Night Fever coming to Blackpool

Night Fever, a unique open night of prayer and reflection will take place at The Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Talbot Square, Blackpool this Friday, 24 October from 7.30pm – 10pm.

The new outreach initiative has been hugely successful and popular across Manchester, London and in cities all over the world and now a team of local ambassadors for the project are bringing the Night Fever event to Blackpool. The aim of Night Fever is inviting people into the town centre Sacred Heart church to experience a moment of candlelit evening prayer, reflection and spiritual hospitality.

Canon Robert Dewhurst, parish priest of Sacred Heart Church is delighted that Night Fever is being held in the town centre church. He said: “This is a wonderful new initiative for our church and a very innovative way to reach out to people on our doorstep who may be looking for spiritual guidance. I am very proud to be part of this event and the team of volunteers have worked very hard to pull it all together.

"Our doors are open from 7.30pm until 10pm and there will be lots of people welcoming in passers-by, local workers in the area and visitors to Night Fever. I am inviting all the people of all our parishes and Blackpools local community, visitors and residents to come along and join us. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity to experience our church in the evening and together as a community we can go and make a difference through prayer, fellowship and friendship. So do come along and make a difference in your own life and lives of others around you.

"Night Fever is about inviting all kinds of different people into the church. There may be people just passing by, people who have never been into a church or those who haven’t been for a long time or people within the community or parish that feel they would like to support the mission and join in.

Blackpool has a very thriving and busy evening entertainment scene with theatres, showbars, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions and right in the middle of all the buzz is The Sacred Heart Catholic Church. So, it is quite fitting that our church should also be an active part of the bustling culture and open our doors and invite people to pop in and make lighting a candle or having a moment of prayer, part of their night out. God is everywhere, at all times and for all people.

"For many visitors this may be their first time in a Catholic Church and there will be a warm welcome awaiting people who are invited to just come in, maybe light a candle, say a prayer, talk to a priest, reflect and listen to some music.
The motto of the evening is “Welcome, come and go as you please. The church is open for you.”

There will be a street mission team of volunteers on the evening, made up of local parishioners from other Catholic Churches in the area and youth workers from Castlerigg Manor. They will be working together and carrying special lanterns to light the way as they invite passers-by to pop in for moment and experience some quiet reflection inside the church on the evening. There will be information sheets, prayer cards and other activities to make people feel at ease and understand about how to pray if they are unsure. It is an open night of prayer where people can experience the beautiful atmosphere of the church at night, with the candlelit ambiance and have a moment of peace.

Simon Stewart, Chaplaincy Team Leader at St Mary's Catholic Academy and Secretary of the Deanery Pastoral Council said that Sr Anne Stewart, a Holy Child Sister came across Night Fever initially and suggested it to the deanery.

The chaplaincy team at St Marys and Castlerigg enthusiastically followed her lead and the project gathered pace, ably assisted by Fr Peter Sharrock and Canon Robert Dewhurst at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Blackpool.

Simon said: "In the deanery we have been exploring ways of reaching out to those who are disconnected from the Church - responding to the Holy Father's challenge to look outside of ourselves.

"'Night Fever' seemed a fresh and positive form of outreach, utilising our gifts to welcome people in. The church of the Sacred Heart is particularly well-placed at the heart of Blackpool and we thought we would hold our event during the 'Illuminations season' when town is at its busiest. We hope it will become a regular event and provide a place of quiet and spiritual comfort in the midst of noise and distraction. At the very least it will bring people in the deanery together to pray, worship and find some much-needed space in our busy world."

Night Fever takes place on Friday 24th October at 7.30pm until 10pm, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Talbot Square, Blackpool. All are welcome.

For more information on Night Fever please follow on Twitter @NightFeverBLP
Visit the parish website here: www.sacredheartchurchblackpool.com/