Being a Church for the Poor. Diocese of Shrewsbury Roadshow 26 September 2015 Ellesmere Port Catholic High School

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1 Being a Church for the Poor Diocese of Shrewsbury Roadshow 26 September 2015 Ellesmere Port Catholic High School 1

2 Shrewsbury Caritas Roadshow Over one hundred and sixty people from the Diocese of Shrewsbury, led by Bishop Mark Davies, convened at Ellesmere Port Catholic High School on Saturday 26 September 2015 for the Caritas: Being a Church for the Poor Roadshow. The event was organised jointly by CSAN, the Diocese of Shrewsbury and Catholic Children s Society in response to an invitation of the Bishop s Conference of England and Wales to strengthen support and develop cohesive action based in faith and social justice. Chaired by Canon Philip Moor VG. The aims of the day were: Celebrate what we/you do now in witness to the love of our neighbour Support the Shrewsbury Children s Society Influence and inform Diocesan planning and development Explore how a Caritas network could help the work of social action and social justice Opening Prayer The day began with a beautiful liturgy led by the Ellesmere Port Catholic High School students and their chaplain. After a call to prayer we listened to the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46, which reminds us that it is in serving others that we serve God and that we are called to act as well as to pray. Participants were then given a red heart and asked to write the name of a person or concern they wished to pray for and have present throughout the day. They were then invited to come to the front of the hall to pin their heart to a large Cross while reflective music played in the background. The Cross remained a focal point for the rest of the day. The students finished with prayers of the faithful. Welcome: Canon Philip Moor VG Opening the Roadshow, Canon Philip Moor VG, welcomed everyone who was gathered and introduced the themes of the day. 2

3 A Picture of the Diocese: Bishop Mark Davies Bishop Mark Davies delivered a compelling speech in which he outlined the various social and economic crises we are facing including: crippling levels of child poverty, scandalous neglect and ill-treatment of elderly people, magnitude of the refugee crisis in Europe and the increase in human trafficking in the UK. He cited Pope Francis call to the US Congress to try to respond as best we can to their situation we need to avoid a common temptation nowadays to discard whatever proves troublesome. He reiterated that everybody should remember we are all connected and our struggles are shared. He emphasised humanity cannot represent for us merely a series of issues to be met by a series of ideas and opinions. Our main focus should be people, and he mentioned Pope Francis recent trip to Cuba. He declared our faith is to be concerned with people, not with ideology. it is essential to draw near to new forms of poverty and vulnerability in which we are called to recognise the suffering of Christ I think of the homeless, the addicted, refugees the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel. (Evangelli Gaudium n. 210). The need to recognise every person s humanity and dignity was a central theme throughout Bishop Mark Davies speech. He spoke forcefully about the need to fight against the danger in this socioeconomic environment of reducing the human person down to solely a useful economic unit. He implored the delegates to give something of themselves, not merely their opinions or money. He closed with the beautiful words of Abbot Vonier: the world s salvation is in the Eucharist. This is not a hyperbolical phrase; it is a sober statement of spiritual reality if this mystery becomes the constant occupation of human society, its daily deed, its chief concern, its highest aspiration, then society is saved there is no charity possible as an institution outside the sacrament of Christ s Mystical body (Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist p.257). 3

4 What is Caritas? Helen O Brien (CSAN) The reality of domestic poverty is complex. Poverty is not, of course, of the same order as that in parts of Africa, or India yet there is real poverty in England and Wales today. Even in our society, the 5 th richest in the world, there is still raw poverty. This is the context for the work of the Caritas network. She explained the role of CSAN as the social action arm of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the focal point for developing a network of 42 charities and Dioceses. CSAN is a member of Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis and is the sister organization of CAFOD. The UK team focuses on three areas: sustain and develop the network; undertaking advocacy and lobbying at a national level to protect the poor and vulnerable; and using communications and media for social action and social justice work. Helen envisaged for the Diocese a network, much like CSAN, made up of local social action projects for example run by a religious congregation, Parishes, or small-scale Catholic based projects. Helen provided some examples of how Caritas can look in the Dioceses. It is important that each diocese has ownership of their Caritas network, and that it grows in a way which best meets their needs and existing structures and agencies. Helen then pointed to the parish and the many groups and individuals working in the fabric of the community. A Caritas Parish would seek out the potential for working together, developing parish volunteers, identifying new needs and facing urgent situations in solidarity. 4

5 She then moved on to Calais saying today, how can we fail to be aware of the heartwrenching pictures of drownings, of families trudging for hundreds, thousands of miles in search of peace and security; and the sheer over-whelming need and wish for sanctuary which is causing the free movement of people in the EU, a treasured principle, to break down into barbed-wire fences and police resistance at borders previously open to them. This too is a domestic problem. These people are our neighbours and they are seeking sanctuary here. What should we do? What can we do? This is the sort of issue that we are now facing in the Caritas charities, dioceses and parishes, which call for our urgent, coherent and comprehensive response. Marketplace: Church in Action John Battle encouraged those in the marketplace to visit all the stands, meet each other, to celebrate the blossoming work and consider new partnerships and possibilities. The following groups offered stalls, with lots of information and inspiration: 1. CAFOD 2. Catenians 3. Catholic Children s Society Shrewsbury (CCS) 4. Catholic Handicapped Fellowship 5. Catholic Women s League 6. CENACOLO 7. CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) 8. Ellesmere Port Catholic High School 9. Food Banks 10. Justice & Peace Diocesan Commission 11. Justice & Peace Ellesmere Port 5

6 12. Legion of Mary 13. Lourdes Pilgrimage 14. Marriage and Family Life 15. National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW) 16. Olive Branch 17. Out There 18. Savio House 19. School Chaplaincy 20. Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) 21. St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) 22. Union of Catholic Mothers (UCM) 23. Vintage Blacon 24. Wirral Knights of St Columba 25. Wythenshawe Team Workshops The day proceeded with a series of informative and interactive workshops in which delegates were provided with an opportunity to further their knowledge and understanding of poverty and support services in the Diocese. The intention being to inspire delegates to consider developing new or different social action initiatives in their local area. There were 4 different workshops: Workshop 1: Foodbanks led by Wirral Foodbank Workshop 2: St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) Workshop 3: Olive Branch Recovery Communities Workshop 4: Women in Poverty led by the National Board of Catholic Women Delegates were able to select 2 workshops to attend during the afternoon. 6

7 Reflection on the Day and the Future Canon Philip Moor and Bishop Davies provided a summary of the day and reflected on future action required. Feedback from the day The day was very interesting. I am very inspired. Well done to all involved Damien (Olive Branch Workshop) delivered a powerful message with honesty and passion. Excellent day. Thank you. The workshops I attended were excellent and the marketplace was a good idea and was well executed. A very interesting day from which we gained many insights. 7

8 Commissioning Prayer The day ended with a Commissioning Prayer from Bishop Davies, blessing the work of all those involved in Social Action and for the poor and vulnerable whom they serve. Christ Has No Body [Teresa of Avila ( ) (altered)] Christ has no body but mine, No hands, no feet on earth but mine, Mine are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Mine are the feet with which he walks to do good, Mine are the hands, with which he blesses all the world. Mine are the hands, mine are the feet, Mine are the eyes, mine is his body. Christ has no body now but mine, No hands, no feet on earth but mine, Mine are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but mine. Amen 8

9 Snapshots of the Day Canon Moor s Opening Address Catholic Women s League s Stall The Catenians Stall Bishop Mark Davies and John Battle Savio House Stall Wythenshawe Team Ministry 9