Groups – St Helen's Roman Catholic Church, Caerphilly

Journey To Justice – a CAFOD Retreat

Romero-retreat_opt_fullstory_large Listening to the poor, reflecting on the Scriptures and engaging with political realities transformed Oscar Romero into one of the Church’s most respected and inspirational figures. His legacy of radical love lives on 100 years after his birth.

At this CAFOD ‘Journey to Justice’ retreat, you are invited to explore how Romero’s life and faith can inspire and challenge us and transform our world. Take time to reflect on your own journey of transformation, and be inspired and enriched by stories of those who continue to speak out for justice today.

All are welcome to join us on Saturday 18 November, 10am-4pm, at the peaceful surroundings of the Tŷ Croeso Centre, Llantarnam Abbey, Cwmbran, Torfaen, NP44 3YJ. You don’t have to be a CAFOD campaigner or volunteer already to take part.

The retreat is free of charge, but donations accepted. A simple lunch will be provided. Advance booking needed.

Book your place on this retreat

There are similar retreats taking place across England and Wales in November. All retreats are open to people from any diocese. See the full list of retreats.

We also have an opportunity to learn more about Romero closer to home this Friday, November 10th at 7.00 pm when the film of his life and ministry will be shown in St Helen’s Community Hall.

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St Helen’s Tweets

This week sees the launch of our new St Helen’s Twitter account. Our Twitter username is @StHelensTweets and you can follow us at: twitter.com/sthelenstweets. We plan to regularly update it with the latest news about what’s going on in the Parish, news from the Parish groups, updates from the Parish Mission, thoughts from Father John and ‘retweets’ (or updates!) from other Catholic Twitter accounts. If there’s anything you’d like us to tweet about, please get in touch.

And help us reach our target of a 100 followers by the Mission (16th-20th October)!

50th Anniversary Photos

Last week we had a wonderful service to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of St Helen’s Church, followed by a lovely drinks reception in the hall. Thank you to all who helped out and to all who attended. We look forward to the next 50 years! Cliff Bray took some excellent photos which captured the evening well and we thought we would share them with you. And please feel free to leave a comment below.

St Helen’s Family Groups Calendar 2014

All Family Group members and their families are welcome. More details will follow prior to each event.
Transport can be arranged if necessary. Please contact leaders for more information.

Date & Time	Event Name	Location
Jun 29th 12.00 pm	Picnic and Walk	Tredegar House, Newport
Aug 16th 12.00pm	Picnic and Paddler	Caswell Beach, Swansea
Sep 20th 10.00 am	Day Out	Margam Park, Neath
Oct 17th 6.00 pm	Friday Night BBQ	Hoy Family Home, Caerphilly
Nov 8th 6.00 pm	Bonfire Night	St Helen’s, Caerphilly
Dec 5th TBA	Christmas Night Out	Adults Only
Dec 19th 6.00 pm	Christmas Party	St Helen’s, Caerphilly

Would You Like To Know More About The Faith?

Adults who wish to explore becoming a Catholic, or who simply wish to find out more about the Catholic faith, are welcome to ‘come and see’, as Jesus invited his first followers. The Looking Into The Faith group is aimed at those who would like to become Catholics or who would just like to know more about the faith. We should hasten to add that the group is also made up of people from the parish who come along to learn and to support those who may enter into the church. Our meetings are very informal and take place every Thursday – we’ll even make you a cup of tea and offer you some biscuits! Father John is always there (except when he attends meetings) as we explore the faith through a course called Evangelium, which offers an excellent grounding in the full panorama of Catholic beliefs. This course is delivered through a PowerPoint presentation and covers many of the questions you have about the Catholic faith.

If you’d like to know more, visit our Looking Into the Faith page on this website. And please let your friends and family know about this group.

Cafod’s Dig Deep Lent Appeal

He was born in the middle of a brutal civil war and as a baby, his mother fed him rice pap to keep him alive. Even in peace time he is facing hunger and hardship on a daily basis.

His family cannot afford to send him to school with his younger brother and sister, and so Mohammed must work in the fields, growing food to eat and sell. Yet he still doesn’t know if they will eat tomorrow.

Mohammed and his family face many challenges. The family often go hungry. They are at the mercy of an unpredictable climate. Things are particularly bad during the hungry season – between the planting and harvesting of crops.

But Mohammed never gives up hope that one day he will be able to go back to school.

CAFOD is working on innovative projects to reclaim fertile land. With your support, these projects can help families like Mohammed’s improve the amount of food that they grow. The little extra they sell, they are able to save the money and put it towards helping Mohammed fulfil his dream of finishing school.

During Lent, as we think about the ways in which we can change our own lives, we can also make an amazing difference to the world’s poorest people.

Dig deep this Lent. Donate now and change the lives of children like Mohammed >>

Save lives this Lent

£20 can buy a wheelbarrow for a farmer to transport food from their land to home

£50 can provide tools for 10 farmers to clear their land

£76 can pay for a trainer to teach a farmer how to cultivate swampland

£160 can pay a mother-child health worker’s salary for one month

CAFOD Appeal For The Phillipines

In the wake of the devastatng storm that hit the Phillipines, leaving thousands dead and which brought devastation for up to 10 million, CAFOD has this week launched an Emergency Appeal. Here’s some information from the CAFOD website:

What has happened?
Typhoon Haiyan – one of the strongest ever to make landfall – swept across the Philippines on Friday 8 November, leaving a trail of massive destruction in its wake. The full extent of the damage is not yet known, but an estimated 9.8 million people have had their lives torn apart. Power, transport and water systems have been severely disrupted.

What are the needs?
We need to provide food, shelter and safety for people whose homes have been destroyed, as well as blankets, clothes and other essentials. Please give today to help us reach the most vulnerable people.

What is CAFOD doing?
Our trusted local partners are on the ground in the worst hit areas, responding to the most immediate needs. We’re also still providing food and shelter to people who lost their homes in the earthquake on the island of Bohol last month. The typhoon has added to the destruction and made it more difficult to deliver aid, but we’re doing everything we can to reach the most isolated and vulnerable people.

We’re currently moving tarpaulins to Cebu City so that we can provide 8,000 families with shelter needs. Our response teams are travelling to the areas hardest hit to determine exactly what people need and how we can help them.

Donate now and help save lives >>

Appeal resources for parishes