ACN Annual Westminster Event 2014

See, I am part of a team!

This past Saturday I attended our big annual event at Westminster Cathedral. It was a wonderful day by all accounts and it was lovely to be able to help out even in a small way. Here’s how it all came together:

 This event is a bit of an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ affair, with everybody pitching in on the day. While I could understand that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, this is just the sort of thing that I love—working really hard with people I like and feeling part of a team…heaven! We all arrived as cheerfully as we could around 8:30am on Saturday morning. There was much unpacking of leaflets, setting out of trading stock and placing of chairs to be done. I was a (tiny bit) late (because of works on the Underground, not because I slept in…) so I missed the first coffee round, but I dug deep and summoned the requisite energy to join in the fray.

 We headed off to Mass in the Cathedral at 10:30. Personally, I love a good Latin Mass properly celebrated with a great choir and incense and lots of con-celebrants. These sorts of occasions move me because they link us all to the very many Catholics who have gone before us while at the same time reminding us of the universality of our Church. I feel humbled and inspired when I hear the same words in the same language that my ancestors would have heard and that a fellow Catholic halfway around the world might be hearing at the same time. 



Westminster Hall: Ready to go!

After Mass I was on the main door welcoming and collecting tickets with Scottish Lorraine. As I dropped my pen and struggled to find change and forgot to tear the stubs off of people’s tickets, Scottish L stood across from me, smiling serenely and calming welcoming all who were lucky/clever enough to head to her side of the doorway. Next year I fully expect to be removed from door duty due to my almost total incompetence, but I did try my best…

Then, on to the main attraction. Michael, Scottish Lorraine’s new colleague (how lucky is she?) and henceforth ‘Scottish Michael,’ and I were on Twitter duty, Michael on press content and yours truly on interesting asides (I am trying not to draw any conclusions about how this might reflect my colleagues’ notions of my intellectual capabilities!). Notepad and mobile at the ready, we got down to the task at hand.

Archbishop Nassar Speaking

All of the speakers were truly inspirational. In the first session we heard from Archbishop Elias Nassar, Maronite Archbishop of Saida in Lebanon. Archbishop Nassar spoke extremely eloquently about the current state of affairs in his country. With somewhere in the region of 2 million refugees now living in a country with a native population of no more than 4.5 million, Lebanon simply cannot cope through official channels; the infrastructure just isn't up to it. Archbishop Nassar also spoke candidly about the situation for Christians in Lebanon today: numbers are rapidly diminishing there as well as throughout the Middle East (down 35% in the last 70 years to just over 30% of the population today). He feels that Christianity is the key to helping to stop the conflict and discrimination which are rife throughout the region. He called upon all Christians to reach out and support the most ancient Christian communities in the world—those who worship in the very places within the very traditions laid down by Christ and his disciples. The Archbishop's current undertakings and future plans are ambitious to say the least, and he claims that he could not have come this far without the prayers and support given to him by ACN through its many benefactors throughout the world. With our help, Archbishop Nassar is trying to care for the thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees—of all faiths—who find themselves with nothing in a strange land; he is also working extremely hard to foster an environment in which young Lebanese Christians can thrive. His projects centred around low-income housing and job creation are proving critical in the fight to allow these young Lebanese people to remain in their native country rather then feeling that their only hope is to emigrate to the West.

Regina Lynch, ACN's Project Director, was up next. Regina gave a clear synopsis of ACN's activities in the Middle East. I felt proud and moved to be a part of ACN as Regina outlined the atrocities that have occurred throughout the region over the past 30 years and made the point that, through it all, ACN was there helping to keep our Faith alive by supporting clergy and religious sisters, building and repairing churches, funding seminarians and helping to educate young Christians. Regina says that ACN serves as ‘a voice for voiceless Christians in many parts of the world.’ Her words sum up beautifully what our wonderful charity tries to do for suffering and persecuted Christians.

Part II of this blog to be posted shortly…

Thanks for reading!  Caroline