Brian joined the Commission in 2006. He is a parishioner at St Peter’s, Leamington Spa, where he convenes a regular monthly parish Justice and Peace meeting with a view to keeping the parish informed on current issues and up-to-date on action being taken, so that parishioners can make informed decisions as to how they can participate. In the Parish he has been involved over the years with St Peter’s Aid for the Needy (SPAN) and was their Chairperson for a time; he was also instrumental in re-establishing a regular monthly Traidcraft stall, which has now resulted in St Peter’s becoming a FairTrade Parish. Locally he is active in ‘One World Link’, a community-friendship link with Botown in Sierra Leone. He is a retired Secondary School teacher, but previously worked in industry for 20 years as a production and inventory control specialist. He has been a life-long member of The Christian Life Community.
Brian Davies
Brian was a member
of the Commission in the 1970s when a full-time fieldworker was employed.
During this period when he lectured in theology at St Paul’s, Newbold Revel, he
helped organise campaigns and study days. He rejoined the Commission in 2001
and has been active in re-launching it. Since then Brian has organised a number
of Deanery J&P Days around the diocese with a focus on the theology and
methodology underpinning J&P work. He also acts as manager of the
Commission’s administrator.
Before
his retirement in 1998 Brian was Head of Education at CAFOD responsible for
work in parishes and schools, campaigns and resources. In this role he visited
a number of developing countries in order to be able to share how much the poor
had to contribute to the rich. He chaired for a time One World Week and the
group of Catholic educationalists of development agencies across Europe and N
America. Then he managed the National J&P Network's programme providing
training around the country regarding the skills, values and spirituality for
promoting Justice & Peace. He has had material published mainly on Catholic
Social Teaching and contributed to the National J&P Resource Pack.
Rev Deacon Patrick J Jeary sfo
Pat was appointed to the Commission late 2006 as Deacon’s rep, to act as a link between the Commission and the 78 deacons in the Archdiocese (plus those in training).
He taught for 31 years in a Catholic Comprehensive School the last 28 working with children with special education needs. He was Diocesan Deacon Delegate to the National Conference of Diaconate Directors & Deacon Delegates in the late 90’s.
Pat was his parish CAFOD contact for many years.
He has been a professed Franciscan, member of the Secular Franciscan Order for some 40 years, holding office at both at national council and regional level. During the 80’s he was involved with Franciscans for J&P.
One initiative Pat helped to organised with FMM sisters, was an Interfaith Peace Prayer Meeting in Coventry, on the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, 27 October 1986, to which Pope John Paul II invited the World Leaders of All Faiths. Some 16 Christian and other Faith Leaders lead the Prayer, each lighting a candle for peace using the text of the Pope’s service in Assisi. Over 500 people of all faiths attended.
Bishop William Kenney
Bishop Kenney was ordained bishop on 24 August 1987 and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the diocese of Stockholm and Vicar General. One of his major concerns has been to build up the Caritas organisation of the diocese. In 1988 Bishop of Kenney was awarded an honorary doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Gothenburg for his work in internationalising studies at the university and for his work among immigrant students.
Bishop Kenney returned to the Birmingham Diocese in December 2006 as Area Bishop for Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Coventry.
He represents the Archbishop on the Birmingham Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission, using his vast experience in justice and peace internationally to inform and advise the Commission
Helen Moseley and Abigail McMillan
Helen and Abigail are the
CAFOD Birmingham Diocesan Managers and represent CAFOD on the Commission. Helen
and Abigail work from the CAFOD diocesan office in Walsall,
with two CAFOD Diocesan Officers, Julia Hood and Alison
Ahmad. A large part of Helen and Abigail’s role is supporting
and managing a team of 25 Key Volunteers, who represent CAFOD around the
Archdiocese in many ways, such as visiting schools to give assemblies and
giving talks in parishes about global justice and CAFOD's work.
Helen started in this post
in August 2004, after previously working for Christian Aid. Helen's passion for
development work began with a placement in Malawi
in 1997, and she had the privilege of visiting CAFOD-supported programmes in Ethiopia
in 2005.
Abigail joined CAFOD in
September 2008, from working with a literacy charity.Abigail’s interest in development work was
roused by her parish CAFOD group enabling her to live out her faith in a
practical way, and she travelled to Zimbabwe in 2009 to see CAFOD’s
programmes there.
Fr Gerry Murray - Chair of the Commission
Fr Gerry became Parish priest at our Lady of the Wayside in 1991 after the death of Fr Paddy O’Mahony. Fr Paddy was a well known figure in Justice and Peace circles in the diocese, nationally and beyond. He had been very active in his studies, writing and practical activity in the areas of human rights, ethical investment and development issues since the early 1960s. With his parishioners, Fr Gerry has sought to maintain and develop the long standing Justice and Peace tradition of the parish in its life and liturgy. The parish has an active Amnesty Group – the first church based group in the country and the Fr O’Mahony Memorial Trust was formed in 1995 to support development projects in many parts of the world.
Before Shirley, Fr Gerry was chaplain at Coventry Polytechnic (now University) 1983-91. He has always been interested in history, politics and international affairs. He specialised in Spirituality as part of his priestly training in Rome. He was asked to take over responsibility for the Justice and Peace Commission in succession to Fr David Oakley who did much to develop Justice and Peace work in the diocese and especially to implement an ethical investment policy on the foundations laid by Fr O’Mahony. Fr Gerry attends regular meetings of the Diocesan Finance Committee to monitor and develop this policy.
Sr Anna O’Connor
Anna is a member
of the Congregation of Sisters of Charity of St Paul the Apostle, SellyPark,
Birmingham. She has worked as
a teacher, psychotherapist, and spiritual director and is currently chaplain at
the University of
Birmingham.
As vicar for
religious for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Anna was invited to represent religious
onto the J+P Commission.
She is one of the founder
members of the Selly Park Justice and Peace group set up in 1993. She is
responsible for the combined University SVP and J+P student group.
Anna’s
Congregation has St Paul as its patron and the
Congregation motto comes from 1Corinthians 9:22 where St Paul preaches about being “all things to
all people”.
I see J+P as a way
of putting this into action by working for the common good, respecting the
dignity of the human person and caring for creation.
The moral test of
a society is how it treats its most vulnerable. The one who calls him/her self
a Christian is bound to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God.
Derek Smith – Chair of Meetings
Derek
retired in 1997 as Emeritus Professor of Genetics after 36 years on the staff
of the University
of Birmingham. He has
been a member of the Commission for over 10 years and has been involved in
Justice and Peace as a Group Chairman for 25 years. He was first at St.
Dunstan’s, Kings Heath, Birmingham (with the much appreciated encouragement of
the late Canon Eugene O’Sullivan) and, since 1991, at St. Wulstan and St Thomas
of Canterbury, Stourport-on- Severn.
Both
of the J and P Groups with whom Derek has been involved have been based on
Catholic initiatives but have then become entirely ecumenical including
Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and Quakers in their activities. The Stourport
Group is now jointly organised with representatives of the other denominations
and has recently played a major role in the achievement of Fairtrade status for
the town. Derek is also closely involved with other local ecumenical activities
and is the invited Catholic representative on the Steering Group promoting and
sustaining the longstanding links between the Anglican Diocese of Worcester and
the and the Lutheran Diocese of Magdeburg in Germany.
David Jenkins
Appointed as part-time Administrator to the Commission from 1st June 2008, succeeding Anne-Marie Tibbits. David has helped to organise the Witney Parish CAFOD Group for 25 years, serving as Treasurer for much of the time, and is also active as Area Secretary for Aid to the Church in Need in the Birmingham and Portsmouth Archdioceses.
