- Details
- Written by Patrick Bolger
- Category: Weekly Column
A gallery of photos from the trip are now online. See here.
Our Lady of Lourdes RC Parish Pilgrimage to Rome & Assisi 16th-21st October 2010
Thirty three pilgrims gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes church car park early on Saturday morning to board the coach to Stansted airport for our flight to Rome.
The pilgrimage started the moment the coach doors closed with a pilgrimage prayer prepared by our Spiritual Director Fr Kevin Moule and thus fortified by the Holy Spirit our pilgrimage began. The flight was uneventful and we arrived on time at Ciampino Airport, Rome. We were met by the Pax Travel pilgrimage representative Misia Boccia who was to prove to be both knowledgeable and entertaining during our stay in Rome.
- Details
- Written by Jennifer Fulwiler
- Category: Weekly Column
Jennifer Fulwiler writes the excellent "Et Tu?" blog. Go there for thrilling stories of encounters with scorpions, advice to those with an agnostic/atheist spouse and, er, more about scorpions. But in the meantime, here's how she realised that life's really not all about me, me, me.
When I first started exploring Christianity, one of the teachings that was most surprising and counter-intuitive to me was the notion that we are called to live other-focused lives.
A product of secular culture, it seemed obvious to me that the way to find fulfillment and meaning in life was to be self-focused (not necessarily selfish, but self-focused). The way I used to see it, serving others was only one of a variety of good and worthy a person might choose to do with his or her free time. By default, you made your life goals based on pursuing personal interests and maximizing comfort; if possible, you would try to find some ways to give back to others, but to do so for any extended period of time would be to put your life on hold.
- Details
- Written by Joe Wilson
- Category: Weekly Column
Early in August we flew to the capital, Windhoek, where we spent a day meeting Namibian scouts and sightseeing. The next day we drove to the north, to a small village not far from the Angolan border, Tsintsabis. There we camped for a week and began the work of planting an orange grove – together with irrigation. This community project was supported by the Namibian Government who will provide ongoing support over the coming years. We were greeted by the Chief’s daughter, Alle, and the local children, who serenaded us with some songs of welcome. Throughout our stay we were humbled by the hospitality shown us and the lasting friendships which developed.
- Details
- Written by AN Wilson
- Category: Weekly Column
The writer and broadcaster AN Wilson was once a typical representative of the class of 'cultured despisers' who look down their expensively educated noses at religion in general and Christianity in particular. However, he has now returned to the Church, and wrote about his reconversion in the Daily Mail. Here is his story.
A week ago, there were Palm Sunday processions all over the world. Near my house in North London is a parish with two churches. About 70 or 80 of us gathered at one of these buildings to collect our palms.
We were told by the priest: 'Where we are standing in Kentish Town does not look much like a Judaean hillside, and the other church to which we are walking does not look much like Jerusalem. But as we go, holding our palms, let us try to imagine the first Palm Sunday.'
Jesus Christ: With sneering doubters becoming ever more vocal in their dismissive attitudes towards Christianity AN Wilson says we should no longer be cowed
And so we set off, singing All Glory, Laud And Honour! and holding up our palm crosses, to the faint bemusement of passersby, who looked out of their windows at us, tooted their horns as we blocked the traffic or smiled from sunny pavements.
We were walking, as it were, in the footsteps of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey while crowds threw palms before him. Except our journey was along the pavements strewn with the usual North London discarded syringes, chewing gum and Kentucky Fried Chicken boxes.
- Details
- Written by Martin O'Brien
- Category: Weekly Column
After many years based at Our Lady of Lourdes, Ten Ten Theatre outgrew us! They have now moved to Muswell Hill; their new address is Chester House, Pages Lane, London N10 1PR. Everyone at the parish is delighted in the part we played in their success. So, farewell, Martin and Clare and the team: we wish you well!
“One teacher said to me, ‘We’ve been trying to book Ten Ten Theatre for years’. So I told her that can’t be right. We’ve only been touring schools for less than a year!”
Anecdotes such as this are testament to the impact that Ten Ten Theatre has had in schools over the past few months. Described as a theatre-in-education company with an underlying Catholic ethos, the company has been formed over many years by its founder and Artistic Director, Martin O’Brien:
“I was a professional actor for many years and in between jobs I did some work at the SPEC Centre in the Westminster Diocese. SPEC encouraged me to write and produce theatre for young people and this provided a great opportunity to develop this kind of work.”