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News News from the British Isles and around the world
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NEW HARVESTERS MEN'S WEEKEND IN SCOTLAND As well as the very popular men's weekends that take place every year in England there will also be a Scottish venue from 8th-10th June '07 at Scotus College in Glasgow. Participants often experience life changing moments at the weekends. A fruit of these weekends have been the Harvesters Men's groups that have started up round the country where men can meet together to share their faith and encourage each other in the Christian life. For further details contact Goodnews Office. There are testimonies and comments about last year's conference on http://www. harvesters.org./tsts2003.htm COR ET LUMEN CHRISTI IN THE NORTH The Cumbrian branch of the Cor et Lumen Christi Community held their second Family Day for God in November. The first one was in the summer and held in a marquee. This time it was in their new conference room in Wigton. Families gathered to enjoy fellowship, hear teaching on Christian Family life and celebrate Mass together. Members of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and two local priests also came along. There were special events for teenagers and younger children, a shared lunch and a circus skills workshop. The day was a great success. Meanwhile work continues to complete further conference facilities and to restore the community building as centre for retreat, training and renewal in the North. The next Family Day for God is planned for Sunday 25th. NEW DST FOR CLIFTON DIOCESE Members of the CCR in the Clifton diocese have re-established a Diocesan Service Team (DST) to promote Charismatic Renewal in their area. They are planning a day of renewal for 16th June and have invited David Wells to speak. The contact person has also changed and Neil Quinn will take over from Dee Holder who has done the job for many years. HEREFORD CONFERENCE The 3rd Hereford Catholic conference took place at St Mary's High School, Lugwardine over the weekend of 20th-22nd October. The theme was "I shall ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever". The speakers included Sr Maria Natella OP, Charles Whitehead, Jenny Baker, Fiona Hendy and Fr Matthew Jones. Steve Murray reduced the participants to tears with his mime "Watch the Lamb". The music was led by Kevin and Christine Sumpter from HOD . The group, mainly young people and teenagers, were really anointed and were so full of joy and enthusiasm that it touched everybody there. Trish Moran and Simon Forrest from HOD led the youth ministry and the Pilgrims Community led the children's ministry. The idea has always been to empower the local parishes in the deanery and so numbers were not huge (about 200) but the powerful way in which the Holy Spirit moved was very tangible. Many people who had come before, but had stayed on the fringe, this time experienced how much the Holy Spirit could change and guide lives for the better. One man emailed to say his life had been totally changed and he now wanted to get involved with helping the conference. Another fruit of the conference is an Advent Bible Study group that has been started from it. Both the headmaster and deputy head of the school and their wives have attended the conferences and been deeply touched. This in turn has influenced the school. The Belmont prayer group has also grown as a result of the conference. FRUITS OF POTTA PRIESTS VISIT TO ENGLISH MIDLANDS Last autumn two Potta priests from India did a tour of the Midlands speaking at various venues. A healing early on in the tour of a young girl, ensured that word of mouth publicity brought good numbers to all the venues. Among these was a group of 30 travellers who had come from Ireland, and followed the priests around to all their events. Many young British born people from an Indian background, who had begun to lose their faith in the secular culture in England were set on fire by the preaching of Fr Matthew Elavumkal VC one of the priests, and gave their lives to the Lord and were baptised in the Holy Spirit. A new prayer group in Leicester has also been established as a direct consequence of the visit. This meets at the Sacred Heart Church on Sundays at 6pm and is run by Lucy and Tony Fernandez. The organisers are hoping to arrange another tour of various towns with Fr Matthew Elavumkal and Fr Matthew Naikomparambil this coming September 2007. Those who would like to be involved in this should contact Goodnews Office INDIAN PRAYER GROUPS IN THE NORTH OF ENGLAND Over the last few years there has been a big influx of new and zealous young Catholic Charismatic immigrants from India, who have come to work in the hospitals and the IT industry. As a result Malayalam (the language spoken in Kerala, South India) speaking prayer groups have mushroomed in this country and there are now 38 in a loose affiliation. Many of these have started doing monthly all night vigils, such as the one led by Christy Sebastian at Our Lady's in Upton Park, in East London. Jesus Youth, a Charismatic Indian youth outreach ministry in Liverpool have also done one for three years at St. Emilie's convent where Myles Dempsey's community, the Prince of Peace, is based. There is also a regular monthly all night prayer vigil in Birmingham 9.30pm to 5am. CHARISM SCHOOL IN DUBLIN Last November (9th-11th 2006) saw the third charism school in Dublin led by Damian Stayne from the Cor et Lumen Christi community. About 200 people registered for the school. They came from all over Ireland and 20 people came from Italy with their own interpreter, and another young woman came from Croatia. As well as the charism school there were two outreaches. One took place in the heart of Dublin city at Clarendon Street where about 500 people attended. A further 500 attended the service at Ballymun. As a result of the seminars a small group has been set up on the Ballymun estate, where about 20 people so far are attending. There were several healings that were claimed from joint pain and one lady who had been to the doctor the day before because of a growth in her stomach, said it had now apparently vanished. Another lady also said that her hearing had radically improved, and someone else said at the beginning their sight was so bad they couldn't read the overhead projector for the songs, but afterwards she could. The next Charism School will
be in Austria 2nd-5th January with outreach. There will be only one
Charism School in England on the 23rd-25th February. Please contact
(01932) 565747 ROY HENDY AND AFRICA TEAM Roy Hendy and Tom Gorman from the House of the Open Door community accompanied by Gerard Pomfret and Sue Hendy spent three weeks in November in Tanzania and Kenya ministering for the Harvesters' Men's network. The crowds were particularly good in Tanzania and the team also distributed £25,000 which they had collected beforehand to various communities and ministries which they knew. Gerard Pomfret got very sick at one point and had to be hospitalised but is now fine. Those who would like to contribute to "Africa fund" can contact HOD 01386 852084 SOUTH WEST CONFERENCE 2006 - 'Glorify My Name'
The focus was on giving glory to God through extended prayer and praise, recognition of God working in individual lives and empowering participants in the use of the charisms through teaching, workshops, and 'hands on' experience. Not only was this a time of refreshing people but one of equipping them in their personal lives and for service in parishes and prayer groups. Throughout the weekend the Blessed Sacrament was reserved in a specially prepared chapel/prayer room and periods of exposition and times for quiet prayer were well attended. The principal speakers were David Wells and Ros Powell, a wonderful combination. David, with his great gifting of wit and wisdom illustrated how God is present in the wonders and events that we encounter in our daily lives. Ros, who held early morning 'Fresh Manna' prayer meetings, taught and encouraged participants to give Glory to God through the use of the charismatic gifts that all had been given and led a powerful time of ministry that blessed many people. Testimony to the blessings received and appreciation of the conference is perhaps illustrated by the fact that many of those present instantly booked for the 2007 conference in Sidmouth, Devon! overhead projector for the songs, but afterwards she could. The next Charism School will be in Austria 2nd-5th January with outreach. There will be only one Charism School in England on the 23rd-25th February. Please contact (01932) 565747 CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CCR ROUND THE ISLES 2007 The National Service Team for the CCR in Scotland are organising a special celebration Mass in Glasgow, with a social afterwards to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Duquesne weekend which is seen as the key event for the CCR to be launched in the Catholic Church. The venue is to be announced. For details contact the Glasgow Renewal Office 0141 575 4561 In England there are two events. One in the north on Saturday, 17th February at Trinity and All Saints College, Leeds with Archie Cameron and Fr Jim McManus and another on Saturday, 5th May at Westminster Cathedral, London (ticket event) with Fr Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap and Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan and Mass to be celebrated hopefully by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor. FOR TICKETS SEND SAE AND £5 PAYABLE TO CREW TRUST for each ticket (Young people under 18 go free but need a ticket!) to the Goodnews Office - Allen Hall 28 Beaufort Street London SW3 5AA In Ireland the NSC are dedicating their national conference to celebrating the 40th anniversary on 22nd-24th June 2007 in Athlone. Among the speakers are Fr Tom Forrest CSSR and Bishop Martin Drennan. INTERNATIONAL NEWS COME AND SEE BRUSSEL 2006 EVANGELISING OUR CITIES Kristina Cooper reports on the fourth city mission which took place 28th October -5th November 2006 in Brussel Two years ago, with a couple of friends I went to the Paris city mission. I found it an incredibly enriching experience. What struck me was the way Paris seemed to come alive spiritually during that time. Every church building had a fluttering orange banner with some spiritual treasure inside whether it was an art exhibition or choral concert. One of my friends dubbed it "World Youth Day for Adults" and I could see why. Participants were given brightly coloured scarves and bags which made it easy to identify fellow conference goers as they walked by in the street, and it helped create a great sense of camaraderie among us all on the metro and in the cafes. For me one of the best parts of my Paris trip was the opportunity to be put up with other Catholics and participate a bit in their local parish life. For the Brussels trip there were four of us travelling together. Lorna, a fellow parishoner from St Vincent's in South London and two members of the Westminster Cathedral prayer group, Kate and Maria and myself. As the others didn't speak French I was a little concerned as to how they would manage, but all four of us were taken in by Philippe and Marie-Francoise Chevalier, a retired couple who lived in a beautiful flat in the south of the city and spoke excellent English. Their hospitality and energy knew no bounds. In Paris, I had ended up hanging out with the small band of Brits who were there, organised by CASE, the Catholic Agency to support Evangelisation, but this time because of the hospitality of our hosts, we spent most of our evenings with them at local parish initiatives rather than at the centrally organised ones down town and didn't manage to get to the English speaking workshops CASE were organising. In one parish called St Mark's, a soirée of piano music by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Lizst, interspersed with a short reflection about the spirituality and influences of each composer had been organised. This attracted many non-church goers and acted as both an evangelistic outreach and fundraiser for Brazilian street children. Another evening we went to an ecumenical prayer session that brought together Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and evangelicals to pray for the city. On another day in a church we came across, a vast striking canvas, almost the size of a house, depicting the figure Jesus with longing eyes drawing the viewer into his heart while a meditation played in the background.
Spending time like this with the local Christians one found oneself learning something of their spirituality and attitudes. Although I didn't get to any of the "round tables" - discussions with high ranking churchmen, politicians and academics, discussing the issues of the day, I did manage to attend some of the main morning sessions in the cathedral. Each day these consisted of a major talk, a couple of people sharing their experience of how their faith impacted their lives and Mass, celebrated by one of the cardinals. The themes were "diakonia" (service to the poor) given by Andrea Riccardi the founder of the St Egidio Community in Rome, "proclamation of the gospel" given by fellow Brit, Timothy Radcliffe OP, "celebrating liturgy - the Eucharist" by Swiss priest Fr Nicolas Buttet and "prayer" by Fr Enzo Bianchi, the founder of an ecumenical community in Italy. Timothy Radcliffe proved both popular and challenging and generated the most ticket sales as well as the most downloads afterwards for his talk in which he reflected on the challenge of preaching the gospel to a culture which does not share our values. (text available on the congress website www.Bruxelles-Toussaint2006.org ) The week of presentations concluded with a stimulating group interview with the five cardinals where they were grilled by a French speaking journalist about various subjects, from the challenges facing the Church in the next decade to how to evangelise young people and relations with Moslems. Interestingly among the witnesses on the final day, was one by Albert Guigui, the chief rabbi of Brussels, and another by Hacer Duzgun, the vice president of the Moslem executive of Belgium, who both shared their insights and experiences of prayer. Cardinal Godfried Danneels was delighted at the turnout and success of the week. He added that if the Church wanted to be present in the world, it needed to dare to take risks. "We cannot wait to be sure of success before organising events like this," he said. An estimated 100,000 people, however, took part in one way or another with 5000 Belgians enrolled as participants, 1500 French, 500 Hungarians and 500 other nationalities including a small British contingent. The former queen Fabiola, widow of Badouin, who is a committed Catholic, attended the morning sessions most days as a participant, sitting in the front row dressed in grey. And the current king and queen were at the opening event. The cardinals were challenged by journalists were they not simply preaching to the converted? Cardinal Polycarpo from Lisbon commented, "the group of committed Catholics is not so big today and they need encouraging. The congress we had in Lisbon last year touched the hearts of a lot of new people. It brought up all sorts of questions and answers. The Church by definition is a mystery of communion and this congress has given us all a remarkable experience of communion between five big churches in Europe." Cardinal Schonborn also underlined the importance of big events like this so that people could have a wider experience than of just their local parish situation. The final congress in the series will take place next September (16th - 22nd) in Budapest. Those who would be interested in attending should contact CASE, who will be arranging another group to go. CASE, 114 West Heath Road, London NW3 7TX tel 020 8458 3316 TOGETHER FOR EUROPE, STUTTGART 2007 Over 12,000 people from all over Europe are expected to gather in Stuttgart on 12th May. It is an ecumenical gathering and more than 170 lay movements from different churches will be represented. There will be live satellite transmissions throughout Europe and the world. The event will be preceded by a two day international congress of 3000 leaders from the various movements. ThegoalistoputGospel-basedmutual love into action in order to build a Europe of peace, reconciliation, justice and unity. It is hoped that the relationships generated by this event will help to generate new ideas for the social, political and cultural life of society. Focolare are organising a group from England. POTTA RETREAT CENTRE UNDER ATTACK The Divine Retreat Centre in Muringoor, Kerala, the base of the famous Potta priests who travel the world evangelising has been under attack. One weekend, last autumn seven large vehicles of police officers and a team of doctors raided the centre and took control, allegedly to investigate a complaint brought against the centre earlier in the year. This charge had already been dismissed by the court and the police raid was interpreted as an attempt to blacken the name of Potta and create scandal to undermine the work the centre is doing. On average 8000 people attend retreats there every week, with 30,000 people coming at holiday times. The retreat centre also takes care of about 3000 destitute mothers and children, AIDS victims, elderly men and women and mentally ill people. Cyril John, the chairman of the Indian NSC, has written to all leaders in the CCR and the hierarchy, asking them to show their solidarity with the Divine Retreat Centre. JESUS YOUTH EUROPEAN CONVENTION Jesus Youth, the Indian inspired charismatic youth ministry, celebrated its 5th anniversary of being established in England last September. About 200 young people took part in retreats they organised last summer. This year they are planning to hold their first European convention in Britain, in Wales in 6th-11th September 2007.
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The
South West Conference, an event that moves around the Plymouth Diocese,
was this year held during the first weekend in November at the Sandy
Lodge Hotel, Newquay , Cornwall. The glory of God was evident in the
wonderful bright sunny weather and glorious beaches nearby. 
In
the UK and Ireland we tend to be rather cut off from mainland European
activities and many people are probably not aware that over the last
four years, special city wide missions have been taking place in the
autumn in some of the major European capitals. These have been the inspiration
of the five cardinals of these cities - Lustiger (Paris), Schonborn
(Vienna), Polycarpo (Lisbon) Danneels (Brussels) and Erdo (Budapest)
who decided to band together and support each other to find ways of
preaching the gospel to the city dwellers of our time. The missions
have also been an opportunity for the new movements, particularly the
Emmanuel Community, and the diocesan structures to work together on
an evangelistic project, as well as being a show case for what Christianity
and the Church has to offer secular society in terms of philosophy,
politics, culture and spirituality. 