Festival of Hope and Light

The Festival of Hope and Light was organised by the Rochester branch of Forward in Faith and celebrated at the church of St Barnabas in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
This festival was organised to mark the beginning of the celebration of Candlemass. Its main aim is to celebrate Christ our True and Only Hope.
The well attended event was led by Bishop Keith Newton SSC. After a splendid buffet all assembled in church where the bishop spoke about the light that Christ gives us in order to be able to see and also as a pledge of the eternal and perfect light of the Kingdom that is yet to come. After a brief period of silence the bishop led the concelebrated Mass during which the young members of the congregation gave a reflection and led the Universal Prayers.
After Mass there was a procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Church and time for quiet reflection. People were able to return to the hall for some hot chocolate and the evening came to an end with Compline and Benediction.
People enjoyed this experience and all participated in the joy that permeated the whole Festival. A special thanks must go to Bishop Keith, Fr Tomlinson and his congregation that worked so hard for the event to be a success.