Issue 03 - The Pilgrim - March 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

News The Pilgrim March 2012
Olympic theme for
Kent ecumenical
meeting
The ecumenical organization
Churches Together in Kent will
focus on the Olympics for its
inaugural annual forum
Bishop John Hine and Church
of England Olympic Executive
Co-ordinator, Canon Duncan
Green, will be among those
attending.
The event takes place on
Saturday 3 March from
9.45 am to 3.00 pm at Christ
Church University in
Canterbury.
Justice and Peace
training Day
A training day for those involved
in justice and peace
will be held on Saturday 10
March at Amigo Hall, St
George’s Cathedral.
The day runs from 10 am – 4
pm and includes workshops
on active Campaigning; putting
Catholic social teaching
into action; how to live simply
in your parish; and
poverty.
Rabbi to give talk
in Orpington
Orthodox rabbi David Katanka
will be giving a talk on justice
at the Church of the Holy Innocents
in Orpington at 8 pm on
Tuesday 13 March. Journalist
and broadcaster Clifford Longley
will introduce the evening.
Mass for those
with disabilities
Mass for the Greenwich
Fellowship for the Disabled
will take place on Sunday
February 12 at 3.00pm at St
Mary’s, Blackheath.
96 extraordinary
ministers are
commissioned
Ninety-six new extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion
from twenty-eight parishes have
been commissioned at St
George’s Cathedral.
The commissioning took place
on 28 January during a Mass
celebrated by Bishop Patrick
and Mgr Matthew Dickens.
HRH Prince Charles meets the
Mizens at their Lewisham café
Prince Charles has visited
the café in Lewisham set
up by Barry and Margaret
Mizen in memory of their
teenage son Jimmy who
was murdered in 2008.
During his visit to the
Cafe of Good Hope in
Hither Green Lane, the
Mizens spoke to the Prince
about how troubled youngsters
need better opportunities
to avoid getting
drawn in to gangs.
He also met young people,
including scouts,
those who have been involved
with The Prince’s
Trust, and some who had
been to prison and turned
their lives around.
Barry Mizen said he was
overjoyed by the Prince’s
visit, “When we set up the
foundation we never even
thought we would be welcoming
royalty to our cafe.
“It was great having
Prince Charles here today.
There was a lot of excitement
and lots of people.
“He is a great person
and has a genuine heart
for the life of young people
and he is in the position
to be able to actually
do something.”
The café is run by the
Jimmy Mizen Foundation,
which was set up to help
young people find a purpose
in their life and play
a part in their community.
The Mayor of Lewisham
recently presented the
café with an award for
excellence in social
enterprise.
Student wins national award for helping others
A student with severe sickle cell
and arthritis has won a national
award for helping in the local
community.
Antonia Massaquoi, who studies
at Christ the King Sixth Form College
in Lewisham, received a
Champion Volunteer Diana Award
for her voluntary work.
Despite her illnesses, Antonia
helps at a hospital, in schools,
with Age Concern’s ‘Be a Friend’
programme in Eltham and in
fundraising with the college chaplaincy.
Following the awards ceremony
at Barclay’s Bank headquarters in
Canary Wharf, Antonia said: “At
first I was speechless. Words
couldn’t explain how it felt to win
something like that.
“Winning that award made me
believe that anything is possible.
I can achieve anything if I put my
mind to it. It was amazing. I have
to reach for the stars. I have to
focus on what I want to do.
“My volunteering gives me an
opportunity to talk to elderly people
and hear what they have
overcome.
“I would like to be a counsellor
in the future so this is very good
experience for me.
“Through these experiences I
learned how to be mature and
The Benedictine community
at Minster Abbey in Thanet
are inviting young women
interested in the contemplative
life to join them
over Palm Sunday weekend
taking place from March 30
to April 1.
The monastic experience
retreat will provide an opportunity
to talk to the
how to communicate with other
age groups. They help me to
understand people more and to
identify my own abilities.”
Antonia is currently studying for
A levels in religious studies and
health and social care.
The Diana Awards were established
in 1999 as a legacy to
Princess Diana’s belief that young
people have the power to change
the world.
Young women invited
to a monastic weekend
at Minster Abbey
sisters about discerning a
monastic vocation, join the
community for prayer and
Mass and spend time alone
in reflection.
For more information
contact:
Sr Aelred OSB Minster
Abbey, Minster, Near Ramsgate,
Kent, CT12 4HF.
Tel: 01843-821254
Lent talks
in Devon
The Carmel Centre at St Edmund’s
Catholic School in Dover
will be hosting a series of talks
throughout Lent on the topic of
forgiveness.
Speakers include Fr Roger Nesbitt,
Fr Marcus Holden and members
of the Taize community.
www.carmelcentredover.com
Meanwhile, Walk With Me, a
booklet containing prayer and
scripture readings for Lent, is
now available in many parishes
in the diocese.
Page 4
Children’s
Calendar
for Lent
Mission Together, the Catholic
Church’s official mission charity
for children, has produced
an activity calendar and other
materials to enable children
to find out more about Lent.
The resources are free of
charge and can be downloaded
from www.missiontogether.org.uk
or ordered
online.
Dutch paralympic
athlete tells of
her cancer battle
Dutch international
sitting
volleyball player
Sanne Bakker
shared her experience
of recovering
from
cancer with students
at The Holy
Cross School,
New Malden.
Twenty-yearold
Sanne, who
won a bronze
medal in the
2008 Beijing
Paralympic
Games, also led
workshops with
several classes
and taught the
students some
basic sitting
volleyball skills.
Being Catholic in a
multi-faith society
Archbishop Kevin
McDonald, Archbishop
Emeritus of
Southwark, is to
deliver a lecture
on how to be
Catholic in a multifaith
society.
Archbishop
Kevin is the chairman
of the
Catholic Bishops’
Committee for
Catholic-Jewish
Relations and Office
For Relations
with Other Religions.
His lecture is
part of the Diocese
of Westminster’s
Faith Matters series
and will take
part at Westminster
Cathedral
Hall, Ambrosden
Avenue, SW1, on
March 27 at 7 pm.
Life in
the Spirit
seminars in
Sydenham
Life in the Spirit seminars
will be taking place at
Our Lady and St Philip
Neri church, Sydenham,
each Wednesday during
Lent.
They begin at 8 pm and
are preceded by Mass at
7.30 pm.