What we're doing today!

By the generosity of our parishioners ...

we support the following charities and concerns through our fundraising, social events and volunteer efforts:

Lunch Bunch - Temporarily Suspended

At Saint John’s we have a lunch club which runs every Tuesday to provide food, welfare and fellowship for those in need. This is very dependent upon the support of the local community and if you would like to help in any way, please join us.

CAFOD

We raise a lot of money for the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, the major charity for foreign aid of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. See the links page for more details.

CAFOD is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) – so can benefit from the match funding announced by the Prime Minister this week, for every £1 given to CAFOD the government will give £1 to the DEC.

And remember if you are you are a UK taxpayer you can Gift Aid your donation, which means that CAFOD get an extra 25p from the Government for every pound you donate. You can also give on the CAFOD website.

Fair Trade

We are a certified Fair Trade parish and actively promote buying goods and food for which the workers have been paid a decent wage and are given good working conditions. Once a month we offer a selection of goods for sale at Saint Thomas’. Many members of our parish support the Fair Trade shop in Bury St. Edmunds.

If Fairly Traded tea and coffee cannot be purchased from shops and supermarkets locally, Gillian Caple can order it from Traidcraft. Please ask her.

Locally, Sainsbury’s have opted out of using the Fair Trade logo and, therefore, there is uncertainty about the status of their products. Non-fair trade brands such as Nescafe, Lavazza, etc. should not be used in St John’s. Please inspect purchases carefully for the Fairtrade logo.

APF

The Association for the Propagation of the Faith supports missionaries across the globe. We raise money simply through collecting spare change in their ‘red box’ scheme. If you would like to become a collector, please see the links page.

The Medaille Trust

Please remember our commitment to continue to donate throughout the year. Buckets are in place at the back of our churches.

So far £1556.50 has been raised for this year's designated parish charity. Orange Bucket collections will continue to the end of the year. Many thanks for your continuing contributions.

Any spare change will be appreciated (notes and cheques too!) and Jacinta mentioned that gift cards from places like Sainsbury's, Tesco', M&S etc. are useful as people can begin to take control of their lives again and rebuild their self-esteem by choosing their own clothes, toiletries etc.

Jacinta Goode from the Medaille Trust writes…

Thank you so much for inviting me to Brandon and Mildenhall for the Mass Appeal on Sunday. ...

I really enjoyed my time with you.

Pax Christi

'The Peace of Christ' works for ...

Peace – based on justice. A world where human rights are respected, basic needs are met and people feel safe and valued in their communities.
Reconciliation –a process which begins when people try to mend relationships – between individuals or whole countries after times of violence or dispute.
Nonviolence –a way of living and making choices that respects others, challenges what is not fair or unjust, and offers alternatives to violence and war.

To do this Pax Christi works to:

Support teachers, chaplains and youth workers in promoting a culture of peace in schools and amongst young people.
Develop solidarity between people who are working non-violently for justice and peace. Pax Christi does this through joint actions for peace in Israel-Palestine, through events to encourage international efforts to abolish nuclear weapons and by celebrating the life and witness of peacemakers.
Promote an understanding of sustainable security where human needs are met and the environment is protected, rather than seeking security through weapons and warfare. Pax Christi campaigns against military spending, the arms trade and nuclear weapons.

You can support Pax Christi by contributing generously and by joining the parish’s Justice & Peace network. Talk to Tom or Gill Caple for details.

Other charities and concerns

WORLD GIFTS

We also raise money and offer our prayers for the following charities and concerns:

Apostleship of the Sea,

Catholic Association for Racial Justice,

Catholic Education Service,

Catholic Communications Service,

Catholic Trust for England and Wales,

Day for Life,

Diocesan Youth Service,

Holy Land Shrines,

Pax Christi,

Peter’s Pence,

Priest’s Training,

Sick and Retired Priest’s fund,

Smile Train

St. Edmund’s Fund, and

for the Diocese of East Anglia and Catholic Schools within our Diocese.

WORLD GIFTS

World Gifts are CAFOD's alternative charity gifts that transform lives. Perfect for Christmas Presents, you can choose a unique, virtual gift for someone that will make a real difference to a family living in poverty. And they come with free delivery!

For more information go to https://worldgifts.cafod.org.uk.

A sample of what’s on offer:

Keep Clean kit £6,

Teach someone to Read £10,

Water for a Family £33

The Roman Catholic Parish of Brandon and Mildenhall is part of the Diocese of East Anglia covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and the Unitary Authority of Peterborough within the Province of Westminster, part of the Catholic Church of England and Wales in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.