This week, Siân (Director, Caritas Brentwood) and Michael (Development Officer, Caritas Brentwood) travelled to Westminster Cathedral Hall to attend Called to Act, a day conference for Catholic schools organised by Citizens UK.

The day itself was an amazing gathering of Catholic member schools of Citizens UK, with schools from across the country. We were proud to see school from our Diocese there as well, including: St Bonaventure’s Secondary (Forest Gate), All Saints Secondary (Dagenham), the Ursuline Academy (Ilford), and St Antony’s Primary (Forest Gate).

The day opened with a hymn, which helped introduce the day as a time for joy and celebration, not simply a gathering of schools. After students had gotten to know each other through an ice-breaker, we were given a short refresher on Catholic Social Teaching and its fundamental role in the inception of Citizens UK.

Over the course of the day, we were treated to presentations from each of the schools in attendance. These presentations showed the incredible work that young people are doing in the local communities, creating change where it is needed. From campaigning for better mental health support in Peterborough to lowering school bus fares in Cardiff or addressing youth housing insecurity in West London, each testimony was a powerful witness to living out our faith through service to people in need.

We also loved hearing from Raymond Friel OBE (CEO of Caritas Social Action Network), who gave us a short introduction of community organising in our country, particularly focusing on the Church’s solidarity with those on the margins. He reflected on the ‘Match Girls’ strike, as well as the London Dock Workers Strike – the latter being directly linked to Rerum Novarum which is considered to be the founding document of Catholic Social Teaching.

At the end of the day, we spoke to some of students from All Saints and St Antony’s about how they felt about all they had seen and heard:

Luke (12H, All Saints’, Dagenham) said that it was “beautiful to see how all the age groups could include each other’s ideas, bouncing ideas off each and networking.” Chinedu (12H, All Saints’) agreed, saying that the day inspired him, “especially with how we can improve our own schools and communities.” Dami (12C, All Saints’), commenting on how music formed a core part of the day – even in some of the student’s presentations – said “it was enjoyable to watch the children spread such passionate messages through music.”

Raphael (Year 5, St Antony’s) said that he came away from the day inspired by the fact that “we can make a change in the way that people live.” Meanwhile, Sasha (Year 5) was inspired by the diversity of the room and how people were “protesting for nicer wages, and for people to get a home, and welcoming people into our community.” Lastly, Misturah (Year 6) came away feeling energised because “we helped those who don’t have a voice and we spoke up for them.”

We would like to thank Citizens UK for their incredible work with young people. As strategic partners of the East London Citizens chapter, we are blessed to play a role in their work with schools in our diocese.