Blog

10 Sep – Autumn environment meetings via Zoom from NDEG

In case you are wondering, NDEG = The Northern Dioceses’ Environment Group and is made up from people concerned about our climate crisis who live in parishes across the North of England.

They are organizing 3 Zoom meetings during this Autumn that may well be of interest to many in the Leeds Diocese.

The first one on Sep 26 @7pm is about Diocesan Environment Policies.

Bernadette Jordan and Emily Cahill (Laudato Si’ Centre Environment and Learning Officer, Diocese of Salford) will do an initial presentation headed ‘Diocesan and schools Laudato Si developments; responses to having a Diocesan Climate Strategy in Salford’. This will lead to a wider discussion on the work in progress across the northern dioceses. What lessons can we learn from each other?

If you are interested in joining this zoom then simply email climate.ndeg@gmail.com and NDEG will send you the link for the Zoom.

The second of these Zoom meetings will be on Monday 28^th October at 5pm. This meeting will be focussing on the LiveSimply award scheme managed by CAFOD. The aim of this session is to give an update on how the Live Simply award is developing and equip people with practical suggestions for implementation in parishes or schools. There will also be time for discussion across the dioceses represented and general networking time.

The third Zoom meeting will take place on Wednesday 27^th November at 12 noon and will be led by Mark Wiggin of Salford Diocese. We are coming up to ten years since the publication of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. What has happened in northern dioceses so far and where do dioceses go next in the Laudato Si journey. There will be short inputs from several dioceses along with the usual opportunity to discuss some of the points and to generally network.

10th September 2024 |

08 Sep – World Day of Migrants & Refugees

By Kathy Shaw, SPARK Project Manager

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees on the last Sunday in September since 1914. It is always an occasion to highlight the need for global unity in supporting refugees; to pray for different vulnerable people on the move as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities offered by migration.

This year the Holy Father has chosen “God walks with His people” as the title for his annual message; this theme connects us to the message of World Refugee Day celebrated in June “Everyone is Welcome”.

“God not only walks with his people, but also within them, in the sense that he identifies himself with men and women on their journey through history, particularly with the least, the poor and the marginalised. In this we see an extension of the mystery of the Incarnation.”Pope Francis

From Syria to Yorkshire – A Refugee Story is an inspiring event that has been planned for 29^th September starting at 2pm, at Wheeler Hall in Leeds where you are invited to hear the story of one family; their journey and resettlement in Yorkshire and sample some delicious Syrian food. The event is a partnership between SPARK Social Justice and Caritas Catholic Care. Leeds Church Institute will also provide a unique experience of faith and creativity.

Community Sponsorship is a successful scheme allowing refugees to enter the UK and Catholic Care has been recognised by the Home Office as a Principal Sponsor since 2022. Sponsorship is a unique opportunity for volunteers supported through Catholic Care to welcome and resettle refugee families, putting local communities at the heart of a family’s journey to a new life, and helping them to rebuild their lives.

The Catholic Bishops publication “Love the Stranger” inspires us to “look beyond labels and see the person who has left their homeland”.

SPARK is the faith-informed social justice project for people aged 18 to 30 years in the Yorkshire area. It was set up by the Justice & Peace Commission in 2019 with funding from the Porticus Trust. We are continuing to provide safe spaces for younger people of faith through helping individuals to follow their social justice concerns, organising events like this one and providing opportunities for them to explore the faith basis for taking action on social justice issues.

More Info & reserve a place

8th September 2024 |

05 Sep – The Peace Museum – It’s time to go there!

The Peace Museum re-opened its doors during August in its new location at Salt’s Mill in Saltaire. The museum closed its former location in central Bradford some time ago. The photograph shows the bare space before they started working on it. It illustrates why it has taken them quite a while to sort everything out and make their new location ready to receive visitors.

The Peace Museum is the only one of its kind in the UK. In both its previous and current locations the exhibition space available to them only allows them to display a small proportion of the various documents, posters and other artefacts that they have in their collection.

I visited with other family members, including grandchildren, about a fortnight after it opened its doors on 10^th August. Saltaire is a destination that we go to every now and again. It is definitely a favourite spot to take any visitors we might have. The fact that the village is a UNESCO World Heritage site is one aspect. The mill buildings themselves are also interesting in their own right. From the artists’ materials shop and the extensive bookstore (with books that you will not find on common high street bookstores), the cafes and restaurant to the magnificent 91m David Hockney mural at the top pf the building, there is something for everyone.

Now, next to the third-floor restaurant, there is the Peace Museum.

Compared with some of the spaces within the mill, it is a relatively small space. However, the parts of the collection on display have been carefully selected. The permanent exhibition explores some of the stories and histories of peace movements and campaigns. They also have various interactive displays and activities for children and adults to creatively explore concepts of peace. Everything is engagingly presented with good interpretation materials.

They make the point that whilst the exhibition themes will remain constant, they will swap out specific items for others in their collection. They have an extensive collection of banners and also of posters. The one shown below is one of my favourites – though the first time I remember seeing this was not on a demonstration but in an episode of Fr Ted!

Hopefully, their new location will mean that they greatly increase the number of visitors to the museum (entry is free, incidentally).

Whilst there is a good nearby car park, Saltaire is very accessible by trains via both Leeds and Bradford. If you haven’t been recently then it is time to think about going again!

5th September 2024 |

03 Sep – The Evolution of Love

Sometimes it can be quite depressing when you realise how few people have actually heard of Laudato Si. The fact that it is rarely heard about from the pulpit is also distressing. Yet, the background to taking action on our Climate crisis is a wonderfully positive ‘creation theology’.

The title of this piece is the title of our next Day of Reflection. It is focused on an exploration of Creation Theology and spirituality. It is creation-centred spirituality that invites us to recognise our role within the ongoing evolution of the universe. Do we see ourselves as planetary beings, the latest expression of God’s continuing creation story?

What does this mean for how we relate to our world – our ‘Common Home’? How can we nurture its flourishing rather than its destruction.

As a Commission we are always mindful of the need to balance prayer, reflection and action. Our climate crisis is one on which many supporters of the Commission continue to take action. It is so easy to get sucked into doing more and more action in the hope of changing the injustices of this world. Conversely, it is also easy to get sucked into closeting yourself away from other people and just praying that the climate crisis will get better.

Since the publication of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si we have worked hard to balance out the need to raise awareness of the issues around the climate crisis and encouraged people to take part in events such as mass lobbies of Parliament. During Covid lockdowns we held more than one prayer and reflection session about the Climate Crisis and some of our previous Days of Reflection have taken our relationship with creation as a theme.

This particular Day of Reflection will offer insights from cosmology, theology and church teaching. But as well as some inputs there will be interactive workshops offering everyone who comes to the day an opportunity to deepen understanding, re-focus energies, generate hope and inspire shared action.

We are delighted that leading us in this exploration will be the ‘Begin with the Heart’ team. This is a group of people who are carrying on the work of spreading and developing the insights of Fr Donal O’Leary of the Leeds Diocese, who died in 2019. He was a prolific writer and the team will only be able to scratch the surface of his work during this day. However, if you want to find out more about his thinking and see what this day might be like, then you can visit the website dedicated to his reflections: www.astonishingsecret.org

The Evolution of Love

Saturday 19 October 2024 10:30 – 16:30

SS Thomas More & John Fisher, Burley in Wharfedale

(as with most of our events, this one is free to attend but we will have a voluntary collection at some point during the day)

Please use the button to book a place.

More Information & register to attend

3rd September 2024 |

31 Aug – Commission to reimburse travel costs to Racial Justice Conference

We recently reported about the upcoming 40th anniversary conference of CARJ – The Catholic Association for Racial Justice. ( read about it here ). This will be held in Oldham on 21 September.

The Commission has agreed to reimburse public transport costs for anyone from the Leeds Diocese who wishes to go to this conference. It’s perfectly feasible to get to Oldham for the day and we do not want anyone to be prevented from going because they cannot afford to get there (the event itself is free. Please remember to also email the event organiser as lunch will be provided at this day conference (the email address to use is info@carj.org.uk )

Simply email jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk and we will send you more details of how to get reimbursed.

31st August 2024 |

28 Aug – Racial Justice: An Urgent Church Priority

in March 2023 on the UN International Day for the Elimination of racism Pope Francis denounced racism , likening it to a ” virus that quickly mutates and instead of disappearing goes into hiding and lurks in waiting”.

Disturbingly, recent so called ” protests”, particularly in northern towns, left without real ” levelling up”, and in Northern Ireland, broke out into violence against refugees, asylum centres and hotels, mosques and immigrants generally. Moreover, racism came out in public, onto the streets. The abusive “P…” word was scrawled on the Rotherham asylum seekers hostel and a Hindu Temple in Leeds received similar graffiti. Direct vile personal insults re-emerged in passing in public places.

The great Leeds historian Professor H.A.L Fisher wrote in ” A History of Europe”(1934) :” Progress is not a law of nature. The ground gained by one generation may be lost by the next. The thoughts of men may flow into channels which lead to disaster and barbarism“. I didn’t change the out of date gender as the great majority of perpetrators in the recent events were notably men. And those disturbing violent events were detonated by lies and misinformation banking on the deliberate political and media construction of a ” hostile environment ” for refugees and asylum seekers which has careered back into a confused hostility to all those perceived to be migrants and particularly those of colour :black and Asian. Licence has effectively been given to public and personal racial abuse reinforced by “X” and far right campaign promoters and even a prime minister’s slurs against Muslim women and African children. Newspaper columnists can now describe asylum seekers as ” vermin”.

Politician Enoch Powell stirred up fears of ” rivers of blood” in the 1970’s which saw the emergence of the violent National Front. In 1981 there were the Brixton riots and street trouble in Leeds. In 2001 there were disturbances in the Lancashire Mill towns and again in 2011 in London. The American billionaire head of Twitter(X) Elon Musk joined in predicting ” civil war” in Britain to fuel the flames. In Leeds, the Citizens Organising movement quickly responded in acts of supportive solidarity by turning up with inter-faith representatives at weekend prayers at local mosques.

Forty years ago this Summer,in 1984, the Catholic Association for Racial justice was founded ( by Yogi Sutton) as a black-led independent organisation where ethnic minorities in our Church could find support and a voice and where people of all backgrounds could work together for racial justice. The mission was to struggle for a more just and cohesive society in which all God’s children can be truly sisters and brothers in Christ.

Not long ago, in a government-commissioned report, Tony Sewell announced that Britain was no longer ” systematically racist”, a view that evoked an eruption of criticism. Following this summer’s events, perhaps at best, it is a case of “not yet”. Deep racist attitudes and processes remain. Nor can racism be dismissed as a case of a ” few bad apple”. As CARJ has courageously, carefully and patiently spelt out over the years “racism and racial injustice exist both in society and in the Church.”

Therefore, CARJ’s fortieth celebrations consisting of two events, one held in London on 25 th May and a second coming up at St Patrick’s Foundry St in Oldham for the northern Archdiocese of Liverpool on 21stSeptember, are not a signing off but rather a prescient relaunch of a “Racial Justice Agenda for Change” that is urgently needed.

This day led by Fr Phil Sumner, who has long campaigned for community cohesion , will introduce a new structural agenda addressing “Belonging”,” Information” and ” Accompaniment” with experienced speakers and practical workshops. Importantly it will sketch out the development of a practical “strategy”; consulting with those directly affected; outlining a timetable of realistic measures to be carried through which need to be developed. In the past, as Yogi Sutton points out, the Church has tended “to lag behind secular mainstream secular society on diversity issues”. Encouragingly, Westminster Diocese is already working on “Rooting out racism” and the Archdiocese of Southwark led by Archbishop John Wilson is developing it own “Racial Justice Strategy”. Other Dioceses can learn from their lead and the Catholic Bishops Conference should now be emphasising the urgency.

In our society that has welcomed 28,000 Syrians and 180, 000 Ukrainians fleeing war and destruction, and in which between 2011 and 2021 the number of mixed race households actually increased by 25%, we are not “sleep-walking into segregation” as the head of the Commissioner for Racial Equality suggested in 2005.

More encouragingly, the recent prophetic witness of Imam Alan Kelwick (a Muslim convert) and worshippers at the Abdullah Quillam mosque in Liverpool, engaging with those threatening the mosque by offering food and an open welcome not only won through to the hearts of the attackers, their action hopefully went viral. See https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/aug/07/the-imam-who-reached-out-to-rioters-podcast

28th August 2024 |

24 Jul – Wanted: E-News editor for our websiteClosing 10 Sep

We are seeking someone who can take on the responsibility for the news & views section of our website. This involves:

seeking out suitable articles from people in parishes across the Diocese of Leeds about social justice issues. These might be factual articles about actions being taken in different parishes or it could more of an opinion piece about a particular issue of social justice (especially those that are currently the Commission’s priority issues)
editing any articles received and ensuring that they look attractive on the web page
occasionally write articles to supplement what is received from others.

What skills are essential?

good at networking with other people. We do not have a wide ready-made diocesan network of contacts – so you will have to find ways of finding out what is going on in some parishes.
A good written style and a very good standard of English.
A passion for social justice issues and what, as Christians, we are being called to do about them.
Someone who is able to manage their own time.
Someone who is comfortable and confident in the use of digital media (contrary to the image used for this post, no typewriters are involved in this work opportunity!)

What skills would be a bonus? – We can dream!

Someone who has experience of blogging and, in particular, of the Wordpress content management system (but training in this can be given)
knowledge or experience of journalism or marketing

There will be approximately 10hrs of work per month @ £20 per hour.

Email treasurer.jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk if interested.

(The Treasurer, Joe Burns, is also the administrator of our website)

24th July 2024 |

10 Jul – WANTED: Laudato Si Animator for the Leeds Diocese

WHAT IS IT?

An ‘Animator’ (Advocate) is someone ‘dedicated to spreading the teachings of Pope Francis’s Encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ – Care for Our Common Home’. There are a growing number of Animators globally – hence in every UK diocese including our own Diocese of Leeds.

The current animator for our diocese is David Jackson, of St Walburga’s in Shipley. Many supporters of J&P,CAFOD and ACTA will be familiar with David. He has been an indefatigable climate change campaigner and great supporter of a more synodal church.
However, David is now in his 80’s and would like to hand over the role to someone a bit younger.

Below, David sets out what the role involves. It may look a bit frightening! But what anyone reading it must understand is that the person doing this role does not do all of it alone. The point of being described as an ‘animator’ is that, central to this, you are animating other people to do a lot of the work – and this includes the J&P Commission itself as well as other parts of the diocesan curia.

QUALIFICATIONS
The position is open to all present LSI Animators (‘Graduates’ of the on-line course offered periodically by the LSI Movement based in Rome within the dicastery for Human Development)

OR – IMPORTANTLY –

to anyone willing to complete the course to become a LSIA. No previous formal qualifications are required.
AIM
To work with the clergy and people of the diocese. This is so:
• we all appreciate that care for our common home lies at the very heart of our faith – it becomes part of our core Catholic identity.
• That, as a result, all are inspired to take practical action and advocate for taking better care of our ‘Common Home’.
• That this conversion is expressed in worship, participation, community and mission.
• That the diocese, from the Bishop and its curial centre to its parishes, schools and organisations, becomes a ‘LAUDATO SI DIOCESE’.

HOW WILL THIS BE ACHIEVED?
By working with attention to the Diocesan Environmental policy, in close collaboration with and receiving support from:
• the Laudato Si Movement (Rome) and the UK LSIA organisation;
• Within the Diocese: the projected Diocesan Sustainability Director; the Diocesan Pastoral Council; the Curia Laudato Si Management Group; the Vicariate for Education; the J&P Climate Action group; SPARK; CAFOD (LiveSimply parish scheme); Leeds Trinity University Leeds Director of Sustainability & Director of Catholic Mission; the existing network of diocesan LSIAs and LSI supporters; ACTA; Caritas.

PERSONAL QUALITIES?
A person who is convinced that care for our common home is a constitutive element in the preaching of the Gospel and who:
• is familiar with the teaching of Laudat Si and is able to communicate its messages and so animate and empower both clergy and laity to take action in its spirit;
• takes joy in creation and is able to work with and learn from others in parishes and school communities to inspire hope for its preservation and protection;
• is able to recognise and appreciate that everyone is at a different stage of the ecological conversion journey and find ways to accompany them;
• can develop and strengthen links creatively between faith and ecological and social justice, and is able to celebrate these in liturgy, worship, prayer and contemplation;
• has a creative approach to the ways that action for ecological and social justice can be taken by way of both practical carbon cutting measures, sustainable living as well as advocacy, lobbying and pressure on government and industry;
• is able to work cooperatively with all other diocesan and external agencies working for care for our common home mentioned above – and some outside of the Diocese as well

If this might be of interest to you then please email jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk and we will pass on your contact details to David

Ideally, it would be good to get someone in place in September or October.

14th July 2024 |