Upcoming Activities & Offerings

“…Pope Francis emphasised the passion St Paul showed in defending the freedom that Christ brought - a passion that ‘still moves us today’. Paul responded to the call he had received to preach the Gospel, with great conviction, the Pope said.

“St Paul pointed out to the Galatians that they, too, were called to the freedom that liberates them from every form of slavery by making them heirs of the ancient promise and children of God through Christ. Summing up Paul's teaching, , the Pope said, ‘The fulfillment of the true Law is found in this life of the Spirit given to us by Jesus. And this life of the Spirit can only be lived in freedom: Christian freedom.’

“The Pope said St Paul's teaching generates enthusiasm, encouraging people to follow the way of freedom and ‘walk according to the Spirit,’ which always makes us free….

“With the presence of the Spirit, the Pope said, ‘we will protect our freedom’, since ‘Christian freedom is what makes us grow’ and makes true joy comes forth.”

                  With permission, Independent Catholic News, Source: Vatican News, 17th Nov. 2021

                                                                                 https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/43436

“We now encourage all Catholics to look again at the patterns which they have formed in recent months with regard to going to Mass on Sundays….

“The Sunday Mass is the very heartbeat of the Church and of our personal life of faith.  We gather on the ‘first day of the week,’ and devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).  The Eucharist sustains us and spurs us on, renewing our gratitude and our hope.  When we say ‘Amen’ to Christ in receiving his Body and Blood, we express the love of God which is deep within us, and at the end of Mass, when we are sent forth, we express our love for our neighbour, especially those in need. These two dimensions reveal the full meaning of our faith.  We are gathered together and sent out, we pray and are fed, we worship and we adore; these are intrinsic to our lives as those baptised into Christ.”    

                                      With permission, Diocese of East Anglia, Keith Morris, 19th Nov. 2021

               https://www.rcdea.org.uk/bishops-speak-about-importance-of-honouring-sunday/

Gill Caple has the latest catalogue from Traidcraft.  Contact Gill to order Christmas Cards and other nice things.  gillcaple@gmail.com

If you (or your child) were an Altar server prior to the pandemic and would like to resume service on the altar please speak to Fr Luke. Likewise, if you have a child who has made their first Holy Communion and would like to serve please speak to Fr Luke. If you are an adult who would like to take on responsibility for organizing Altar servers (and serve yourself) Please also speak to Fr Luke.

"Andrew Dung-Lac, a Catholic convert ordained to the priesthood, was one of 117 people martyred in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. Members of the companions group gave their lives for Christ in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and received beatification during four different occasions between 1900 and 1951. All were canonized during the papacy of Saint John Paul II."

        https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-andrew-dung-lac-and-companions

St Benedict's Catholic Secondary School (Bury St Edmunds)

Any practising Catholic over the age of 18 can become a Foundation Governor. This is a voluntary post with a minimum commitment of several meetings a year in addition to visits and committees. 

We are blessed in our local parishes with a diverse and multi-cultural population and would like the governing body to be more reflective of this. We welcome all applications including potential candidates with/from a diverse and multi-cultural background.

Follow the link to find out more about being a Foundation Governor. https://www.catholiceducation.org.uk/images/Generic-booklet-1.pdf.  

Please contact Andrew Herlihy (Chair of Governors) in the first instance: Andrew.Herlihy@st-benedicts.suffolk.sch.uk

This role will work as part of the small Diocesan Finance and Resources Team to support the Diocesan Accountant in accounting for the finances of the Diocese. This will involve setting up bank payments for authorisation, posting transactions to the general ledger, inputting journals, credit control and reconciling the bank accounts.  For more details, visit https://www.rcdea.org.uk/finance-and-administration-assistant-needed/

Are you an inspiring Deputy Headteacher who would like to work in a very successful school in the heart of Cambridge city?

We are looking for someone new to fill this position due to the promotion of our current Deputy.

For more details contact Joanne Koehler, School administrator, on 01223 712148, office @stalbans.cambs.sch.uk orhttp://www.stalbans.cambs.sch.uk/vacancies/job_opportunities.html This post is from February half term 2022.

Are you an inspiring Assistant Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher who would like to take the next step in Catholic Leadership as a Head of School?

We are looking for someone new to fill this position and you will have the support of an Executive Headteacher who also leads St Mary’s RC Primary in Lowestoft.  

For more details contact Paula Bird, School Support Manager, on 01493 445117, or email finance@smspprimary.norfolk.sch.uk or https://www.smspprimary.co.uk/ourschool/vacancies/  

This post is from April 2022 or sooner.

“The edition includes reports on the start of the Synodal Church process, a profession by Swaffham’s Sr Anna and tributes to Roger Pearson and Siobhan O’Keeffe.

“There is also a report on a 100th eco parish, the visit of the Polish Consul to St John’s Cathedral and the steps forwards of two students towards the Permanent Diaconate.

“The construction of a new Catholic primary school in Peterborough has started and young pilgrims have been walking England’s Way to Walsingham.

“Printed copies [are] available in all churches across the Diocese … and can be picked up for free and distributed among your friends or people who are not yet attending Mass.

“You can sign up for regular online news updates from the Diocese of East Anglia using the form on the [webpage below].”        

                                   (With permission)  Keith Morris, Sep 29th 2021 in The Diocese of East Anglia, 

                         https://www.rcdea.org.uk/october-edition-of-catholic-east-anglia-is-out-now/.  . 

CATHOLIC UNIVERSE and CATHOLIC TIMES READERS IN THE PARISH:

You can get the Universe delivered direct to your home every week, POST FREE. (IT’S QUICK AND IT’S SIMPLE) Please go to www.thecatholicuniverse.com or call them on 0161 820 5722 and they will arrange delivery for you.  

SPECIAL OFFER:  3 MONTHS :- £25.00.   --    SPECIAL OFFER:  12 Months:- £99.00 

DIGITAL COPY:- 12 Months:- £55.00

Fr Luke will never contact you (especially via email) asking you for money and or gift cards. Scammers regularly pose as Fr Luke and other priests asking for help or to purchase gifts cards from Amazon, typically for a niece or other relative. The scammers set up a false email accounts in the name of Fr Luke and other priests in the diocese. Please be vigilant and if you are unsure, call the presbytery and speak to Fr Luke directly.

If you are unable to come to Mass and would like Holy Communion or other sacraments Fr Luke is very willing to visit you at home. Please do get in contact and don’t just assume the parish has your details on file. The Parish database suffered immensely from the changes in GDPR guidelines a few years ago and many parishioners details are not held on file.

Develop your skills and help your community and its children at the same time. Volunteer to be a school governor at Forest Academy, Brandon, today.  Or become a Member of the Academy Trust.

For more information, contact Phil Richardson, par.uk@gmx.co.uk.

Mass is not something the “Priest does” alone, it is the action of the whole People of God. As such it is a prayer and act of supreme worship. Making the responses clearly and audibly is one simple but important way in which we pray the Mass.

“Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and activeparticipation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people, is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.”
                                                                                               Vatican II (SC 14)

Fr Luke and a group of parishioners have been meeting regularly on a Monday evening (when covid regs and the weather have allowed) to fly model aeroplanes. Subsequently, the “Eagles Wings” Model Flying Club has been born. If you are interested in flying and/or building model aircraft or would simply like to find out more, you are very welcome to join us. Complete beginners, young and old are welcome.

Help and advice can be given, and FrLuke has a fleet of easy to fly models if you just want to try itout! If you would like to findout more, please contact Dan Longar on 07882 183112

These meetings are held on the first Saturday of each month. They start at 09.00 am. 

It is a great blessing that many people in the parish have now been vaccinated, and some even have had both vaccinations. It is important to remember, however, that vaccinations do not necessarily stop a person from transmitting the virus to someone who is not vaccinated. 

A significant number in our parish, including the Parish Priest, have yet to be vaccinated.

Therefore, it is imperative both legally and for other people’s safety that social distancing continues at this time. It is important to remember that:

Talking in Church is kept to an absolute minimum (Evidence suggests talking in an enclosed space increases risk of transmission, even with a mask) Talk to God in Church and talk to others, safely outside!

You stay seated:  When you arrive at Church you are either allocated a seat (on a Sunday) or you go directly to a spare seat. It is important that you do not get up and move around the Church building. Moving unnecessarily increases risk transmission around the Church.

Please refrain from touching unnecessary surfaces: Churches are cleaned after every Mass, however, with the best will in the world this is not 100% effective. Please help us to be safer my minimizing the surfaces you touch i.e., Statues, Dry Holy Water Font, Backs of chairs etc.

Please Remember to keep a safe distance from one another (2m where possible), especially before and after Mass and when entering and leaving the Church.

WE ARE GETTING THROUGH THIS! KEEP GOING! 

Help us to keep you safe and to keep open!

CAFOD are looking ahead to their new campaign Reclaim Our Common Home.

Petition:  As part of the campaign, please encourage as many people as possible to sign CAFOD;s petition to the Prime Minister ahead of the UN climate talks that will take place in Glasgow in November. You can find the petition on www.cafod.org.uk/reclaim.

Pray for Our Common Home:  In collaboration with other Christian NGOs, CAFOD invites everyone to join a year of prayer for our common home. Prayer is at the foundation of our Christian life, and in such challenging times as these, prayer is needed more than ever. Joining the initiative is simple. Pick a day and time you want to pray and sign up at www.cafod.org.uk/Pray/Prayer-without-ceasing. From now until the end of the UN climate talks in November, we’ll be praying without ceasing to renew the earth.

For more information on our Privacy Policy see: https://cafod.org.uk/Legal-information/Privacy-notice

... for Prayer, Special Occasions and more….

Anna Liwak who kindly makes our Paschal Candle each year makes and sells bespoke candles. If you would like one of her candles for you or a loved one please contact her on 07741209889 or check out her Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/artisticheartanna  Examples of her work below:

There are some circumstances where people may not be able to wear a face covering. Please be mindful and respectful of such circumstances, noting that some people are less able to wear face coverings, and that the reasons for this may not be visible to others. This includes (but is not limited to):  

• Children under the age of 11 (Public Health England does not recommend face coverings for children under the age of 3 for health and safety reasons)
• people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability

A reminder that at this current time Holy Communion can only be received on the hand. Please place your hands flat (do not try and take the host from the priest) so that the host can be placed on your hands without the priest touching your hand. Holy communion should be received in silence, understandably many of us go into ‘auto pilot’ and say “Amen” without thinking. However, where possible please try and remember to refrain from saying “Amen”. Please also, where possible, stretch out your hands over the barrier as to keep maximum physical distance from the priest at the moment of Communion.

News of success in testing a new vaccine with which to fight the Covid-19 disease comes at the right time, when many are confused, frustrated or downcast as the coronavirus continues to spread and restrictions aimed at halting it seem more and more to turn houses into prisons and homes into cells of isolation.

We should therefore rejoice in the optimism that the New Year will hopefully bring the beginning of a nationwide vaccination programme and that we will see the threat posed by Covid-19 reduced to the same manageable level of Flu and other viruses. But the battle is not over yet! In the meantime, we must continue to observe government regulations and guidance, wear masks, keep our distance and cautiously safeguard and respect the safety and dignity of others and ourselves.

A daily prayer for this might help:

Lord: Help us to control our impulses and maintain discipline safeguarding the health and wellbeing of those around us and others we encounter today. Amen

We are currently unable to hold any second collections at Mass and we are not obliged to do so for the remainder of this year. If, however, you would like to donate to one of these collections, please make a bank transfer to the parish with the relevant charity as the ‘payee reference’, alternatively you can send a cheque to the parish with the name of the second collection written on the back of the cheque.  The  collections that are listed are mandatory collections for the remainder of this year; the  parish, therefore, will make a donation to these.  If you would like to give to these causes (even retrospectively) then please donate either via bank transfer or cheque as outlined above. 

World Mission Day (for Missio) - 24th Oct. 2021

Dependent Priests' Fund - 12 Dec. 2021

John Wyclif, in Of Prelates in 1382, wrote “Charite schuld bigyne at hem-self” and others, such as John Marston (1610) and Sir Thomas Browne (1642) have proved authors of its use as “Charity begins at home.” It is, in my view, used too frequently to discourage charitable giving to others, especially foreigners: that is, “charity should begin at home and end there.” That’s a pity, because it shows ignorance of the origin of the saying. The notion that family should be one’s foremost concern is in 1 Timothy 5:8:    “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

This is not a recommendation to have compassion only for one’s nearest and dearest. It and the proverb itself are much deeper in meaning than an exhortation to meanness. For me, an Australian Baptist Minister, Melinda Cousins, summed it up in a blog, six years ago:
“… my understanding is that the saying as it was originally taken up …. was meant to refer to the fact that virtues are cultivated in the everyday – that is, we learn to be compassionate and charitable people at home; [and] that capacity within us as human beings begins to develop there, and then grows as we exercise it outside the home.” 

‘Can we please stop saying ‘Charity begins at home?’ Thinking Aloud 2014

The word ‘charity’ entered the English language to mean ‘Christian love for others’, especially the poor. It has often been linked to agapé, or unconditional love, the most Christ-like love there can be. That’s a far cry from restricting compassion to just your aunty.

As we learn to love God through experience of His love for us, so we learn how that kind of loving can be the route to helping those in need, wherever in the world they are, and thus demonstrating, with the humility and tenderness agapé requires, God’s love and His Son’s offer of salvation.                                                                                            

                                                                         TC

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CHARITY AND THE POOR
Last week we saw that charity does begin at home, when “home” is your heart stirred by God’s love into having compassion for others, that is, the poor, whether poor in spirit or in material things. Let us look at the latter. 

Pope Francis has summed up the issue succinctly, as usual:  “Jesus tells us what the ‘protocol’ is, on which we will be judged. It is the one we read in chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel: I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was in prison, I was sick, I was naked and you helped me, clothed me, visited me, took care of me. Whenever we do this to one of our brothers, we do this to Jesus. Caring for our neighbour; for those who are poor, who suffer in body and in soul, for those who are in need. This is the touchstone.”  From Papa Francesco: Questa economia uccide (Pope Francis: This economy kills) by Andrea Tornielli &. Giacomo Galeazzivia  

This will be news to few of us. There are an estimated 1.2 billion Catholics in the world, every one of whom will have heard this extract from Matthew’s Gospel. One in twelve people in the UK are Catholic – that’s 5 million people in our country who have heard this bit of Good News.  There are 736 million in the world in extreme poverty, who have little or no access to fresh water or adequate health care and, if they are employed at all, earn less than £1.42 per day. What could you do with only £1.42 a day or the equivalent of £9.94 for a seven day working week?  

Here in England it has recently been revealed that some workers in the garment industry are working for less than £3 per hour. Again, how would you manage on £150 (gross) for a 50 hour week?  It is mystifying why these inequalities continue, when there are so many of us charged by Jesus to aid the poor. What to do? We’ll look at that next week.  [Statistics about global poverty are attached to this Newsletter.]                   TC
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CHARITY & THE POOR – HOW TO CREATE A TSUNAMI
In 2015, more than 700 million people, or 10 per cent of the world population, lived in extreme poverty, struggling to fulfil the most basic needs like health, education, and access to water and sanitation. Until 2019, That figure dropped dramatically to less than 5 per cent. 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic is reversing the trend of poverty reduction, with tens of millions of people in risk of being pushed back into extreme poverty - people living on less than $1.90/day - causing the first increase in global poverty in more than 20 years. Given the scale of the problem, it seems that ordinary people, like you and me, can do little to stop this trend. That is not true. There is much that we can do locally, and for the world 

There is much we can do:  

• Supporting the Food Bank each month. This is crucial for the Food Bank’s survival and the sustenance of the poor among us;
• Supporting missionaries who help the poor around the world by saving money through the Red Box campaign;
• Buying fairly traded [Fairtrade] goods, which mean poor producers can get fair profits and trade their way out of poverty;
• Living simply so that climate change can be slowed and the poor better protected from climate disasters;
• Donating to CAFOD to support its campaigns for the poor;
• Supporting the annual Shoebox campaign;
• And many more initiatives that each of us get involved in.

These may be small acts of generosity, but small gestures build up to create tsunamis of love for our neighbours here and across the world.                                    TC

FOOD BANK

Although  we still cannot use our churches as a collection centre for the Food  Bank, people’s needs remain. You don’t have to be unemployed to get help  from a Food Bank. Those in low paid jobs, including those still  furloughed, struggle to provide themselves and their families with the  basic essentials of daily living, from food to hygiene and health  products.

CAFOD

CORONAVIRUS INITIATIVE:  CAFOD  has joined with the UK Disasters Emergencies Committee to help millions  of people whose lives are at risk, as coronavirus spreads across  refugee camps and countries suffering conflict. 

COVID -19 has swept cross the world. Over 1,450,000 people have died and more than 43 million have survived it. Western nations have the highest  survival rates. Poor countries have the worst. 

Please remember and join  in CAFOD’S Coronavirus Campaign. Go to www.cafod.org.uk/coronavirus

You can donate at www.cafod.org.uk/coronavirus to help CAFOD scale up its coronavirus response through our Global  Church family. Or use CAFOD’s Summer of Hope fundraising ideas with your  family and friends to transform lockdown and raise money for the  appeal: for more information go to www.cafod.org.uk/summerofhope .

CAFOD Beirut Emergency Appeal

The explosions In Beirut have left hundreds of families with NOTHING.

Local organisations and volunteers are already on the frontlines, assisting hospitals and attending to the injured.

YOU CAN HELP: go to https://cafod.org.uk/donations/one-off?_Amounts=25&_Appeal=121949

CAFOD’S REACH.  Here’s a short list of their campaigns. Click on each to  get an up-to-date report.

• Syria crisis: Millions of refugees face new threat from coronavirus

• Rohingya Crisis: Reaching vulnerable families

• Yemen crisis explained

• Cyclone Amphan brings double crisis to Bangladesh and India

• Cyclone Idai: how your donations are helping people rebuild their lives

• The humanitarian challenges that lie ahead in 2020

• CAFOD launches urgent appeal for millions of families facing hunger in Zimbabwe and Zambia

• Over 200,000 evacuated as Typhoon Kammuri makes landfall in the Philippines

If you have an APF Red Box, you can now leave or have it delivered at one of our churches. Sue Dean will arrange its collection and processing

TO BE A CHRISTIAN IS TO BE A MISSIONARY - YOU CAN HELP BY PRAYING FOR THE MILL HILL MISSIONARIES AND DONATING THROUGH USING A RED BOX.  

Our Red Box (Missio) collection for 2019 amounted to £1318.56 and the parish was 15th out of 56 parishes - a very good result. Well done!

Thank you for helping their Missionary work. Please keep up this good work for 2020.  

Not got a Red Box? Some spare boxes are at the back of the church. Take one and tell Sue Dean or Fr Luke. 

The first series of talks have finished for the time being, but the full catalogue is available below.

Missed a talk? The full series is available to ‘watch again’ both here on our Faith Talks page and on Facebook. 

Topics covered thus far: 

• Faith for our Times: God's call on our lives - Fr Luke's Vocation Story
• Faith and Reason (Science and Faith) 
• Genesis, Evolution and the Big Bang!
• The Resurrection in scripture and Tradition 
• The Eucharist: Real Presence 
• The Eucharist: Source and Summit
• The Eucharist: Meal and Sacrifice
• The Church
• The Problem of Evil
• Spiritual Warfare
• There is something about Mary

If you or someone you know has a child in year 8 or above at school who would like to be confirmed this academic year, please contact Fr Luke, speak to him after Mass or email bmrcparish@priest.com .

(Please see the Church Services page for updates.)

Mass is now celebrated with a congregation in both of our churches and is also available to view and follow online live on this website and on Facebook.

With the return of public Masses, both churches need to be cleaned after every Mass. Stewards are also needed for both churches to help with seating and moving around the church for Holy Communion. Please do volunteer (we cannot do this without you) to help by cleaning or stewarding. Special disinfectant spray has been ordered so cleaning between Masses will only really entail spraying seats and surfaces and wiping door handles. (PPE can be provided.)

Altar Servers: whilst restrictions are in place no Altar servers are allowed at this time.

Having a Mass offered for someone’s intention is a good and holy thing to do. It is important to remember, however, that Mass is always offered in the first instance for all people. (For For God’s Glory and our sanctification) No one buys or owns a Mass. A Mass is always ‘our Mass’ - even if offered for a particular individual. Please also remember that in our parish only one Sunday Mass can be offered for an intention that someone has asked for. 

There can be a bit of a back log with Mass intentions:

• If you would like Mass offered for a particular intention on or near a specific day, (and at a specific location) please give as much notice as possible – some people book days a year in advance. 
• If the date that you would like is unavailable. Mass will be offered at the requested location, on the next available free-day. However, this means that it could be as long as six weeks after the proposed date. 
• If you are not too-concerned about where Mass will be offered (Brandon or Mildenhall) then it is often possible to fit a Mass in sooner than this. 

Want to know more about the Church?  Perhaps you are a Catholic but missed out on making your confirmation as a youngster.

If this is you, please consider joining our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) programme. Please write to Fr Luke expressing your interest.

Free e-book (with church imprimatur) for your computer/tablet/phone:

The new Liturgical Year begins on the First Sunday of Advent. This e-book may be downloaded free of charge to any computer/tablet/phone. It offers the Gospel for every day of the coming Liturgical Year A-2 (Sundays Year A, weekdays Year 2), together with a reflection of some 750 words on each daily Gospel. 

The e-book may be passed on for downloading to friends or acquaintances as desired, and may be accessed at the following URL address:  www.catholic-thoughts.info/ebook/

As a parish, we are dedicated to working for fair treatment of growers and suppliers in the Third World. 

Because of lack of support, we no longer have a Traidcraft stall at Mildenhall, but we are still obliged to use Fairly Traded tea and coffee. If these 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. 

We have a number of ways of recording people for whom prayers are said, including, books at each church and this section of our weekly Newsletter. 

In the Newsletter we record the names of those whose anniversaries occur each month and sometimes those for whom special requests have been made. These names will, of course, re-appear the same time next year. Because of limited space, the anniversaries are for those who have died since 2010. 

Do you want to share our faith in everyday life here in the parish?

This autumn we have started a Proclaim! Group focusing on evangelisation. We are reading Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples together over six weeks and then we support each other to proclaim God’s Good News.  

Following the first presentation on Wednesday 25th September at St Thomas’ Brandon, it was thought that it would be good to share our prayers with the whole parish.  So a prayer pamphlet was enclosed in your newsletter on 29th Sep.

Please add these prayers to your own prayers at home. 

Pray for yourself; and for the group who are estabilishing the programme on Wednesdays; and for the whole parish: that we will have the desire and confidence to share the beauty of God’s love with others.  

Fr Luke writes:  Many thanks for all who have contributed to keeping a respectful silence before mass. This is a joyful practice and creates the appropriate atmosphere for the celebration. 

Please also respect others, who may be trying to pray before and after Mass, by keeping talking to a minimum in and around the main body of the Church. (This does not apply so much to Mildenhall after Mass as we have a Blessed Sacrament chapel for people to pray in whilst teas and coffee continue at the back of the Church.) Silent and prayerful preparation is something that Pope Francis asks us to take seriously.

The Pope says: “Mass is the highest form of prayer and not an appropriate moment for small talk. At church, Catholics should spend their time in silence before Mass, preparing to meet with Jesus instead of engaging in "chitchat,”. Silence is so important…we are not going to a show. Silence prepares us and accompanies us." –           

                                                General audience Nov 15th 2017 

       IF SILENCE IS GOLDEN, PLEASE GIVE JESUS A LITTLE OF YOUR GOLD 

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.

                                                                                                    TC

Your local J&P Group brings together Brandon, Mildenhall and Newmarket as our two parishes work together to promote practical action in support Catholic Teaching. We: 

• Arrange exhibitions & displays;
• Organise peace vigils;
• Provide resources to celebrate church festivals (from Easter chicks to Peace Poppies);
• Run campaigns (e.g. “Share the Journey”) to support people in need in the UK and elsewhere round the world;
• Raise funds for specific projects;
• Keep people informed about J&P Matters.

We always welcome new members to the group. You don’t have to come to meetings! You can join by using Skype of Face Time or just receive and respond to our monthly Update. 

The Justice & Peace Group usually meet on the first Monday of each month. All are welcome.

Talk to Tom or Gill Caple for more information: 01638 716474 

Prayer 

O Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, full of compassion and maker of peace, you lived in poverty and suffered persecution for the cause of justice. 

You chose the Cross as the path to glory to show us the way of salvation. May we receive the word of the Gospel joyfully and live by Your example as heirs and citizens of Your kingdom. Amen. 

On Sunday, July 7th, the Justice & Peace Group facilitated a shared lunch and discussion on what a parish might do to counteract or reduce the effects of climate change. Here are some of the ideas that emerged: 

A. Become a Live Simply Parish 

B. Use Solar Panels/Raise money for Solar Panels 

C. Become a plastic-free parish? 

D. Educate the kids in the Children’s Liturgy 

E. Make a commitment as a parish to: 

     • Turn off lights when not in use 

     • Make sure all our lights are LED bulbs 

     • Check the lights 

F. Have a walk/cycle to mass Sunday (for those who can) 

G. Share cars to get to Church using less fuel.

Many other suggestions were made as well, some of which are already in place. There’s no doubting that more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of local action, and not just waiting for world leaders to solve the problem. 

If you have suggestions about practical actions we can take, please contact Gill or Tom Caple 

Ten years ago the UK Government took a global lead and passed the pioneering Climate Change Act committing us to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Recent research by climate scientists has stressed that this is no longer enough. We need to go further, faster. Unless we make dramatic changes, the damage caused by climate change will be irreversible. We need to reach ‘net zero’ emissions by 2045 at the latest. This is based on the science behind keeping global temperature rise below 1.5C. Several countries have already committed to reach this target. The UK as a global leader on climate change must join them to ‘revive’ our common home. So what can we do? 

For further information about the national campaign go to www.cafod.org.uk/climate 

Working with Adult Faith Formation (AFF) 

AFF is a group that has come together to work together in their spiritual development. They meet monthly on Thursday evenings and Tuesday lunchtimes for prayer, talks by invited speakers and study sessions. 

In February the J&P led an event on Intercessions.  AFF members took part in an interactive session involving discussion, practice in composing intentions and reflection.  The papers supporting the session can be obtained from Tom Caple.  Participants said that the session was helpful.

The session was repeated (with suitable adjustments) for the Tuesday Lunch Club.  It also got a positive response.

Stations of the Cross 

We led a poetry-based Station service at OLISE on Palm Sunday.   Each participant read a relevant poem at each station. Across the echoing church, each reading draped us with insights and reverence for Christ’s gift of sacrifice. It proved a very moving way of remembering Jesus’s journey. 

Nonviolence Works is a network of Christian Peace Organisations, including Pax Christi, committed to furthering peace in communities. The network has evidence that there are ways other than violent intervention to resolve differences and bring an end to wars. It publishes cases that show how nonviolent approaches can and do work. We will publish examples from time to time. Here are three: 

Norway 1942 

Teachers refused to co-operate with the pro-Nazi Quisling regime and, although many endured prison, the obligation to teach Nazi doctrines had to be withdrawn. 

Mozambique 1989-92 

The Rome-based Community of Sant” Egidio brokered an agreement between RENAMO and FRELIMO forces, ending ten years of war. 

1996 -- The movement to oust Serbia dictator Slobodan Milosevic, which began in November 1996 with Serbs conducting daily parades and protests in Belgrade and other cities. At that time, however, Serb democrats lacked a strategy to press on the struggle and failed to launch a campaign to bring down the Milosovic dictatorship. In early October 2000, the Otpor (Resistance) movement and other democrats rose up again against Milosevic in a carefully planned nonviolent struggle.

1999 to Present -- Popular protests of corporate power & globalization begin with Seattle WTO protest in Seattle, 1999. This is what set the trend for the Occupy movement which is still alive.

2001 -- The “People Power Two” campaign, ousts Filipino President Estrada in early 2001.

Guatemala 2007 

Young stilt walkers used circus acts and carnival in the streets to transform the climate of violence spread by brutal youth gangs.