For the last few years a small group has worked with me in promoting Evangelization in its broadest sense in our 3 Churches. This grew out of a previous period of talks and evenings looking at the Church’s thinking on this during the last decades. The team called itself the Evangelization Group but for many people this is a cumbersome word, so following other similar groups across Britain it has renamed itself “Proclaim”.

Just to remind us, these are some of the areas that the group has initiated, promoted or assisted:

• Keeping our churches open
• Syrian Refugee Appeal during Lent
• Christmas and Easter outreaches: open evening in January, Easter cards, Easter film “Risen” (idea pinched by the diocese!)
• Strengthening the Confirmation programme
• Liaising with appropriate diocesan bodies – and contributing members to them
• Initiating and supporting 3CY youth group
• Foodbank bases and deliverers in all 3 Churches
• Prayer cards delivered through doors weekly by volunteers (many thanks!) and invitation to pray for the residents on back page of newsletter
• Landings – supporting returning Catholics
• Love, Marriage, family – new heading watch this space
• “Do You Love Me?” – spirituality – ditto

I want to thank the half dozen or so on the team, and appeal for new member(s), especially from Christ the King, to keep a healthy balance as our work expands. We meet about every 8 weeks for about 90 mins. We do not do all the above tasks or projects – we initiate, encourage, support etc as appropriate. So the main qualification is a heart for spreading our faith as commanded by Jesus “Go out into the whole world” “As the Father sent me so am I sending you”. It could be you!

Fr Matthew