WINTER 2015NEWSLETTER

UPDATES

Caritas St Joseph’s, St Joseph’s Grove, The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4 4TY | Tel 020 8202 3999 | Fax 020 8202 1418

www.stjoseph.org.uk | Email: enquiries@stjoseph.org.uk | Charity No. 233699

OUTREACH UPDATESThe Symbol of Faith workshops which are for training volunteers in the parishes in sacramental preparation for people with learning disabilities and actively inviting them and their families to take a more active role in parish life. On Sunday 5 July there was a special Mass at St Mary’s, East Finchley, which brought together the parish congregation, the Saturday Club and families from Caritas St Joseph’s. In his homily, parish priest Fr Terry Tastard unveiled a new altar cloth prepared by the youth group of the parish and the Saturday Club in Arnos Grove. Parishioners were invited to add the outlines of their hands onto the new altar cloth to make a more complete picture of the parish.

NEW BEGINNINGSNew school year - a few changes. We send a fond farewell to Darren, Kamilha, El, Rosanna, Kimmy, Frankie and Auriel. Welcome to Sorsha in Ceramics, Our Creative Crafts and Our Enterprise Workshop, Jaroslava in Aquabatics, Zoe in Stage in the Making, Hannah and Lisa in Place to Grow and also to Alan and Carla.The new Activities Centre theme for 2016 will be Now and Then. The Students were canvassed for their thoughts and came up with suggestions: Sports, People on TV, Gifts and Talents, Books, Friendship and Love, and Language. A new course has started on Saturday mornings - A Place to Grow turning old palettes into garden chairs and planters to be sold at garden shows. Building work over the summer included upgrading of the loos and a new security system on site.

FLOWER POWERThe Floral Enterprise scheme at Caritas St Joseph’s participated in the Centenary celebrations at St Edmund the Confessor Roman Catholic Church in Golders Green. They were delighted to be invited to participate in their Flower Festival, which is part of their 100 years celebrations, and created a beautiful display to adorn the statue of St Joseph. They also made Hawaiian centre pieces for the BBQ.

LOURDESCaritas St Joseph’s joined the Diocese of Westminster’s pilgrimage to Lourdes in July. A group of about 65, made up of families, staff and volunteers, joined together to spend a full week in prayer, laughter and community. We joined in with the Diocesan liturgies as well as having our own Mass, appropriately, in the St Joseph’s Chapel which was concelebrated by 9 priests on the altar. St Joseph’s also played a part in various liturgies by saying the bidding prayers, renacting the gospel and taking part in the offertory at the Diocesan Masses. An afternoon was also spent at a nearby lake, where we had a chance for a swim. The theme this year was The Joy of Mission - a fitting theme as everyone came back filled with the joy of Lourdes. Friendship groups were formed that carry on the spirit of Lourdes.

ACHIEVEMENT DAYThe end of the summer term was crowned with Achievement Day - performances by St Joseph’s Choir, Dance Studio, Book Club and Drum Studio, in the marquee. We were honoured to have Bishop Nicholas Hudson hand out the certificates and a medal to each of the

students. Ron Palmer, our faithful volunteer who does the accounts was celebrated for having volunteered for St Joseph’s for 30 years. The afternoon was completed with tea with strawberries and cream before wishing everyone a happy summer holiday!

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HAWAIIAN BBQOur annual summer BBQ had a Hawaiian theme which saw our students decked out in garlands and grass skirts. Our local friendly butcher provided the BBQ meats and our students sold hand-made flower decorations, pottery and soaps in aid of the centre. Cakes made by the Student Committee were also sold to help fund their own projects.

LONDON 10K RUNThree runners took part in the London 10K Run around the streets of London in July. A group from St Joseph’s went to cheer them on and join in the celebrations at the finish line. Donations still gratefully received at www. jus tg iv ing .com/St -Joseph

VOLUNTEERS EVENINGIn May our volunteers were thanked at a special gathering to thank them all for their hard work in the parishes and at the centre. Father Michael Daley was thanked for being our Chaplain for the past 9 years. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Thushari@stjoseph.org.uk

RAINBOW CLUBRainbow Club was very busy over the summer with many students turning up to take part in art and exercise sessions. Contact the reception@stjoseph.org.uk if you would like to join us during the next holidays.

JAZZ AND WINE EVENING60 people enjoyed a wonderful fundraising evening at Our Lady of Dolours Church Hall in aid of St Joseph’s. Cristiano took us through the wines and Antonio, Ileana and John entertained us with their amazing Jazz music and vocals. Special thanks to the suppliers - Remedy, Rubedo and Cibiosano for the wine and food and to everyone who came along on the evening.

FROM OUR CENTRE MANAGERDear Friends,As we draw towards Advent and prepare ourselves for the birth of Christ, we reflect on the year that has gone before. What a year it has been for us here at Caritas St Joseph’s. 2015 has seen us increase our student numbers even more and reach even

more people throughout the surrounding areas. We have seen new courses start and have welcomed A Place to Grow into our Enterprise arm.

Over the last year we have, with the help of the Diocese and Caritas Westminster, made improvements to the Centre both structurally and aesthetically, helping to improve the students all round experience, so that the Centre is a safe and loving space where all can flourish and grow. We have used some grants to add to our sensory equipment so that those students unable to access our other courses also have an enriched experience.

We are now able to reach those that are unable to access our courses in Hendon through a Connect@ centre in the parish of St Michael and St Martin in Hounslow. We offer one day of activities every Thursday from 10.30 until 4pm in the parish centre. In the mornings we have a spiritual course with dance therapy in the afternoons. Please drop in and see if you live in the area. It has gone from strength to strength since it opened in February of this year.

Of course we could not do any of this without our wonderful staff and volunteer team and without continued financial support. This month we launch our Christmas appeal and we would be grateful for your kindness and generosity. Your contributions enable us to keep our doors open to those in our communities who find it difficult to find their place in our society.

We would like to wish you and your families a truly happy Christmas and a very joyous 2016.

Gail WilliamsCentre Manager

ALLEN HALL SEMINARIANS VISIT A group of seminarians from Allen Hall came to visit St Joseph’s to learn about our work in early September. Caritas and the Outreach team gave presentations on their work in the morning and the afternoon was spent working with the students in the My Foundations course.

FOCUS ON Caritas Westminster

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MEET ANDREAPrior to coming to St Joseph’s, Andrea studied at Highbury College. She now works in the kitchen twice a week and volunteers in the Experience Cookery Class on Tuesdays and St Joseph’s Lunchbox on Fridays. She helps with the food preparation and general cleaning in the dining room and kitchen. Andrea ‘likes my own work, keeping my confidence going and trying my hardest’. She enjoys working with the groups in the classes and says that St Joseph’s ‘makes me happy’.On Achievement Day she received a certificate and a medal which she was very pleased about. We are so glad to have Andrea as part of our team.

CARITAS WESTMINSTER As usual at Caritas Westminster, our development team has been busy all over the Diocese of Westminster, meeting with parishioners, parish priests, local social action groups and national organisations to bring social action to the people who need it most.

One new project that the team have got involved with is Made of Money, a financial learning project run by Quaker Social Action. This means that we can now run interactive workshops in parishes, schools and groups to help families to budget, save, communicate and teach children about money, helping people to feel better about their finances. If you think you know a group of people who would benefit from this training, please contact us!

The yearly winter night shelter circuits supported by Caritas Westminster are once again open. Night shelters are held on church premises and offer a warm place to sleep during the coldest months of the year to people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets. Volunteers provide a cooked evening meal and breakfast, as well as support with finding housing. At the moment we are supporting the Together in Barnet Night Shelter and the Westminster Winter Night Shelter, we’re always looking for volunteers! Please get in touch if you would like to get involved.

Refugee CrisisIn the past couple of months we have been busy organising the Diocesan response to the migrant crisis in Europe. Although the government is only allowing a small number of Syrian refugees to settle in the UK, the Diocese of Westminster is already home to many migrants and refugees who desperately need our support.

Migrants, whether destitute, homeless, or simply alone in a strange country, are some of the most overlooked people in our society. We are reaching out to Catholic communities for volunteers who can offer the following services:• Befriending• Basic necessities, such as clothing, shoes, toiletries, food parcels, toys• Help with languages, including interpreting and ESOL (English as a Second Language teaching)• Legal advice• Medical services.Whatever your gifts and whatever your time commitments, please get in touch with your parish priest to register your interest in volunteering with migrants.

At Caritas Westminster, as well as signposting volunteers and people in need to existing organisations, we assist parishes in setting up and running their own social action projects. We are excited to announce that we will be teaming up with Upbeat Communities to offer Welcome Boxes, a befriending project that has already been hugely successful in helping refugees to find support and friendship in Derby. We will be rolling out Welcome Boxes to parishes in the Diocese, so watch this space!

caritaswestminster@rcdow.org.uk

OUTREACH DATES FOR YOUR DIARYInclusive MassesSun 29th Nov - Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception & St Joseph’s, Waltham Cross at 12.30pmSun 6th Dec - St Gregory’s, South Ruislip at 3.00pmSun 13th Dec - Mary Immaculate and St Gregory’s, Barnet at 6.30pmSaturday Clubs, 3.00 - 5.00pmSat 14th Nov- St Mary Magdalen’s, WhetstoneSat 21st Nov - St Philip the Apostle, Finchley Church EndSat 28th Nov - St Erconwald’s, Wembley Preston Road(& every last Sat of month) 11.00 - 1.00pmSat 5th Dec - St Peter in Chains, Stroud Green(& every fi rst Sat of month)Sat 12th Dec- St Mary Magdalen’s, WhetstoneEvery Monday, 7.00 - 9.00pmChurch of the Annunciation, Burnt OakSt B’s Club, Ealing Abbey, 7.00 - 9.00pm Tues 24th Nov (and every last Tues of month)Plus Club, 2.30 - 4.30pmSun 22nd Nov (and every 4th Sun of month) - Our Lady, Queen of All Creation, Hemel HempsteadAdvent Service Sat 5th Dec - for families and people with special needs from 2.00 -4.00 pm at Ealing Abbey

Contact sue@stjoseph.org.uk for any of the above.

LOOKING FORWARD

Caritas St Joseph’s, St Joseph’s Grove, The Burroughs, Hendon, London NW4 4TY | Tel 020 8202 3999 | Fax 020 8202 1418

www.stjoseph.org.uk | Email: enquiries@stjoseph.org.uk | Charity No. 233699

MULTI-CULTURAL DAYCome and join us for our popular Multi-Cultural Day on Saturday 14th November from 1.00 to 4.00pm at Our Lady of Dolours Church Hall, Hendon. Come dressed up in your national dress, bring along dishes from your country and take part in the fun. Tickets are £10 (carers £2). For more info, please contact Thushari@stjoseph.org.uk

TOWARDS ADVENTSaturday 28th November sees Caritas St Joseph’s take a table to sell pottery, jewellery and cakes made by our students, at Westminster Cathedral Hall alongside other Catholic charities. Come and stock up on Christmas presents and cards. Opened by the Cardinal at 10.00am.For more info, please contact Thushari@stjoseph.org.uk

CHRISTMAS CAROLS/CHRISTMAS CARDS??Get into the Christmas spirit with our Carol Service on Saturday 12th December at 6.00pm at St Joseph’s. Starting with a Carol Service in the Chapel, followed by more carols in the centre, a chance to buy Christmas presents and enjoy seasonal mince pies and mulled wine. Hope to see you there! For more info, please contact Thushari@stjoseph.org.ukCharity Christmas Cards - A pack of 10 @ £3.00. We also have a few packs from previous years at the bargain price of £2 for 10.

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