Dear Friends,
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I have just returned from Birmingham, having had the joy and privilege of participating in the We Believe festival at Oscott. You will find more news about the festival elsewhere in this newsletter but I want to share here some personal reflections.

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The 2000+ people attending the festival came from every part of the country and included newborn babies, the elderly, and all ages in between. Some camped, others stayed in near-by hotels. All those giving input throughout the weekend were committed to doctrinal orthodoxy and the new evangelisation; their immediate interests ranged from the Traditional Mass to Charismatic Renewal, From Academic Theology to a Sociological Understanding of contemporary religious trends. Many of these groups or individuals had never gathered together before and they found in each a joy and excitement in being Catholics at this moment in history.

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The Ordinariate was present because it belonged: there was no sense that we were a side-show but an integral but distinct part of the wider picture. It was good to see Ordinariate members present through other groups with which they are associated and it was excellent that a number of conference speakers were Ordinariate members whose personal expertise is recognised way beyond our own structures.

I enjoyed being part of a small panel reflecting on the mission of the Church at the present time and also giving a live interview, which was simultaneously broadcast on Radio Maria. It was particularly moving to sing Evensong in the College Chapel, beneath the pulpit from which Newman had delivered his famous sermon on the 2nd Spring. It was wonderful to welcome others to this service and for them to experience worship in the Anglican Patrimony and realise that such worship is now fully part of the life of the Catholic Church. Some clergy and religious were delighted to discover that, having joined us for Evensong, they had fulfilled their canonical obligation to pray the Office!

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As a Bishop, it was good to simply “be there”; to meet some of the camping families, to join the children at their singing workshop, to catch up with people I have got to know this past year, to hear confessions, bless rosaries etc. But most of all it was good to witness that the Lord is at work; that people, especially the young, are coming to faith; that there are countless Catholics ready to engage in a 3rd Spring. The Ordinariate is an integral part of this – we have, in a sense, come of age!

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Yours in Christ
+ David

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