Goodnews september/october 1994 [antikvár]

Plateaued? NotYet! Pat Kennedy (continued) now have the freedom to choose, which I didn'thavebefore. I am freed from fear and am open more and more to take other risks too. An essential ingrediënt to all of this is relating to like minded people, who support me when I doubt, and hold me when I bend. Asyetldon'tgetthatfrom my parish commu-nity because we have not experienced the same conversion journey and have no, 'Do yourememberGame?' toplay together. Until we are like-minded in heart and soul, until my experience is theirs, I can never foresee a time when I could have moved beyond Renewal. The danger is to forget the purpose for which the Spirit came, and this is a very real danger. Just over twenty years ago I believe the Spirit began an undercover school for people like us, to teach and instruct us, to renew us in asecondPentecost Wewerepreparedfora time of need. We were prepared, not for ourselvesbutforothers. We were the blind, the crippled, the deaf, the hungry, the desperate, healed so that others might believe. Cal led to a changing church Today, we as lay people and clergy are being called into a changing Church, to a time of collaborative ministry. It will be a time when lay people take on a greater role, their truebaptismal role, within the Church. Peo-ple are confused, they are not ready. Thcyare not educated enough. They do not have the experience, theconfidence, thecourageor the leadership to enable them to step out What have we been prepared for if not now? What SËfl The Crew Trustees met at Brentwood on Wednesday 20th July. To approve the account for the last tax year. Below is a statement from their chairman Patrick Knight. As chairman of CREW Trust I wanted to write to thank all those who are contributing to the Chairman's fund and NSC fund. The Chairman's fund is able to help Charles Whitehead with his expenses as he serves Renewal. However the general NSC fund does not have enough to provide for secre- better example of collaborative ministry is there than Charismatic Renewal? This is not atimetobesettledinourprayergroups. This is time for action, well discemed action, prayer-led action. In our parish more and more, our prayer community have been asked to take responsi-bility for organising things like Lenten Penitential Services and more recently to organise a Day of Recollection. Although we had good relations with Bishop Lindsay, the former bishop, charsimatic renewal was very much at the periphery of diocesan church life. This has all changed since the appointment of Bishop Ambrose Griffiths, who fully appreciates the gifts of Charismatic Renewal and has been very encouraging to us. The team now organise monthly aftemoons of healing and renewal for the whole diocese in St Mary's Cathedra!. We are also setting upa team on the invitation of the bishop to offer Life in the Spiritseminarsandfollowup,includinggroup skills, team buildingskillsetc. Thishopefully will be circulated to every parish in the diocese. More and more we have the feeling that we are entering the centre of the church, which is what we feel the renewal in our diocese is all about at this time. In my own personal life I have found myself being asked to take more and more responsibility in the area of religious éducation, both at school where I teach, and at parish and diocesan level, where I am secre-taiy to the Diocesan Pastoral Council. I believe that just as individuals have charisms and a specific vocation, which we need to pray about and discover, so too have prayer groups. Studying the word we receive in prayer in prayer groups, and being faithful tarial and other help which is desperately needed for the work of Catholic Charismatic Renewal to continue to grow. I know this from personal experience as my wife Jan had to organise the Macnutt healing conference from our home (without sec retari al help) and it became covered with bits of paper. J. John spoke at Celebrate '94 on giving and how we can and should use our money for God's kingdom, so can I encourage all those who have been blessed by this touch of God's Spirit that we know as Charismatic Renewal, to consider tithing, making a covenant, or even an offering as and when prompted by the Lord, to the ongoing work of building the Kingdom. Monies can be specified for the Chairman's fund, the NSC fund (for secretarial and general help in NSC office) or for the Healing fund (to fund future conferences and work in the healing ministry). Covenant forms available from NSC office or from me Patrick Knight, Woodmead, Bishops Huil Road, Taunton TAI 5ED. to its message is a powerful way to discover this. When we see where God is working, within ourselves and others, we bccome em-powered in a special way to carry outHis will Many of us may not have been around in those early "heady" days but the Lord teils us that the fields are ready, and we are called to reap a harvest we did not sow. We know that God is alive and that His Spirit is active. Our prayer groups are spring-boards from which we move out; and if we do not move out they will die of boredom and inactivity. This is a time for prayer for guidance and action. Not about Converting people to Charismatic Renewal but bringing people to Jesus Christ We are not about Converting people to Charismatic Renewal but bringing people to Jesus Christ It does not matter what size our prayer group is. We have been discipled by the Master to disciple others. This is no plateau. Itisabuildingsiteandthematerials are lying around for anyone to pick up but the plan of action has tobesoughtand found. "Andyou know the GodcfyourFather, serve Him with an undivided heart and a Willing mind; for Yahweh searches every heart, andknows every plan it devises. Ifyou seek Him He will let you find Him; once forsake Him, and He casts you off forever. Thinkat thismoment how Yahweh haschosen you to build a house for His sanetuary. Be strongandsettowork." (1 Chron.28:9-10).