Night of Witness
Carrying the Cross in Zimbabwe
17 May 2012 17:30
Westminster Cathedral
Ambrosden Avenue
London
SW1P 1QW
Can't make it to our Night of Witness? Keep up to date with everything here, facebook.com/acnuk or http://www.twitter.com/acn_uk on Twitter
"[Religious freedom is] the first of the human rights, for it expresses the most fundamental reality of the person."
– Pope Benedict XVI
Live updates from the Night of Witness
5.50 Hammad Baily and the West End Gospel Choir were entertaining people as they arrived for 5.30pm Mass at Westminster Cathedral – with more to come in our Rally for Religoius Freedom on the piazza at 6.30.
4.45 A couple of photos of the Eliot Smith Dance Company warming up for their debut performance of Persecuted and Forgotten:
4.30 A bit of a long silence while we were setting up wireless connections and watching some of the rehearsals on the piazza. Hopefully the twitter feed has kept you up to date.
1.40 Watch our short film, Christians and the Struggle for Religious Freedom, which will be shown at tonight's Night of Witness
12.55 As part of thre Night of Witness, we've published a report called Christians and the Struggle for Religious Freedom, which addresses key issues about what religious freedom means and why we should defend it, as well as giving key case studies from 12 of the worst countries where Christians are persecuted. You can request or download your copy here
12.50 Preparations are well under way, with the stage and big screen being erected in the cathedral piazza.
Join us as we stand up for faith and freedom – and for persecuted Christians around the world.
Our ground-breaking Night of Witness event is a call to you and your parish and community to join us in prayer and action as we raise our voices to speak up for religious freedom.
Pope Benedict XVI has called religious freedom "the first of human rights". Will you help us defend that right?
Join us "in the public square" for an evening of prayer, reflection, music and dance.
Guests at the Night of Witness include:
- Archbishop Joseph Coutts from Pakistan
- Bishop Joannes Zakaria from Egypt
- Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton
- Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster – greeting participants on the piazza
- A priest who was shot at because of his faith
- Women who have fled violence, oppression and dscrimination in their homelands
- British Pakistani Christian Association
- Iraqi Christians in Need
- Priests and faithful from Iraq, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Lithuania
Performers on the Night of Witness include:
- Catholic band ooberfuse, winners of the World Youth Day 2011 global song contest
- Eliot Smith Dance Company debuting new piece Persecuted and Forgotten
- Singer Helen Munt
- West End Gospel Choir
- Urdu Christian musician Hammad Baily
- Catholic poet Sarah de Nordwall
Programme for the Night of Witness
Please join us for all or part of this inspiring evening:
4.30pm Build-up on the cathedral piazza
5.00pm Debut performance of new contemporary dance piece Persecuted and Forgotten by the Eliot Smith Dance Company. Eliot choreographed this new work especially for our NIght of Witness, after reading our report on Christians oppressed for their faith, 'Persecuted and Forgotten?'. He said: "My new work is an offering, a token of courage, for those who are being persecuted and forgotten around the world."
5.30pm Sung Mass to remember the modern-day martyrs to the Faith, concelebrated by Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, Pakistan, Bishop Joannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt, and Bishop Declan Lang of Clifton.
6.30pm Rally for Religious Freedom on the cathedral piazza, celebrating our faith through speeches, music, drama, dance, poetry and film, with groups from Iraqi, Pakistani, Sudanese and Egyptian communities in the UK, as well as others.
7.30-8.30pm Solemn, candlelit vigil in Westminster Cathedral – in thanksgiving for the inspirational sacrifice of Christians today.
Add your prayer to our Night of Witness Prayer Wall
Please submit a prayer for our Night of Witness Prayer Wall, which will be displayed in Westminster Cathedral at the Night of Witness vigil on Thursday, 17 May.