Towards Advent

STARTING OUR SECOND DECADE!! A big success...

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....The 2011 Towards Advent Festival was perhaps the best-ever....large crowds, glorious music, excellent speakers, and a wonderful buzz in the Westminster Cathedral Hall as people met and talked and enjoyed tea and cakes and bought books and cards and craft goods and rosaries and DVDs and statues and icons and learned about the work of so many different Catholic groups and organisations...

The Society of Catholic Artists had a wonderful display of paintings, there was singing from the Gallery Choir of the Cathedral Choir School, there were some beautiful hand-crafted goods made by a number of different groups and charities, the Association for Latin in the Liturgy was showing a DVD of a splendid Mass,there were books from Fisher Press and the Catholic Truth Society and other publishers, there was a lovely Mass book for children produced by Second Spring, and a great range of Christmas cards and gifts from Aid to the Church in Need...the Hinsley Room was packed to capacity for the excellent talk from Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate, and then packed out again for the presentation celebrating the life of Blessed John Paul II by the Divine Comedy young people's drama group from Oxford.

Various religious orders were represented and it was a pleasure to welcome the new Community of Our Lady of Walsingham in their blue-and-white habits.

Knights of St Columba, the Catenians, and the Association of Catholic Women, all of whom are reprersented on the organising committee, worked with enthusiasm all day and this was a wonderful community effort which showed the Church at its best...and, yes, we're already planning for 2012!

Read about...

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...the story of the TOWARDS ADVENT FESTIVAL here...in an American magazine dedicated to fostering good liturgy and authentic Catholic culture...

TOWARDS ADVENT 2011

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All Catholic parishes in the dioceses of Westminster, Southwark, Brentwood, and Arundel and Brighton have now been notified about the Towards Advent Festival.

DO COME ALONG! And bring friends and family!

Music, talks, a chance to browse stalls selling DVDs, books, Christmas cards, Advent calendars, rosaries, statues,and more...

Refreshments served all day, play corner for children...

TOWARDS ADVENT 2011

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...plans are now well advanced, and material about this annual celebration of Catholic life and culture will be going to parishes soon.

COME ALONG AND JOIN IN! The date is Saturday November 19th, and the venue Westminster Cathedral Hall, London SW1.

The main guest speaker this year is Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

There will be stalls and displays by a wide variety of Catholic groups and organisations: charities working at home and abroad, caring for children in India, for persecuted Christians in lands where the Church is not free, for struggling families, for unborn children under threat of abortion,for young people seeking faith. There will be bookstalls and craft stalls, home-baked cakes and hand-crafted jewellry, rosaries and DVDs and tapes.

It's an opportunity to engage with the Catholic Faith - to be challenged, to find out about glorious Church music, how to teach the truths of the Catholic Faith to the young, how to defend and uphold great moral truths, and more...

Admission is free. Just come along and enjoy. Official opening 10.30am with the Archbishop of Westminster and the Gallery Choir of the famed Westminster Cathedral Choir School.

HOw to get there? Nerest tube stations are VICTORIA or St James Park.

It seems a long way ahead...

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...but it's worth booking the date now. The 2011 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture is on Saturday Nov 19th 2011...

WHAT IS...

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... the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival ?

It is a gathering together of a wide range of Catholic groups and organisations to celebrate the Catholic Faith. It happens annually at Westminster Cathedral Hall (Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1). There are talks by interesting speakers, there is music, there are opportunities to meet people working in all sorts of different fields,there is a play corner for children, there is food, there is friendship. Entry is free, and tickets for the talks cost £2.00 each. Anyone is welcome - Catholic or not.

We started the Festival in the year 2000 and it is exciting to see how it has quietly become a part of life in the capital for the many people who flock to it each year. It's run by volunteers, and there is a great spirit of goodwill - the Association of Catholic Women provides refreshments, the Catenians run the administration and deal with booking the equipment and so on, the Knights of St Columba hand out leaflets and help with publicity and promotion...school choirs come and sing, guest speakers honour us with their presence, and all sorts of groups and organisations book in and take part.

Handbills are now available...

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...promoting the 2011 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture, which takes place at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday Nov 19th. Organisations taking part in the Festival will receive their handbills this week...and every parish in London and the South East will be sent some in the Autumn for distribution and use on parish noticeboards etc...

THE 2011 TOWARDS ADVENT FESTIVAL...

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...will be held on Saturday November 19th 2011 at Westminster Cathedral Hall.

Special guest speaker: Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Come and hear about the Ordinariate, a sign of great hope and joy for the Church in England!

There's a special celebration of the life of Blessed John Paul II in drama, music and film featuring members of a youth drama team from Oxford.

The Festival opens at 10.30am, with Archbishop Vincent Nichols and the Gallery Choir of the Westminster Cathedral Choir School.

There are stalls and displays from a great range of Catholic groups and organisations - bookstalls galore, stalls selling crafts, statues, Catholic publications, rosaries and goodness knows what else (last year a chap selling scarves in the new Papal tartan sold out), plus opportunities to meet members of religious orders, charities, and communities, plus home-baked refreshments, and more...

Entry is free. Just turn up. There's a play corner for children alongside the refreshment area. Tea and coffee freshly brewed throughout the day, relays of enthusiasts selling sandwiches and cakes. Tickets for talks are £2, from the Welcome Desk.

COME AND MEET THE BAKED BEANS GIRL!!!

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Remember? The placard that you saw in those great crowd scenes on TV? "We love you Papa more than beans on toast" !!! Well, the young lady who organised that, and who was also shown on TV wearing her Papal wellies ("Give it some welly for the Pope in the Park") will be speaking at Towards Advent, and giving us the story of the adventures of her group during those wonderful four days.

Don't miss it! Come to Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday November 6th. Doors open 10am, and there are wonderful stalls to visit, a chance to learn how to sing glorious music, a tour of the Cathedral, and more...and young Niamh and her team will be speaking at 3pm. COME ALONG AND JOIN IN!

More details...

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...about the 2010 Towards Advent Festival.

The choir of COLOMA GIRLS SCHOOL (Croydon) will be singing. This excellent choir has a fine reputation, and has sung at the Festival before. Come along to enjoy them...they will sing at the Opening Ceremony, where Archbishop Vincent Nicholls will be the speaker, at 10 am...

BE THERE!!

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Come and join us at the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival at

Westminster Cathedral Hall

on SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6th 2010

all day from 10am (grand opening with choir,ceremony with Archbishop Vincent Nicholls)

ADMISSION FREE.

All day: displays from a wide range of Catholic groups and organisations, sharing the activities of the Catholic Church across Britain. Books, DVDs, Catholic items on sale. Art display by children at Catholic schools. A chance to meet friends and make new contacts. Find out new ways in which you can serve the Church and society. Enjoy discovering what young people are doing.

TALKS and WORKSHOPS:

Glorious Music for Parish Liturgies - an opportunity to learn, sing, and be s[inspired" Led by Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers

The PAPAL VISIT - an overview - Mgr Vincent Brady from the Apostolic Nunciature.

GUIDED TOUR OF THE CATHEDRAL - come and see the new mosaic blessed by the Holy Father, and excperience the atmosphere of this great place of God in the heart of LOndon, learn its history and absorb oits message.

Admission to talks and tours £2.50p

Come with your parish group - or on your own. Bring the family! Play corner for small children. Refreshments available all day - a chance to sit and chat in friendly surroundings, over fresh sandwiches and home-made cakes.

We now have details...

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of some of the events at the 2010 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival. The Festival takes place on

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 6th at

WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL HALL

It will include a guided tour of the Cathedral, a talk giving an overview of the Papal visit, by Mgr Vincent Brady from the Apostolic Nunciature, an Art Exhibition, and a workshop on "Glorious Music for Parish Liturgies".

Everyone welcome - refreshments served all day. The hall, as always, will be packed with stalls and displays from a wide range of Catholic groups and organisations, with opportunities to buy all sorts of things from books and rosaries to Advent Calendars, home-made jam, and children's stocking-fillers. Come along and join in!

The 2010 Towards Advent Festival...

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...will take place on Saturday November 6th at Westminster Cathedral Hall.

This is the 10th Anniversary Festival! As always, it will bring together displays by a range of Catholic organisations and groups from across Britain, with music, guest speakers, and a joyful spirit.

And it takes place in the year of the visit to Britain of Pope Benedict XVI.

Book the date in your diary now.

Come to the Festival!!

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Come and celebrate the Catholic Faith! Join with the Archbishop of Westminster, major Catholic organisations, a leading boys' choir, and a good crowd of Catholics at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday November 14th. It's the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture, now in its tenth year and with a programme of speakers, music, tours of the Cathedral, and more...

Official opening is 10.30am with the Schola of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. Come and enjoy!

Westminster Cathedral Hall...

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...is a fine piece of Edwardiana, adjoining the Cathedral in Ambrosden Avenue, restored in recent years to its original glory. It will be packed for the Towards Advent Festival on Nov 14th, with stalls and displays from a great range of Catholic groups and organisations.

Make sure you are there!

And look out for the refreshments, organised by the Association of Catholic Women...among the goodies on sale will be jars of Auntie Joanna's home-made jam...

Get involved...

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...with spreading the word about TOWARDS ADVENT. Info has gone out to Catholic organisations, schools, religious orders...every parish will get a mailing in late Sept/ early Oct. Make sure your parish knows about it...use info from this blog and get it into your parish newsletter, or contact us to get a batch of handbills to spread around...

Every parish...

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...in London and the South East will be sent handbills and information about the Festival. If you would like some handbills to help promote the event over the next weeks and months, just send a Comment to this Blog....

Towards Advent...

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is the Festival of Catholic Culture, held annually at Westminster Cathedral Hall in London.

The 2009 TOWARDS ADVENT FESTIVAL will be held on Saturday November 14th, and will be opened by Archbishop Vincent Nichols at 10.30 am. Music from the Chamber Choir of the London Oratory School.

Talks, displays by Catholic organisations, books, DVDs etc on sale.A chance to see something of the wide range of Catholic activities in Britain, to meet friends, make new contacts, browse among books and publications.

Talks: Dr Suha Rassam of Iraqi Christians in Need
Prof Jonathan Riley-Smith (Fellow of Emmanual College, Cambridge), on The Crusades
Joanna Bogle (author and broadcaster) on English Catholic Heroines

Guided tour of Westminster Cathedral

Entry to the Festival is FREE. Tickets for talks and tour £2.00