Spirit in the City opens in West End 11 June 2007

The West End of London, famous for hit theatre shows, was the location for this year's Spirit in the City festival. The three-day event, organised by the four main Catholic Churches in the area, ran from 7-9 June and aimed to witness to the Gospel and the person of Jesus through a rich variety of events concluding with a vibrant five-hour celebration in Leicester Square. This featured a dynamic programme of music, drama, mime, poetry, art and workshops. The festival was opened with a time of worship led by the Shalom Community, followed by mime artist Steve Murray performing 'Watch the Lamb,' a moving and beautiful mime showing the connection between the Old Testament Passover lamb and Jesus, the new lamb. He later performed 'Hammer' a powerful mime about the realisation that it was our sin that held Jesus to the cross. A group from the Bard School gave poetry and music input with Sarah De Nordwell performing her poem 'The universe was not at home' and music from Kris Morris Music and a Maltese pop duo. RISE, a young new five-piece theatre group provided clever and thought provoking drama, touching on the idea that there must be more to life than the day-to-day routine and how trusting in God can bring a freedom beyond what we could humanly obtain. The afternoon ended with a storming set from Christian rock band Crossbeam. A diverse range of Catholic groups were represented including the St Patrick's Evangelisation School, CASE and World Youth Day. There was also opportunity for prayer and to hear teaching about different aspects of the Catholic faith. As Leicester Square is a major thoroughfare in London, it was estimated that thousands would have passed through, stopping or receiving flyers and prayer cards during that time. We hope and pray that God will continue to water the seeds that have been sown.