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Dates for your diary
The next few months see some exciting opportunities to get involved with Caritas in endeavours for the Gospel. This issue outlines the key dates coming up. Also, hot off the press, we share the final report on the diocesan Synod process, which will guide Caritas from here. There's a lot to share with you this time, so let's get on with it!
-- Paul and Helen
for Caritas Diocese of Nottingham
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Please feel free to forward this email to fellow parishioners,
or include content in your parish bulletin.
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In this issue
- Tuesday evenings, 3 May to 7 June on Zoom: Journey in Hope
- 5 May at 2pm on Zoom: Parishes of Welcome: supporting Ukrainian refugees
- Saturday 21 May in Nottingham: "I was in prison...."
- Saturday 18 June in Lincoln: Here: Now: Us Lincolnshire
- Saturday 25 June in Leicester: Here: Now: Us Leicestershire and Rutland
- Saturday 9 July in Derby: Here: Now: Us Derbyshire, High Peak and Burton
- Saturday 5 November: Annual Assembly
- Roundup: Train as a Laudato Si Animator; Pax Christi seeks a Director
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Following the consultations over the Autumn and Winter, the final report from the Diocese of Nottingham is now available. Click below to read it.
Now the work really starts! Tell us how you think Caritas can best support you, as we seek to turn the words into reality.
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Journey in Hope
New directions for outreach in the
post-pandemic parish
Tuesdays at 7.00 from 3 May on Zoom
Does your parish have a group which was active before the Covid-19 pandemic hit? Would you like to regroup and reconceive your purpose for the challenges now emerging? If so Journey in Hope is for you.
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The lockdown of 2020 confronted us with realities that had gone unchallenged in our society: indifference, loneliness, inequality, poverty, pollution, polarisation. How much have we learnt its lessons? And where is the 'new normal' we were promised, under the cold shadow of the cost of living crisis and war in Ukraine?
Even so we can glimpse a future through our own Synodal consultations, as we navigate the reorganisation of parishes. At this time of new discovery, where does God call us? Who indeed are ‘us’ in the midst of so much change?
Now is a time for trust – not passively waiting for someone to tell us what to do; rather, an active trust marked by curiosity, perseverance, and a willingness to take risks. For all of God’s people it will be a journey whose destination we do not know – a journey in hope.
As we travel through Eastertide, we will be guided by Scripture and the writings of Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti and Let Us Dream. And we'll listen together for God's word in our hearts and on each other’s lips.
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Journey in Hope has been compiled by a team of parishioners around Nottingham Diocese. Over six weeks, on Tuesday evenings at 7.00 p.m., we invite you to set out with us on six contemplative forays, each taking its bearings from the experience of God’s people, past and present:
- 3 May: From loneliness to friendship
- 10 May: From fragmentation to community
- 17 May: From fear to trust
- 24 May: From inertia to creativity
- 31 May: From introspection to adventure
- 7 June: From here to the future.
Do not feel you have to attend every session. Click on the relevant link below to sign up on Zoom. You can also download the complete study guide - feel free to read the first 8 or 10 pages before we start. We look forward to meeting you.
Jane, Steve, Mary, Yvonne, Alison and Paul
The Journey in Hope team
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Nearly 60 people have signed up to Parishes of Welcome, the diocesan network supporting people who want to offer a welcome to Ukrainian refugees. A well-attended workshop took place on 28 March. The key points to emerge were these:
- Reset, the charity which will match sponsors and refugees, is now open for business: visit homesforukraine.org.uk
- The most effective way to make a difference is to work with with others in our neighbourhood who also want to develop support - including with other churches
- There are many more ways to extend a welcome than opening your home. With our parish halls and local networks we can help both guests and sponsors
- At Caritas we can specifically help parishes open up a regular cafe or welcome centre where both refugees and sponsors can meet their peers.
- Every refugee will need help accessing a wide range of support. A mapping checklist has been prepared to help you with that.
Local groups for each county are now taking action forward locally. A further diocesan workshop is planned for Thursday 5 May at 2.00 p.m. on Zoom. Booking is open now - click the link below. If you have not already signed up to the Parishes of Welcome list, you can still do so below.
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“I was in prison…”
Saturday 21st May
10.30 am – 4.00 pm in Nottingham
Pact and Caritas invite you to a lively and nourishing day of learning, reflection, and action ideas.
Everyone can make a fresh start, whatever they have done. We may rarely talk about prisoners and their families, yet around 90,000 children in England and Wales will go to bed tonight without mum or dad because they are in prison.
Come and find out more about people in our communities who are affected by imprisonment. Hear from prisoners and their families what life is like, including after prison. Think about simple ways you can help individually or as a parish.
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This day will be opened by Bishop Patrick McKinney, and feature contributions from Pact, Catholic prison chaplains and the Welcome Directory (which helps faith communities welcome people leaving prison). You will be able to:
- Listen to the lived experience of prisoners, their families and those who work alongside them
- Find out about the local work of Pact, Caritas, prison chaplaincies and the Welcome Directory
- Explore how the Church’s social teaching calls us to walk alongside those affected by the criminal justice system
- Discover opportunities to support prisoners and their families in the East Midlands.
We extend a warm welcome to all including those who have lived experience of the criminal justice system. A simple lunch and refreshments will be provided.
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Springboard:
local Caritas workshops this summer
Last Autumn 92 people attended six Here: Now: Us days around the diocese. The workshops helped everyone to discover the part they can play as leaders of outreach, bringing the Kingdom of God closer here in the East Midlands. Since then many of us have helped to shape the Synodal journey in our parishes and diocese, with a wealth of ideas for becoming a more outward-looking, missionary Church. Furthermore this year will be a time of lasting change in the Diocese, as many parishes are merged, a few churches close, and we discover our mission anew.
Lockdown is well behind us, but we now face the cost-of-living crisis, war in Ukraine, and the increasingly urgent task of safeguarding life on Earth.
So, what does mission mean now, for you, for me, and for us together? Come to Springboard, at a venue near you, and we'll find out together!
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We'll celebrate the potential of our communities, make plans for the future, and build the infrastructure that will help turn our plans into reality. At Springboard we will:
- Develop listening skills which will help us hear God's call, value each other's gifts and stories, draw alongside the vulnerable, understand their needs and speak up with them
- Catch up on ideas emerging from Here: Now: Us and the Synod, and on parish reorganisation, and explore how to turn them into mission
- Lay foundations for for a Hub in each county to lead and foster social outreach close to home.
Three workshops will take place before the summer break, and one after - make a note your your local workshop now. Each will run from 10.00 a.m. until 3.30 p.m.
- Lincolnshire: Saturday 18 June at St Hugh's Lincoln
- Leicestershire and Rutland: Saturday 25 June at St Joseph's, Leicester
- Derbyshire, High Peak and Burton: Saturday 9 July at Our Lady's, Mickleover
- Nottinghamshire: Saturday 10 September at the Cathedral
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Finally let's tell you about the annual diocesan Justice and Peace Assembly. This year it will be on Saturday 5 November, venue and speakers to be announced.
The day will start at 10.30 with Mass celebrated by Bishop Patrick. You can be sure of a rewarding programme which leaves you inspired and equipped. So remember, remember the fifth of November - or better still, make a note in your diary.
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Laudato Si' (Praise Be To You)
Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si is a worldwide wake up call to help humanity understand the destruction that humanity is rendering to the environment and our fellow people.
Event: Become a Laudato Si' Animator
Join the Laudato Si' Movement in acting to care for our common home.
The Free course includes weekly readings, videos, four online dialogues (which you can follow live or whenever you want), and practical ideas to lead your community based on prayer, sustainability, and prophetic advocacy.
You can learn the story of Mildaiza, an animator from Brazil through YouTube.
The first webinar is on 20th April. More details available here.
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Pax Christi are advertising the position of Chief Executive Officer, which we wanted to share with you.
Information on how to apply can be found by clicking on the image below.
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Good Friday Prayer for Ukraine
Please join us in this special prayer which will be said throughout the world at this year's Good Friday Liturgy
Let us pray for peoples in Ukraine and throughout the world, afflicted by the terror and violence of war, and driven from their homes into exile; that the merciful and powerful Lord will come to their aid.
Almighty and ever-living God, who take pity on the poor and suffering, grant that the Sun of Righteousness will shine in all hearts, so that walking in your commandments they may find true peace. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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