Community of the Passion gathering at Wistaston Hall

Community of the Passion at Wistaston Hall

The Community of the Passion held their first gathering of the year at Wistaston Hall in Crewe, over the weekend of 29th to 31st May 2026. Passionist Development Worker Paschal Somers writes:

The Community of the Passion is a dispersed community of women and men, finding together a new way of being Passionist, under the auspices of the Passionist Province of Ireland and Britain.

Married and single (and including some vowed Passionist members), the Community engages in practical solidarity with the Crucified people in their daily lives, seeking to be a Gospel presence at sites of suffering today. Committed to prayer with and for each other, we find God in our encounter with and commitment to all those who are poor, powerless and suffering. We support each other in our living out of our faith and our call to missionary discipleship.

One way in which we support each other is through regular meetings, mostly in person but also through zoom. Most of these meetings are held locally or regionally but the Community gathers twice a year for weekend meetings. Whenever we meet, the focus of our gathering is our sharing of how we have experienced the Passion of Christ in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We also share what are termed 'Resurrection Experiences', where members give expression to any signs of hope, growth or new life that they have experienced lately. Listening closely to one another is essential to the community's life and growth. In this way, the lens of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus becomes the way in which we interpret our common discipleship journey. Our meetings always include shared meals and social time, culminating in the sharing of the Eucharistic meal.

On 29th to 31st May 2026, the Community of the Passion held its first weekend gathering of the year in the lovely setting of Wistaston Hall, the Oblate Retreat Centre near Crewe. Twenty-one members of the Community travelled from various parts of the country to take part.

This weekend's timetable included the opportunity for the Community to review all aspects of its life. The key themes explored were how to improve communication within the community and with potential new members, deeper formation in Passionist spirituality and more regular coming together for prayerful experiences, planning a more cohesive form of coordination for the group than is currently in place and clarifying the process of how to become a member of the Community and how this membership is based on embracing the Community's vision.

The theme of trinitarian faith ran throughout the weekend and was joyfully celebrated with the Eucharist on the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity.

Renewed by this coming together, we departed the weekend with a fresh sense of our Passionist calling to 'keep alive the memory of the Passion of Christ' and with gratitude for the countless blessings that being part of this Community brings to each of us.

LINKS

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