CARITAS

It has always been at the very foundation of our Christian Faith that we not only profess our faith and belief in the love of God but that we express that Faith in an active care and love for our neighbour.  If we claim to believe in the Gospel and ignore the plight and suffering of others around us then we have made our Faith an empty and useless vessel.

Our Caritas Ambassadors in school put their Faith into practical action; caring for those in need and fighting the disease of poverty that so threatens the well-being of our society and our world.  They recognise the innate dignity of every person and are showing the way to others how we respond to people’s needs.  There are tough challenges ahead but there are always the opportunities to bring the love of God the others through our actions. Our Caritas Ambassadors are showing us all, by example, how we can make our world a better place.

CAFOD

The CAFOD group meets every Wednesday lunchtime. We are a small group but there are pupil members across Ks3 and Ks4.

The aim of the group is to look for ways to, ‘Put our faith into action’. Each week we keep updated as to what projects the CAFOD organisation is undertaking, and we look for ways to support and get involved. CAFOD has a special focus on Fairtrade, campaigning, prayer and fundraising. Each meeting begins with a prayer, and we discuss ways to fulfil our duty to ‘love our neighbour as ourselves’. and how we can live out the gospel. Currently, we are looking at the Pope’s encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ and discussing climate change issues. We have discussed our roles as ‘Stewards of God’s creation’, and how the Pope is encouraging each and every one of us to care for our ‘common home’ the environment.

Through CAFOD’s website, we have learned that climate change is affecting the world’s poorest people. Our fundraising efforts have supported some of these places affected such as Karuna Battambang in Cambodia. We have held numerous cake sales throughout the year that have been very well supported by the kindness and generosity of our staff and pupils. Pope Francis called for a ‘Year of Peace’, and we were inspired to write our own prayers for Peace that then been shared in Form time. At Easter we organised raffles and a variety of competitions as well as a sponsored run which was again supported by pupils and staff.

We are inspired by one of the founders of CAFOD who was questioned about the first every Family Fast day in 1960, and said

“We are just doing what we ought to do, remembering that we are all Gods Children”.

(Elspeth Orchard)

Caritas Charity Collection

Image of RSPCA

This year we raised money for Caritas by collecting money in our ST Joseph’s penny boxes. This was done all the way through Lent. This money will be used in the Salford Diocese to help those in need of financial help.

The charity crew held a campaign to collect personal items to help the earthquake appeal for Turkey and Syria. This collection was taken to the British Red Cross for distribution.

The school collected toys for a local charity Task Christmas to help deliver toys to families who were struggling to give presents to their children at Christmas.

We also at Christmas time collected food for the local foodbanks and delivered pet items to the RSPCA.

One of the biggest charities we supported this year was The Macmillan coffee morning were students chatted and made tea and offered homemade cakes to parents, grandparents and other visitors.