Life in the Spirit Celebration Evening
THE LORD HAS DONE
MARVELS FOR ME!
In thanksgiving for the success of the recent Life in the Spirit seminars held at St George’s Cathedral during the Eastertide period 23rd April - 28th May 2024, there will be an evening of celebration on Tuesday 25th June between 7 pm and 9 pm, with prior refreshments available from 6 pm in Amigo Hall. The evening will include Mass celebrated by Archbishop John Wilson, along with praise and worship and testimonies from some of the participants of the seminars. (All are welcome to come whether they have attended the seminars or not). This year so many young people participated in the seminars at the Cathedral that two special groups were set up for them.
The seminars are a series of talks with small group sharing which emphasize the basic Gospel message and encourage Catholics to open their hearts to a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. The culmination of this is prayer for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the release of the graces of Baptism and Confirmation. These often have remained dormant in peoples’ lives through ignorance or lack of expectation. This prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit took place at St George’s on Saturday 18th May on the vigil of Pentecost itself, and about 300 people attended.
Many had come from the hubs around the Diocese where people had been following the seminars in their local parishes. About 100 people had participated in the Cathedral itself, but both the music and talks had been streamed to 10 hubs in Southwark and 2 in Westminster so others could participate nearer to home. The presentations had also been available on Zoom, facilitated by Mark Nash and the Agency for Evangelisation and Catechesis.
Running the seminars on multiple platforms in this way proved so effective last year that four other dioceses followed Southwark’s example this year. These included Hexham and Newcastle, Northampton, Arundel and Brighton, and most recently Portsmouth, who all held the main sessions in their cathedrals but streamed them to hubs around their dioceses and on Zoom.
It was on that first Pentecost that the frightened followers of Jesus received the power from the Holy Spirit to go out and evangelise the world. As Catholics today, we too need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us be effective witnesses to Christ. The Life in the Spirit seminars are proving an effective tool in bringing people’s faith alive in a new way and encouraging a deeper understanding and celebration of the Feast of Pentecost.
The Life in the Spirit talks, which are very inspiring, are freely available on YouTube for those who were not able to attend. View the seminars here:
