by Catherine & John Bradley
Seven Go to Celebrate
The serenity of Worth Abbey When John suggested a family trip to a charismatic renewal Catholic festival in a field in August, I was… surprised. After attending a diocesan event in September 2025, he came back talking excitedly about a worship band he had heard there called the One Hope Project. John has wide-ranging taste in music (his first engagement following the festival was watching Strauss at the Proms), but it is worth noting that we both brought a copy of Abba Gold to the marriage and our shared enjoyment of primary school hymns is no secret. He had spoken to the band after their set and discovered that they are regulars at events run by the Celebrate Trust which began over 30 years ago as a way to nurture the Catholic charismatic renewal. The Trust had a stall at the event and he found out that in
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2025 they had held their first full-scale festival at Worth Abbey, and they were due to run it again in 2026, so we began our research in earnest. We struggled to muster enough annual leave to take time off work and asked about weekend tickets, but the organisers strongly encouraged us to come for the full event, which was very wise advice, and we juggled our summer plans to make it work. It is fair to say that our family's experience of camping has been somewhat mixed and that some of us were tentative after a heavy battering by gale force winds and drenching rain showers in the Outer Hebrides a few years ago. I spent much of my childhood camping in Scotland with the Girl Guides and so find the smell of wet tent evocative of adventure and youthful freedoms. At least some of our offspring seem to agree but mercifully Celebrate offered both school accommodation and camping pitches, as well as full-board meals served in the school refectory, meaning we could meet the needs of the whole family.
Catherine looking forward to some time to relax and recharge -2-
Heading back for some worship!
The excitement built over the weeks leading up to the festival and so too did the trepidation would it be too hot, would the weather finally break and leave us in a quagmire, would everyone enjoy themselves? We should, of course, have trusted in the Holy Spirit. John recalled that many years ago on a visit to Rome, a wise and holy member of the clergy advised that the only way the Byzantine structures of the Vatican could operate was through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Nothing else could explain how it all held together. Driving into the grounds of Worth Abbey with five children in the back of the car and a tent in the roof-box, there was a very similar feeling as the legions of smiling and helpful volunteers all gave different advice on how to check-in and where to pitch our tent. With over 1000 people arriving for the five-day Festival, the opportunity for mishaps were manifold and various, and yet everything ran extraordinarily smoothly. We heard
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later that every morning somebody from the team went around the whole site saying prayers for the day ahead. It definitely paid off. Walking into the accomodation in the old part of the school, the indoor party gasped at the stunning views of the surrounding countryside and could glimpse the tent in the far distance. Once the suncream was applied, water bottles filled and coffee purchased from the amazing café, Papa Dutch, it was time for the opening worship session. Along with all the other whole-festival events, this took place in the 'Big-Top' a large blue marquee complete with stage, lighting rigs, a huge sound system and plenty of dry ice. The music was wildly different to Sunday in the Cathedral and our children, who all sing in the Cathedral choir, were initially slightly startled. However we were very quickly caught up in the pure, uninhibited joy that was expressed by worshippers of all ages. Soon after this the children went to start their own programmes of learning and fellowship. They were mostly in different groups and some of them felt anxious about whether they would be lonely. We need not have worried - to the huge credit of the group leaders all of our children settled easily into their streams, made friends, enjoyed activities and came back speaking enthusiastically about discussions they had shared, perspectives they had listened to and questions they had asked. John and I had not realised these groups would be taking place and basked in the ability to sit and enjoy the talks in tranquillity. Each day began with the celebration of Mass, with children's liturgy for the younger children and a dedicated youth Mass for the older ones. The music was led by the One Hope Project, whose mission is to encourage fresh expressions of worship in the Catholic Church by encouraging Spirit-filled community in the emerging generation. There were several different celebrants over the course of the festival, including the Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, who also took time that day to come and meet everyone. The Bishops' Conference is extremely supportive of the event - it is very much part of the rich tapestry of the Universal Church. On the first day, our keynote speaker was Fr Roberto Pasolini, who is preacher to the Papal household. He reminded us that the book of Genesis asks us to see the light, not the darkness. The world, our family, ourselves - we are all the light, and the light is good. Good does not have to be perfect, so we do not need to be critical of others, or self-critical, because the only true light is Jesus. Fr Roberto spoke to us again on the second day and reflected that a lot of people looking at religion from the outside believe that it is designed to reduce our distance from God. However,
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this is a complete misunderstanding because God has already crossed the entire distance by becoming human. Not only this but we have received God's Spirit in baptism. In the early church people were seen to be saints because they 'received God' not because they 'achieved God', and to be open to His healing grace we need to recognise the power in weakness which Saint Paul identifies. There were many other incredible speakers. David Wells encouraged us to cheer up, rejoice and be grateful. He suggested that we should not be anxious - God knows what we’re like and knows that we are unreliable, but still sent his only Son to redeem us. Johannes Hartl gave us advice
Tranquil surroundings
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on how to evangelise in a postmodern world - speak the truth boldly, use social media wisely, build healthy communities, make the holy approachable and finally be fearless. There were some extraordinarily special moments during the Festival, including the opportunity to venerate a relic of Saint Carlo Acutis, a guided reflection for families in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and most of all the chance to all celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation which we did one by one as the rest of us prayed in the Abbey Church. Around all of this, there were sports and activities, a talent show, a quiz, and a stunning location where we could have walks and admire the sunset. Games of football and rounders with other families in the afternoons were a real highlight. Since our return we have invested in a rounders set so we can keep up the practice and the laughter. It is not an exaggeration to say it was one of the most magical weeks we have had as a family. We were also astonished at the response from the kids: our 16 year-old summed it up well when she said, ‘I’ll be honest I was sceptical, but genuinely Celebrate was kind of peak’. For a family like ours with children aged between 8 and 16, with different interests and tastes, it xyx -6-
feels important to add how easy it felt. With the stresses of day-to-day life banished for 5 days, and the excellent facilities at Worth, we could take time to be together, to pray and to experience moments of stillness and quiet amidst it all. The festival organisers have made huge efforts to be as inclusive as possible: providing meals to suit different dietary needs; incredibly nice portaloos and showers; accessible toilets; fridges and freezers for campers to store perishables; special sessions for families with children with special educational needs; shuttle-bus transport around the site to allow those with mobility needs easy access to the more distant locations, and quiet areas for people to decompress and relax if they felt overwhelmed. There was the excellent onsite café as well as a well-attended and good-value bar in the evenings. The campsite was quiet most nights from 10:30pm but if you listened carefully you could hear families praying or singing softly to soothe children to sleep. Firmly situated within the mainstream of Catholicism, the Festival was brimming with worship, prayer and community. It is difficult to sum up such a wonderful and intense experience but we were left thinking that we could not remember a time when we had witnessed so much joy and concluded 'we are all charismatics now'. There is something about the call to renewal, and the use of music to praise and glorify God, that is timeless, and at the most basic level no different to what we do at the Cathedral every Sunday. It goes without saying that we have already booked for 2027…
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