My Soul is Filled with Joy - 75th Anniversary Celebrations of CPW
My Soul is Filled with Joy - CPW 75th Celebrations in Review
By Catherine Pointon
As a new member of CPW, my family and I were looking forward to our second all age week this summer which was to be topped off by a celebration of 75 years of CPW as an organisation. The world however had other ideas, and disappointment set in - no more so than with my three children who were very much looking forward to reconnecting with their CPW friends.
As a family with both adults as Key Workers and three children who have required home educated (not to mention 2 dogs, 1 cat and three chickens), the thought of a virtual week did not at first seem like a viable option for us ( it is possible to be zoomed out!) We did not want to miss out on joining with everyone to celebrate the 75 year anniversary though, and thus Iogged into the welcome at 10am on the 15th August.
“This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad” - Cardinal Vincent Nichols sends a message to CPW to celebrate this special day.
“This is the day that the Lord has made…” Cardinal Nichols informed us that this was his mother’s favourite saying, as he celebrated the community that is CPW and the beginning of our day.
David Wells was the chosen speaker for the day and he led us to remember the joy in our lives our faith and our community. The phrase ‘don’t let the thief steal your joy' is so relevant in our current times. Over the last 6 months I have personally been unable to find precious time for God is my life. If I wasn’t working, I was supporting my children with their learning or running errands for my shielding parents or supporting the wider community I feel a responsibility for in my role as a Headteacher. The absence of that sacred time on a Sunday when the world had to stop for us all to attend Mass was also no longer there. A clear failing on my behalf to carve out that precious time. My faith remained strong but the thief had clearly stolen the ‘space’ for my faith leaving me with a ‘vinegar face’!
CPW is the embodiment of joy, it is a community which has refused to give into the challenges of a pandemic and has instead brought together a programme of events for both adults and young people to join in with. As I listened to David feeling tired and struggling, I felt myself being lifted up, reminded that God is with me and in that I should feel an overwhelming joy knowing this. I was reminded of the reason I joined CPW, the joy and enthusiasm I experienced through a CPW family in my parish. I found this joy infectious and wanted my family to experience it also.
David Wells speaks to CPW about recognising joy in our lives, our faith and our community.
David asked us to think about whether this pandemic Interruption in our lives has been a positive thing as interruptions were in the lives of many saints. Prior to today’s reflections I would have responded with a combination of positives and negatives, I have been able to spend more time with my children and see them step up to the challenges of exams cancelled, social lives which have disappeared and home learning mastered without a parent always being able to help. Yet I have also seen families with not enough money to feed their children, vulnerable young people isolated and elderly relatives terrified. Through David’s reflection I was able to feel, contemplate and relax, allowing me to find joy not just for myself but for my family also.
My joy was clearly infectious enough to persuade my children to join me for the Liturgy which focused on the Feast of the Assumption and Mary’s joy at welcoming Jesus into her womb despite her young age and faced with what was surely an impossible task. As is often the case In CPW events the mix of ages sharing the Liturgy always brings a smile to my face, as one of the morning prayer sessions of the week had reminded us, Children smile 100’s of times a day and their energy shows us that anything is possible. Whilst a virtual Liturgy cannot replicate this liveliness and chaos it did bring back joyful memories of previous CPW liturgies as my 9-year-old dripped candle wax all over the living room carpet!
The second session of the day focused on how we could be beacons of hope. I struggle with being asked to be one more thing as I feel I am already so many things to so many people something which I am sure echoes with many working parents today, but David led us back to that feeling of joy. If we allow God to walk beside us, if we embody his virtues of compassion and forgiveness, we are already beacons of joy.
I remember leaving my first CPW week last year telling everyone who would listen to me how wonderful it was, how much the children had enjoyed it and encouraging them to join in. Isn’t this being a beacon of hope?
CPW is a community which itself is a source of hope and joy by continuing for the next 75 years it will hopeful be able to fill more souls with joy just as they did with my family.
CPW 75th Anniversary Prayer Space - Rejoice!