Catholic Social Teaching
Welcome to our new CARITAS Ambassadors in training!
The children from Year 5 and 6 will complete weekly training for the Autumn term related to:
- What an Ambassador is
- What the Charity CARITAS stands for and does
- Themes of Catholic Social Teaching and what underpins this
- How we can live out our faith and show our love in action
This programme is part of the Diocesan / CARITAS Westminster's Catholic Social Teaching project 'Rooted in Love'.
At the end of the training, the children will be fully fledged CARITAS Ambassadors and will receive their badges and certificates.
They will help to lead whole-school assemblies related to the different themes of Catholic Social Teaching and visit classes telling their peers about the importance of living our faith. They will discuss how we at St Joseph's can continue to show our 'love in action' and plan a whole-school project before the end of the year.
We thank Sr Silvana at CARITAS Westminster for her invaluable support in this area.
Care of Creation - Autumn 1
Our new Environment Team under the Leadership of Miss Eccles and Miss Jeffery visited St Mary's Church garden. During this season of creation, they had a good look around to appreciate the beauty of this lovely space. This year, they will help Fr Shaun make sure the garden is as beautiful and cared for as it can be (building on the work the team did last year, planting and looking after plants and vegetables in Fr Shaun's new greenhouse). The children discussed how we are stewards for this amazing world and God has entrusted us to be stewards of this incredible environment.
This builds on the message that Pope Francis gave us in the encyclical - 'Laudato Si' (June 2015).
Latin for 'Praised Be', 'Laudato Si' is the name of Pope Francis' encyclical on caring for our common home — planet earth. The letter is addressed to "every person living on this planet" and calls for a global dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet through our daily actions and decisions.
Here at St Joseph's, we are sure that our Environment Team will take this responsibility seriously and help to spread the word to others.
They have plans for the year ahead and we look forward to them continuing to make a difference and raise awareness of different issues. Thank you Environment Team!
Members of Year 6 led a beautiful assembly linked to the Catholic Social Teaching theme - Care of Creation.
We looked at what the Bible said about our responsibilities as 'stewards of creation' and what Pope Francis said (in Laudato Si).
Jane, a parishioner from St Mary's and a CAFOD volunteer, helped to lead a CAFOD assembly and talked to the children about the important work that CAFOD does across the globe. The children listened intently and were full of excellent questions.
The responses were heart-warming.
'Jesus asks us to love our neighbour' (Alexandra Year 6)
'Because others won't' (Benjamin Year 6)
'We are lucky and have plenty, so we should reach out to others' (Betsy Year 6)
'We want a world with justice and equality' (Giulia Year 5)
'I hope people would want to look after us if we were in need' (Kaelyn Year 5)
Inspired by a visit from a CAFOD volunteer - the Pupil Chaplaincy Team created and displayed their own CAFOD posters to raise awareness of our fundraising efforts in the school.
Fr Shaun visited and spoke to some of the children about Catholic Social Teaching and what being a 'steward meant'. Fr Shaun said that the children understood their mission to demonstrate their faith in action.
Preferential Option for the Poor - Autumn 2
Children helped with the whole school assembly focused on 'The Preferential Option for The Poor'.
We thought of ways that we could reach out to our brothers and sisters in need. Both the Bible (The Word of God) and Pope Francis teach us to share what we have with others. Not just scraps, but the best that we have to offer.
Linked to this, across the school, children will use the CARITAS Advent 'Giving' Calendar. They and their families will try to build up a box of goods that we can donate to those in need at Christmas. We will donate these items to our friends at The Cardinal Hume Centre which looks after homeless and vulnerable people.
