‘Jesus Hug’ fellowship celebrates year of fun and Grace

A Year of fun and Grace: Reflecting on the ‘Jesus Hug’ Cantonese Children’s Fellowship in and around Cambridge. Frances Tai and Elizabeth Lam report.

This last year has been a year of Grace for the children’s fellowship, part of the RCDEA Cantonese Chaplaincy.

June 15 marked the end of its first year with a special mass, during which Canon John invoked a special blessing over 13 children. The community prayed together for all the children, asking for the Lord’s guidance to help them share such Grace with their friends and for them to grow in wisdom and faith, and be in expressed communion with their fellow Christians and with Jesus Christ.

Over 30 parents, children, and “volunteer teachers” took part in the end-of-term party, some of which took place in the grounds of Our Lady of Lourdes, Sawston- all having fun and giving thanks together.

The past year, the “Jesus Hug” Cantonese Children’s Fellowship saw, on average, 18 children participating. These sessions were held after each monthly Cantonese mass celebration, to nurture faith through their first language namely Cantonese, of the mainly Hongkongers. The varied sessions helped to deepen children’s understanding of God and the Catholic Church. Through prayers, singing, storytelling, crafts, short films, and games, volunteers have devoted themselves to making learning fun and to foster a sense of community and fraternal love amongst the children.

The children were also given opportunities to play an active role , including leading the prayers of the faithful, in the offertory rite of the gifts of bread and wine, and assisting in instructions for the younger children than themselves. On one level, the children are being prepared for the future; the hope is that they will pick up the torch to maintain and develop the Cantonese-speaking faith-based community, with the possibility of establishing an ecclesial entity sometime in the future.

The “Jesus Hug” Group would like to recruit more children and voluntary teachers to expand our network in the coming year, so that they may share in the love and blessings of the Lord, through youth formation.

The fellowship is now open to application from children for the 2024-2025 program. For inquiries, please contact cantonmassea@gmail.com and register here.

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