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ROOT & BRANCH NEW SHOOTS
international grassroots forum for an inclusive, just & safe Church.
hello@rootandbranchsynod.org No. 94 15/04/2023
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Pexels / Askar Abayev
R&B DIY
You're invited!
We have two special meetings next Wednesday and Thursday to help us plan
Discipleship of Equals,
online 8 - 12 October during the Synod of Bishops, and
live in Bristol, virtual in Rome, 13th and 14th October.
These are our last open planning meetings before we draw up the schedules. The whole meetings are over to you. How is DIY going for you? What would you like to see in Bristol? What shape should our weekend together take? Tell us:-)
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DIY OPEN MEETING
BUILDING A JUST SOCIETY:
ECONOMIC JUSTICE.
Thurs. 27th April 20.00 London Time
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R&B are deeply grateful to our panel of speakers:
The Trussell Trust:
Jessica Foster is Head of Church Engagement at the Trussell Trust and works with a small team to encourage churches to do and be all they can in order to end the need for food banks. Before joining Trussell she did grassroots interfaith community work, taught mission and interfaith to trainee clergy and was Chaplain to the Bishop of Birmingham.
Jessica will talk about some of the Trust's campaigns and projects, including its new Guarantee Our Essentials campaign and its participation in the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Ending the Need for Food Banks.
Christians Against Poverty: Siȃn Hearsey
works with Churches, or groups of Churches, across the South West who come together to launch a CAP ministry. She also supports Churches in Bristol, Gloucestershire or Somerset who, already in partnership with CAP, provide debt advice and groups to support people living on a low income or looking for work. CAP work with those in poverty to provide hope and practical support; their aim is to see transformed lives, thriving Churches and an end to UK poverty.
Siȃn will talk about the impact of the cost of living crisis and how social outreach engages with evangelism.
Church Action on Poverty: Stef Benstead is a Trustee of Church Action on Poverty. Stef is author of Second Class Citizens, the authoritative study of of the treatment of disabled people under austerity. It is " essential reading for a more balanced understanding of what disabled people face when caught within the complexity of the benefit/entitlement trap.” Baroness Jane Campbell.
Please join us to share in this great opportunity to hear Jessica, Sian and Stef and to ask your questions:
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STOLEN LIVES OPEN MEETING
Launching
IT'S OUR CHURCH AND IT'S UP TO US:
Taking action to end clerical abuse of power and cover-up
Wed. 17th May 20.00 London Time
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STOLEN LIVES
We're launching a new publication on Wednesday 17th May entitled
'It's Our Church and it's up to us'.
In this resource you will find that all of us are empowered to change things and that there are many practical things we can all do.
In the words of one survivor:
'I'm really excited about It's Our Church - it feels like trying to build a bridge of understanding between survivors of abuse in the Catholic Church and their sisters and brothers.
It is packed with fresh suggestions for how ordinary Catholics can help - and I, for one, am so longing to hear what responses people have to it, and what actions, however small, they take.
This has been produced as an entirely free gift - by us, allies and survivors, working together. This is our treasure house of wisdom borne from very painful experience - I hope those who read it will grasp it with their intellect, let wise words seep into their hearts and gain confidence to take concrete practical steps for reform and renewal of Our Church."
More about our evening on 17th May to come. Watch this space!
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NEWS:
FR. HANS ZOLLNER RESIGNS
from the
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
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Fr Hans Zollner's resignation at the end of March from the PCPM, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, has sent shockwaves through safeguarding circles in the Church.
Many R&Bers will remember Fr. Hans from his evening with us last November. His warmth and humanity shone through, and we gained a glimpse into the enormous work that he puts in to embedding good safeguarding practices in the Church across the world.
The theologian and psychologist is "one of the most respected figures in the Church's response to the clergy sex abuse crisis" writes La Croix commentator Massimo Faggioli.
And Baroness Sheila Hollins is a former member of that same PCPM. Head to our R&B website to hear her thoughtful and authoritative assessment of the questions raised by Fr Hans's departure, on the R4 Sunday programme last week.
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INFORMATION RECEIVED BY R&B
'The Isaiah Journey', a subgroup of the Bishops Conference in England & Wales, have asked R&B to pass on information about the materials produced for 9 May 2023, a Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse.
Please see their webpage for a range of resources for prayer, action and reflection for use throughout the year which are launched on 9th May. Thank you.
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Thanks so much to everyone who responded to this CAFOD appeal last time. We still need to keep up the pressure.
In a few days’ time, the World Bank’s annual Spring Meeting will take place in Washington DC and the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, and Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, will be attending to represent the UK.
The World Bank must stop encouraging new rules that prevent farmers from planting, swapping and selling their own seeds – something that has been freely done for hundreds of years.
Please click and add your voice!
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With warmest thanks to Pat Marrin of NCR who allows us to use occasional cartoons from his heartwarming portfolio. Blessings on you, Pat!
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@RootBranchSynod
Follow us on Twitter, where there's a growing community of loving Christians.
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Huge thanks to all those of you who have already begun funding our great Spirit Unbounded / Discipleship of Equals Forum. We thank you from our hearts - all our volunteers, our contributors, our Root & Branchers. We are all in this together.
CLICK HERE to help build a safe, just and inclusive Catholic Church.
NB - gotta apologise - the details on that GoFundMe page are still out of date... We're so busy getting on with all the work in the rest of this newsletter that updating the GFMe hasn't been done yet. Got any time to spare? Do come and help, if you have!
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