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Kristina Cooper reflects on the Newman Consultation, which took place at the end of June 2005, and what she felt the Spirit was saying through the whole process.
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Where
is the Spirit leading?|
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I'm always intrigued at the interplay between God's spirit and our human dimension in the way God speaks to us, which can sometimes make it difficult to immediately recognise his word to us. The recent Newman Consultation, which gathered together leaders of the Charismatic Renewal from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is a case in point. The initial seed was hardly noticeable. At a conference in Scotland some years ago, Tom Mullen, the chairman of the Scottish NST, almost in passing, told me he felt it would be good if the leaders of the National Service Committees of the UK and Ireland got together. Perhaps I could mention it to Charles Whitehead, the English NSC chairman, and see if he could organise something as he had once before. I obediently passed the request on to Charles, who, in his turn, asked others what they thought. "God at work in drawing people together" To my amazement there was an instant and enthusiastic response. God obviously was at work. Thus it was about a year later that 60 or so leaders from the various NSCs came together for a weekend, held at the Sion Community headquarters in Brentwood, Essex. The atmosphere and excitement was palpable. There was a sense that it couldn't stop there and that God had a plan for us as the northern isles even if we didn't know what it was yet. Thus over the next 18 months two members from each of the NSCs came together at regular intervals to discuss what the Lord might want us to do together. Interestingly the following year, at a European level meeting of National Service Committees in Budapest, there was a strong call to reconciliation among the countries of Europe. Here it was suggested that as it was countries which were next to each other that usually needed to be reconciled it might be good to organise suitable trans-national level events. Without realising it, we seemed to have slipped into the flow of the Spirit! Meanwhile, Charles Whitehead had been feeling a need
for a consultation to reflect on where Charismatic Renewal was going.
This was aimed at national leaders in the CCR in England and planned
for June 2005. As well as ecumenical guests, Charles also hoped to invite
a few people from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but as a result of the
growing bonds between the countries, and recognising the special gifts
and perspectives other nations would bring, he suggested opening up
the planned consultation for all the isles with equal participation
from each of the four countries. To allow as many people as possible to contribute their reflections and thoughts, as only 50 or so people from each country would be able to attend the actual consultation questionnaires were distributed as widely as possible. About 1000 of these were filled in and returned, with 250 letters. Even on a practical level the Holy Spirit was at work, as two volunteers suddenly appeared and offered their services, to input all this data. An intercession team was also set up to pray for the consultation, both in the months leading up to the meeting, as well as during the conference itself, and prophetic words received by these prayer warriors were passed around. "Space for the Holy Spirit to speak" It's always difficult organising a charismatic gathering - being organised and efficient - yet leaving space for the Holy Spirit to act in freedom. Then there was the new trans-national dimension too, and the need to make sure that the voice of every nation was included, respected and heard. No small task and almost impossible to achieve perfectly. I was glad I wasn't one of the organisers! The programme was an impressive combination of prayer and praise, small groups discussion, talks, silent prayer, and opportunity for the gifts of the spirit - particularly the prophetic word to be exercised. It was hoped in this way that the Holy Spirit would be able to speak in many different ways, and hopefully confirm the way forward. Whereas most of the consultation was meticulously planned, the Saturday night, was left totally open - this was the time when the Holy Spirit, it was hoped, would speak to his people and it would have been presumptive to suggest what He might say. Reality, however, has a way of being much more prosaic than any fevered imaginings we might have and God always works in reality. Charles Whitehead set the scene for the conference with his talk on the first night. Archbishop Kevin McDonald, meanwhile put the CCR in context with the whole move of the Spirit in the Catholic Church in the last century, and suggested various priorities for the future( see page 21) and finally Fr Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap reminded us to keep alive and really live the spirit of Pentecost, promote the Baptism of the Spirit and not get distracted from our main calling. "Moment of poverty and uncertainty" Then Saturday night came. So much work had been put into it. What if there was no clear manifestation of the Spirit or Word from the Lord? What if He chose to be silent? What would happen then? Because of the way the programme had been formulated, there would be a vacuum and nobody quite knew what to do then. It was a moment of poverty and uncertainty, similar no doubt to the tentative beginnings of the Charismatic Renewal, when nobody really knew what was going on. It was a very mixed night, and for some people probably a bit of a disappointment. Tongues of fire did not come from heaven as at the first Pentecost. We did not fall to the ground under the anointing of the spirit. No clear single theme even emerged. At one point a spirit of repentance and reconciliation seemed to settle on the gathering, leading people to come forward and repent for past sins on behalf of their nations. For some this was a strong, emotional moment and there were many tears and hugs. But for others, the very theme was irrelevant, and for them the Spirit was saying something totally different. Others came forward and shared their insights and feelings, but in the end nothing unifying or definite emerged. The leadership thus decided to simply draw the meeting to an end with a time of personal ministry. "Call to Deeper Prayer" For some this was an anti-climax but when I reflected afterwards, I realised, that it was probably just as well that the Holy Spirit hadn't shown up the way we expected and wanted. You can't just programme the Holy Spirit and expect Him to behave like a well trained speaker. We received tokens of his presence, indicators of the way ahead, but it's relationship He ultimately wants from us. I felt the reason for the lack of clarity was because the call was a deeper one to more prayer, more wrestling for answers, and deeper relationships both with God and with others, so we could become more attuned to the working of the Spirit in our lives. The fact that we were meeting at all was a sign of the Spirit's action and part of a more general call to reconciliation and unity that is being heard everywhere. The consultation itself ended with a spontaneous and moving prophetic action, when all the participants, in their national groupings, including the two delegates from Gibraltar, formed a human cross to symbolise their commitment to each other and to work together to be one. The Committee of the Isles will be meeting this month
to look at the feedback from the small groups and individuals, including
Fr Pat Collins' suggestion that the representatives from the four nations
go on a pilgrimage together to Assisi. We will also hope to reprint
in future editions of Goodnews more from the consultation and in time,
produce a general, more comprehensive report including other people's
reflections and perspectives. Interestingly ICCRS is planning a similar
gathering for Pentecost 2006 (see the News
page) when the same questions and themes will be discussed.
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ
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