Advent at St Gregory’s Sileby
During the holy season of Advent the Youth Group of St. Gregory’s Sileby decided that as part of their preparation for Christmas and the birth of the baby Jesus they would focus on helping others less fortunate than themselves.
They set up an appeal in the parish for “Mary’s Meals”, the charity which believes that every child deserves an education and enough to eat. The charity was to be ‘match-funded’ which gave an added incentive to raise as much money as possible. It costs Mary’s Meals £13.90 to feed a child at school for a year and they currently feed more than 1.2 million children every school day in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition to the appeal the young people sought the help of parishioners in donating items for “The Backpack Project”. This project aims to provide basic learning equipment to children with none, so backpacks are filled with items such as recycled school bags, uniforms, PE kits and new note-books, pens and pencil.
Inspired by the Youth Group, the Justice and Peace group themed their annual Advent Reflections on the poor and needy, highlighting that the Youth Group’s work was putting into practice Pope Francis’ call in launching the inaugural World Day of the Poor, for Catholics to focus on the poor in our society.
The appeal was a tremendous success raising £230 and sufficient items to fill approximately 5 backpacks. For such a small parish this was a tremendous result. With ‘match funding’ it means 34 children will be fed at school every day for a year
Pictured are members of the Youth, Children’s Liturgy, and Justice and Peace Groups together with parish priest Father Clement Orango on the feast of the Epiphany with their ‘gifts’ for those who have least.
Amy Jarkulisz, a member of the Youth Group said, “Especially at Christmas, we believe it is important to think of others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This feeling is magnified at Christmas, as whilst we are all receiving wonderful gifts, there are some that have less and are not receiving as many gifts. However they still cherish each little present they get, whether it is just objects for school or simple necessities such as food. At a time when Jesus was born into so little, we feel it to be immensely important to help as much as we can.”
In thanking parishioners for their support Father Clement said “it is so encouraging to see that our young people are able to lead the way by sharing the true spirit of Christmas with those less fortunate in our world. What a beautiful world it would be if we all receive and spread Christmas Joy, Hope, Love and Peace.”
Kathryn Timmons on behalf of the Justice and Peace group said, “Well done to the young people for suggesting this project for Advent. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by many worthy causes but important to realise that if we all do a bit we can make a difference.”
During the holy season of Advent the Youth Group of St. Gregory’s Sileby decided that as part of their preparation for Christmas and the birth of the baby Jesus they would focus on helping others less fortunate than themselves.
They set up an appeal in the parish for “Mary’s Meals”, the charity which believes that every child deserves an education and enough to eat. The charity was to be ‘match-funded’ which gave an added incentive to raise as much money as possible. It costs Mary’s Meals £13.90 to feed a child at school for a year and they currently feed more than 1.2 million children every school day in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition to the appeal the young people sought the help of parishioners in donating items for “The Backpack Project”. This project aims to provide basic learning equipment to children with none, so backpacks are filled with items such as recycled school bags, uniforms, PE kits and new note-books, pens and pencil.
Inspired by the Youth Group, the Justice and Peace group themed their annual Advent Reflections on the poor and needy, highlighting that the Youth Group’s work was putting into practice Pope Francis’ call in launching the inaugural World Day of the Poor, for Catholics to focus on the poor in our society.
The appeal was a tremendous success raising £230 and sufficient items to fill approximately 5 backpacks. For such a small parish this was a tremendous result. With ‘match funding’ it means 34 children will be fed at school every day for a year
Pictured are members of the Youth, Children’s Liturgy, and Justice and Peace Groups together with parish priest Father Clement Orango on the feast of the Epiphany with their ‘gifts’ for those who have least.
Amy Jarkulisz, a member of the Youth Group said, “Especially at Christmas, we believe it is important to think of others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This feeling is magnified at Christmas, as whilst we are all receiving wonderful gifts, there are some that have less and are not receiving as many gifts. However they still cherish each little present they get, whether it is just objects for school or simple necessities such as food. At a time when Jesus was born into so little, we feel it to be immensely important to help as much as we can.”
In thanking parishioners for their support Father Clement said “it is so encouraging to see that our young people are able to lead the way by sharing the true spirit of Christmas with those less fortunate in our world. What a beautiful world it would be if we all receive and spread Christmas Joy, Hope, Love and Peace.”
Kathryn Timmons on behalf of the Justice and Peace group said, “Well done to the young people for suggesting this project for Advent. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by many worthy causes but important to realise that if we all do a bit we can make a difference.”
