CATALYST DETONATES AN EXPLOSION
An estimated 3,000 people attended Catalyst, the celebration of Church life at the United Counties Showground, Carmarthen, on 5th July – despite showers of the sort of rain Noah might have experienced.
Writer and broadcaster Hugh Ashley leads a sing-in of favourite hymns
And what a lot there was to celebrate in the eight tents and activity areas.
Visitors were treated to an extravaganza of recitals, theatre sketches, displays, and demonstrations of activities ranging from performances by school choirs to appearances by stars such as BBC Wales’s Chris Needs and Royal Harpist Claire Jones, who not only gave a recital but also passed some of her expertise on to pupils in a workshop session.
There was a chance to quiz the great and the good in Question Time, or to debate the big issues of the day yourself, such as climate change, combating terrorism and the immigration question, in the Issues Tent. Elsewhere, you could make a stained glass window, belt out some of your favourite hymns during a guided tour of their history, admire regional craftsmanship and savour the delights of locally-grown produce.
 |
The versatile Chris Needs |
Young children enjoyed the funfair rides while their older brothers and sisters scaled the climbing wall.
Worship wasn’t neglected, of course, and there was plenty of opportunity to take your pick from the unique styles of Taizé and Iona, through an exploration of worship resources through the medium of Welsh, to the prayerful music of the young people’s band Awaiting. In the moving Final Act of Worship, over 1,000 people were inspired by the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Reverend Dr Barry Morgan, and raised the roof with the help of the Catalyst Choir under the direction of Seimon Morris.
Christian touring theatre group Roughshod
These were just a few of the activities on offer, and the presence of visitors aged from just a few months to 80 plus confirmed the organisers’ promise that
this would be a fun day out for all the family. And if ‘life’ is a central theme of Christianity, there was certainly plenty of it on display.
The aims of Catalyst were to showcase all that is best in the Church in West Wales, to draw its far-flung branches closer together, and – just like its scientific namesake – to set off a ‘chemical reaction’, releasing renewed energy channelled into achieving even greater goals in the future.
The first two aims have been achieved in what was unquestionably a resounding success. Now watch out for the resulting explosion!
Claire Jones accompanies some of Saint Cledwyn's Singers, conducted by Jonathan Copus