Welcome!

A warm welcome to New Directions’ quarterly tabloid sibling, Forward plus, which is being distributed with New Directions for the first time. It will continue to be distributed in bulk to parishes, but at last we are able to ensure that all readers of New Directions see it as well.

The Assize Sermon

Forward in Faith is delighted to commend to all its members, supporters and friends the Day of Celebration and Prayer which will take place on 14th July, to mark the 175th Anniversary of the Assize Sermon. A Poster for the event was enclosed with last months copy of New Directions and elsewhere in this issue, Fr Jeremy Sheehy writes about the importance of the anniversary.

The organisers write:

On 14th July 1833 John Keble, scholar, priest and hymn writer, preached a sermon which was to start the Oxford Movement in the Church of England. It was to have an effect beyond his imagining. John Newman, Richard Hurrell Froude, and William Palmer, joined with Keble to publish a series of Tracts for the Times and were later joined by Edward Pusey On Monday 14th July 2008 you are warmly invited to join in an hour of \ \ silent prayer which is being held to mark the 175th anniversary of the Oxford Movement and of the Catholic Revival in the Church of England. As we pray God on 14th July, it is our aim not merely to commemorate the events of the past, but also to listen to God and to pray for His help to discern and carry out His will in our own generation.

We hope a nationwide hour of prayer might remind our congregations of things they already know but have pushed to the back of their minds, and perhaps introduce others to the insights and riches of the Catholic Revival.

The hour of silent prayer is sponsored by the principal Catholic societies and organisations of the Church of England (see below), but we warmly invite all men and women of good will to join in.

As we give thanks for the Oxford Movement and the many blessings it brought to the Church of England, we seek above all to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our past, present and future, and to lift up our whole lives to him in love and faith.

We hope that Forward in Faith Parishes all over the world will commit themselves to this hour of silent prayer and add their names to the ever-growing list of Churches taking part by sending an email to admin@oxfordmovement. org. uk giving the name of the parish, the diocese in which it is located, and the (local) time at which the hour of prayer will commence. I