NEWS AND EVENTS
Parish Eco-Review
For ideas on what else your parish can do to become more sustainable and increase biodiversity download our Parish Eco Review You can also find more information on our parish resources page.
World Book Day
The Diocese Laudato Si’ group have put forward some book suggestions that have supported them on their journey of ecological conversion. Perfect for anyone looking for some inspiration this spring
Sixty Harvests Left by Phillip Lymbery
The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac
A Life On Our Planet by David Attenborough
The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg
Is It Really Green? by Georgina Wilson-Powell
The Joyful Environmentalist by Isabel Losada
The Art of Letting Go by Richard Rohr
Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis
Laudato Deum by Pope Francis
Veg Street by Naomi Schillinger.
The Garden Jungle by Dave Goulson.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
The Uninhabitable Planet by David Wallace-Wells
Ravenous by Henry Dimbleby
Regenesis: feeding without devouring the planet by George Monb
Green Lent Resources
The Diocese Laudato Si’ Network has been gathering some green actions and resources to share this Lent. In the busyness of life, it is easy to slip away from our intention to live more simply, sustainably to take care of God’s creation. So this is a chance to take a moment, to pause, reflect and try a new step in the journey in Caring for our Common Home
- Green Christians have a new 5 week Lent course ‘Calling a Wounded Earth Home’
- Join in the ‘No Faith in Fossil Fuels’ Lent Vigil
- See how much plastic you throw away by taking part in the Big Plastic Count from 11-17 March
- Learn how to Eat for Net Zero
- Consider booking one of the ‘in person’ Laudato Si’ Retreat at Boarbank Hall
- Follow some of the suggestions on how to Go Green(er) for Lent from A Rocha UK
- Caritas Plymouth have put together a series of weekly actions to remind us that a few actions each week can make a positive difference
- For other prayers and Stations of the Cross visit https://laudatosilent.org/europe/ and https://cafod.org.uk/pray/lent-prayers
Seven Actions for the World Day of the Poor
- The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have released an autumn cost-of-living statement. It is well worth the read and highlights priorities they see for the current government. You can use this as a guide to write to your MP.
- Consider what your parish can do. Has it the facilities to open as a warm space – whether for coffee, craft sessions or community meals? All give people an excuse to come and connect with their community and be fed. Caritas can support you get something up and running so do get in touch.
- Does your parish have a collection point for your local foodbank? Foodbanks are part of a huge network of support and can signpost to any number of agencies that can provide ongoing help.
- Keep an eye on friends and neighbours for a change in behaviour. People who are struggling financially often try and hide it, yet it impacts almost every part of their life. If someone becomes withdrawn and isolated, just check in with them – and if you invite them for a coffee, make sure they know it is your treat upfront.
- Employers and managers, you may not be able to influence someone’s pay, but there are lots of ways you can support people who may be struggling even though they are working. Visit Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development for ideas.
- Pray – We’ll be starting this novena on November 10th from CSAN, please do join us.
- Donate – Caritas Portsmouth has a number of projects supporting vulnerable people in the diocese and want to make sure it can help parishes respond to local needs. Please consider making a donation so we can help parishes serve their communities and become the Church Beyond Walls, You can donate here or text HANDS to 70450 to donate £10 (texts will cost £10 plus one standard rate message and you will be opting in to hear more from us. If you would like to donate but don’t wish to hear from us text HANDSNOINFO instead).
Thank you for your support.
Caritas Portsmouth Newsletter
The first issue of the new Caritas Portsmouth Newsletter is now available. As an introductory issue, it focuses on the work of Caritas in the diocese and how we can support parishes and schools develop their plans to become the Church Beyond Walls, aligning with the new Diocese mission ‘You Will Be My Witnesses‘.
Sign up if you would like to receive future issues straight to your inbox.
If you want an event, petition, issue or project to be covered in the newsletter, please get in touch at [email protected]. The next issue will come out November / December.
Caritas Holiday Clubs!
Holiday Clubs are a really simple way to start supporting people in your local community. They can be run for children in your parish, local school but can also be an opportunity to reach out into your wider community. Children, particularly those whose families live with financial instability, are at risk of social isolation and loneliness during school holidays. The long break can put extra pressure on tight family budgets as children don’t have access to free school meals, may need extra childcare or depend on grandparents, who themselves can struggle. The holiday clubs, bring children together, to make new friends, see old ones, to play, enjoy a meal and learn something new!
Clubs can be whole days, half days or a whole week and we have everything you need to know to run one in your parish. We’ll send you a pack including information on safeguarding, volunteer recruitment, registration, food hygiene, risk assessments and a range of activities to keep everyone busy and enjoying their day. Contact us at [email protected].
Laudato Si’ Week 2023
Laudato Si’ Week 2023 celebrates the 8th anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis. A letter to all humanity inviting us to come together to care for our common home. “All of us can co-operate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents.”
Here are seven reflections on the on the seven Laudato Si’ goals and are contributions from people across the diocese. An opportunity to pause, pray and determine how we too, can respond to “the cry of the earth and cry of the poor.”
The Cost of Living Crisis
The crisis is having a devastating effect on families, pushing many deeper into poverty and leading many others to struggle with day-to-day living costs.
Catholic dioceses, like other faith organisations, are mobilising to provide help.
You can read the CSAN response to the Chancellor’s statement on the button below.
Caritas Eco-brick Partnership
The Winchester Eco-Brick group was started by three women with a passion for solving the problems caused by the abundance of plastic waste that we all contribute to on a daily basis. Their solution is to turn this otherwise ignored, and unrecyclable, plastic into eco-bricks that can have many practical and efficient uses, from benches and stools to walls and planters.
Eco-bricks are made entirely from plastic waste; created by filling a plastic bottle with pieces of smaller plastic, that can then be used as a building block as part of a long-lasting structure. These structures can then be dismantled, and the eco-bricks used to assemble new structures or eventually be fully recycled once future technology allows.
There are many benefits to engaging in eco-brick projects. The process of creating the brick itself makes you see directly how much plastic waste you or your household is putting into the brick, which can help you start to think about the need to reduce your plastic usage. As the Eco-Brick members themselves said, the act of taking something that has a negative impact on the environment and transforming it into something that can benefit the community is once small way that anyone can contribute to the common good while reducing their plastic consumption and waste.
Caritas will continue to work with the Winchester Eco-Brick group to spread the message and encourage more people to get involved in this initiative, as well as partnering with our schools on the development of projects that use the eco-bricks produced within our Diocese. More information and a guide on creating your own eco-bricks can be found at ecobrick.org, and you can register each brick at GoBrik.com, joining an international community of people committed to reducing plastic consumption and creating a positive benefit out of our waste.
Community Tree planting with our schools… some good news on our progress
Over the past couple of months, Caritas Portsmouth has successfully organised and run community tree planting events at two primary schools, and planted trees at a third school, as part of our environmental justice work across the Diocese.
The first event took place on Tuesday, 15th March at Our Lady & St Joseph’s Primary in Lymington, in the New Forest. With over fifty members of the school and parish communities coming together after school to plant 268 hedgerow saplings. We were especially thankful for the donation of eight fruit trees by members of the Our Lady of Mercy & St Joseph’s congregation, some of whom were able to come and join in the planting.
Our 2nd April event at St Peter’s Primary in Bournemouth had a similar attendance, with families, children, and staff coming along to plant 398 saplings that Saturday; with another 15 orchard trees being planted by the pupils at the Forest School during the week.
In addition to our community events, we also had the opportunity to work with pupils at Holy Family Primary in Southampton to plant over 160 hedgerow saplings at their school.
Alongside our tree planting we have been holding consultations at the schools as part of our long-term partnership focused on promoting environmental justice initiatives. This has been a great opportunity to receive input and ideas from the pupils, families, and staff about environmental projects they would like to see delivered at their school. These events have served as the beginning of our schools programming at Caritas, and we look forward to continuing to work with these schools on the development of their sites to promote biodiversity and educational opportunities for the pupils and local communities, and to expanding our engagement to include more schools in our Diocese in the future….
For more information on our schools projects, have a look at our Projects Page on the link below: https://www.caritasportsmouth.org.uk/the-projects
Please let us know if you have any news and events relating to Caritas projects by contacting Caritas on:
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