth work, running schools of evangelisation, and mission, prayer groups and youth forums as well as working with married and engaged couples, families, people at work, and artists. Lay volunteers are also sent on mission to Africa, Asia and South America. One of the main speakers at the forum will be Fr Markus Wittal, who is from Bavaria in Germany. A musician and composer, Fr Markus, wrote the musical, "Joshua". He is no stranger to Ireland and has helped Emmanuel community missions in Dungannon and Belfast and given many talks to young people in Ireland and around the world. Young people (18-35 year olds) from Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Canada are expected and there is limited availability for 15-17 year olds. For further details contact: www.emmanuelcommunity.com/ireland/irish forum To register send name, address, email/phone number,
date of birth and payment (before May 21st 109 euros. Late booking after
May 21st 130 euros) to Irish Forum, 6 The Forts, Dooradoyle, Limerick,
Ireland. Final preparations are underway for this year's Irish National Catholic Charismatic Conference that will take place this year from 11th-13th June (Corpus Christ! weekend) at the same location as last year at Maynooth. The speakers are Fr Ciaran McDonnell, whose testimony appeared in last month's Goodnews, and who has a powerful healing ministry, and Bishop Martin Drennan. The theme of the conference is Gather Round the King and it will be centred on the Eucharist.
In Ireland there has been a drive in the last few years to promote adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in parishes, and this has proved to be a great source of renewal. One of the greatest promoters of this was one of the members of the Irish NSC, John O'Shea, who died suddenly of a heart attack a couple of months ago. Of the 70 or so parishes in his diocese, he had been responsible for introducing adoration of the blessed sacrament into over 60 of them. "We will greatly miss him" said Marie, "but I know he will be interceding for us in heaven." Those who are interested in attending the conference
can get further details from Marie Beirne, Killyfad, Aughmore Post Office,
Carrick on Shannon, Co Letrim or they can contact the NSC office on
Tuesdays and Thursdays and speak to John Gorevan on 00 353 1 (outside
Ireland) 667 0570 fax 668 9340
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One
of the highlights of the conference will be a Eucharistic procession
on the Sunday morning. This call to appreciate the Eucharist, which
is one of the treasures of the Church is something that the Pope has
been underlining in recent times, with his recent encyclical "Ecclesia
de Eucharistia".|
News from Scotland
OBITUARY Remembering Mark David McGill a member of the Scottish NSC remembers his great friend Mark Dilworth OSB who died on February 28th this year. Fr Mark Dilworth was one of the most outstanding and gifted priests that the Benedictines gave to Charismatic Renewal. He was one of the first priests in Scotland to become involved. An eminent and respected historian, author, linguist and ecumenist, he wrote in later life, "Charismatic Renewal has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. It has given a shot in the arm to peoples daily lives and made their faith come alive and also greatly advanced the progress of ecumenism. It was always in the head. Charismatic Renewal has put it into the heart" His work in ecumenism inspired many of us in Charismatic Renewal and his bridge building with other faiths in Scotland is a lasting legacy. Mark never boasted about his own abilities, he always looked for ways to encourage everyone. It was said that he could converse in every European language. In my travels with him to many Conferences and Consultations in Europe I never found any reason to doubt this claim. He even recognised different dialects. I recall him buying tickets at a railway station in Berlin and saying to the ticket collector, in German "You are not from Berlin" and the collector agreed. I was with him in Hungary when after four days of reading a Hungarian phrase book he gave a homily at Mass in Hungarian. Mark embodied all the characteristics that we Scots like to claim as good traits in us, a ready wit, serious mindedness and a carefulness with speech. On one occasion in Germany, on hearing that Mark was from an Abbey on the shores of Loch Ness much hilarity was being directed at us about the existence of The Loch Ness Monster. One respected member addressed Mark "Tell us Fr Mark is there such a thing as a monster in Loch Ness?" Mark replied "Now now I am not an expert I have only seen it once." He said it with such solemnity that everyone fell silent. He never did deny the existence of Nessie.
Mark died as he lived acknowledging Jesus Christ as his Lord and saviour During his time in hospital, gratitude to the people who came to see him, who nursed him or who showed him the smallest favour were always on his lips. Margaret my wife and I visited him shortly before he died. We prayed, praised and Mark gave us his blessing then he said "Tell all my friends I am perfectly happy and the best is still to come." Jamus Smith, a close friend and former pupil remembers Fr Mark I first knew Father Mark as a schoolboy at the Abbey. He taught me the rudiments of science. He was patient and kind even with those of us who did not have a scientific leaning. Science was Father Mark's subject. After being ordained a priest in 1947 however he was sent to Oxford to read that subject but chose instead to read Italian and French. He graduated in 1952. On his return to the Abbey Father Mark taught for a time in the preparatory school at North Berwick and after that in the secondary school at the Abbey which included being headmaster for three years. During his schoolmastering days he availed himself of the opportunity to study in the comprehensive and renowned library of the Abbey which led to his undertaking a postgraduate course at the University of Edinburgh his subject being "The Scottish Abbey at Wurzburg 1595-1696". His thesis gained him a PhD. Father Mark wore his learning lightly. I doubt if any of his pupils, including perhaps his fellow monks, knew of this and his many achievements. In the course of time Father Mark became a well known historian, both in Scotland and Europe. He was also an archivist being responsible for the Scottish Catholic Archives in Drummond Place, Edinburgh until 1990. In 1992 he made an important contribution to the history of monasteries in Scotland when he published Scottish Monasteries in the Late Middle Ages. But of all his achievements the one which he and
many of his friends will probably put at the top of the list was his
becoming a full participant in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. While
on a sabbatical in the States he visited the Benedictine Abbey of Our
Lady of Guadalupe at Pecos in New Mexico. There he underwent a conversion
experience. At about the same time my wife and I had a similar experience
after which we founded a prayer group in Aberdeen. Similar groups began
in Perth and Edinburgh and after that the Renewal found its way into
the south west of Scotland and Glasgow. In these early days when we
had to glean most of our knowledge from books, Father Mark was a fountain
of wisdom and knowledge, not to say a wonderful encourager and so he
remained for the rest of his life.
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Mark
was sparing with words, you had to listen and then recall the wisdom
of what he said. At a European meeting held to discuss the future of
the European Consultation, Fr. Mark was present. In the early days of
dialogue he had attended meetings at Malines under the direction of
Cardinal Suenens. The question we were given was 'What can your country
offer to The Consultation?' Delegates from all over Europe came to the
microphone offering conference centres, finance personnel and so on.
We had agreed that Mark would speak for Scotland "What can we offer?
Common sense I think", then he sat down. I was surprised at his
brevity but impressed by his sincerity.|
News from England
New Course to Form Evangelists This autumn it will be possible for would-be evangelists to improve their skills by signing up for a new part-time distance learning course offered by the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham. The course for Evangelisation and Ministry can be taken at either Certificate or Diploma level and corresponds to either a GCSE or A level qualification depending on which option is chosen. No special admission requirements are needed and teaching is a combination of home study and short residential schools. All students do a compulsory foundation module written
by Mgr Keith Barltrop former rector of Allen Hall and the director of
CASE the new Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation tha has been
launched recently. Each student chooses to specialise in either family
evangelisation, youth evangelisation, parish evangelisation or evangelisation
and ministry to the sick. The course is suitable for all those involved
in parish ministry and lasts one year. Further details from: Director
of Parish and Adult Courses, Maryvale Institute, Maryvale House, Old
Oscott, Hill, Kingstanding, Birmingham B44 9AG Tel 0121 360 8118 or
fax 0121 366 6786 or www.maryvale.ac.uk Pentecost Outreach in Birmingham St Michael's parish in Moor Street, Birmingham are planning an outreach in the city centre over the Pentecost weekend (29th-30th May) to raise awareness of the presence of the church as a place where shoppers can drop in for a few minutes prayer. Mary's Ministries one of the new lay ministries in the Church which originated in the USA is helping with the animation of the outreach. Clare Kelly from Mary's Ministries, comments, "The idea is to have music on the streets, give out leaflets to shoppers, have drama and music presentations in the church as well as just generally chatting to people giving them coffee and sharing faith. We need all the helpers we can get. For further details contact Fr Peter on 0121 643 0940 or Clare Kelly at Pentecost Weekend for Young Adults Chris Angel and a group of friends from Ushaw seminary are running a Life in the Spirit Seminars for young adults (18-35) at the seminary over the Pentecost weekend 28th-30th May. The main talks will be given by Fr Bernard from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in New York. See coming events. New Team for Westminster At the end of January this year twenty one representatives from London prayer groups met at St Vincent's Convent near the cathedral to discuss the setting up of diocesan service committee for Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the diocese of Westminster. As it is so large, for a long time Westminster has had area service committees, but in recent years, apart from the West London area, these had ceased to meet. The gathering was the initiative of Frances Casteldine, who has been representing West London at the annual leaders' meeting organised by the English NSC. Her vision, which she discussed with various members of the NSC, was to try and resurrect a London wide leadership team again. Her proposal was met with enthusiasm at the meeting and Fr Jim Overton was asked to be chaplain of the group while Frances herself was unanimously elected to be chairperson for the coming year. As many of the prayer group leaders are also leaders of the "At Your Word" Westminster diocese renewal programme, it was decided that no new projects would be undertaken by the reconstituted team, who would meet for prayer together three times a year - with a larger meeting again in January 2005 - to discern the way forward for the Charismatic Renewal in the capital. New Agency for Evangelisation
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A
sign of the institutional Church's growing commitment to evangelisation
was the launch last month of a dynamic new evangelisation agency set
up by the Bishops of England and Wales, to support and resource dioceses,
parishes, schools, groups and individuals in proclaiming the Gospel.
The four strong team include director Mgr Keith Barltrop, Fr Philip
Knight, a former Anglican priest, Clare Ward, who used to work for Youth
2000 and Clare Ford, an associate member of the Sion Community. The
agency will offer a wide range of training and resources. The CASE website
will enable the Catholic community to access free resources and information
about evangelisation strategies and programmes. The site, which can
be found at www.caseresources.org will also provide information about
new movements and communities and offer prayer support and accompaniment
for those involved in evangelisation. Meanwhile for non-Catholics seeking
basic information about the Catholic Faith, the CASE team have created
a second new internet resource : www.life4seekers.co.uk For further
details contact CASE, 114 West Heath Road, London NW3 7TX. Tel 020 84583316
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International News
ICCRS European Youth Consultation Marianna Baccalliere and Matt van Duyvenbode two young adults attended an ICCRS European Youth Consultation in Hohnethann, Germany at the beginning of 2004. Below they report on what happened. Perhaps the strongest feeling that we were left with after the European youth Consultation was one of privilege - to have witnessed the undeniably strong faith of our peers from around Europe, to pray together and celebrate the sacraments in unity through diversity and to share together the sense of calling on the younger members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Europe. I Over 40 youth representatives from | 18 nations and 22 different realities | gathered together near Munich for | a weekend of input, prayer and discernment about what it means to be a young Catholic Charismatic in Europe in 2004. The weekend mixed I social and discussion time with space *' for personal and corporate prayer, as well as input from Michelle Moran (the I representative for Europe on ICCRS) | about the recent papal encyclical "Ecclesia in Europa". To summarise the whole weekend is tricky, but in our opinion the following themes seemed to be prevalent in how the Lord seemed to be leading us: - HOPE: the theme of Ecclesia in Europa echoed in each of our stories about our diverse backgrounds throughout Europe. To be people of the Holy Spirit in these days demands our witness to the hope that salvation through Christ brings to us. - PRESENCE: to help us to witness to this hope in increasingly difficult circumstances, there is a sense in which the Lord's hand is specifically on the new generation of young people in the Charismatic Renewal - we were consistently affirmed by the prophetic voice of the Lord reminding us that he is "Emmanuel" - God with us. - INTEGRATION: a challenge that was felt strongly by those who were representing their nations was to consider how young people are integrated into the mainstream renewal, we noted especially the gifts that young people can bring to the mainstream renewal, through their openness to leam from other traditions, denominations and cultures. - CROSS-FERTILISATION: in discerning the way forward for each particular reality to integrate into their mainstream renewal, it was really clear that we have so much to offer to and learn from each other in these kind of processes, that the last major theme that emerged was the necessity of cross fertilisation between nations. The other notable point was the aspect of POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. It became apparent how much the influence the political developments in Europe are shaping our reality together as a European body. Whilst the difference in political climate between Eastern Europe and Western Europe is already polarised, changes in European policy threaten to make travel between the two even more complicated for those outside the EU. and the changes in the European Constitution look to deny Christianity its rightful home in the future of Europe. There are issues which are worth considering for all of us in the Charismatic Renewal, am which we hope people will pray about. Christ of Hemberger from Germany was elected to serve on the European sub committee of ICCRS as the representative for youth concerns and tie will be assisted in this by Eva Sido from Romania and Oksana from Ukraine.
Young adults from all over Europe will be gathering in Stuttgart on 8th May this year for a huge celebration organised by the Christian Movements and communities, to mark the 10 new countries entering the European Union, and remind the leaders of the EU of the importance of the Christian witness. For full details contact Celia Blackwell from Focolare who is organising a group to attend the conference. Her address is Centre for Unity, 69 Parkway, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL8 6JG. Tel 01707 323620.
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