Inputs at St John Payne, Chelmsford

Siân, Director of Caritas Brentwood, attended St John Payne Catholic Secondary School for a Core RS session with 6^th formers, as well as delivering input for the school’s Young Catholic Influencers.

For the input with SJP’s Catholic influencers, Siân spoke about the many ways that Caritas Brentwood is able to offer support to those in need in Essex and East London. She also spoke about the importance of volunteering as a gift to the community, how important it is to make small actions that make a real difference.

One activity involved students being given 16 possible local issues that a councillor might face, choosing from them just 3 issues that they would prioritise for their local constituency. Two students, Angel and Vanessa explained:

“We chose youth opportunities, cost of living support and mental wellbeing. First, for youth opportunities, the new generation has more guidance and support than the previous generation and that can shape the future that we live in.

Cost of living support will help people who are financially struggling and bring more support by the government to help people thrive in their own home.

For mental wellbeing: it is a foundational structure for everything that we live for.”

Later on, in the Core RE session , Siân’s explored how we can form our own opinions by asking critical questions about where we get our information from, whose voices we aren’t hearing, and how we can use our own gifts to make a positive difference.

A member of staff from the school got in touch after the event and said that the sessions that Siân offered were “engaging, informative and thought provoking,” adding that students received “valuable insight into the work of Caritas and the ways faith can be put into action.”

Additional feedback from staff and student was very positive, with Year 7 students asking if Siân was going to come back the following week.

We would like to thank SJP for inviting us and allowing Siân to talk in-depth about our work. If you would like us to provide input for your school, get in touch with us at [email protected]

Ursuline Education Community Student Conference

Siân, also attended the Ursuline Education Community Student Conference, which took place at the London Jesuit Centre. Joined by Ursuline schools from across the country, including Brentwood’s own___, Siân explored the day’s theme: Called to Lead, Committed to Justice.

The day included reflections on the importance of solidarity as an expression of justice, where students were invited to meditate on the statue of the Homeless Jesus, which is located inside of Farm Street Church.

Expanding on the the title of the day, Siân reflected on her own vocation through which she is called to lead and committed to justice. She used the following quote from St Angela:

“Act, move, believe, strive, hope, cry out to him with all your heart, for without doubt you will see marvellous things.”

 St Angela, Prologue to the Counsels, 16-18

Talking about the day, one of the students said:

“The experience was really interactive, and I found muysefl interacting with new people. It was really insightful to see the homeless jesus statue and I think it really resonating with me. As a collective, I think the day was amazing.”

Students were also encouraged to share what small actions they can do to bring social justice into their schools.

• 6^th form students: Supporting younger years with peer mentoring
• Community events that bring together all ages
• Hosting a sponsored sleepout
• Regular foodbank donations
• A games night fundraiser
• Prioritising recycling
• Class volunteering days

Papal Audience with Pope Leo XIV

Earlier in the month, Siân and Michael (Development Officer, Caritas Brentwood) were blessed to attend one of Pope Leo XIV’s General Audiences, as part of the CSAN leadership conference, which took place in Rome.

Whilst in St Peter’s Square, our group took the opportunity to visit the Angels Unawares statue there, designed by Timothy Schmalz.

If you want to read more about what the Pope said, read our article here<<

CSAN Leadership Conference

As mentioned above, we were part of the CSAN Leadership Conference at the beginning of the month. Taking place in Rome, the conference was an opportunity to learn, reflect and discern leadership practices. It was also a fantastic opportunity to network with charities from across the country, especially those charities offering frontline services to people in need.

To find out more about what we got up to, read our article here<<