Thank you to all those who attended our Diocesan BIG Assembly held on 15th September 2011 at the Lincolnshire Showground. The event marked the first anniversary of the Papal Visit to the UK in September 2010 and the end of the Catholic Year of Education launched following the Holy Father's visit. Bishop Malcolm welcomed around 2,500 children, teachers and staff from 64 schools with the opening prayer, The Angelus. The theme of the liturgy was taken from three of the central messages given by Pope Benedict XVI and developed here in our diocese under the title The Angelus Project, they were: sainthood, vocation, and prayer.
As the children gathered, they were able to enjoy musical performances provided by Trinity Secondary School, Our Lady & St. Edwards Primary School, Saint John Houghton Secondary School and St. Peter & St. Paul Secondary School. St. Bede's Secondary School provided an exciting drama that formed part of the liturgy. St. Mary's Primary School (Hyson Green) provided a video clip in which they told the life story of Blessed Mary Potter who formed the Little Company of Mary. Bishop Ellis Primary School provided a short video on vocations. Thank you to all these schools for their contributions to the day. It was very much appreciated.
A special thank you also goes to a Year 10 pupil at St. Thomas More Secondary School in Buxton for designing the flag for the Diocesan Big Assembly. She selected the colour scheme to match the Angelus Project logo. The circles are halos representing sainthood and the hands represent a dove for peace and are coloured to show unity and community. The participants very much enjoyed waving the flags which made a spectacular sight!
Sixth Form students from St. Peter & St. Paul Secondary School also deserve a special mention for acting as stewards for the event - they did a great job. As expected, the Reach 4 Youth Team were brilliant in leading the liturgy and were very well supported by live music from 'God's Gift.' Thank you all
Photos from the day are available below - click on the photo to see the full size image. These may be used in school assemblies as a great way of sharing the day with others at school. (This feature works best in Firefox or Chrome Browsers at present)
 Diocesan Big Assembly - flag | [ ] | 1117 Kb |
