AT YOUR WORD, LORDSPIRITUAL & PASTORAL RENEWAL IN SS ALBAN & STEPHEN PARISH
(IN THE DIOCESE OF WESTMINSTER)
At Your Word, Lord - some historical milestones along the way...
When the parish agreed to undertake AYWL it was evident that the social dimension was paramount in bringing people together. Indeed, the opening Mission launching the whole programme ended with a social gathering. So, what better way to end Season 1 than with a parish-wide celebration. The celebration was held on Saturday, 29th. November and started with a special end of Season liturgy during 6 p.m. Mass involving intercessionary prayers, music and hymns, a moving sermon and opening and closing prayers reflecting all the work, successes and personal and spiritual development that the Season had brought. The highlight of the Mass was a candle-lit procession by representatives of the 25 Small Christian Communities up the central aisle in a semi-darkened church.
After Mass, about 90 people gathered in the hall, bringing food to share with each other while enjoying a glass of wine as they mixed. Probably the most encouraging feature of the evening was that the participants were not "the usual suspects" expected at a parish event, but included many newer faces. Let us hope that this marks the beginning of further growth in what is already a vibrant parish and let us pray that more people will join a Small Christian Community for Season 2.
27th September 2003 The AYWL Season 1 began with a procession into
the church at the Saturday evening vigil mass, and where most parishioners
saw our AYWL banner for the first time. "Cast out your nets"On the Sunday morning, the AYWL banner left the church mid way through the 8am mass, and was taken by Tim Stevens to the Marshalswick Mass Centre, where it was the focal point of our 9am celebration.
At the offertory, the banner was handed over to Greg Peachey who then took it back to church ready to be a part of the entrance procession at the 10am mass.
26th September 2003 The AYWL Launch Mass.
Sharing with St Barts Parish, we hired a coach to take a group of parishioners
to Wembley for the opening Mass. We joined more than 11,000 people - the largest gathering
of Catholics in London since the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1982. We were welcomed by James Parker who read about God's promise to Noah from the
Book of Genesis, and which was re-enacted
in dance by students. The Youth 2000 choir and musicians led the singing
and mime artists Steve Murray performed the story of Ananias. Mass ended somewhat later than the scheduled 10pm, and we were not back in St. Albans much before midnight!!! The cardinal preached a wonderful homily - you can still read this here on line - click for more
26 July
2003 - Timetable of events issued:| 7 Sep |
Parish Picnic, Loreto school grounds 1 to 4 pm, enjoying the company
of other parishioners |
| 7 Sep |
Prayer Commitment,
at all Masses, encouraging us to pray for parish renewal |
| 15 Sep |
Parish Mission,
Church 8 pm, Hall 9 pm, enabling us
to focus on the search for meaning in our lives and possibly to rediscover
God |
| 26 Sep |
Launch Mass
, Wembley Arena 7.30 pm Coach £5 (name, address, money into
presbytery asap), diocesan rally to inaugurate AYWL |
16
Feb 2003 At Your Word, Lord, the
vision of spiritual renewal within the Diocese of Westminster is becoming
a reality in St Albans and St Stephen. Already we have formed an embryonic
Parish Core Community consisting of Mario D’Andrea, Mike White, Fiona
Wright, Sara Nash, Bryan McDonagh, Stan Grabecki, Pat Williamson and Vincent
Cosimini. We are still on the lookout
for more members. In addition more teams embracing the liturgy, mission, ecumenical activities with special outreach to young adults are needed – particularly in small faith sharing communities. So if you are willing to help others rediscover Jesus through the Scripture and the Eucharist please don’t wait to be asked, speak to any member of the team (see Parish Directory or E-mail aywl@albanstephen.com). We would especially welcome input from our younger parishioners (aged 20 to 30). The first training day for the Deanery will take place on 15th March between 2 and 4 p.m. in Loreto. The Cardinal has emphasised that the renewal of individuals, parishes and the whole diocese is rooted in prayer so remember you can also help by praying for the success of this programme.
15 Dec 2002 Last Sunday, a number of open meetings were held at All
Saints Pastoral Centre and at St. Columba’s College, where the Cardinal and
the Renew team from Westminster Diocese gave an overview of the diocese's
palns for Spiritual & Pastoral renewal. Further information
is available at the presbytery, or by emailing us at renew@albanstephen.com
8 Dec 2002 The Cardinal is meeting the laiety regarding the Renewal in the Diocese at St. Columba’s College at 4.30pm on Sunday, 8th December. Would you please let Wendy in the Presbytery know if you are interested in attending this meeting, and being a possible leader in the future of the Renew Programme
10 Nov 2002 More than
400 priests from the Westminster diocese met together for the first time
in living memory this week. The conference which ran from Tuesday
to Thursday, was held at Butlins in Bognor Regis in Susses. It had
been convened by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor to discuss his initiative
for the spiritual and pastoral renewal of the diocese, "At Your Word, Lord". In particular, the cardinal
wanted his priests to endorse his decision to use Renew - a programme
from the United States which he believes would be ideal for Westminster's
purposes
14 July 2002 "At Your Word, Lord... " Regarding the "At Your Word,Lord" questionnaire, don't forget to respond to the Cardinal’s invitation to ‘have your say’ about the process of spiritual and pastoral renewal planned for the diocese. Also, if you are intending to fill in the form, you may find it easier to do it here on line - to answer the questions, click here.