News CCS
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Spring/Summer 2104
Lent: A time for joyful messages of challenging proposals Lent is a time when we are called into the desert for 40 days to deepen our relationship with God, a relationship that is lived out and evidenced through our relationship with others. As our daily examination of conscience or preparation for confession reveals, each one of us is a work in progress; none of us are perfect. Key to the work of the CCS is the building up of relationships, particularly those of the family. Pope Francis in his 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) states that: “the family is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious because the family is the fundamental cell of society, where we learn to live with others despite our differences and to belong to one another”. To strengthen families and to improve the lives of children we address three forms of poverty: spiritual, relational and material. All three forms of poverty impact upon the present and future life of the child; their family and the wider communities and society, in which we all live. In brief, poverty in all its three forms, helps to create a lack of hope in those who experience it and so undermines the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven which is now but not yet. (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 1817-1818). Through its work the Society thus seeks to bring hope and so be a sign to all, of the coming of the Kingdom. CCS by its actions, inspired by the two great commandments: love of God and love of our neighbour, is evangelising. Without seeking to proselytise we are thus what Pope Francis calls us to be: “joyful messengers of challenging proposals”.
We raise children’s understanding of the Gospel through the Good Shepherd Masses, the Good Samaritan Mass and the Carol Services in Westminster Cathedral. In so doing we share, and invite them to also share, in the mission of the Church by helping others. Whilst our therapists and counsellors work within Catholic schools they do not teach religious education and to that extent they do not catechise; however by their journeying with pupils and staff they manifest charity, inspire hope and witness to the Common Good. The same is true for our staff working in family centres and post-adoption and after care. Following research undertaken by the CCS last year with diocesan head teachers about child poverty in their schools we established our new Crisis Fund, which seeks to bring hope to children and families in poverty. Catholic head teachers may apply to the fund for assistance in helping children who are in emergency need of food, clothes and essential items such as a bed to themselves. So, as we enter Lent, we invite all our supporters to join us, for “In the desert people of faith are needed who, by the example of their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive”. (Pope Francis). God bless.
Dr Rosemary Keenan
Priest and Nun to run the London Marathon for CCS! Fr. Ivàn is an Augustinian priest from Spain who is running London Marathon on behalf of CCS. He says “Running is fun, but why not make it more meaningful? This is why I decided to support and run for Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster). Maybe it is not one of the big NGOs, nor is it handling huge development programs, but hey! Making a difference is important. St. Francis is a family centre working with low income families with difficulties, providing children education, but also counselling to parents and a place where they are able to reach their full potential. Why sponsor me? Well, just think of those many children you will be helping giving them a place to stay, to play, to learn, and their parents the possibility of strengthening their families.” So how did this fantastic race begin? After running in the New York Marathon in 1979, world famous British athlete Chris Brasher wrote an article for The Observer called ‘The World’s Most Human Race’. This is how it started: “To believe this story you must believe that the human race can be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, and achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen.” Brasher ended the article by wondering “whether London could stage such a festival? We have the course, a magnificent course … but do we have the heart and hospitality to welcome the world?”
The first event in 1981 was a massive hit with the runners, the thousands of spectators who lined the course, and viewers who followed the race on the BBC. As a result, the 1982 race received more than 90,000 applications from hopeful runners around the world. The entry was limited to 18,059. The race has grown in size, stature and popularity ever since. Now established among the major events in the sporting calendar, the London Marathon is shown on television in more that 150 countries around the world. A total of 882,946 runners have completed the London Marathon (1981 to 2012), while a record 37,227 people finished in 2012. Sr Isabel Hill says: “I’m really excited to be preparing for the London Marathon again, this time in aid of Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster)! OK, maybe it’s not that well known nationwide, but if I can help to change that, I will!” Father Ivàn Pichel OSA from Hammersmith and Sister Isabel Hill RA from Heathrop College, together with our other runners Sam Sanger and Neal Smith are well into their training and fundraising program. To donate online go to: http://bit.ly/1fu4MQU Each of our runners is asked to raise over £2,000 in sponsorship and you can help right now. If everyone reading this article sponsors one of our runners for just £1 we would raise over £5,000 – think of the difference that would make to a disadvantaged family! Please promote our appeal to get more sponsors for our runners this year to your parish community, business colleagues, family and friends. To support one of our runners please make a donation on our web site stating ‘Marathon’ or complete and return the form on the opposite page:
And our Runners are ...
bel Sr. Isa
Neal Smith
Hill Fr. Ivàn Pichel
Sam Sanger MARATHON SPONSORSHIP I would like to give (please tick) £10
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I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of UK Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April one year to 5 April the next) that is at least equal to the amount of tax all charities (and Community Amateur Sports Clubs) will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that Council tax and VAT do not qualify .You can increase the value of every donation you make to us, at no extra cost to you, by completing your name and home address details and signing and dating the form.
I understand the charity will reclaim 28p of tax on every £1 that I gave up to 5th April 2008 and will reclaim 25p on every £1 I give on or after 6 April 2008. I want the Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster) to treat all donations I have made in the past four years and all future gifts of money that I make from the date of this declaration as Gift Aid Donations. Note: If at any time in the future you no longer pay tax as above, please do let us know so we can cancel your declaration. Please also let us know if you change your name or address so that we can update your declarations. Title: ............................
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Please return your donation in the envelope provided to: The Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster), St Charles Square, London. W10 6EJ. Alternatively, please call us on 020 8969 5305 to make your donation or log on to www.cathchild.org.uk
Following a pilot period we are pleased to unveil to the world our new web site. Looking at the development of the web in its historical context helps us to appreciate the importance of CCS having a modern site to champion the issues faced by those less fortunate than ourselves, promote our work and seek funding from individuals and corporate groups. The Internet, and hence web sites began with the development of electronic computers in the 1950s. Development was slow to take off but in 1982, the Internet protocol suite was standardized, and consequently, the concept of a world-wide network of interconnected networks, called the Internet, was introduced. The Internet was commercialized in 1995 removing the last restrictions on the use of the Internet to carry commercial traffic. Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication by electronic mail, instant messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol “phone calls”, two-way interactive video calls, and the World Wide Web with its discussion forums, blogs, social networking, and online shopping sites.
The Internet’s takeover of the global communication landscape was almost instant in historical terms: it only communicated 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunications networks in the year 1993, 51% by 2000, and more than 97% of the telecommunicated information by 2007. Today the Internet continues to grow, driven by ever greater amounts of online information, commerce, entertainment, and social networking. Many of you may have seen adverts on the television especially over the Christmas holiday period, by other charities seeking funds – being a smaller charity we are unable to pay for such air time – indeed we believe it is wrong to spend money given for charitable purposes in this way. This then makes our presence on the World Wide Web even more important. Our site is designed to be easy to navigate around and maintain with up to the minute news and information about our work. You can see the full site by visiting:
Christmas News In December over 3, 700 primary school children attended the carol services we organised at Westminster Cathedral. This is a truly inspiring event. The children’s faces light up as they listen to the re-telling of the Christmas story and laugh as our real live donkey ‘Larry’ and ‘Little Sheep’ eeyore and bleat at the most inappropriate times – sometimes interrupting a very understanding now Cardinal Vincent Nichols!
For them it is not a light at the end of a tunnel – a period of rest and reflection with family and friends but the light of an oncoming express train that nothing can stop. The holiday period brings fear to many – the thought of being unable to provide presents for the children, of having little or no food to put on the table…the stress of the local community ‘closing down’ for a few days and the increased isolation that brings with it.
The steel band from Newman Catholic College in Brent made the building rock with festive music as the children left to be met by the Cardinal on the piazza. This year he and Monsignor Rowland spoke about the poverty on our own doorsteps by asking the children to think about helping fellow teenagers living on the streets of London and referred to some who sleep on the steps of the Cathedral. A person who attends Mass at the Cathedral regularly stayed to listen to the service and said afterwards:
Thanks to your generosity and the help of schools and Parishes we are able to help many hundred’s of disadvantaged families feel part of the world around them at Christmas time by providing food hampers, emergency boxes packed with the essentials of life, tooth brushes, soap etc and of course presents for children.
‘It was wonderful to see the Cathedral come to life. Christmas has truly arrived!’ Many of the families we support dread the coming of Christmas. “We would of had nothing. God bless you.”
On behalf of the families you helped last Christmas Thank You. “Now they have toys to play with, warm clothes, pencils and pens to draw with. They are so excited with everything. As parents we were saved the shame of having nothing to give our children at Christmas.” - Parent
The title of George Michael’s hit song “Last Christmas I gave you my heart” had a special meaning for the staff & families at St Francis Family Centre. Christmas 2013 was the last Christmas to be celebrated at St Francis Family Centre in Flora Close, before moving to the new centre in September 2014. Families enjoyed all the celebrations safe in the knowledge that through the generous hearts of others, they could look forward to a Christmas where their children were able to have enough food to eat and Father Christmas would deliver their child a present, one that they had asked him for. One that they had seen on the television, that their parents thought they would not have as they would never be able to afford to buy them. The donations of food and toiletry hampers, toys, and clothes, ensured that the last Christmas at Flora Close was truly one to be remembered. And one where just for a few days our families could forget their housing, money and many other worries and join in with Christmas like many other families.
A personal letter from Monsignor Phelim Rowland Dear Friend, I write in my capacity as Chairman of the Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster) in the hope of securing your assistance with an important initiative that is vital to securing the long term future of the Society. During my time at CCS I have personally seen the excellent work the Society undertakes in the community helping those experiencing the ravaging pain that poverty causes and also through their counselling, therapy and mental health training provision within diocesan schools. Many of the Society’s existing loyal supporters hail from the days in which the Society worked as an adoption agency and was known as the Crusade of Rescue. Our work to reduce the impact of child poverty has become increasingly more urgent and we now need to increase the number of people contributing to our work on a regular basis. I am acutely aware of the various demands placed upon you, but, like our President, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, believe it is vital that the Society is supported and I ask for your help with this in one of two ways please: 1. Will you be our Champion? – would you ask your parish priest if you could speak about our work?. 2. Recruit new ‘Friends’ of the Society – individuals willing to sign up and give a small amount of their income each month – say £4. Perhaps you may have friends and family who could help by signing up. You may have seen some charities seeking funds by paying vast amounts of money for television advertising recently. Unlike them we are a small organisation delivering truly beneficial services in our own diocese. We are unable to compete with larger organisations and indeed believe it is wrong to spend money given for charitable causes in such a way, hence we appeal directly to you – please help us to Make A Difference today. Once again thank you for your help with this important work. Yours in Christ
Chair of Trustees For more information please contact our Parish Development Officer: Megan Barzaq on: 020 8969 5305 or e-mail megan@cathchild.org.uk
Looking to Lent, March 5 - April 19 CCS Parish News Towards the end of last year CCS supporters in the parish of Hampstead held a Spanish wine tasting evening and raised over £1,200 to fund our work. If your parish would like to do something similar please contact Megan Barzaq on 020 8969 5305 or meganb@cathchild.org.uk for help, advice and support. Friends from the Brompton Oratory under the leadership of Fr Rupert once again delivered our Christmas in a Box appeal. They supplied over 122 big boxes packed full of presents, toiletries and food which we distributed to those most in need over the Christmas period. How about joining them later this year? – It’s never too early to start planning! Our Parish Champion at Farm Street Church in Mayfair held a sale of our Christmas cards and raised over £600. Megan Barzaq (our parish development officer) visited parishes in Swiss Cottage and Pinner to recruit new supporters and to thank parishioners’ for their ongoing commitment to the Society. 2014 This year we are intending to undertake a series of presentations about the work of CCS in parishes across the diocese. These may be in the form of a brief talk following Mass (2 mins!) or perhaps you or your parish council would like to arrange a special event? The idea is to make people aware of our past and most importantly our current work. In addition we are hoping to mobilise parish communities and individuals to support our work both by volunteering to keep people informed of what we are achieving and also through regular financial donations no matter how small or large!
It’s about this time each year that we begin to think about Lent and what we might ‘give up’ for 40 days! For some it might be a certain food – chocolate maybe? Others might forego alcohol or we may decide to take up some good work or cause. If you are doing something that would save you a little money and you have no plans for that at this stage, please consider doing good with it by donating the money you save during Lent to the children and families we support.
Special Event – join with us! This year CCS is delighted to announce it has been adopted as a charity of choice by the Brandenburg Choral Festival. A special performance of Rutter’s ‘Mass of the Children’ will be held on Saturday 22nd March at 7pm at St Clement Danes Church, The Strand, London. Tickets are selling fast but some are still available priced at £18. To purchase tickets or for more information please contact Megan Barzaq on: 0208 969 5305 or e-mail meganb@cathchild.org.uk
Donate and Make A Difference Make a Monthly donation Thank you for donating to the Catholic Children’s Society. You’ll be helping save children’s lives - not just today, but every day. Please note - you must have a UK bank account to set up standing orders with us. I’d like to donate £ ....................... per month Starting from (date) ........../........../.......... Please select a date at least one month from now Bank Name ...................................................... Bank Address .................................................................................... Sort code
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To Gift Aid your donation please complete the declaration below **
Make a Single donation I would like to give (please tick) £10
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**GIFT AID DECLARATION
I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of UK Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April one year to 5 April the next) that is at least equal to the amount of tax all charities (and Community Amateur Sports Clubs) will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that Council tax and VAT do not qualify .You can increase the value of every donation you make to us, at no extra cost to you, by completing your name and home address details and signing and dating the form.
I understand the charity will reclaim 28p of tax on every £1 that I gave up to 5th April 2008 and will reclaim 25p on every £1 I give on or after 6 April 2008. I want the Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster) to treat all donations I have made in the past four years and all future gifts of money that I make from the date of this declaration as Gift Aid Donations. Note: If at any time in the future you no longer pay tax as above, please do let us know so we can cancel your declaration. Please also let us know if you change your name or address so that we can update your declarations. Title: ............................
First Name: ...........................................................
Last Name: .........................................................
Home Address: .................................................................................................................................................................................... ..........................................................................................................................
Postcode: ....................................................
Signature: ........................................................................................................
Date: ........../........../..........
Please return your donation in the envelope provided to: The Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster), St Charles Square, London. W10 6EJ. Alternatively, please call us on 020 8969 5305 to make your donation or log on to www.cathchild.org.uk