Letter Received By NLD Jim Warland from Father Will in Hong Kong
Hi Jim, great to hear from you! We continue to give thanks for all that you and the team gave to us last year – your faith, wisdom, humour, and love. We are all working hard to create HK Cursillo #2, which will take place from October 3-6, back at the same retreat house on Cheung Chau Island. This time we will warn people about the hard beds!
Most of us from HK #1 will be on the team. Evelyn is Lay Leader, Alison is Procter, and the rest of the team is Maddy, Rita, Rosanna, Kate, Andrea, Aron, John, TK and Saki. Robert and I are spiritual advisers. Hugh has left HK and is back in England, and Adam is about to start at seminary in training to become a priest. Daniel is under a lot of personal pressure and sadly felt unable to stay with the group.
We have around a dozen people signed up so far.
They are Sharon, Ivy, Deidre, Sue, Rese (Therese), Nancy, Billy, Jason,
Ambrose, and Alex and Esme (husband and wife).
There will hopefully be a few more signing up soon.
You might like to know who is giving which talk.
Ideal – John
Grace – Evelyn
Laity – Alison
Faith – Andrea
Piety – Rita
Study – Rosanna
Sacraments – Will
Apostolic action – TK
Obstacles to grace – Robert
Leaders – Maddy
Changing the environment – Aron
Christian Living – Kate
Community – Saki
4th Day - John
Our ultreyas over the past year have focused on bonding the group,
encouraging the small groups, and planning for Cursillo #2.
We have 3 small groups, meeting in the city at 8am, lunchtime, and evening so that everyone can attend at least one. The morning group has been the most regular and members feel greatly supported by each other on their spiritual journeys. With new Cursillistas after October hopefully the other groups will be re-energised.
Hong Kong - We were all delighted that last weekend was the first for 2 months with no tear gas. But the protests continue, with no sign at present of a resolution. Be aware that the TV footage you see on the news shows the worst of what is happening. By far the most protesters have been peaceful, and a majority of the police too. The protests are generally quite localized and everyone knows in advance when and where they will be, and if you stay away from those areas life seems pretty much as normal. But the tensions beneath the surface are unresolved.
You may like to read the sermon I preached last Sunday about the situation here. http://www.ststephen.org.hk/Sermon.aspx
Warm regards and many blessings to you and Barb, and to all our friends in Cursillo Australia. Please feel free to share this with them.
De Colores!
Will