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CaFE News Sharing the Gospel through the Media
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Mission in the parish We are gearing ourselves up for the autumn rush as many parishes start planning their on-going Formation and Sacramental Preparation programmes for the coming year. The autumn term seems to be the most popular time to run a CaFE course as people are willing to come out in the evenings and there is lots of time before Christmas to get a team together, publicise and run a course. It’s an easy way to bring mission to the parish. Peter from Guildford wrote “Coming to CaFE as a lapsed Catholic (with gentle encouragement from my wife-to-be ) I was initially feeling resistant to evangelisation; secular values had long been entrenched in me. But the CaFE programme is pitched at the right level, so as to present the faith in a clear and unthreatening way. For the lapsed and unchurched alike, it’s an ideal way to meet with Christ and with like-minded people.” Running a Course Sometimes it is difficult to decide what to run as a general parish course as people’s needs vary. Maybe you are thinking that we have run the Alpha Course and some of the CaFE resources – “we’ve been there and done that” – but there will be lots of people in the parish who were not able or ready to attend before and could benefit from them now. You might also be able to form a team from those who attended the last course. Others may be ready to go deeper with “Life in the Spirit” seminars using either live speakers or the DVDs. There are many options available that are easy to run and will be a real blessing to many in the parish. Please contact us if you want any advice on what is available. Prayer, of course, is the key to choosing what to run, when and who to target within the parish. Why not get a few people together now to start praying for wisdom and guidance? “Everywhere, then, a renewed proclamation is needed even for those already baptized. Many Europeans today think they know what Christianity is, yet they do not really know it at all. Often they are lacking in knowledge of the most basic elements and notions of the faith. Many of the baptized live as if Christ did not exist: the gestures and signs of faith are repeated, especially in devotional practices, but they fail to correspond to a real acceptance of the content of the faith and fidelity to the person of Jesus.”(Ecclesia in Europa para. 47) New Resources Many people have asked us for resources that would be suitable to use with RCIA. Some use clips from “Exploring the Mass” and we’ve recently selected other suitable material to help with RCIA . (These would of course also be very suitable for general parish use). “Come to Me” is a fast-moving and practical look at who Jesus is, His death and resurrection and how He comes to us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Using the adult material from the very successful ‘First Holy Communion and Reconciliation’ series for parents, this resource has been designed for a general audience to help people to discover (and to rediscover) the wonderful gift of Reconciliation. This 40 minute DVD could also be used to introduce a Reconciliation service or as a “fishing net” to invite parishioners to a taster evening prior to running a longer course. One lady who attended the parent’s course commented : “ At first I thought ‘Oh no! I’ve got to do these parents sessions. I’ll be really bored’, but I’ve really enjoyed myself, and learned loads. I’m definitely going to do that Alpha course in the parish now, if it is anything like this one.” It is split into four sections to stimulate discussion and aid reflection and costs £19.95 You may be familiar with “Catholics Listening to God” the series by Archbishop Mark Coleridge which was produced a few years ago when Archbishop Mark worked in the Vatican. We have selected two of these inspiring 40 minute talks for use in RCIA. These show the importance of Tradition and the Teaching of the Church, particularly Vatican II . Entitled “God speaks through the Church”, this resource will be available shortly and will cost £19.95 Catholic Evangelisation Services is part of Crew Trust the charity that produces the Good News Magazine. We have been producing Catholic teaching resources on video and DVD for over 10 years. These are designed to help people in the parish to come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of their faith and to give them the vision and the tools to evangelise those around them. Please see our web-site for more information, trailers
of all our resources and to buy on-line or contact us at:
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