...is not a totally new experience for Auntie. I have given talks to a number of Confirmation groups in the past, including the large class (usually at least 40 teenagers) in this excellent parish, which is where I learned so much about how to do it, and what to teach, and received so much help and encouragement in starting my Maryvale course...
But actually running a course from scratch is a new experience and one that I am (so far!) enjoying. I'm doing it in this parish and we began last week. This is a special class for people who for one reason or another missed out on Confirmation and responded to an invitation to start a course. The parish priest started us off with a prayer and a blessing, and the atmosphere has somehow been just right. With a Catechism to hand, and a Simple Prayer Book for each person round the table, we began work. There is a wide age-range (youngest a just-teenager, while another member of the group is a busy mum who brought her two small children along, who were given cheerful and kindly care by a wonderful volunteer, with books and crayons etc from the Sunday school). But there is interest, attention, and a great goodwill, and it is a real privilege to be involved...
While we were in the parish room, getting to grips with God and the Covenant, and the Ten Commandments, another parish team was busy in the church itself, lifting all the pews and stacking them away, filling the sacristy with all the statues and candle-stands and so on...to get the entire floor area clear for a brand-new heating system to be installed. And once the floor was cleared, it was ruthlessly scrubbed by enthusiasts with brushes and soap suds and is now the cleanest church floor in England...The church is going to be warm and welcoming for Masses this winter.
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