Thanks for running Let It Be. We hope and pray that it will be a real blessing to you and your group.
Like all CaFE courses it is very simple to run. After a warm welcome and an opening prayer, we recommend that you run it ‘cafe-style’ around decorated tables with quality refreshments (even a glass of wine!).
Each session lasts between 20-25 minutes and finishes with a prayer.
There are discussion questions at the back of the Let It Be book. It is really important that each guest has a their own book for deeper reflection, follow-on and optional daily prayer. You can order more books sale or return at only £2 each. You could ask people to contribute. For those who wish to, there are daily prayer reflections at the back of the book to deepen the experience.
To help with promotion we have free downloadable A3, A4 and A5 flyers/posters (see the Downloads button above). Below is a short piece that can be adapted for newsletters, plus a short article about the making of Let It Be. Finally, there is a short Trailer available to show at the end of Mass or via social media, etc.
It would be really good to plan a follow on course which you could promote before the end of Let It Be. We have many CaFE courses that would be suitable, but recommend;
Strength to Strength - 5 sessions on daily prayer.
The Gift - 6 sessions on life in the Spirit.
The Big Picture - a 10 session Bible study on Salvation History (which can be split into two 5 week sessions).
Please contact us if you have any questions on info@faithcafe.org. God bless you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below is some sample text which you can adapt and which is designed for use in church newsletters, or similar, to advertise the course:
LET IT BE – INSPIRING NEW FILM COURSE ON MARY
We are running the new CaFE film on the life of Mary past & present. Filmed around the world with well-known experts and down-to-earth testimonies about how the example and prayer of Mary can help us grow in our everyday faith. As part of the course you will get your own Let It Be Book which includes the main content of the film plus lots of useful follow-on info and optional daily prayer reflections. Why not bring a friend and come and check out Session 1.
Starting on DDMMYY in the Parish Centre from HH:MM. Refreshments included.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE FILM THAT CHANGED MY LIFE (AGAIN)! by David Payne
In 1996 CaFE (Catholic Faith Exploration) was launched by the Charismatic Renewal, with the encouragement of Cardinal Hume, to tirelessly serve our parishes especially in the vital area of evangelisation and faith empowerment. Since then we've had the awesome privilege of producing over thirty CaFE filmed courses that have amazingly been watched by well over a million people worldwide.
We have covered nearly every topic of our rich faith in Jesus; the Sacraments, Prayer, the Father's love, the Bible, Parenting, Social Action, the Saints, life in the Holy Spirit, Youth and even one for the over 60s! Each course has been a labour of great love, often taking a year to produce with vast sums of money needed to be raised.
Along the way I've had the joy of visiting some incredible places and interviewed many beautiful holy men and women. As a result, many of the films have been life changing for me personally as they stretched my theology and opened my eyes to a deeper walk in the Spirit.
Despite this rich menu that I have devoured over the last twenty years or so, I had a nagging feeling that I was lacking a vital piece of the spiritual-life jigsaw. Two years ago I realised what it was. Mary was missing from the CaFE library and the sense of conviction was very powerful. CaFE needed to film Mary in style!
On a personal level I knew I was about to get very challenged. I've never really had a great devotion to Our Lady and, in fact at times to my shame, I've even held some quite hostile theological positions. This was all about to change. After raising the massive £90,000 needed to make a TV-quality filmed course and book, we set off around the Marian world to experience the great gift of our spiritual mother given to us all by Jesus from the Cross.
Each step of the way I was deeply impacted. I will never forget kneeling at the base of the great Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where our world changed forever as God entered the womb of a young teenager in response to her courageous “Let It Be”. Then touching the traditional spot where the God-Son was born in humble Bethlehem. How can I forget having a glass of fine wine in Cana before walking the Via Dolorosa in hectic Jerusalem to the awesome place where Mary would enter into the passion of her son as he poured out his sinless life for all humanity.
Thankfully that wasn't the end of my journey! We next filmed in the Upper Room where Mary served as 'godmother' to the disciples as they received their own baptism in the Spirit. Then off to Ephesus where tradition says Mary lived and prayed before being assumed into Glory to continue her dynamic role as Queen of Saints interceding for us all at the Throne of God Almighty.
From here we followed the well-trod path of countless millions of devoted disciples from the Catacombs in Rome to the breathtaking Monastery at Montserrat in the mountains above Barcelona. Then to the tranquility of Lourdes, before enjoying the great gift of Irish simplicity of faith in Knock and finally to our very own Marian shrine at Walsingham. How could I resist such a weight of tradition and fervour experienced by so many!
As I now look back recovering from the hard work of film production, I know I will never be the same again. I have truly met my spiritual mother in a most profound way. I need her help and love. I need her unshakable example of devotion to Jesus. I need her powerful intercession helping me and my loved-ones to walk faithfully in the Spirit every day. I need her reminder of the great gift of Eternal Life knowing that what Mary has been given in Heaven will one day come to us too. Above all I need her daily challenge to say my own 'Let it Be' to God's will in my life.
For full details of the Let It Be course and book plus short trailer please visit www.faithcafe.org
