_________________________________________________________________
2007
SouthWest
Conference 2007 at Sidmouth, Devon
‘I
Have Chosen You’ -
30th
Nov - 2nd Dec
The
South West Conference 2007 organised by the Diocesan
Service Team for Catholic Charismatic Renewal took place at
the beginning of December at Sidholme Christian Hotel and
Conference Centre at Sidmouth in Devon.
The event, which
was attended by over 100 adults plus a number of children
and young people, had been fully booked since early in
November. Participants came from all parts of the Plymouth
diocese, the Clifton diocese was also well represented
whilst from further afield there were participants from
Portsmouth, Arundel and Brighton, Southwark and Northampton
dioceses.
The principal
speakers were David Wells from the Plymouth Department of
Formation, John Vaughan Neil who is well known for his Life
in the Spirit seminar programme and as a speaker at many
national conferences, and Margaret Duncan a lay person from
Scotland who has a very powerful testimony and has been
leading retreats in USA, India and Papua New Guinea. The
theme ‘I have chosen You’ which reflected the call to
discipleship and the need to proclaim ‘the day of the Lord’
fitted well with the first Sunday of Advent.
At the opening
session on Friday evening the David Wells talk, ‘You are my
disciples’, reflected on the challenges of discipleship in
the modern world and of the need to respond with gratitude
and a generous heart. He reminded us that we sometimes need
to do ‘brave things’ in responding but in the Lord’s power
and not our own, ‘God does not choose the qualified but
qualifies the chosen’.
In a series of
talks throughout the weekend John Vaughan Neil revealed the
need and calling for everyone to evangelise and started by
looking at the fears and anxieties that many Catholics
encounter in a session entitled ‘What’s holding me back?’
This was followed by a talk ‘Can God really use me?’ which
examined the ways in which, despite our own doubts,
inadequacies and sense of unworthiness God can use and
equip individuals for His purposes. This talk was
illustrated by a number of scriptural examples from the Old
and New testaments.
John’s third talk on Saturday morning ‘Breaking the sound
barrier’ considered how, through listening and being aware
of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can recognise the
opportunities presented to us to evangelise and overcome
our reticence to speak about God to others. The examples
from John’s own experience were inspiring and reinforced
the point that we need to operate in God’s power and not
through our own strength or impulse and to remember that if
we are proposing to speak to a person about God we should
first speak to God about the person involved.
On Saturday afternoon David Wells ran a workshop entitled
‘Whatever happened to the soul?’ which looked at how it is
possible to discern positive and spiritual things in an
increasingly secular world. A combination of humorous
stories, powerful insights plus the study and reflection on
a number of well known TV adverts both amused and
challenged workshop participants. One example that was
used, the ‘Bisto’ advert, will now be viewed with a new
perspective!!
John Vaughan Neil then returned to continue the
evangelisation theme encouraging participants to ‘Just be
Yourself’. This talk encouraged everyone to realise that
they each have an individual story that is different from
anyone else and that when talking to others about God it is
important to be genuine and authentic and to talk about
what God has done in your life rather than attempt to tell
someone else’s story.
On Saturday
evening, after an extended period of Prayer and Praise,
Margaret Duncan, a lay Catholic from Aberdeen, shared a
remarkable and powerful testimony of how she had mistrusted
God after a number of close family members had died in
various circumstances during the early years of her
childhood. Her story included teenage drinking and
pregnancy, giving up a child for adoption, alcoholism,
marital problems, depression, sudden death of her husband
and many other difficulties before she rediscovered God in
her life. Margaret was then able to tell about the healings
she had received, being re-united with the daughter she had
given up and how she had been given opportunities to study,
firstly to obtain an honours degree at Aberdeen University
and then to undertake scriptural studies in Rome.
Subsequently she has had opportunities and invitations to
participate and lead retreats for priests and religious in
various parts of the world.
Margaret’s story touched people very deeply and the time of
healing ministry and celebration of the sacrament of
Reconciliation continued late into the evening as a result
of her words.
Sunday morning saw John Vaughan Neil encouraging
participants to recognise and record the key elements of
their own personal testimony before sharing it with another
person. This was a new and revealing experience for some
people present who came to realise that God had indeed been
very active in their lives and that they had a story to
share with others.
Sunday Mass was a really joyful celebration with Fr. Trevor
Jordan as celebrant. The work that the children and young
people had produced in their sessions run by the Pathways
Community formed the altar front piece and represented all
present at the conference.
In the final session of the conference on Sunday afternoon
John Vaughan Neil talked about about Evangelisation Cells,
a parish initiative originally pioneered in USA and Italy.
He related the experiences and success he had witness on a
visit to Italy and through the cell group system that was
operating in his own parish in Wimbledon.
The music
ministry which served the conference throughout the weekend
was provided by Sarah Harding, Tom Bonard, Keith Taylor and
Chris Price whilst Terry Danes and Robert Taylor worked
tirelessly on technical matters and recording the
conference talks. Children’s activities and liturgy, which
were organised and run by Kate, Emma and Tom members of the
Pathways Community based in Plymouth, added a new dimension
enabling the conference to be a true family event.
The food,
hospitality and facilities provided by the staff at
Sidholme were excellent and added to the wonderful warmth
and ambiance of the weekend. The feedback from participants
reflected a feeling of fellowship, encouragement and great
blessing. A comment received from someone who has attended
all the South West Conferences was ‘ they have all been
good but this year (2007) has really raised the bar and set
new standards’.