Dear friends,

Welcome to our Caritas Round-Up for the month of March. We can’t believe it’s already April, and we are just about to begin the Easter Triduum. We are grateful for the continued support we have received over the last month, including the generosity expressed through your donations during Lent, as well as the largest Networking Day attendance we have had to date. Thank you!

Wishing you a blessed Easter and month ahead.

Caritas Networking Day 2026

Thank you to all of you who attended our 4th Annual Networking Day. As mentioned previously, this was our biggest Networking Day yet. If you were not able to attend on the day, Jenny Sinclair’s keynote talk is now available to watch online – to view, click the link here<<

We also wish to extend our thanks to the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Wanstead for hosting us this year, and we are excited to announce that they will be hosting us again in 2027!

To read our full write-up of the day, click the link here<<

Sponsored Sleepouts

This month has seen the start of this year’s sponsored sleepouts, and what an impressive start it has been. St Thomas of Canterbury Parish in Woodford Green and St Mark’s West Essex Secondary School in Harlow have both hosted sleepouts that have raised over £ 1,000 each, and we couldn’t be prouder of the time and effort the staff, students, catechists, and young people have put in.

St Thomas’ raised money for the SVP Centre in Southend, whilst St Mark’s raised money for Caritas Brentwood to go directly to the work of those experiencing homelessness.

We will have full write-ups for both released later this month, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

If you would like us to help you organise a sponsored sleepout and/or run a session during, then please email: [email protected]

Romford Confirmation Session

On Sunday, 1st March, Siân delivered a Confirmation Session at St Edward the Confessor Parish in Romford, which has become an annual staple in her diary. Siân took the opportunity to speak to the 30 Confirmation candidates about Caritas Brentwood’s Areas of Focus and what the Catechism of the Catholic Church is really asking of those through Confirmation. Particularly highlighting the following passage:

“Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace, it roots us more deeply… it unites us more firmly to Christ; it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us… to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ” 1303

Through the lens of our Areas of Focus, Siân invited the young people to think about the local needs in their area, what they are passionate about, and what they would like to change. All of this was explored through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Siân said:

“The Romford Confirmation group were fantastic and it was enlightening to hear about the local needs they highlighted and the way in which they want to improve their communties. Thanks to their recent Confirmation retreat at Walsingham House at Abbotswick, the group were already well formed and you could see the relationships they had strengthened.”

If you would like us to visit your parish and/or run a session with your Confirmation group, contact us by emailing: [email protected]

Work Experience with Ava

We were fortunate to be joined by Ava Maher from the Walsingham House team. Ava was with us for a few weeks on work experience, where she supported us with events, future planning and communications. Ava was a great asset to the team this past month, and it was great to see her passion for putting her faith into action. Some of Ava’s work will appear on our social media accounts over the coming months, as well as the article she wrote about the Walsingham House Grounds Volunteers, which we published last week.

Speaking about her work experience, Ava said:

“During my time with Caritas, I was able to see first-hand the work that they do, and the impact they have on so many people. I am grateful that I got to experience the amount of work that the Caritas team put in.”

We would like to take this opportunity to formally thank Ava for her hard work and support: Thank you, Ava!

BCYS Chaplaincy Day

On the 4th March, Siân joined the BCYS to present at the most recent Chaplaincy Day, which brings together primary and secondary school Chaplains and parish catechists.

Siân had the opportunity to showcase our upcoming events and resources, as well as to join the group for Mass celebrated by Fr Damien Wade, followed by a contemplative walk around the grounds of Walsingham House at Abbotswick.

There was a short talk by Michael Kearns (Retreat Manager), who reflected on the person of Pope Leo XIV, drawing on insights from the Augustinian order, as well as his recent exhortation, Dilexi Te, which has helped guide our work at Caritas Brentwood since its release in October 2025.

CSAN Migration Alliance In-Person Day

On the 3rd March, organisations from across the Caritas Social Action Network met at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine in London for an in-person meeting of the CSAN Migration Alliance. Joined by representatives from organisations like the Medaille Trust, the Jesuit Refugee Service, as well as other diocesan Caritas organisations, we explored current and planned government policies that affect migrants, refugees and those who are affected by modern slavery. We also discussed how we, as members of CSAN, can work and collaborate more effectively to support migrants and their families, addressing questions around what we can offer as Catholic organisations, and what makes us different from other support services.

The day was a great chance to network broadly, meet face-to-face, and be inspired by some of the fantastic work carried out across the country. We look forward to continued collaboration with our external partner organisations and finding new ways of working together.

Celebrating Faith and Health in Barking & Dagenham

On Thursday, 26th March, Michael was invited to attend Celebrating Faith and Health in Barking & Dagenham, an event organised by Faith Action and the Barking and Dagenham Faith Leaders Network.

Bringing together civic and faith leaders, the event celebrated the crucial work already being carried out by local faith communities to address health inequality, as well as how faith communities are best placed to work with local healthcare providers to ensure that everyone has access to basic healthcare and that conditions are caught early.

The evening was an eye-opening opportunity to understand the role faith communities can play in the physical well-being of their congregations, as well as the many approaches we can take to support those who may not access healthcare as often as they wish.

We would like to thank Barking & Dagenham Faith Leaders Network for organising the event. We look forward to exploring how we might work together in the future.