Fresh Evangelisation...

...oh, how badly our poor country needs it...

And doing it is joyful.

Spent Friday afternoon packing up prizes for the children taking part in the Schools Project run by the Ladies Ordinariate Group at Precious Blood Church, London Bridge. This was great fun: coffee brewed, sandwiches shared, and much agreeable talk and laughter as we worked. The LOGS group contacted all the Church of England and Catholic primary schools in Greater London - that's a large number, stretching from Barnet in the North down to Kent in the south - and invited the children to take part in a handwriting and artwork venture. They were given some Psalms to read, and were to choose one, and copy out some lines they particularly liked - minimum of 4 lines, max. of 6 - and illustrate them any way they liked. Then in one paragraph, to give reasons for their choice.

We received some absolutely beautiful work - wonderful illustrations of deer by running streams, and the Lord being a shepherd, and a cup overflowing, and so on and so on...and the children's reasons for choosing particular lines were touching and often truly inspiring. Reading through the entries was a big team effort and we loved it...and sending out prizes and arranging for a display of the children's work has been a most enjoyable exercise.

We were still busy and enjoying ourselves when Fr Chris came through and noted that it was 6 pm...and we all had homes and families and evening commitments...I was catching a late train to Maryvale from Marylebone...

On the train I relaxed with another thoroughly enjoyable project, embroidering a sampler to mark the birth of a new great-niece. The arrival of this baby has given much joy...

Maryvale, and the welcome that awaits as soon as you go through the gates and up the path beneath the arching trees. The grounds look particularly lovely this weekend because there is to be the annual Mass and Procession honouring the feast of the Sacred Heart...as the weekend progressed, the preparations gathered pace, with a great outdoor church created in front of the pillars and verandah at the side of the house where a lovely statue of Mary stands in front of a large flower-bed in the shape of a Cross, with the Stations alongside. Great stacks of flowers, chairs arranged in row after row stretching back towards the main lawn...and while we were at lectures tackling Evangelisation and discussing ways of  doing Confirmation preparation or youth work or talking about the problems and challenges and opportunities, with the Scriptures and the Catechism, Maryvale was readying itself to welcome large crowds for what is evidently a major local event...