Ten Glorious Years

It is an extraordinary thing to relate, but Forward in Faith is ten years old this November! The Forward in Faith Council has a number of projects planned to celebrate this auspicious event, but one in particular requires your input!

Quite simply, we ask all members of Forward in Faith, all Diocesan and Regional Organizations and all Forward in Faith parishes to keep the Solemnity of Christ the King as the Annual Festival of Forward in Faith –its Feast of Dedication, if you like. And not just in this important year, but every year! You might do this in a number of ways. Regional or Diocesan Festivals might take place on the Saturday. The London Region of Forward in Faith has of course done this for a number of years, and that celebration has attracted members from all over the Home Counties. It is time for the rest of the country to follow where London has led! Alternatively, Forward in Faith parishes might make their Sunday Celebration of Christ the King a Forward in Faith celebration in some way. The choice is endless and we look forward to learning of your ingenuity! (Hopefully, some celebrations might even decide to send the collection to Faith House as a birthday present to Forward in Faith! )

Whatever you decide to do, please tell us, and we will publish the details here. And to get you started –to whet your appetite, as it were –those in the South East will want to note the following in their diaries now:

Christ the King, Gordon Square, WC1 Saturday, 24 November at 12. 00 noon Solemn Concelebrated Mass, Procession of the Host &Solemn Benediction

Principal Celebrant:The Bishop of Fulham

Preacher:The Bishop of Richborough

Music by the Choir of All Saints, East Finchley

forwardinfaith. com

And another place we shall publicize your celebrations is one the Forward in Faith website. After a period of difficulty, the website is now under new management and is proving a tremendous resource to those who use it. If you ’ve got access to the Internet, why not go to www. forwardinfaith. com and see for yourself? The site is in a period of reconstruction at present and, in time, will offer much, much more, but already we are using it to post documents for worldwide consumption just as soon as they ’re written. Geoffrey Kirk ’s letter to the Prime Minister about the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury; all the up to the minute news about Fr David Moyer, the President of Forward in Faith North America, currently suffering nothing less that old-fashioned persecution at the hands of his bishop; and, by the time you read this, who knows what else? ! ? All the Forward in Faith documents are there, from all three National Organizations, lists of our respective Council Members, prayer requests, devotional material and much more.

All the latest news, from the UK, North America and Australia will always be there. Go and have a look and return regularly Our Submission … Copies of Forward in Faith ’s submission to the Bishop of Rochester ’s Working Party are still available from the Forward in Faith Office at Faith House, price £5.

… And Your Submissions

We still would like to have copies of any submissions made by Forward in Faith parishes and members to Bishop Michael ’s Working Party. It is hoped that a volume to be published early next year will contain quotations from a number of individual and parish submissions, along with some of the weightier submissions reproduced in full and other essays on the subject. The more material the Editor of this volume with have to choose from, the better it will be for all of us!

Eight years on …

Who would have thought, sitting in Central Hall in September 1994, that eight years on, we would be planning the Ninth Forward in Faith National Assembly ? It takes place at the Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street, SW1 on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 October, 2002. It might be too early for you to send in the names of your delegates for the autumn, but it is most emphatically not too early for Forward in Faith Diocesan Assemblies to start thinking about who their delegates might be and what subjects they might hope the Assembly will address. That way, you may be ready to respond, when we decide we do want to hear from you!

And finally …

As Forward in Faith approaches its tenth anniversary, it is interesting to reflect that what might have seemed very much a temporary organization, when it all began back in 1992, has most emphatically been transformed into a very permanent organization. So much so, that we are beginning to receive legacies from the Estates of Forward in Faith members who have died. It is marvellous to think that so many are thinking of us in this way during their lifetimes, and doing their bit to see that the work continues after they have gone. Have you made your Will? And does it mention Forward in Faith? Suitable forms of words to make a bequest to Forward in Faith are given below. We hope that all our members will prayerfully consider whether they might use them. Forms of words for making a bequest to Forward in Faith in your Will I GIVE to FORWARD IN FAITH of Faith House 7 Tufton Street Westminster London SW1P 3QN the sum of pounds (£) and I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer or other proper officer of Forward in Faith shall be good and sufficient discharge to my Executor

Or

I GIVE the residue of my estate to FORWARD IN FAITH of Faith House 7 Tufton Street Westminster London SW1P 3QN and I DIRECT that the receipt of the Treasurer or other proper officer of Forward in Faith shall be good and sufficient discharge to my Executor.