You are living stones

I gather from Fr John Daly ic that over 70 people attended the YALS group sessions held at St Joseph's last Tuesday throughout the day. What a good idea to have three opportunities for people to give their views, listen to other people and BE TOGETHER? I understand that morale was high and people expressed great pleasure at being able to meet others. We need to think more deeply about this. In the New Testament the word Koinonia is often used. This is sometimes translated as fellowship and many of our Christian brothers and sisters use it very easily. Catholics less so. I think this is a pity as koinonia is precisely what many of us want/need. I often hear myself say, "But we are the Church" in an attempt to challenge us all to remember that The Church is more, much more, than the pope, bishop and priests. We are (all) Church. Events like the YALS day can be important vehicles for being together, taking responsibility as adults and getting on with building the Kingdom (as we say in the Pater Noster, Our Father....)

The next step is to keep up the momentum, deepen the koinonia/fellowship, and enjoy the process...

You can read the paper work on YALS here:
http://www.ndcys.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/YALS.pdf

One personal project I would like to push forward is to make audio/visual record of parishioners talking about "What the parish means to me..." The idea for this came to me some months back during communion at mass one Sunday. A family, I think newly arrived from another country, were together at the sanctuary. A tiny baby was lying over his/her mother's shoulder fast asleep. The man and the other children stood receiving communion around the mother/new baby. It was profoundly moving. Quiet, wordless music enveloped the congregation at communion. I thought then, what is the story here? who are these people? from where do they come? How can I get to know them and hear their story?

An idea came to me to make this audio/visual record that would be record of where we are as a parish in 2012. There are so many important things going on in the parish which reflects not just suburban Leicester but a vibrant world of many colours, ethnicities, cultures, patterns of living, coming together each weekend to celebrate the great thanksgiving, the eucharist, the mass.

If you want to support this project either by being interviewed, being photographed or simply with your good will that would be lovely. Your encouragement is needed. 07912 359 559 gets a warm response.