Keeping in Touch 10th May 2020
A Message from Cafod
In recent days, among our dispersed CAFOD teams, planning our global response to Coronavirus, some words from St Paul have come to mind: faith, hope and love.
We are facing an unprecedented emergency in every country we work in; and we are also mindful, each day, of people in our own Catholic community here in England and Wales who are unable to attend Mass; people worried and overstretched; of those who have tragically lost loved ones, and of those who were already enduring loneliness and are now in isolation. We need to respond in faith, hope and love. And so in faith, hope and love, we are reaching out to you.
Coronavirus is affecting every country we work in. The poorest and excluded are most vulnerable. Food prices have risen with borders closing; the poorest are losing their jobs and income with wholesale shutdowns. As you can imagine, the outlook is very serious in places where healthcare is inadequate, and washing regularly and social distancing are luxuries. Half the world’s population can’t access basic healthcare, and already struggle to feed their families; and they now face the threat of hunger as the coronavirus shuts down markets and jobs.
As our first response, we have adapted all of our current work across 40 countries, and are also responding to already severe needs with emergency food relief, water and sanitation, and spreading awareness of prevention measures, especially through Church leaders and Catholic media.
But this is very much only the beginning of what will be a massive, and enduring response programme across every country we work in. This virus is changing our entire programme of work across the world. Beyond the immediate loss of life and suffering, long-term vulnerability, poverty, exclusion and injustice will only become more acute. The task is daunting. We and our church partners around the world are looking to God for strength, and to keep us acting in faith and hope, and we know that you across England and Wales are doing the same.
We know all too well that things are far from straightforward in all our parishes right now. We, as a global family, have never faced a crisis of this magnitude –in our own communities, and those communities CAFOD works with. But the scale is unimaginable in the most vulnerable communities of our world, and so as of today, we are appealing for support for our emergency response. Those communities with nothing, who have everything stacked against them, – our brothers and sisters – have never needed your love and support so much.
To help with adapting parish life to lockdown, some resources and guides are below, and I also include wording for an announcement in your parish newsletter, website and social media.
We are so grateful as always for all of your prayers and support, especially in what we know are distressing times for many here in the UK. At this time, I truly believe that our way through this time lies in holding fast to our faith and to one another. Please remember CAFOD’s work and our appeal in your communications with parishioners and in your prayers.
We are living through one of the global events that will shape humanity, and our response can only be the response of the heart of God. We need to be his hands and feet – we cannot do otherwise.
With my sincere thanks and my prayers
Christine Allen
Director, CAFOD
Do not let your hearts be troubled
Reflection for Sunday 10th May 2020 – please click here
Amazing Response!
Just to let you know that thanks to the generosity of the parishioners we took another full car load of food into St Chads Sanctuary yesterday.
This was the second full load in just a week so it shows how amazing the response has been.
Abi from St Chads updated us on the the work she has been doing. She has received a number of referrals from different sources and has been delivering food and in one case nursery equipment for a new born baby to the 10th floor of a block of flats which posed a number of challenges! We spoke to some of those queuing outside. It was a glorious day so everyone was very cheerful!
Once again Abi has asked us to pass on her sincere thanks to everyone in the Parish for their generosity. She is delighted with the food we have donated.
A number of people have asked for clarification on the tinned fish.
ANY straight forward fish in a tin (rather than the ready made lunches)are best.
Tuna is popular but it doesn’t really matter. It is mostly so that the Sanctuary can provide some protein as they do not give out meat as standard, due to so many refugees not eating it.
Please pass on the Sanctuary’s most sincere thanks to everyone and please.. keep the donations coming!
Many thanks
John and Pat Curran
Mass on Sky
This is for those you know who are not on the internet (that new-fangled malarkey!) but are on Sky: ETWN, an American Catholic TV station is now showing masses up to three times a day on channel 588:
If you have Sky tv you can also watch daily and Sunday mass on channel 588 EWTN.
Sunday mass is broadcast at 1:00pm and 11:00pm and mass is broadcast each day at 1:00pm, 6:00pm and 11:00pm
May 2020, Virtual Pilgrimages to Walsingham and Lourdes
News from the Archdiocese of Birminham – please click here to view
Links to electronic version of the Catholic Universe
The publishers of the Catholic Universe have provided a free link to this week’e edition. It takes a while to download (over 40 pages!)
Letter of the Holy Father to the Faithful for the Month of May 2020 — The Holy Rosary
A People Who Hope in Christ – A Message from the Metropolitan Archbishops of England and Wales