RC Archdiocese of Birmingham
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Welcome
The Commission aims to inform on the theology, spirituality and practice of Justice & Peace throughout the Birmingham Roman Catholic Archdiocese and provide the Archbishop with advice when required in matters regarding Justice & Peace. The Commission particularly encourages parishes and schools to get involved in the Justice & Peace movement. It covers areas as diverse as global issues such as cancelling the debts of the world's poorest countries; the International Peace movement; environmental issues; housing; homelessness; supporting refugees and asylum seekers and human rights. Within this site you can find information about important dates within the Justice & Peace year, links to other agencies involved with Justice & Peace and resources to download to help in your existing or new Justice & Peace activities. 
Share the Journey: A new campaign on refugees and migration for 2018 Pope Francis has launched a global campaign, supported by Catholic organisations across the world, called Share the Journey. In 2018, world leaders will agree crucial UN agreements (or ‘compacts’) on refugees and migration, and we need to make sure they act with courage and compassion to uphold the rights of all people forced to flee their homes. CAFOD is joining the campaign with an attempt to ‘walk around the world’ – 24,900 miles! Between April and June, we’d like your parish to organise a walk, or adapt a planned walk, in solidarity with people forced to flee. The miles you walk will be added to our grand total, and used to show world leaders that we expect them to step up in support of refugees and migrants worldwide too. Resources to help you reflect on refugee stories, to pray and to take action will be sent to Campaign Volunteers in the next few weeks and will be available to download here. Could you plan now to hold a walk between April and June, leading up to a global week of action from 16-24 June? Share the Journey conversation-link to really useful video summary by Justice and Peace Scotland of Pope Francis’ 20 Action Points for the compacts on Migration and Refugees at UN General Assembly Sept 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc01w8c_o2I Lancaster Faith and Justice Commission Parish News Bulletin Please follow link to June 2018 F&J E-Bulletin I hope you will be able to take the time to read and share the newsletter. The newsletter can be downloaded directly on https://tinyurl.com/yd9flky4 Reports mentioned, current and previous newsletters can be downloaded at: http://www.lancasterfaithandjustice.co.uk/newsletter/ Link to poster for a talk in Lancaster on how the church can respond to modern day slavery. Peace and best wishes Maggie GREENPEACE Clingfilmed coconuts? Shrink-wrapped turnips? Cauliflower 'steaks' in plastic bags? Many of us have experienced the frustration of unpacking our weekly shop and finding we're filling our fridges, rubbish bins and recycling with pointless plastic - and it's no surprise when supermarkets are producing 800,000 tonnes of plastic a year! Enough is enough. Will you help expose supermarkets' ridiculous packaging practices? Here's how: 1. Next time you spot some excessive plastic packaging, take a photo. 2. If you use Twitter, tweet the photo using #PointlessPlastic (don't forget to tag the supermarket too!) 3. If you don't use Twitter, you can either post it on another social media channel (like Facebook or Instagram) or alternatively email your picture to us at packaging.uk@greenpeace.org and we'll post it for you! Some people are concerned that plastic is necessary to reduce food waste - but a new study has shown that in some cases it might actually be making the problem worse. When plastic packaging requires food to be a specific size or shape, edible food is rejected because it doesn't look the right way. And whilst some people need pre-prepared fruit and vegetables because of mobility issues, no one needs them to be provided in plastic. If hundreds of us share these pictures of pointless plastic packaging online, together we can show supermarkets that their use of plastic is out of control, and that their customers have had enough. 'Unwrapped: How throwaway plastic is failing to solve Europe's food waste problem (and what we need to do instead)' Link to Green Peace video clip on reusable energy Don’t Ditch Fairtrade: CAFOD has asked Sainsbury’s not to ditch the Fairtrade mark on their own-brand tea. Fairtrade tea empowers farmers and producers in some of the world’s poorest communities. While Sainsbury’s has said the ‘Fairly Traded’ scheme it will trial for its tea will operate in a similar way to Fairtrade, small scale producers say they are concerned that they will lose control over how the money made from their goods can be spent. We’re asking supporters to hand in letters to store managers and sign our online petition. Information on the CAFOD website: https://cafod.org.uk/News/UK-news/Sainsbury-s-blow-to-Fairtrade Link to update 08/03/2018 PostReferendum Statements:
Archbishop Nichols' "No To Racism...." Catholic Association for Racial Justice "Supporting One Another" Holy Land
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REFUGEE WEEK HAS ARRIVED! It is heartening to note the number of activities taking place in Birmingham to celebrate the contribution of refugees in British society. Celebrating Sanctuary marks 20 years this June and is encouraging us to participate in 20 simple acts this week, like greeting a stranger and inviting someone new to an activity. Please click here for Birmingham's Celebrating Sanctuary and Refugee Week events.
RESTORE'S NEXT TRAINING COURSE Should you know of anybody wishing to learn more about refugee issues or considering becoming a befriender, please steer them to Restore's training, which begins on Thursday evening, 21 June. For more details please click here INTRODUCING NEW BEFRIENDING MEN'S WORKER Restore's staff team has grown! We are delighted to welcome Andy Ferrari, who now holds the post of Befriending Men’s Worker. With this additional capacity we will be able to relaunch our 'Equipping Refugees for Work' employability training in the autumn. Andy introduces himself here: “Having worked closely with asylum seekers and refugees for over 16 years as an ESOL teacher at Bournville College, I was thrilled to learn of my appointment as the Befriending Men’s Worker at Restore. Starting on Monday 4th June, the subsequent time has flown by as I have been shadowing Jeremy and Shari and learning so much about this sector. It is a real privilege to be part of such a dedicated and established team, whose warmth and sense of humour have been greatly appreciated. The only negative if one had to be found is the team’s lack of interest in football. Fortunately, I am finding many kindred spirits amongst our refugee and asylum seeker friends!” We close by drawing attention to two July events: RESTORE'S ANNUAL CELEBRATION will be on Thursday, 12 July from 7pm at St Martin in the Bullring. It will be an evening of celebration as we reflect on the past year's work and hear stories from our volunteers and refugee friends. For a flyer about the event to pass on to others, please click here. BOOK LAUNCH Teresa Thornhill has teamed up with Restore and will be launching her book 'Hara Hotel' on Friday, 20 July from 6pm at Waterstones in the city centre. Her tale of Syrian refugees in Greece promises to give significant insight into the reality of a people forced to flee. For a flyer about the event, please click here. With best wishes from Shari, Jeremy, Rachel, Andy and Geraldine NJPN Newsletter The June 2018 issue of the NW NJPN E BULLETIN is packed with news, articles and a full diary including a parallel programme of events in Liverpool from 7-9 September around the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress of the Bishops of England and Wales. Also featured is the rousing address, with its strong Justice and Peace content, by the US Leader of the Episcopal Church, Rev Michael Curry, at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. 
A day for women of all ages to be inspired, reflect and pray.
Lunch will be a shared table. Mass at 4.30pm with Archbishop Bernard Longley. Music by Jo Boyce. All welcome to just join in with the mass. Please pre-book for the day of recollection so we know numbers. Contact: threeparishespartnership@gmail.com There is no charge for the day but donations to St Chads Sanctuary are always welcome. |
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The Birmingham Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission is funded by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) and is a member of the Caritas - Archdiocese of Birmingham Network
Birmingham RC Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission 2015