Blog

01 Jul – LiveSimply comes to John Mary Vianney parish

By Tony O’Brian, St John Mary Vianney Parish, Leeds

About 25 members of the parish of St John Vianney in north Leeds met on 20 June 2023 to take forward our action planning for our LiveSimply parish award application. Information leaflets on LiveSimply and Laudato si’ had been distributed at Sunday masses each week during Lent and followed up by two further weekly leaflets in June, so that the purpose of the award, the message of Pope Francis and the three Live Simply ambitions could become widely known and understood across the parish.

Using many of CAFOD’s suggestions, parishioners were asked to think about actions they could take to support living simply, living sustainably with creation, and living in solidarity with the poor.

Those present at the meeting on 20 June gathered successively around three tables, to discuss each of the three themes and to pool thoughts about actions that could be taken by the parish, including its two churches, three schools and various parish groups. Actions that “we are doing now” were noted on post-its, along with actions that “we can do better or start to do”. Including several suggestions put forward in advance and submitted via the offertory collection on the previous Sunday, a total of 67 positive actions were put forward and the group then began to prioritise those which can form the basis of our LiveSimply Action Plan. The next step is for the parish’s LiveSimply steering group to draft a plan for future actions which can be endorsed by the parish.

The intention is to finalise and submit the Action Plan to CAFOD by this September and be in a position to apply for the award in late summer/early autumn 2024.

1st July 2023 |

20 Jun – Refugee Week events across the Leeds Diocese

By Matthew Maslen, J&P Newsletter editor

This week (19^th – 25^th June), is Refugee Week. This year, the 25^th Anniversary of Refugee Week, the theme is Compassion.

The organisers, Refugee Week UK, “invite you to celebrate what compassion looks like in action”. They call on us to draw on our experiences to help us to be compassionate “not just to ourselves and those in our immediate circle, but to all our human neighbours and our one shared home, planet earth”.

Back in 1998 Refugee Week was founded in response to the hostility faced by refugees in the media and society.

The week is intended as a festival “celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary”. Through art, culture, sport and education people are brought together to connect with and understand one another.

We have collated a (non-exhaustive) list of events happening around the area that you may be interested in.

You may have seen on our social media that the Leeds Church Institute is holding an exhibition during Refugee Week titled ‘Seeing Asylum Exhibition’. The launch event included speakers such as Minister for Leeds, Reverend Paul Maybury and Dwayne Hutchinson, Faith and Radical Justice Lead for LCI. The exhibition is open until Saturday 24^th June so if you have a chance, head over to Leeds Minster and check it out!

Here’s a link to the LCI event page:

https://lcileeds.org/eventbrite-event/refugee-week-seeing-asylum-exhibition/

There are a range of events taking place during Refugee Week all across the Diocese.

These include the Leeds Refugee World Cup 2023 which will be held at Trinity Academy, Tore Rd, LS9 7QL on 24^th from 10am – 4pm.

In Halifax, the exhibition ‘Compassion’ is open from 19^th-24^th in the Everybody Gallery in partnership with the St Augustine Centre.

In Keighley, at 6pm on 22^nd June, Keighley Creative will host a Peace Meal at Keighley College. Here attendees are invited to “enjoy a delicious meal provided by Bradford-based Syrian restaurant Bab Tooma, a performance of multilingual poetry by Nabeela Ahmed. Learn about Keighley College’s work as a College of Sanctuary and see creative work by their ESOL Students.”

For those of you who are based closer to Bradford, there are plenty of events happening in and around the city over the week. Highlights include:

The Art Exhibition at Trapezium Arts which is open to the public to view from 21^st – 24^th June.

And the ‘Great Get Together’ in Peel Park on 24^th June from 12-3pm.

You can find the full list of events over the week happening in Bradford here:

https://cdn.cityofsanctuary.org/uploads/sites/12/2023/06/Refugee-Week-2023-Programme-Final.pdf

20th June 2023 |

11 Jun – Progress on the Journey to 2030

As indicated last month, the Commission hosted a meeting of the Northern Dioceses’ Environment Group on 08 June, at Wheeler Hall in Leeds. This is an open group of interested people from each of the Northern Dioceses, and they meet about 4 times a year

Five out of the seven dioceses in the North were represented, along with several people from our own diocese.

The meeting opened with a reflection led by Paul Kelly, from St Mary & St Michael parish in Settle. He included a great short video. It’s well worth taking a look.

Is this it?

‘Let us Dream’

person addressing a meeting — John Paul explaining the process

The major portion of the morning session was taken up with a workshop given by John Paul de Quay. John Paul works as a project manager for the Ecological Conversion Group. This charity was started after the pope published Laudato Si and is dedicated to inspiring action on care of creation (See their website for more details ( https://theecg.org/ ).

2030 is the year by which we should be reaching net zero emissions. John Paul explained that the work of the Ecological Conversion Group is about working alongside people to answer two basic questions:

What will our communities look like once we have achieved net zero emissions?
How do we get to that position – what are the things that we need to do

With limited time he asked everyone to focus on the first question – in the style of Pope Francis’s exhortation to ‘Let us dream’. So, in groups of 4 or 5, we were asked to come up with a drawing that would communicate the key aspects of our local community once net zero emissions were achieved. Some participants were a bit shy about drawing, but everyone had a go and became more enthusiastic as the workshop progressed.

At the end of the workshop, each group explained the different elements of their drawing, just in case it wasn’t totally obvious (the tables I drew ended up looking more like jellyfish to me!).

What is happening in the Leeds area?

We started the afternoon with an input from Helen Hayden, Leeds J&P Commission member and Executive member of Leeds City Council with responsibility for the council’s response to the Climate Emergency. Helen spoke with passion about the interconnectedness of Climate Change with other issues that people living in poverty experience. For example, how retrofitting some properties has enabled tenants to have their heating on more regularly. In one case the ambient temperature in a property prior to retrofitting was measured at 12C whereas after the work had been completed it was 18C. As one mother put it, this allowed her children to have a quiet space in their bedroom where they could comfortably sit and do their homework. So, not only did this work reduce carbon emissions, it also directly reduced energy bills for the people involved. Longer term, being able to do homework in a suitable space means that educational outcomes will be improved for the children living in those properties.

The challenge with this is that the council had funds from central government to retrofit relatively few properties – and even then, the funds were provided in competition with other local authorities. To retrofit all the properties in Leeds that need it will require £6billion of funding. In terms of both action on Climate Change and the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda this should be given much more priority.

Helen’s input really brought to life the interconnectedness of action for Climate Change and action on poverty.

Where do we go from here?

During the final part of the afternoon session everyone reflected on the rest of the day to see if any ideas for action were emerging.

There were several suggestions – some of them quite surprising.

One was to take benches out of churches! Not quite such a bonkers idea as it might sound. Pews create a very inflexible space – as anyone who has twisted round during Stations of the Cross or the Easter Vigil can testify. With chairs (and possibly some tables) liturgy can be more creatively imagined. More than that, with suitable screening for the sanctuary, the space can be used for non-liturgical purposes. We have some marvellous physical spaces but most of them are really constrained in what we can do with them because of the way that they are ordered. As a consequence they are used for only a few hours each week. We need to work with some imaginative architects so that most churches can be made into fully flexible spaces for both liturgical and community use.

It was noted that the last Bishop’s Conference meeting at Hinsley Hall (November 2022) had discussed Climate Action and everyone was looking forward to the publication of their deliberations about this. Looking ahead, 2025 will be the tenth anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si. The idea of holding a joint event with the Bishops from the Northern Dioceses was mooted. This could both celebrate the work done to date and review what the next steps were for all the northern dioceses to achieve net zero by 2030. Many suggested that this would be a great way to demonstrate synodality in action within the northern dioceses.

12th June 2023 |

28 May – Conscientious Objectors’ Day event

By Liz Firth, Commission member

15^th May is International Conscientious Objectors Day. This year the J&P Commission, Pax Christi and the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival Committee jointly hosted an event to mark the day. Over 60 people joined us at Wheeler Hall in Leeds to listen to speakers, including Rev Clive Barratt, and to watch the film, Objector.

John Battle, Chair of J&P for the diocese, welcomed attendees to the event and noted how the issue of conscientiously objecting to bearing arms or any form of military conscription remains a relevant topic today in current conflict zones as much as it has in the past.

Rev Clive Barrett, author of Subversive Peacemakers, then spoke on the history of conscientious objection, with particular regard to local examples from Leeds, and shared stories of historical figures who have made a stand for their own religious or political beliefs, and the consequences endured by them as a result.

Attendees then watched a screening of the film ‘Objector’. The documentary film follows Atalya Ben Abba, a young Israeli woman, in the lead up to her mandatory period of military service at 18 in 2017. We follow the decision making of Atalya over a period of many months including interviews with her family, many of whom served in the Israeli military and who do not share her emerging political beliefs. Atalya is influenced by her older brother, Amitai who also refused to serve but on medical grounds. Atalya’s own objection to military services was on the grounds of objection to the occupation of Palestinian territories and the Israeli government policies. The film follows her decision to refuse on the grounds of conscientious objection, a request refused by the Israeli Defence Forces’ conscientious committee hearing, and her subsequent imprisonment and a little of what follows her release.

The film was directed by Molly Stuart, partner at the time of Atalya’s brother, who is able to gain close access to Atalya’s family and follow Atalya’s moving visits to displaced Palestinians and watch as her family come to terms with her decision.

We were fortunate to be joined by Atalya via Zoom call for a live discussion following the film showing. She is now several years older, resident in Jerusalem still and now a full-time activist. Atalya responded thoughtfully to questions from the audience which ranged from how her relationship with her pro-Israeli Grandfather had been maintained to what hope she had for the future of Israel given the current Israeli government’s political leanings.

Atalya spoke movingly about how she and other activists find strength from the solidarity shown by supporters around the world. She also shared how, whilst she is aware of the rejection of many fellow Israelis due to her political beliefs and actions, that she still finds a sense of belonging in Jerusalem and sees it as her home. She spoke of the challenge of the current Government and their treatment of the Palestinians, but believes that rather than losing hope, she and fellow activists are continuing to support the Palestinians despite the difficult circumstances currently found in Israel for those who do not support the current political regime.

Many thanks to all who organised and supported the event.

28th May 2023 |

04 May – Encounter, Conversion, Hope!

The urgency of the Climate Emergency can sometimes feel overwhelming. There are so many calls for action. The changes required to ameliorate the worst effects are huge – and require international political action. In these circumstances it is easy for people to lose hope.

This was the backdrop that led the Spirituality of Justice group within the Commission to organise this Day of Reflection. We wanted to give people the opportunity to stand back a little from the action and reflect on the motivations behind what each of us do. By chance, we found that the CAFOD group in Our Lady of Kirkstall parish were thinking about organising a similar event. We agreed to join forces and Michael Emly joined the organising group.

Originally, Linda Jones (Head of Theology Programmes at CAFOD) was going to lead us in our reflections. However, due to family circumstances she was unable to do this. However, in her place, two members of her team, Stewart and Caroline, joined us.

The day was split into 3 parts:

encountering each other at the start of the day and encountering Christ in the readings of the Mass
through our reflection on these, to renew our conversion to the need to care better for our ‘Common Home’.
Lastly, to find the signs of hope that enable us to go back to our communities with renewed motivation to continue and extend the work of taking better care of our planet.

The day was held at Norwood Methodist Retreat Centre in the Washburn Valley. There were over 30 of us and we were at the limit of the capacity of the venue. However, its location on a hillside overlooking Lindleywood reservoir made the slightly cramped conditions more than worthwhile.

The day included mass at which Fr Peter Rosser presided, a longtime Commission member. The old doorway into the Chapel has been converted into a lovely picture window looking on the valley below. We arranged our seating so that, whilst the altar table was the focus, we could always see the view outside the window and keep in mind the wonder of God’s creation. Rather than ‘slot in’ the mass at some point during the day we used the structure of the mass to structure our time so that the mass itself extended over most of the day. Our Eucharistic celebration was immediately followed by having our shared lunch. This was followed by a post-communion reflection from Francis & Caroline with some extended time for individual reflection and the opportunity to walk in the surrounding countryside (which several people did even though it was just starting to drizzle a little). We ended our day with the final blessing of the mass and a rousing hymn on which to depart.

It was clearly a day that people were very thankful for, and this was confirmed in the evaluation comments that we received

Some Photos

coffee time 3

coffee time

coffee time-2

coffee time

liturgical dispaly

a reflective display used as part of our afternoon

people chatting

coffee time

coffee time 5

small group discussions

coffee time 4

chatting

our window view

the view from the window

4th May 2023 |

27 Apr – International Conscientious Objectors’ Day

The Commission is working in partnership with Pax Christi in the Leeds Diocese and the Leeds Palestinian Film festival to draw attention to International Conscientious Objection Day on 15 May.

Rev Clive Barratt, who has written a book about first world war conscientious objectors in Yorkshire, will provide a short context for the film which follows. After the film we will have the main person featured in it, Atalya, available via Zoom for a Q&A session. The event starts at 6pm with light refreshments and the opportunity to purchase Palestinian goods from a number of stalls. Reserve a place now for this free event! Use this link:

Reserve a place

27th April 2023 |

26 Apr – Yorkshire Women in Black groups

Women in Black (WiB) is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. As women experiencing these things in different ways in different regions of the world, we support each other’s movements. An important focus is challenging the militarist policies of our own governments. We are not an organisation, but a means of communicating and a formula for action.

WiB vigils originated in Jerusalem, Israel in January 1988, in response to the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada. The message “Stop the Occupation” appeared on the image of a hand signalling “stop”.

It’s hard to know how many vigils there are today. But an example of the reach is when WiB in Israel/Palestine, as part of a coalition of Women for a Just Peace, called for vigils in June 2001 against the Occupation of Palestinian lands, at least 150 WiB groups across the world responded.

In the UK there are regular vigils in Bradford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Oxford, Portsmouth as well as Leeds.

There are many different ways to stand for justice and to support those denied their human rights.

Solidarity and presence can be powerful ways of non-violent action.

The key points about these groups actions are:-

It’s non-religious but can feel very prayerful standing with this silent group of mainly older women.
Its symbolic -we can’t be in Palestine or Ukraine, for example, but we can be in solidarity with the suffering of the people there and highlight the injustices of the conflict and the occupation.
It’s a consistent presence and brings the people of the West Bank into people’s minds.
It’s a stand against hopelessness when some people say to us ‘oh nothing will change-in the Middle East they are always fighting’.

Leeds Group

By Carol Burns, Women in Black Leeds

A Women in Black group started in Leeds in September 2019 organised by women of faith and no faith.

We stand in silence for an hour wearing black and holding a banner which says End the Occupation with the colours of the Palestinian flag in the background.

The silence is important, it requires discipline from us all, demonstrations and vigils can often be noisy, the world around is noisy, so we stand out, it’s unusual and a signal perhaps that sometimes words aren’t enough.

We take it in turns to give out leaflets and encourage dialogue with passers by

It can be a challenge to be patient, not to get angry, to give the other point of view, – to listen to those who engage with us. I’ve had some special conversations over the years.

Some people are genuinely enquiring I have had a long conversation with a young Christian man trying to understand the conflicting claims to the land of Palestine and an even younger British Jew who seemed to know nothing about the plight of the Palestinians.

Often people give us a thumbs up as they go past, and others take our photograph.

I value this chance to be with other women who care about the same things and to make my small contribution to supporting the Palestinians and to draw attention to the injustice they experience.

Many groups are working on campaigning and education on the issue of Palestinian Rights and some of the women who came to the Women in Black sessions are also involved in other organisations.

Bradford Group

Joyce Robertshaw Women in Black Bradford

We contacted the Bradford WiB group with the following questions:

What does the movement mean to you?
What do you find significant about silent vigils?
Do you think that the vigils should be done in collaboration with groups who do more forceful campaigning?
What do you find empowering about the Women in Black movement?

And these were the responses from members:

“WiB movement is important because it routinely and perennially makes the statement that people oppose war. At all times.”

“We all feel that the wearing of black and standing in silence are very important and as said above has a powerful effect. Two women give out leaflets and engage in discussion and answer questions from members of the public and we usually have a positive effect.”

“The silent vigil is a very powerful weapon in the protest armoury. It makes the point quietly but with great strength of feeling.”

“It’s empowering to know it was started by women and is the powerful and persistent voice of women, who are often silenced. It’s groups of women opposing war across cultures and around the world.”

“I joined Bradford Women in Black to support a national women’s protest platform. The silence for me is a powerful approach as I see people walking through the city centre engaging, reading the leaflet and talking to those giving out the leaflets and indicating visual support. It’s a regular event which makes me think each time about our subject and silently reflect on my position. It has raised my awareness which I share with others. I like that we decide together through our WhatsApp group without ponderous debate as the monthly vigils enables us to cover a wide range of issues. CND are a great back up for protest information and support. Their history is worth volumes in the world of action. I personally wouldn’t want to join with any other more forceful group – I believe there’s room for all.”

“I joined Bradford Women in Black to support a national women’s protest platform. The silence for me is a powerful approach as I see people walking through the city centre engaging, reading the leaflet and talking to those giving out the leaflets and indicating visual support. It’s a regular event which makes me think each time about our subject and silently reflect on my position. It has raised my awareness which I share with others. I like that we decide together through our WhatsApp group without ponderous debate as the monthly vigils enables us to cover a wide range of issues. CND are a great back up for protest information and support. Their history is worth volumes in the world of action. I personally wouldn’t want to join with any other more forceful group – I believe there’s room for all.”

The themes of our vigils this year have been January : peace in Palestine, February: opposition to nuclear weapons, March: the anniversary of Ukraine war, April: against the arms trade. You can see more information and photos on our Facebook page and Twitter. Just search for Bradford Women in Black. Certainly, anyone is free to join in on any vigil, as long as they keep our protocols.

We have a leaflet on our theme each month, here is the one from March:

26th April 2023 |

23 Apr – Creativity Carousel Retreat Day

By Bronagh Daly, LCI Faith and Creativity Lead

A free one day creative retreat, ‘Creativity Carousel’, started on Saturday 11th March hosted by Leeds Church Institute at their new office space, 43 The Calls, in the centre of Leeds.

Faith and Creativity Lead, Bronagh Daly, welcomed five attendees at the first event:

“We are situated just behind the Leeds Minster in a beautiful part of the city. It is a perfect central location in a peaceful setting, ideal for a day to join in faith and creativity. The day retreat helps anyone to share the good news of the gospels through watercolour, photography and print making as well as other art forms. You get to try and take home your own artwork. We have a fully accessible and inclusive space that we want to share with faith workers and volunteers from all across the city. This day will help resource churches to embrace creativity as a tool to explore the teachings of Christ.”
Children’s Liturgists, a Sunday school volunteer and Street Pastors from across Leeds came together at the creative day retreat. Gail Partington from St Mary’s Church in Horsforth reflected on the inaugural retreat:
“I enjoyed the retreat, sharing ideas and an opportunity to take some time to be creative. Meeting people from other churches and faiths was really special. I learned some new techniques to share in our children’s liturgy sessions at church.”
Madge Henry is a Sunday School helper in LS8, and she heard about the event from her friend Urusla who is a Street Pastor.
“We learned lots of new skills, and had time to reflect on our faith using the gospels, I can see how we can use this with younger families very easily.”

Attendees were welcomed with a session looking at art theory and personal reflections linked to their faith and church traditions. Belinda Connoley from Holy Rosary Church in Harehills said:
“The warm welcome and lots of new ideas from the other group members was lovely, along with learning that we can borrow resources and artwork from Leeds Church Institute will be a great help to our children’s liturgy group and whole parish. I would definitely recommend other church volunteers and helpers who share the gospels with young families to attend. It was a great creative retreat.”

If you help share the joy of the gospels in your church, school or faith setting we warmly welcome you to join us on the following Saturday creative retreats; 20th May, 24th June and 23rd September here at:
Leeds Church Institute, 43 The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7EY.

Booking is essential, use the button to book your place. All creative materials and lunch are provided free of charge.

More details and booking

23rd April 2023 |