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News
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News from Ireland
Community in Ireland Growing Linda Walker, who has been a member of the Emmanuel Community for 20 years, reflects on recent developments in the community in Ireland. The Emmanuel Community began in France over 30 years ago, and has spread to many countries in the world. In Ireland the community is small. Over the last few years, however we have become more active in outreach and have been organising and running parish missions The Lord has blessed us greatly and we have been getting more and more enquiries about doing these, both north and south of the border. Our next mission will be in March 2005 at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Foxrock, Dublin. The Emmanuel mission team in Rome will be coming to help us, but most of the organisation will be done locally. There seems to be a new openness in parishes these days to our missions as it is being realised that people are no longer just going to come to church any more. If we want to reach them, we have to go out to and reach them where they are at. People in Ireland are also realising that this is not just the job of the priests but all baptised believers and we have to work together if we are going to be successful. This summer for the first time we also held an Emmanuel International Youth Forum in Dublin at All Hallows College in mid July. About 60 young people came. The participants were mostly in their early 20s and about 30 of them were from overseas and 30 from Ireland. It went really well. It was a big step for us, as we were only a few people organising it, but God has shown us that when we step out, He provides and helps. The Archbishop came to the Forum and celebrated Mass for us. It went so well, that we hoping to build on what was lived and take a group of young people to Cologne next year for World Youth Day. In fact it has been through living the missions and the Youth Forum that more people have become interested in the call of the community, and are looking more closely to see if it's the call of God for them. The graces of Emmanuel are Adoration, Compassion and Evangelization and we have members throughout the country. We meet once a month as a community for a weekend of formation and fellowship, and then have household meetings. We also get together for the various services and missions we are involved in. In the face of growing secularisation in Ireland families are looking for a place where they can come and be built up and sustained as a family, and that's one of the things we can do as a community. We also try and help young people discover Jesus and to discover how to freely choose to commit themselves in the different vocations. We are beginning to receive vocations to the priesthood in the community in Ireland. I think when we are faithful to our baptismal priesthood as lay people the Lord gives priestly vocations to the Church and the World. This is a big challenge for us today but we need not fear because Emmanuel God is with us. STOP PRESS GALWAY CONFERENCE 13th - 14th November (See Coming Events
Ireland)
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News from Scotland
The plan is that each Saturday the there will be petitionary prayers for a particular group of parishes and priests so that by the end of the year, everyone in the diocese will have been prayed for by name. There will also be prayers for the city of Edinburgh in general and those of all faiths and none. Tom is hoping that the people in the Charismatic Renewal will be the first to respond to the call to prayer but that other groups, individuals and movements in the Church might also respond. Those interested in knowing more about the initiative and helping in any way should contact Tom Mullen on 01506 871169. The Glasgow charismatic youth group that was formed earlier in the year had a very successful Life in the Spirit Seminars in the early summer. Between 20-40 young people now regularly attend the group. So many parents of the young people expressed an interest in the Life in the Spirit seminars, that it was decided to run one for them too at the same time at the same venue. Eddie McDonald, the chairman of the Glasgow DST said, "We decided to have an open forum session with the parents and children, so they could ask any questions they wanted about what they had experienced. By the end of the seminars everyone had come into the gift of tongues and saw that the Charismatic Renewal was just part of the Church." Members of the CCR are also involved in the ecumenical campaign to pray for the city of Glasgow. Recently all the churches promised to fast for one day for the city. The Glasgow CCR was given 21st September. This was followed up on the 10th October with a special evangelistic service at St Mary's in Abercrombie Street, linking up with services at four other churches in the city from different denominations in an evening of joint witness. Ecumenical work is particularly difficult in Glasgow because of the city's history of religious division. Eddie comments "Someone has to make the first step and put up with a certain amount of uncomfortableness before things can improve." Three hundred people attended this year's annual Glasgow conference with Fr Pat Deegan and David Wells, which went very well. One of the keys to this, believes Eddie, was the fact that the Blessed Sacrament was exposed during the whole weekend in the main hall. Eddie comments, "There was a massive difference in the our experience of worship. It was amazing just looking at people's faces transfixed by the Blessed Sacrament." Ged Farrell from Aberdeen is the new Vice-Chairman of the Scottish NST, he replaces Eddie McDonald from Glasgow who is now studying for the Diaconate.
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To
mark the year of the Eucharist, called by the Holy Father, the Diocesan
Service Team of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the St Andrews and
Edinburgh diocese, have felt called to organise Adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh once a month. They plan
to do this one Saturday a month from between one and three hours depending
on the response they get and the cathedral's own timetable. Tom Mullen,
the chairman of the Scottish National Service Team and also of the Edinburgh
team, whose idea it was, commented, "I felt it was important to
show that the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is very much at the heart
of the Church and that we should be seen to be initiating something
that is concerned for the needs of the whole diocese, not just the Charismatic
Renewal movement." |
News from England & Wales ENGLAND Potta Evangelistic and Healing Retreat Between 600-700 people came every day for the week long Potta Evangelism and Healing Retreat held at St George's Cathedral, Southwark in September (13th-17th). Potta is a very famous retreat centre in Kerala in India which attracts 20,000 or so people every week to attend their weekly retreats. So many people are touched and healed at these that members of the Indian community who are citizens of the UK have wanted over the last few years to share its blessings with people in England. Last year the founder of Potta, Fr Matthew Naickomparambil, did a very successful tour of England speaking at several cathedral venues but not in London. This time the preacher invited was Fr Augustine Vallooran who is the director of the English section at Potta. Fr Augustine who is seminary professor as well as being a preacher and teacher at Potta, would only agree to come, if the visit was done in conjunction with the English Catholic Charismatic Renewal and English speakers were invited as well. Thus as well as Fr Augustine and Teresa and Glen La'Rive his music team from Potta, there were talks by Kristina Cooper, Ann Lynch, Michelle Moran and Ros Powell. The organising team was made up of both members of the Indian community and the English Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Archbishop Kevin McDonald, managed to find time to pop in and greet the participants, amazed that the cathedral should be so full during the day time during the week. The organisers feel the event was significant in many ways and that God 31 is bringing a new unity between the different cultural realities for the benefit of the UK, particularly London. New Dawn Conference The annual New Dawn conference went very well with about 3000 or so people attending, many of whom camped on the Family Camp, as well as those staying at cottages and bed and breakfasts in the area. The theme was “Come Lord Jesus” and the emphasis was on holiness and being prepared for the Second Coming. Among the main speakers were Ralph Martin from the USA and Fr Bob Poole a member of the Companions of the Cross, who is now based in Canada. Other speakers included Michelle Moran, Charles Whitehead, Fr Chris O'Donnell O'Carm, Fr Sean Conaty and Fr Stan Fortuna CFR from the Bronx. There was also a very full programme of workshops, with about a dozen to choose from every afternoon. This will be the last year that the parish of St Margaret's in Twickenham will be running the children's camp. They have done it for three years and are offering other parishes or groups the opportunity to take on the job, which though demanding is very rewarding and helps people grow in skills that they can bring back to their parishes. For further details contact: Angie Keane 0208 894 6845. The St Margaret's team are willing to offer support and guidance to whoever might be interested in taking the job on. Birmingham Conference Numbers were also up at the annual Birmingham conference held at the Newman College, which draws not just locals but people from all over the country. This year for the second time there was a group from Yorkshire, who have become regulars over the last two years, since the Spinkhill conference hasn't been taking place. They brought typical Yorkshire humour to the concert night which is a feature of the Birmingham conference, where everyone is invited to stand and give a turn, and which helps create a strong community feel for the conference. The main speaker was Fr Pat Collins CM from Ireland and there were also talks by Sr Elizabeth Tuttle, Denis Wrigley from Maranatha and David Wells as well as a series of workshops each afternoon. The theme of the conference was “Whoever drinks the Water that I shall give shall never be thirsty again.”Jn 4.14 WALES The theme for this year's national Welsh conference was "I am the Good Shepherd". The main speakers were Fr Laurence Brassill OSA and Fr David Keniry, from the Ark of Covenant in Coventry. The theme of healing emerged in much of the inputs of the conference. Fr Laurence and Pauline Edwards prayed with the delegates for the healing of memories and their effect on issues of today. Fr David talked about the healing of priests in Wales and led the healing service where people were encouraged to pray over each other for physical and emotional problems. Personal ministry was then given by Fr Laurence, Fr David and members of the NSC. Bishop Regan from Wrexham celebrated one of the masses and helped out with the Sacrament of reconciliation. This year for the first time the Blessed Sacrament was exposed all night on the Tuesday and Wednesday. The Welsh NSC after feedback from delegates and prayer and discernment
are actively seeking new locations for events around Wales. They hope
by this to attract greater numbers to gatherings, especially from North
Wales. Read Goodnews for further news of this.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS Reconciliation and Unity Among Christians Needed in Europe if the New Evangelisation is to be Effective Kristina Cooper reports on the 10th Consultation of the National Service Committees of Europe, which took place in Prague from 9th to 12th September 2004.
The seminary, during the communist era, we were told had been the propaganda headquarters for the communist party and the editorial offices of one of its main journals. KGB agents were sent from there all over the world, said Cardinal Vlk, the primate of Prague who came to welcome the delegates. The Cardinal, who is a former president of the European Bishops. Conference and has close links with the Focolare Movement, commented "I feel personally very close to the Catholic Charismatic Renewal because like the Pope I feel that the movements in the Church are very important for the future of the Church." Spiritual Battle in Europe Michelle Moran, who is a member of the English NSC, and the chairman of the ICCRS European subcommittee, which was responsible for organising the gathering, saw the location of the meeting in an upper room as significant. "There is a spiritual battle in Europe - of reclaiming the ground for Christ. We can have hope that in the same way this building was reclaimed and is now a chapel again, so the Lord can redeem what's happening in Europe." The key however she said was in the liturgy from 1 Cor 8: 1 "Love makes the building grow." Among the VIP guests was Bishop Josef Clements from Germany, who is the new secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, replacing Archbishop Rylko, who is now president of the Council. Bishop Clements, who is a moral theogian, worked for 19 years for Cardinal Ratzinger and took up his new position last November. How European do we feel? With the enlargement of the European Union back in May of this year and the debate over its constitution and membership, the whole sense of Europe as an entity has come much more into the fore recently. To set the context of the meeting, Michelle did a short presentation of the recent papal encyclical "Ecclesia in Europa". In this the Pope states clearly the challenges facing the Church in Europe and the need for a new evangelisation and proclamation of the gospel. The document, which was discussed in small groups, will be the theme of next year's large ICCRS European conference, which will be held in Budapest in September 2005. Michelle challenged the participants as to how European they felt and the importance of being concerned with the aspirations and needs of other nations, not just their own. This ICCRS gathering is part of a general trend for the coming together of the different continental groupings under the auspices of ICCRS (International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services). North and South America are planning to form a joint ICCRS continental committee said Oresete Pesare, the director of ICCRS in Rome. Likewise in Africa, there has been as separation between the French and English speaking parts of the Charismatic Renewal but they will be having a pan-African ICCRS committee, which Oresete sees as symbolic of this new drive to find unity. New initiatives for unity There were several testimonies which seemed to echo this growing unity. In Belgium the Flemish, French and Germany speaking parts of the Charismatic Renewal have started working together for the first time organising events. Meanwhile in France this summer, for the first time, the French NSC had a national five day retreat (17th-22nd July 2004) at Paray Le Monial which was attended by members both of the big communities and of the prayer groups. "I believe the event will prove to be very significant for the whole of France. Everyone was talking about a new foundation having been laid. Although the theme was on witnessing what struck everyone was the sense of communion and unity," said Pierre Chieux, the chairman of the French NSC. The key he said was the return to prayer they had been experiencing. "It has changed the NSC," he said. "We began praying more and we found we wanted to extend the communion we experienced to others." This importance of prayer and intercession as a prerequisite for everything was underlined by the spread of Kim Kollins prayer initiative called the Burning Bush, which encourages people to come back to the Upper Room to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament in praise and tongues. This was given a public endorsement by the Pope at Pentecost in 2004 when he invited the Charismatic Renewal in Italy to celebrate vespers with him in St Peter's Square. Here tongues was heard for the first time officially in the square. Growing acceptance and appreciation of the Charismatic Renewal by the Institutional Church This growing acceptance and appreciation of the Charismatic Renewal by the institutional church was echoed in several of the testimonies. Charles Whitehead talked about all the evangelistic and catechetical material being produced by Catholic Evangelisation Services, which was set up by the CCR in England some years ago and has now been used in 1000 parishes. Meanwhile Christof Hemberger from Germany told, how after many years of seemingly being ignored by the Catholic establishment, despite the CCR's very effective evangelistic work with young people, they were now being called to help prepare World Youth Day in Cologne, because of their expertise in spiritual matters. "We need you and want to learn from you," he was told. Likewise Bas Hoogland from Holland talked about the youth leadership training courses, called "Duc in Altum" that they were now running to equip people to work in parishes with teenagers drawing, on the experience the Charismatic Renewal in Holland has with young people. Deep seated prejudices caused by past can be obstacles to unity Marie Beirne from Ireland gave a powerful prophetic word on the importance of unity. The proclamation of the gospel, she said, was being held back because of division, whether among the denominations, countries or groups or individuals. "The Lord showed me that where we have been hurt it is difficult to receive and the Word falls on hard ground. God is calling on us to deal with division on all sorts of levels." She quoted from Isaiah 58:9-12 and the call to be breach menders and restorers of ruined houses. One of the problems, however, in trying work together with people from other countries or races, apart from language difficulties, can be cultural misunderstandings and deep seated prejudices caused by baggage from the past, which can undermine efforts at unity said Fr Peter Hocken, an English priest based in Vienna. A recognised historian and commentator on the Charismatic Renewal, he highlighted some of the preliminary work that often needs to be done before unity can be effective drawing on Pope John Paul II's insights into the Purification of Memories. Fr Peter commented, "The Pope's recent call to the Church for repentance for past sins is unique in the history of the Church. One might ask why he felt it necessary?" he commented. "The Holy Father has said that if there is not a confession of the sins of the 2nd millennium, then there will no way of avoiding their reappearance in the 3rd millennium." Purification of memories Fr Peter said he saw a marked increase in emphasis on the importance of reconciliation in all the Christian churches over the last 20 years. The pope's insight into the purification of memories is very valuable Fr Peter commented. "He is saying that although we are only responsible for our own sin, the memory is what connects us to the past and where the past comes into the present and shapes the future." There was an inspiring testimony given by Malgorzata Topolska from Poland which demonstrated the power of past sins to disrupt the present but also the power of reconciliation and forgiveness to overcome this. She told how following the fall of communism in 1994-5 she and her husband felt called to set up a school of evangelisation for students from the former communist countries. The second school they had ran into problems because they found it so difficult to build community between the students because of the prejudices they had about each other's countries. Ironically their only point of unity was the Russian language which they all hated as it was a sign of the oppression of the past. Things got so bad that the leader decided to hold an evening of reconciliation of the nations whereby students repented for the past sins of their countries and forgiveness and reconciliation was given. Malgorzara commented, "In that moment we really experienced that we were all children of God and these past hurts had been overcome. The rest of the school was a time of real community and those who participated in it are still in touch with one another today." This sense of reconciliation as a gift of God was echoed in another sharing by Pierre Chieux when he spoke about the tensions that often arise when organising events with people who have a different mentality than your own. He commented, "I have discovered that when this begins to happen and the tension starts building up in you, and you start feeling angry and trapped and don't know what to do. It is sign to start to intercede and pray that as my Protestant brothers say, "heaven breaks open", because this alone sorts things out. Just talking and complaining and discussing is not enough!" On the final evening of the conference there was a powerful experience of how the power of the Holy Spirit can lead in intercession for the world and Europe in general when Kim Kollins from Germany led the conference in an experience of the Burning Bush project and a time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and praise and worship.
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Almost
100 leaders from 29 European countries gathered together in an upper
room chapel, in the main seminary in Prague, the capital of the Czech
Republic to discuss challenges and the future direction of the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal on our continent. These included two representatives
from each NSC and one youth representative, who had their own meetings.
(The team from the UK and Ireland were Marie Beirne, Sr Briget Dunne,
Tom Mullen, Gerry McLaughlin, Eileen O.Kane, Barbara Mason. Maria
Toth (youth England) and Sharon Clohessy (youth Ireland). Charles
Whitehead and Michelle Moran from the English NSC were also there
because of their ICCRS responsibilities and I came to report on the
gathering.)
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