...the 2012 Towards Advent Festival was under way! Pouring rain outside deterred no one - crowds of people came, cheery ladies from the Association of Catholic Women with great trays of home-made cakes and sandwiches, Franciscan friars in patched grey robes, publishers like Fisher Press and the CTS with stacks and stacks of lovely books, volunteers for all sorts of charities with beautiful craft goods and rosaries and Christmassy things...
Archbishop Vincent Nichols opened the Festival with an enthusiastic speech reminding us that this is the Year of Faith and giving everyone a sense of welcome and inspiration. A choir of delightful children from St Benedict's School, Ealing, sang a most beautiful Ave Maria and Panis Angelicus and then, led us all in O Come O come Emmanuel, the first verse sung by a boy solo. EWTN was there and featuring Fr Robert Barron's Catholicism (superb). The Ordinariate was there with some beautiful hand-made Christmassy gifts and lots of literature, the National Catholic Library had a wonderful array of books, there were pro-life groups and liturgy groups and lots of excellent charities raising funds for work with blind children in India, and leprosy suffers, and children with all sorts of special needs at home and abroad...
It was all a joy...Sister Catherine Holum gave a spirited , inspiring talk about her journey from Olympic speed-skater to Franciscan Sister of the Renewal - and she and her fellow Franciscan Sister John-Paul were such a delight to have with us as their infectious joy spread itself to everyone they met. A lovely young team from the Centre for Faith and Culture in Oxford led a marvellous celebration of Bl John Henry Newman's "Second Spring" - it was particularly good to have them as they were involved with the Festival over a decade ago as small girls in a drama production which rounded off our first-ever Towards Advent Festival...
Too many people to be thanked, but a special mention must be made of our excellent Chairman, Brian Towler and his team from the Catenian Association. They tackle all the admin, the hiring of the hall and the tables and taking bookings and more and more...
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1 comment:
I am really gutted not to have attended. I attended a retreat day organised by Maryvale!I'll be there next year.
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