On Tuesday 12 February the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes & St William’s (Parish of St. Blaise), Ingleby Road, Bradford, hosted another very successful meeting for the Diocesan Refugee Support Group. The spacious parish hall was packed with nearly 100 people and at least 15 organisations that support refugees and asylum seekers in and […]
Refugees & migrants
07 Jan – Syrian Refugee Resettlement update from Settle
It is now two years since the inaugural meeting of the Diocesan refugee Support Group. Last year’s meeting was attended by over 100 people. One of the speakers was Sean Ryan, He is the National Coordinator for the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) of the Community Sponsorship Scheme run by the Home Office for resettling […]
10 Oct – Grace Hosting
By Moira Flynn When I heard about Grace Hosting I assumed it was called that because there was no money involved and it was a celebration of hospitality and the benefits that brings to both guest and host, but actually it got its name from its first guest who was called Grace! We heard about […]
24 July – Refugee Action in the Leeds Diocese Updates
Share the Journey Walks Various walks have now taken place in support of the international Share the Journey campaign, managed in the UK by CAFOD. Last month we highlighted the plans for one walk – by the Garforth Refugee Support Group walking from Garforth to the Home Office centre on Kirkstall Road in Leeds. Most […]
10 May – Share the Journey
Pope Francis launched the ‘Share the Journey’ campaign in September 2017. The campaign is about getting world leaders to endorse new UN agreements on refugees and migration – and they are meeting at the UN in September where there is an opportunity to do this. There are petitions to sign and, in particular, the campaign […]
09 Feb – Newman parish takes part in WYDAN Night shelter Scheme
by Anne Tracey, John Henry Newman parish The middle of January this year saw some very wintery weather, with rain, wind and sleet seeming to take it turns. And this was the week that we in Newman parish had offered to help with providing a night shelter for asylum seekers who might otherwise have had […]
01 Feb – Refugee Support Meeting highlights further actions for parishes
The Diocesan Refugee Support Group meeting at Hinsley Hall was packed out last night with over 100 people squeezing into the room from all parts of the Diocese, including Huddersfield, Mytholmroyd, Settle and Knaresbrough – as well as parishes more local to Hinsley Hall. It was an opportunity to take stock and consider what more […]
05 Dec – Bradford Peace Museum Faith and Peace Project
How often do we hear religion being blamed for the wars of the world? The argument goes that, as there is a religious dimension to the mess in the Middle East, Islamic State, Northern Ireland… so religion must be a force for bad. Yet within each of the three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and […]
25 Oct – Diocesan Refugee Support Group: Grave Concerns about NHS Charging
Changes to the provision of NHS treatment have very recently come into effect.The Diocesan Refugee Support Group have been very concerned about this and asked the facilitator, Lucy Irven, to write to all MP’s across the Leeds Diocese to spell out their concerns.Below we reproduce the text of the letter sent to Government MP’s and […]
23 Oct – Medaille Trust appoints Leeds Diocese Rep
The Medaille Trust is a charity which supports men, women and children who have been freed from human trafficking. It has been operating for eleven years and now provides safe houses throughout the country for the victims of 21st century slavery. The Trust has recently appointed a new Diocesan Representative for the Leeds Diocese: Liz […]
21 Jul – Reflections after 3 months in the Job
Lucy Irven was appointed as the part-time Diocesan Refugee Support Group Facilitator about 3 months ago. Here she offers her reflections and observations about her experiences during that timePerhaps what has struck me most in my first weeks in this role is the number of refugees and asylum seekers we are trying to help and […]
22 Mar 17 – Refugee Support Group Facilitator Update
We reported in January about the appointment of a part time refugee Action Worker in the Diocese. Unfortunately, the initial appointment did not work out but a replacement has now been found and will start in her new role on 03 April. The new person appointed is Lucy Irven from Skipton. Lucy has been involved […]
12 Jan 17 – Diocesan Refugee Action Worker Starts
A while ago the Diocese recognised that they needed to provide some help to coordinate and advise parishes who want to respond to the needs of refugees coming to live in Yorkshire. That was why the Diocesan Refugee Action Support Group was set up. They have now followed through on this by appointing someone to […]
30 Nov 16-REFUGEE ACTION GROUP INFO EVNG
Much of the mainstream media dismisses responses to the international refugee crisis as “compassion fatigue”. The active responses of the parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Leeds was more than evident at a meeting of the Diocesan Refugee Action Support Group with Bishop Marcus and over 100 parishioners from across the Diocese at Hinsley Hall […]
14 Nov 16 Refugee Action at Holy Redeemer parish Huddersfield
by Sr.Eleanor of the Presentation Sisters in Huddersfield. On the afternoon of Sunday, 13th November, about 30 parishioners came together at St Patrick’s, in the parish of the Holy Redeemer, Huddersfield, to pray and be in solidarity with refugees across the world. We used the CAFOD Solidarity Pilgrimage as a basis for our liturgy and […]
16 OCT 16 Lampedusa Cross & Pilgrimage to Ripon
Last month a group of Catholics walked 35 miles over two days to show solidarity with refugees and honour of Our Lady and of St Wilfrid, the great Diocesan saint of the Leeds Diocese. The pilgrimage was launched on 6 October to show how local people are supporting and raising awareness of the refugee crisis […]