Come and hear...

...lovely music from a Polish children's choir...and a first-hand account of working with St Teresa of Calcutta ..and the latest news about developments at Walsingham...and more...

It's all happening at the 2016 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival. Westminster Cathedral Hall, Saturday November 26th. Doors open 10 am, official Opening ceremony 10.30s,.   Admission FREE.  Talks and workshops £2.00p each.  Refreshments available all day. Stalls and displays from Catholic groups and organisations from across Britain...

A special feature is the De Satge Music Workshop. Talented muscian Jeremy de Satge played a major role in introducing children and young people to the glories of the Church's rich heritage of music. For several years he led Music Workshops at the Festival, teaching people how to sing Gregorian Chant.  We now offer an annual Workshop in his memory, led by Joseph Estorninho, music director at St James' School, twickenham.

The TOWARDS ADVENT Festival began at the Millenium and has grown and grown in scope and popularity... it's now a big part of the annual Catholic scene in London. Come and be part of it!

As the Autumn begins...

...thoughts turn to the great TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture.

Want to learn how to sing Gregorian Chant?

Want to hear some first-hand stories of Mother - now Saint - Teresa of Calcutta?

Want to find out what's happening at Walsingham?

Then TOWARDS ADVENT is for you...

Saturday November 26th 2016 at WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL HALL.    Doors open 10am

ALL WELCOME.  Admission FREE. A modest charge (£2)  for the workshops and talks.

Fr Alexander Sherbrooke will be talking (1pm)  about Mother Teresa - with whom he worked - and about her recent canonisation in Rome.

Joseph Estorninho, Director of Music at St James' School, Twickenham, will lead a workshop  (2pm) on Gregorian Chant. Come and learn how to sing it!

Mgr John Armitage will talk  (11.30am) about what is happening at Walsingham - npow officially declared a Basilica. Come and hear about the new developments at this great shrine. In 2061 it will mark one thousand years of its history...

Refreshments available all day: freshly brewed coffee and tea, good sandwiches, cakes and buns...


WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL HALL< Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1. Nearest tube: VICTORIA   or ST JAMES PARK.

Note the date...

The 2016  


TOWARDS ADVENT FESTIVAL

takes place on

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26th 2016

at Westminster Cathedral Hall
Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1

10 am doors open

10.30am Official Opening

Bishop Nicholas Hudson

with POLISH CHILDREN'S CHOIR


Events and workshops during the day including:

Mgr John Armitage:
"Something big is happening at  Walsingham"

Stalls and displays from a variety of Catholic groups and organisations: books, DVDs, craft goods, and more on sale...
Refreshments available throughout the day

Admission FREE


The Towards Advent Festival is sponsored by
The Catenian Association
The Association of Catholic Women
The Knights of St Columba

Spread the word...

...about the Festival, and come and join us at the Opening Ceremony at 10.30am on Sat Nov 28th.

Come and meet...

...the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Catenians, Youth 2000, the Association of Catholic Women...and lots of other groups and organisations that make Catholic life in Britain hum with activity and prayer...

Westminster cathedral Hall, sat Nov 28th. Things will start with music from the choir of St James School, Twickenham, at the Opening Ceremony, 10.30am....

A project for pupils...

...at  Catholic secondary schools in the dioceses of Westminster and Southwark, and all Catholics of secondary school age living in those dioceses.  As part of the 2015 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival, we are awarding a prize to the student who writes the best essay on the topic "The real meaning of Christmas". The prize will be presented at the Festival on Sat Nov 28th at Westminster Cathedral Hall. For more info, send a Comment to this Blog WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS so that we can send you details. Every Catholic secondary school in these dioceses is being notified.

TOWARDS ADVENT 2015...

...looks set to  be wonderful!

The Choir from St James School, Twickenham will be singing at the Welcoming  Ceremony at Westminster Cathedral Hall, at which Cardinal Vincent Nichols will declare the Festival open. There is always a special moment as the choir leads the singing of "O come O come Emmanuel" and the whole hall takes up the chorus:"Rejoice" rejoice" Emmanuel shall come to Thee O Israel..."

 We have held the TOWARDS ADVENT Festival every year of this new Millennium, and it has become an established part of the London Catholic calendar. There will be stalls and displays by a great range of Catholic groups and organisations, and visitors (Entrance is FREE - all  are welcome!) will be able to browse, meet friends, enjoy freshly-brewed coffee and tea and delicious sandwiches and cakes, and buy gifts, Christmas cards, Advent calendars, books, DVDs, CDs, and more...and more...and during the day there are talks and workshops on Gregorian Chant , the life of the Franciscan Friars, and the urgent needs of Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere...

Come and be part of it. Saturday November 28th, Westminster Cathedral Hall, Anmbrosden Avenue London SWI. Doors open 10 am. Nearest tube: VICTORIA or St JAMES PARK.

THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL...

...is on Saturday November 28th 2015, at WESTMINSTER CATHEDRAL HALL.

Opens 10am,  official welcome from Cardinal Vincent Nichols, 10.30am  with music from the choir of St James' School, Twickenham...

Events during the day include a special presentation from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal - come along and find out what it takes to live without owning any property, working with the poor, open enetirely to whatever adventures God sends along...

There will also be the always-popular WORKSHOP ON GREGORIAN CHANT - anyone and everyone can learn to sing, and it will make your parish liturgy into what it ought to be!

There will be delicious refreshments - freshly-brewed coffee, home-made sandwiches, cakes, snacks - available all day, and a vast range of displays and sales, with Catholic groups from across Britain. The hall is now fully booked as the Festival grows hugely in popularity each year...

We have been presenting prizes...

..at St Mary's school, Bishops Stortford, to young winners and runners-up in the Towards Advent Essay Project. There were several essays of a good standard: pupils were invited to write about St John Paul and/or St John XXIII, in this year when both have been canonised...and we wanted the essay to reveal an understanding of what a Pope is, and what the Scriptures teach us on this subject...

The Project was such a success that we may make it an annual event, linked to the Festival and open, as in 2014, to pupils at all London Catholic secondary schools. The 2014 Project was for schools in the Westminster diocese only, but it could usefully be extended to schools in Southwark, Brentford, and Arundel and Brighton dioceses...people from all of these areas come to the Festival and/or have stalls and displays there...

For further information on this year's project, scroll down...

MGR KEITH NEWTON....

...of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be opening the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall on sat November 22nd.

And he'll be blessing a specially-made portrait of St John Paul the Great, which will be carried on pilgrimage to Walsingham in 2015.

The hand-embroirdered picture will be displayed at TOWARDS ADVENT after the blessing, which will take place as parrt of the Opening Ceremony.

The pilgrimage is the John Paul II Walking Pilgrimage for the New Evangelisation, organised annually by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, and involving people from all ages from across Britain.  It starts with an open-air Mass at the ancient Abbey at Bury st Edmunds - where Magna Carta was first drawn up - and finishes three days later at the national shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham.

The pilgrimage began in 2005, the year that St John Paul went "to the house of his Father", and so 2015 is its 10th anniversary year. The pilgrimage starts on Aug 6th and finishes at 12 noon with Mass at the Shrine in Walsingham. Walkers covers approximately 20 miles a day, along the Norfolk fields and lanes.

The Blessing of the St John Paul picture will form part of the ceremonies at Towards Advent, which also include music from the choir of the John Fisher School, Purley. By tradition, the Opening Ceremony concludes with everyone singing "O Come O come Emmanuel".

Catholic groups and organisations of all sorts will be at the Festival - from the Knights of St Columba to EWTN, from the Ladies Orfdinariate Group to the Catenians. Entry to the Festival is free and the doors open at 10am. To find the Cathedral Hall, just walk down Ambrosden Avenue, along the side of the Cathedral. Nearest tube: VICTORIA.

All welcome...

...no need to book - just turn up! Come at 10.30am for the GRAND OPENING CEREMONY...and come ready to sing, as the ceremony finishes with a massed singing of "O come O come Emmanuel..." the hall filled with glorious song...

CALLING YOUNG CATHOLIC LONDONERS...

A project for

Pupils at Catholic secondary schools in London

in association with the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival

Cash prize £50

for the best essay on Saint John Paul II or St John XXIII

These two great Popes were canonised this year in a remarkable ceremony in Rome. Write an essay (max 4 sides of A4, can be handwritten or produced on a computer), about one or both of these two men. Your essay should include an answer to the question “What is a Pope?”  and show evidence of reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The prize will be presented at the Towards Advent Festival, Sat Nov 22^nd 2014, at Westminster Cathedral Hall. All pupils at RC secondary schools in the dioceses of WESTMINSTER and SOUTHWARK are eligible to enter. There will be a number of runner-up prizes.

Entries should be sent to: Towards Advent Festival Essay Project, 51 Ashley Gardens London SW1P 1QF  to arrive by November 20th 2014.

Each entry must be the pupil’s own unaided work. NOTE: we do not want material that has been simply downloaded from the Internet. We are seeking original and interesting essays. Each entry MUST carry the pupil’s FULL NAME (INCLUDING SURNAME) and the FULL name and POSTAL ADDRESS of the school. We are unable to accept entries by email.

Here's the programme...

...for the 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Saturday November 22nd 2014:

10.30 am Opening  Ceremony with Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham,  and the choir of the John Fisher School, Purley

WORKSHOPS during the day:

11.30 am Mgr Keith Newton: update on the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham: the way ahead for ecumenism

1pm Canon Luiz Ruscillo: Catholic Education

2.30pm MUSIC WORKSHOP: You too  can sing Gregorian chant! A practical workshop led by Joseph Estorninho

Admission to the Festival is FREE. Workshops £2 each, tickets from the Welcome Desk at the entrance.

...and...

....the choir of the John Fisher School, Purley, will be singing at the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Towards Advent Festival, and Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be the special guest and will make the formal announcement that the Festival has begun.

It is worth getting the date into parish diaries NOW. Sat Nov 22nd, Westminster cathedral hall. Doors open 10 am, formal Opening Ceremony 10.30am.

Among the groups...

...that are coming to TOWARDS ADVENT (Sat Nov 22nd, Westminster Cathedral Hall)  and having stalls and displays are  Youth 2000,  the St Francis Leprosy Guild, Fisher Press,  Missio, Mothers' Prayers, Aid to the Church in Need, EWTN, the Faith Movement, the Sons of Divine Providence, the Catholic Herald, the Amar Jyoti Trust (which funds schools for blind and deaf children across India), the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham,  Our Lady's Books, the Catenians, OREMUS (magazine of Westminster Cathedral), the Knights of St Columba...and groups concerned with all sorts of things ranging from natural family planning to help for seafarers, the promotion of the Rosary in families, kindness to animals, and helping children to study the Scriptures...

Come and join in!

MAKE SURE IT'S IN YOUR DIARY...

...the annual TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture is now a big part of the London Catholic scene. This year's Festival is on Saturday November 22nd 2014 at Westminster Cathedral Hall. As always, a magnificent range of Catholic groups and organisations will be there...and the hall is now full, we are unable to take any more bookings for stalls.

You can learn how to sing Gregorian chant, find out about new ways of evangelising, get an update on the new Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and hear about Catholic education and the way ahead.

TOWARDS ADVENT is the place to meet friends, and make new ones, catch up on Catholic activities, browse bookstalls, pick of Catholic news, swap ideas, and celebrate the Faith!

Make sure the date is in your diary now. Admission is free: come on your own, or with a parish group. Doors open 10 am. Big official welcoming ceremony 10.30am with glorious music.

Come and enjoy it all!

EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT

The 2014 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival of Catholic Culture will take place at Westminster Cathedral Hall  on


SATURDAY NOVEMER 22nd 2014

speakers: Mgr Keith Newton, of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

and

Canon Luiz Ruscillo, Director of Education, diocese of Lancaster

GLORIOUS SINGING, an inspiring opening welcome from the Archbishop...

...and a day of busy activity...The 2013 TOWARDS ADVENT Festival was splendid and had a flavour of its own. The  choir of St Philomena's was a spectacular success, and a great crowd of mums and dads had come along to listen, and  this gave the hall a warm, well-filled, family feeling right from the start. The Refreshments team were, as always, kept very active all day.  Delicious cakes, bikkies, sandwiches, tea...also home-made jam and much cheery talk on offer.    Knights of St Columba in splendid blue ribboned collars,  lots of  people stocking up on Christmas cards, good speakers tackling the challenge of evangelisation in modern Britain, some authors signing books, a student pro-life group offering a message of hope,   Ordinariate ladies selling some stunning hand-made scarves, exquisite gifts etc...oh, and more, and more...

The Cathedral Hall has fine acoustics - the choir gallery is large and the St Philomena's choir is some 60-strong and all looked very demure in long dark skirts and white blouses, arms held steady at their sides, faces all looking at the choirmistress...as the lovely sound of Panis Angelicus filled the hall, there was a sense of pure delight.

In welcoming us, the Archbishop spoke inspiringly, lifting our thoughts to God and doing so with a warm and light touch, just perfect for the day. It is something to stand in a  hall glowing with a sense of prayer and music and goodwill, on a November day in modern London...and the goodwill was still there as people, though tired, carefully cleared things and helped with tidying as the day ended...

COME AND JOIN IN!!!!

Come to the 2013 TOWARDS ADVENT FESTIVAL


Among the stalls and displays this year, you will find the news, inspiration, ideas, music, books, gifts, and contacts to make Advent and Christmas come alive!  Come and hear some inspiring speakers - come and learn how to spread the Good News and be part of the New Evangelisation!

Sister Hyacinthe leads the annual John Paul walk  to Walsingham each summer, and  a great Reunion Walk through London in the Autumn - singing, praying the Rosary, and being a strong Christian presence in the Norfolk countryside and then in the big city. Come and hear ideas and inspiration for the New Evangelisation!

Edmund Adamus is one of the great defenders of marriage and family life in the public sphere: come and learn how to speak up for the family, and learn anew how central it is to our Faith and to evangelisation.

It's all happening on November 23rd at Westminster Cathedral Hall.  Doors open from 10am...delicious home-made refreshments available all day...big opening ceremony at 10.30am, with a choir and the Archbishop of Westminster.

Come and meet the groups that make the news in the Church - the new Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the CTS which publishes YOUCAT, the Faith Movement which brings great numbers of young people together each year, ACN which speaks up for the persecuted in different parts of the world...come and buy beautiful handcrafted gifts, browse through bookstalls (and meet some authors), talk to campaigners, or simply sit and chat in a joyful atmosphere...

This is your big day to make Advent and Christmas 2013 really special....

Spread the word...

...about the Towards Advent Festival: Saturday November 23rd 2013 at Westminster Cathedral Hall.