Issue 06 - The Pilgrim - June 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Editorial The Pilgrim June 2012
the
2012Pilgrim
50p
December 2011/ January The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering s
The Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishop Peter Smith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
Kent
Bishop John Hine
01732 845486
jhine@absouthwark.org
South-West London
Bishop Paul Hendricks
020 8643 8007
bishop.hendricks@gmail.com
South-East London
Bishop Patrick Lynch
020 8297 9219
bishoplynch7@btinternet.com
The Pilgrim,
Archbishop’s House
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London SE1 6HX
Editor: Greg Watts
020 7928-2495
pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk
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Page 2
Greg Watts
I recently ran a communications
and media workshop at
St Mary’s College, Oscott, for a
group of men training to be
permanent deacons.
One of the exercises I did
with was to ask them to scan a
newspaper for references to
the Church. They found was a
story about a funeral, a service
to mark the 1,000 anniversary
of the death of St Elphege, and
a feature on the first Italians to
settle in Birmingham.
One of the men also spotted
a reference to the rock band
Black Sabbath, but we both
agreed that perhaps to include
it might be stretching things.
So we had three references
to the Church: two about
people who had died and one
about history. Let’s be honest,
this doesn’t sound like an institution
that is likely to attract
people.
The Pilgrim carries stories
that reflect a very different
Church; one that is full of
energy and vitality and that
gives meaning and shape to the
lives of many people.
And yet when I trawl parish
and school websites each
month I’m disappointed to see
that some are not regularly
updated.
While working on the May
edition, I found a great story
on the home page of one
parish website. Then I realised
During the Flame Congress at Wembley
Arena in March Olympic rower, Debbie
Flood, held up her two silver medals. She
told the eight and a half thousand young
people in front of her that she couldn’t
take them with her when she died, and that
therefore her faith was the most important
thing in her life.
This National Youth Congress had taken its
inspiration from the tremendous outpouring
of young people’s enthusiasm during the
Papal Visit and also from the fact that this
year we host the Olympic and Para-Olympic
Games.
Some people may have been surprised to
see so many young people willing to give up
a Saturday in order to take part in what
was, after all, essentially a religious event.
They may also have been surprised to
hear the activities on stage punctuated by
the enthusiastic chanting of the name
“Jesus” from different corners of the
arena.
Who could fail to be impressed by the
great silence that
descended on the whole crowd
during the time of Eucharistic
Adoration led by Archbishop
Vincent Nichols
The success of the Flame Congress is
more evidence of something many of us
have observed in the Church for some time.
Young people are waking up.
And just as when they get up for school or
lectures, they are waking up hungry and
thirsty. They are hungry to know the faith.
They are thirsting for an encounter with
God in prayer.
This generation is also keen to get involved.
They want to make a difference.
The outstanding new vocations DVD, The
Calling, was made two young graduates who
wanted to put their talents at the service of
the Church.
In different places I have met young
adults re-writing Confirmation programmes
because the ones they experienced didn’t
meet their needs. In Birmingham a group is
using Skype to study a youth catechism with
religious sisters who specialise in catechetical
tours of the Vatican Museum.
Elsewhere in Nottingham, a talented
young photographer has just published Transitions,
a book of incredibly inspirational
photographs with short reflections taken
largely from YouCat.
As a Church, how can we respond to the
needs of a generation who hunger for faith,
who thirst for God’s grace, and who want to
make a difference It is a question we all
need to ask ourselves.
What opportunities are we providing in
our parishes, deaneries and diocesan structures
Have we even begun to make any
space for them How has our approach to
youth ministry changed over the years
And are we just doing what we have always
done As anyone in business knows,
sometime you have to step back and consider
the needs of the consumer. And we
are in the business of eternal life!
From July 6 - 8 another event that has
captured the imagination of young people
will take place. For the third year in a row
St Mary’s College, Oscott, will host Invocation,
the national vocations festival.
Hosted at a seminary and organised by
diocesan vocations directors Invocation is
Media matters
Pupils at St Edmund's Catholic
School in Dover took part in this
year's BBC School Report
it was dated 2011!
The problem is not a lack of
material to communicate. The
problem is often a failure to
grasp the importance of
communicating these stories,
and in an imaginative way.
We can criticise the media
for exaggeration, misrepresentation,
and an obsession with
celebrities.
But if the Church wants to
not like the “vocations fairs” of old. It is
not a recruitment weekend.
Sometimes it can be difficult for people
with an old-fashioned mind-set to acknowledge
that it really is not a “my habit is better
than your habit” weekend. We have to
work hard to discourage inter-congregational
rivalry: it is not about seeing who
outdoes whom on the austerity stakes, or
whose community chant is more melodious
than any one else’s!
Invocation is about the young people who
come. It is about listening to their needs
and responding to them. The weekend is
aimed at young men and women (aged 16-
35) who are looking to develop their relationship
with Christ and who are searching
for the knowledge and tools to develop
tell its story to the outside
world, then it must use the
media – especially local newspapers
and radio – to do this.
Otherwise it will seem irrelevant,
or invisible.
How do we respond to the faith
and energy of young people
their own personal formation, discernment
and understanding of God’s will for their
lives.
For some this may mean being, or becoming
open to the possibility of a vocation to
the priesthood or religious life.
Invocation can provide them with the opportunity
to meet and inspire each other.
Great speakers will enthuse and, hopefully,
amuse them. The seminary community will
welcome them into its pattern of prayer.
There will be time for adoration and opportunities
for confession.
And this year we will all have a chance to
reflect on the importance of priestly ministry
in our lives because the precious relic
of St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, will be
with us for part of the festival.
But it is what happens afterwards that is
more important and that will really make a
difference. In approving the new National
Vocations Framework, the Church in England
and Wales has committed itself to
making space for these young people.
Making space will be more than just establishing
discernment groups. It will also
be about listening to them and responding
to their needs.
For more information about Invocation
2012 visit www.invocation.org.uk. Or contact
the Vocations Director: info@southwarkvocations.com
Father Stephen Langridge is the diocesan
vocations director
For more information about becoming a
diocesan priest contact the diocesan
vocations office:info@southwarkvocations.com.