Charles hands on the baton

Charles Whitehead Charles hands on the baton

At the last meeting of the English National Service Committee, Michelle Moran was elected as the new chairperson and Charles Whitehead, who has served for 20 years, stepped down. Kristina Cooper explains how the work of the English NSC has developed over the last 35 years and pays tribute to Charles' unique contributions to this and his work for the CCR generally.

News has no doubt been reaching you that we now have a new chairperson of the English NSC Committee. At the last NSC meeting, Charles Whitehead, who has led the CCR in England for the last 20 years stepped down and Michelle Moran from the Sion Community was elected. This was as the result of a review process which has been taking place, initiated by Charles, over the last couple of years reflecting on the membership of the English NSC and looking to the future.

Each National Service Committee has its own identity and call and history. In some countries the Charismatic Renewal is very structured and prayer groups and communities formally belong to the CCR, which is seen more as a specific movement with an elected leadership. This creates a hierarchical model of leadership and a more centrally directed movement. In England, however, partly through historical circumstance and partly due to the British temperament this has not happened. Instead there has been a recognition that the Holy Spirit moves in all kinds of ways, and people are given the freedom to follow this and authority is not provided by the NSC but instead through normal Church channels - the parish priest on the local level, or the bishop on a diocesan level.

CCR in England not centrally directed

This has meant that the CCR in England, instead of being a homogeneous, centrally directed organisation has developed into more of a loose federation of prayer groups, communities, initiatives and individuals. What holds people together is their recognition that their lives have been transformed by the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and their desire to be in relationship in some way. This takes place not through membership but more informally through attending various events- conferences etc or receiving publications like Goodnews which help to create a shared ethos and vision.
The English NSC over the years has thus been simply a gathering of leaders, from the various different groupings round the country, who meet together a few times a year to see if there are things that they can do together to serve the wider body. In the light of its non-elective, voluntary nature the English NSC has no formal authority over any charismatic group or initiative. Its role is one of service and to offer advice and help if requested.

English NSC “a working community”

Over the last ten years or so, the output of the English NSC has massively increased, and it has changed from being more of a networking body to a working community, helping to spearhead new initiatives in evangelisation and catechetics through the video material produced by Catholic Evangelisation Services etc. As individuals too, many of the members of the NSC have become involved in all kinds of consultative bodies in the Catholic Church as well as taking part in ecumenical initiatives. Charles, for example, was honoured recently to be invited as the only non-Pentecostal, to be on the organising committee of the centenary celebrations of the world wide Pentecostal movement which took place in Los Angeles in April last month. Of particular note in recent years has been the bridge building between the NSCs of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales and a whole new work of unity and reconciliation between our countries. One of the key people in all this has been, yet again, Charles.

Since its inception the English NSC, in its membership, has tried to maintain a balance between men and women, clerical and lay, different gifts and representation from different parts of the country. Key to maintaining this largeness of vision has been Charles’ unique gifting in unity which has enabled strong-minded leaders who perhaps have thought differently on various issues to work together.

All of this has meant that the NSC has been very reluctant to let Charles go. ICCRS, International Charismatic Renewal Services, the Vatican link organisation, where Charles was international president for ten years, had the same difficulty and he was requested to stay on, after the normal tenure, because it was recognised that his particular diplomatic gifts were needed to help get the ICCRS statutes, whereby the Church gave formal recognition to the CCR, ratified by the Vatican. The English NSC now has someone with the experience and ability to receive the baton from Charles, Michelle Moran. The pair have always worked closely together and after Charles stepped down from ICCRS, Michelle was chosen to be the ICCRS representative of Northern Europe and she is the current chairperson of the European sub committee of ICCRS. This has meant that England, despite being only a small country, still has a voice on the international body for the Catholic Charismatic Renewal world wide.

Those close to Charles are aware of his phenomenal capacity for work. As a result the responsibilities now associated with the chairmanship of the English NSC are probably too much for any successor to take on. Thus there will be a long hand over period in which Charles will continue to carry out some of his duties and existing responsibilities, until it has been decided on the most effective way to move forward, as the Lord reveals His will for this next phase of the CCR.

Charles honoured with Life Membership of NSC

At the same NSC meeting Eileen O’Kane from Brentwood was re-elected Vice chairperson. She will assist Michelle, over the next couple of years, as the NSC seeks to continue to bring new people and group representation on the committee. It was recognised that whereas some people are called to serve for a time on the NSC, some people have a unique call to the work of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. Charles is one of these. In the light of his exceptional gifts and what he still has to offer, it was thus unanimously decided by the meeting that Charles would remain a Life Member of the NSC. In this way we can benefit from having a fresh face at the helm, but also be able to draw on his vast experience and ability. So as we move into this new time, we ask you for your prayers, that we in the CCR will continue to follow the Holy Spirit and his prompting for the way ahead.

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Charles Whitehead
An Appreciation

Bishop Ambrose Griffiths, the Episcopal Advisor of the CCR, pays tribute to the unique contribution of Charles Whitehead to the CCR in Britain.

As Charles steps down as leader of the English National Service Committee, it gives me great pleasure to pay tribute to him and all the work he has done for the Church over the past 20 years. In the early days of CCR there was much enthusiasm. This very exuberance, however, tended to alienate some people and make others suspicious. Charles Whitehead by his wise leadership has done more than anyone to make Catholic Charismatic Renewal respected and welcomed. He has somehow managed to balance the demands made on him as a top business executive with total dedication to the promotion of Charismatic Renewal. His wisdom and balanced approach quickly won the confidence of Cardinal Basil Hume and other bishops.

Charles’ unique leadership gifts has meant that he has been an invaluable member of the National Service Committee and its chairman for as long as most people can remember. He has been a leader who truly serves people and he has had that special gift of making people feel worthwhile and giving them confidence. These gifts were recognised early on by ICCRS, the international co-ordinating body of CCR where he did equally sterling work. He was soon elected their chairman and became widely known both for his discernment and as an outstanding speaker who travelled all over the world.

Another key to Charles’ effectiveness as a leader is that he is open to new ideas and is very good at listening to people. He thinks clearly and always seems to have that discernment to know the right time to launch a new initiative. An excellent example is when he and his team stopped the very successful Southampton Conference they were organising to step out in faith and launch a new venture for Catholic families - the Celebrate Conference. This proved an instant success. Other fruits came from this, including the Oasis Groups for young people and the launch of the very popular Men’s Weekends to encourage men in their Christian faith.

In 1996, under Charles’ leadership, the English NSC gathered together at Stockport for two days to pray and try to discern how the Charismatic Renewal could best serve the Church. This marked an important watershed for the CCR in England. It saw the transition from the NSC thinking simply about promoting the CCR itself to identifying the work of the Holy Spirit and trying to support that in whatever form it took. One of the conclusions of this meeting was that we should do what we could to promote the Alpha Course, which was very new at the time, within the Catholic Church. With NSC support Charles set up and guided the Catholic Alpha Office to do this at London Colney. This soon became Catholic Evangelisation Services which produces and markets Roman Catholic teaching videos and DVDs – the CaFE programmes – which are very widely known and used in this country and many parts of the world.

During all this time Charles has been the Managing Editor of Good News which has gone from strength to strength. Charles also played a very important role in the formation of the Committee of the Isles which has further drawn together our four countries and made possible the Newman Consultation which met last June.We owe Charles an immense debt of gratitude and also Sue his ‘Other Half’, who has been indefatigable in her support.In recognition of all that he has done, Charles has been made the first Life Member of the NSC. We could not do without him and who knows what fresh inspirational schemes he will launch!