Newman, Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius

On Sunday 11th November Fr Marcus spoke to Forum Christi about "Newman, Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius". We had an introduction to the lives of Newman and Elgar, and then learned about the oratorio "The Dream of Gerontius". We listened to some of the music, and discussed the Catholic theology of the words. This should aid our appreciation of the piece when we attend the performance next week at the Royal Albert Hall.
The evening ended with a meal at the Nightingale - John Pontifex almost made a dog's dinner out of it. Whilst we were saying grace an Irish Wolfhound decided to join us and almost made a premature start on the bangers and mash! Who said animals don't respond to prayer!?

Keep the Faith with the Franciscans of the Renewal

On Friday 9th November two of the Fransiscan Friars of the Renewal came to the parish to talk to the Keep the Faith groups. Br John Bosco spoke about the life of St Francis, and Br Dominic talked about his own life, and how he came to join the Friars. They also led the groups in their evening prayers and helped teach them some Taize music. As well as the talk there was time for games, including the opportunity to turn a friar (or Fr Marcus) into a mummy.