Caritas Round-Up | August 2026
Bosco Camp 2026
The St John Bosco Children’s Camp ran for two fun-filled weeks this year, which allowed 170 children to have a camping holiday that they wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to go on, accompanied by 120 experienced volunteers.
A special work of Caritas Brentwood, the camp is held at Walsingham House at Abbotswick providing daily activities and regular times of prayer and Mass.
To read our recent article on Bosco Camp this year, click here<<
Site Visit to St Anne Line, South Woodford
We travelled to South Woodford for a site visit at St Anne Line Parish. We sat down with parishioner Mike, Parish Administrator Anne and Parish Priest Fr Celestine. We had the opportunity to talk about the needs of the local area, and what Caritas Brentwood can do to assist their work. We also discussed the our role in the wider diocesan community, as well as our upcoming in-person event being held in the Parish Hall on the 14th November.
We are hosting three in-person events: one on the Environment/Laudato Si’ at Brentwood Cathedral, one on Homelessness and the Cost of Living at St Alban’s Elm Park, and at St Anne Line Parish the focus will be Refugees and people seeking asylum. At all of these events we will have talks from members of the clergy, lived experience from parishioners, and a conversation on how we be proactive with young adults from Citizens UK.
Romford Social Action Group Visit
We visited a parish group at St Edward the Confessor Church in Romford to discuss what’s worked well, the challenges they’ve faced, and next steps to embed Catholic Social Teaching in the parish community. A major highlight was the parish achieving the Live Simply award.
We were invited to a meeting with a parish group from St Edward the Confessor’s in Romford. We spoke about the work they do related to social justice, including what has worked well for them as well as the challenges they have faced. We discussed what their next steps could be, including how they could further embed Catholic Social Teaching in the parish community.
A major highlight of the meeting was hearing about how the parish had achieved its Live Simply Award. The award, which is “an opportunity for Catholic communities – parishes, schools, religious orders and chaplaincies – to answer the call for us to care for our common home and stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers around the world.” (CAFOD website).
To find out more about how your community might achieve this award, visit the CAFOD website here<<
Your Place Site Visit
Our visit gave us a renewed insight into the important and life-changing work that the staff at Your Place do.
In August we visited one of our local organisations, Your Place in Newham. Located just next door to St Margaret & All Saints’ Parish, Your Place offers accommodation and wrap-around support to those experiencing homelessness.
Staff members Dan and Niamh gave us a tour of the site and provided us with deep insights into the work they do. We discussed with them the reality of those facing homelessness across the Diocese right now, and how we are all responding.
‘Remember a Charity’ Week 2026 | 7th-13th September
Every September, charities across the UK come together to raise awareness of legacy giving. Remember A Charity Week is the perfect moment to think about the impact you want to leave behind.
If you would like to explore legacy giving and our free will-writing service in a supportive, pressure-free way more information can be found right here: https://your-place.org.uk/gift-in-your-will/ or contact Anwar Beeharry at: [email protected]
Watch This Space/New Website
Things will be changing on our website very soon! We are excited to be launching our new website shortly, which we hope will continue to serve the needs of the people of Essex and East London whilst also making it more accessible and easier to find information.
We aren’t expecting any technical issues as we change over, but if you do encounter any problems, please do get in touch with us: [email protected]
