Mosaic: Summer 2022

Your support helps protect marriage and family life

In May, over 630 couples from across the Diocese, accompanied by family members, came together in the Cathedral to celebrate the Annual Mass of Thanksgiving for Matrimony. After the challenges and difficulties of the pandemic, the Cathedral was once again filled with their light, colour and sound. Deacon Roger Carr-Jones, Marriage & Family Coordinator, explains how the mosaics that decorate the Cathedral were accompanied and enhanced by a living mosaic.

Mosaics are fascinating creations. Made from stones like marble, glass, metal, porcelain and much more, together they provide a unique look, due to their varying sizes and colours. The classic mosaic material is ‘smalti’, small hand-cut pieces of coloured glass with an irregular finish that makes them a wonderful reflector of light.

In his welcome address, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “Marriage is a mosaic that you build with your spouse: it is as diverse as the smalti, and shimmers catching the eye of the world. Just as there are millions of mosaic pieces in this Cathedral, there are millions of stories, events and tiny moments that go into creating married love. Each mosaic, like your mutual love, is different in style and tells a unique story.”

If you look around the Cathedral you soon become aware of the variety of different mosaics. Each stone has its own loveliness and when brought together they produce a coherent image of outstanding beauty. Marriage involves the creation of a unique mosaic. When

the couple first marry, they bring with them a variety of materials and ideas for the design of their marriage mosaic. Over the years they find that new materials and panels are required, and that the overall layout requires ongoing adjustments and, at times, essential repairs might be needed.

As we continue to celebrate the first ten years of Caritas Westminster, we take a look at some more examples of what your kind support has achieved.

Tens of thousands of people across the Diocese have been helped, thanks to you. Working closely with parishes and schools, Caritas Westminster finds practical solutions to various challenges people face. You can find out more on pages 4 and 5, and read about what drives us on page 7.

Contents

1-2 Marriage and Family Life

3 Growing faith in young people

4-5 Caritas Westminster –Celebrating 10 years

6 Fr Daniel Daley: ‘I am where God wants me to be’

7 Safe in Faith – your support is helping survivors

8 Feedback: You spoke. We listened.

Your acts of kindness are like pieces in God’s mosaic of hope in action around the Diocese

A happy couple on the Cathedral Piazza after Mass

The tiles of the mosaic of married love acquire their beauty and fascination by being brought together. This also includes those pieces that may have been damaged and require careful restoration. At the Cathedral there was a myriad of couple mosaics: some quite new, others of a deeper and richer hue, and those which reflected the hallmarks of age and change. This living mosaic of a partnership of life and love is made up of individual tiles of joy, a shared endeavour, and, naturally at times, moments of sorrow.

We are equally blessed to have a mosaic of movements and organisations, who accompany couples over a lifetime.

Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia, called for the ongoing pastoral accompaniment as “couples become more aware of the challenges and meaning of married life”. Just as there are different stages in the creation and ongoing maintenance of a mosaic, so it is with the journey of marriage.

There are catechists and formators in marriage preparation, where the guides and tools are provided for the couple to craft together the individual sets of tiles that they bring. This recognises the power of the

bonding mortar of Christ, whose presence holds the marriage mosaic together. As the marriage mosaic is organic, there are then others who assist the couple to reassemble and reassess, replenish and restore, as required, each providing different tools and materials, though the work is always in the

burnish many couple mosaics. The last, Catholic Marriage Care, was founded in the Diocese, and, through the work of its volunteer counsellors, has enabled couples to reassemble and rebuild their couple mosaic.

Again, thanks to your help, these and other groups have set out on new paths in recent years to provide a complementary approach to marriage preparation, enrichment and accompaniment.

Although each couple at the Mass of Thanksgiving brought with them their own unique mosaic, at the moment of renewing their vows a single mosaic of love and happiness was imprinted on the memory of the Cathedral. From many mosaics something new was created. Cardinal Vincent’s words rang true: “No marriage is unremarkable. Each is special. God is a skilled artist working with our humble materials to create a masterpiece.”

To find out more, visit: https://rcdow.org.uk/ marriage-and-family-life/

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With your support to the Cardinal’s Appeal, groups such as Pulse (family prayer), Retrouvaille (healing) and, in their 75th year, Catholic Marriage Care (relationship counselling) have been able to help

If you’re considering remembering our work in the Diocese in your Will, whether for your parish, support for priests, the Cathedral, another area close to your heart, or simply where the need is greatest, we are very grateful. You can find information about leaving a gift in your Will at rcdow.org.uk/donations/legacy or email legacies@rcdow.org.uk

A single mosaic of love and happiness; couples renewing their vows in the Cathedral

Growing faith in young people

The pandemic years have been tough on young people. Mental health problems are soaring and education has been missed. But across the Diocese, there’s a story of growing faith, and emerging leaders.

These are the words of one young person on retreat at the Westminster Youth Ministry’s Retreat Centre in Pinner recently. And their experience of finding faith is by no means unique. Already, thousands of schoolchildren and young people have been part of a retreat this year, and demand is higher than ever. Andrzej Wdowiak, Director of Youth Ministry at the Diocese, said, “More people want to come on retreats, and we have never had so many bookings during the summer. You can see how much the young people enjoy the space and the opportunity to discuss faith and life.”

There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful. Another aspect of the work of the Youth Ministry Service is outreach, and this, too, is growing.

In 2023, young Catholics from across the world will come together in Lisbon, Portugal, for the first World Youth Day (WYD) in four years. Andrzej is planning to take 120 young people from London, and is organising a series of events to build up to WYD.

In October, more than 500 young people will attend Westminster Cathedral for a day of worship, prayer, music, talks and conversation. Next March, a similar event, called Flame, will be held on an even bigger scale at Wembley Arena for around 9,000 young Catholics.

Anyone aged 17-25 is invited to apply, including Year 12 students who will be under 18 on 1 August 2023. They’ll need to be recommended by someone from their school or parish. At the end of the year-long programme, young leaders will be encouraged to support youth ministry in their parish or in the Diocese, and ongoing training will be provided.

“This is about helping young people in their faith formation, developing their Catholic identity and reconnecting them to the parish so they can play their part in the life of the Church,” said Andrzej. “We know there are young people who want to be involved, and here’s an amazing opportunity to do so.”

The Retreat Centre is a key part of the work of the Diocesan Youth Ministry Service. Based in north London, it offers day and residential retreats for school pupils, as well as young people preparing for First Holy Communion or their Confirmation. In 2022, more than 3,500 young people from 32 parishes and 40 schools are expected to visit. What’s more, young adults from the Diocese are lining up to volunteer as retreat leaders. “We are spoiled for choice among the university graduates and local Catholics who want to lead,” said Andrzej. “And if you get enthusiastic young Catholics leading retreats, it inspires those who attend. Seeing this domino effect fills me with hope for the future.”

Alongside this, Andrzej is launching a year-long programme to train 40 future leaders from the Diocese of Westminster. It’s an exciting opportunity for young Catholics, culminating in a trip to Lisbon for WYD in August 2023.

“This is open to anyone who has the time and passion,” said Andrzej. “The programme includes 11 months of workshops, some online and some in-person, covering things like leading prayer, mentoring, public speaking, running small groups and safeguarding. There will be four residential retreats at our centre and, in Lisbon, the leaders will be responsible for small groups.

“It’s an opportunity, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, for people to reconnect with their faith and sense again what faith in Jesus Christ can add to their lives.”

To apply to the leadership course, or to find out more about retreats for young people, visit dowym.com

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“ Seeing young people leading retreats fills me with hope for the future.”

“I thought I believed in God, but now I know... I am closer to God.”

“I learnt that God is always watching me. He will guide me through what I do.”

“ It was lovely for my daughter, who has anorexia, to attend a retreat after the disruption of the last 18 months.”

I discovered God has a plan for me.”

My Year 6 pupils were beaming after their retreat – something I hadn’t seen all year.”

Young people attending the Westminster Youth Ministry Retreat Centre

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Before going into any school, Sister Silvana from Caritas Westminster’s Development Team always doublechecks. Does she have Nigel, her unusual but indispensible sidekick? Nigel is a fluffy penguin and he’s a big hit with children. Along with Sister Silvana, he is helping to inspire primary and secondary school students to become Caritas Ambassadors.

The Caritas Ambassadors programme was launched in 2019 and is rooted in Catholic Social Teaching (see P7). “We want Catholic Social Teaching to be more than a display on the wall in school,” says Sister Silvana.

How you help social

As Caritas Ambassadors, primary and secondary school children are challenged to explore their faith and its values. “We provide practical and creative lesson plans for teachers, who’ve told us they love the discussions they generate. The goal is for our Ambassadors to put their faith in action and find a way to make the world a better place,” explains Sister Silvana.

Just as the first set of children were about to begin their chosen social action project, the pandemic struck, and schools closed. In 2020, a further 70 Caritas Ambassadors started their training in schools around the Diocese, and the number of children taking part has continued to grow. We are hoping for another 20 schools, or more by the Autumn term.

“What’s amazing is how enthusiastic the children are,” says Sister Silvana. “As part of their discussions, they consider what’s happening in their community and further afield. Then they decide on what they want to do.

“This year, some of the children have chosen to lead their schools on projects to tackle loneliness among older people. Another group is helping those who are homeless. One set of Caritas Ambassadors wants to support the people of Ukraine. There’s even a school that has decided to set up a food bank.”

For children growing up today, it’s empowering to discover that their faith can guide them to become leaders of social action in their school. Thank you for supporting initiatives like this. In doing so, you’re helping to build more caring and compassionate communities.

“I loved how we got to work together and have discussions, where we actually listened to each other’s views. I do believe my faith has been strengthened because of the projects we have completed. The programme has made me realise how lucky we are in our current situation. Every time we did a Caritas lesson, I felt that I walked out a better person, filled with more faith in God and knowledge.”

Isabel - Year 6

Answering the call to serve our neighbours…

Parishes and charities across the Diocese depend on the kindness and dedication of people who give up their time to serve as volunteers. Thanks to your generosity, Caritas Volunteer Service is here to enable organisations in need of support and individuals seeking to give back, to find each other.

“For many people, volunteering is a way of living their faith and putting love in action,” says Elke, Caritas Volunteer Coordinator. “No parish, no charity, no project could run without volunteers.”

Launched in 2016, today there are over 2,000 registered users. The Caritas Volunteer Service enables parishes and charities to promote volunteering opportunities free of charge. Anyone who has time to spare can go to the website to discover a whole range of ways to volunteer.

Caritas Ambassadors programme

“It’s wonderful. The children are so ambitious.”

Sister Silvana, Development Worker, Caritas Westminster

With your kind help, the next generation is taking active steps to help create a better and more caring society

Caritas Volunteer Service

Pupils at St Michael & St Martin School, Hounslow, meet Nigel

Nigel visiting children at St John XXIII, White City.

social action in the Diocese

Caritas Signs of Hope You’re helping to provide counselling for Deaf people

For decades, the Diocese of Westminster has endeavoured to be a welcoming home for the Deaf community, offering a safe place to meet, worship and communicate. With your support, we also run the Deaf counselling service, Signs of Hope.

“I couldn’t be happier with the whole experience of volunteering,” Renata says. “It has helped me to learn a lot, working in a joyful atmosphere while helping people from my community. The experience has helped me get a permanent job.”

“The Deaf counselling service has been running for 21 years,” explains Nikki Dhillon Keane. “When we set it up, there weren’t many options for Deaf people. Today, there’s a much better understanding of what support is needed. More Deaf people are qualifying as counsellors, but access continues to be a problem.”

Many Deaf people seek help for familiar reasons, including anxiety, depression, bereavement and suicidal feelings. However, there are often other underlying issues. The vast majority of Deaf people are born into hearing families, outside the Deaf community, and communication deprivation can cause trauma.

Those who turn to Caritas Signs of Hope can have confidence that they will find understanding and support, which may be urgently needed.

Pat works for a charity called Advice for Renters that has used the Caritas Volunteer Service. “We desperately needed assistance to deal with the additional demands of people struggling financially,” she explains. Renata was looking to gain some work experience. “After checking the website, I decided to apply.” She joined the team at Advice for Renters and spent six months working as a Client Liaison Coordinator.

To read more volunteering stories like these, or to find out how you can get involved, please go to caritasvs.org.uk

“Deaf women are twice as likely to face domestic abuse in their lifetime,” says Nikki, who continues to work as a Signs of Hope counsellor and counselling coordinator. “There are also higher rates of childhood abuse and mental health diagnoses.”

At any one time, we may have up to 20 Deaf people using the counselling service, which is entirely funded by Caritas. Thank you for ensuring Deaf people have a place to turn. To find out how more, visit https://www.caritaswestminster.org.uk/ deaf-service.php

Hounslow, meet Nigel

Renata

Pat

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“For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I am where God wants me to be.”

In the last two Mosaic magazines, Revd Daniel Daley spoke about his life as a seminarian at Allen Hall and his ministerial life as a deacon at St Anthony of Padua, Edgware. Today, as he begins his priestly ministry, Fr Daniel talks about the journey which has ultimately led to his ordination this year and new beginnings.

On Saturday 25 June 2022, Cardinal Vincent Nichols ordained four men to the priesthood in Westminster Cathedral. One of these men was Reverend Daniel Daley. For those of you who may recognise his name, Fr Daniel first featured in Mosaic in 2021, when he spoke about his vocation and call to priesthood.

When Fr Daniel was 18 years old, he considered becoming a priest. He’d been brought up a Catholic, having attended Catholic schools and college and was heavily involved in his parish, St George’s, Sudbury, where he had been an altar server. His discernment wavered and he opted for university instead, securing a degree and becoming a banker. He enjoyed his work and playing football, but despite it all he still felt something was missing. Turning to a manager at work for advice, and confiding in him the possibility of a call to priesthood, Fr Daniel remembers being shocked by his response. “He told me that, unless I gave it a go, I would never know”. The conversation inspired Fr Daniel to act and explore his calling. He went first to the seminary in Valladolid, Spain and, by 2016, was a first-year seminarian at Allen Hall.

On 12 June 2021, Daniel Daley was ordained a deacon by Bishop Paul McAleenan, with three other seminarians in Westminster Cathedral. It was a significant milestone for him as he continued his journey towards becoming a priest. Following his ordination, he served at St Anthony of Padua, Edgware, to continue his ministerial work.

Over the course of the last year, Fr Daniel has worked alongside Fr Robert Pachuta, parish priest at St Anthony’s, assisting at Masses, weddings and leading the baptism classes for parents. He notes it was a challenge to balance this alongside his studies, but it was valuable preparation for his ordination this year.

Fr Daniel reflects…

“I am extremely grateful for all the wonderful opportunities that have been given to me over the last seven years of formation both in Valladolid and Allen Hall. It is not lost on me that without the generosity of the people of God this would not have been possible. I pray that in my future ministry I will prove worthy of the tremendous support and trust that the people of God have always given to me.”

“For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I am where God wants me to be.”

Fr Daniel Daley and Cardinal Vincent Nichols – Westminster Cathedral

Supporting survivors of domestic abuse

Safe In Faith is an initiative to support people who face domestic abuse

The aim of Safe in Faith is for faith communities to be able to walk alongside survivors in their journey.

Where does a person of faith find support and understanding when they face domestic violence? Who will understand the role their beliefs may play in the decisions they make?

According to the Office for National Statistics, 2.3 million adults aged 16-74 were victims of domestic abuse in the year ending March 2020. This is approximately one in 20 adults. Church leaders have often listened well, offered prayers and directed survivors to secular professional help. Thanks to your support, they will be able to go beyond that and refer them to counsellors who have a faith background.

Safe in Faith, launched at the end of 2021, is a Caritas Westminster project that aims to ensure help is available to people facing domestic abuse through a network of counsellors and psychotherapists who have a faith background.

Survivors of domestic abuse want to receive support from those in their faith community, where they feel their beliefs

are understood, and Safe in Faith provides that mechanism. The long-term goal of Safe in Faith is to create a directory of counsellors and therapists with specialist skills to support women and men of any faith who have suffered from domestic abuse. In addition, a directory of priests, deacons and religious is currently being prepared, so those who have been trained can offer support in the context of the Catholic Church.

Nikki Dhillon Keane, adviser on domestic abuse to the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and leader of the project, said: “It is important that we are taking time to listen to people with lived experience of domestic abuse and are being guided by them. All they want is to be safe and to be understood.”

Safe in Faith has been developed in partnership with the Faith and VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) coalition and with support from the National Board of Catholic Women, Jewish Women’s Aid, the Association of Christian Counsellors, Marriage Care, and the Black Church Domestic Abuse Forum, among others.

All the groups involved share the aim of promoting the safety and dignity of victims of abuse and supporting them within their faith communities, where they can best be helped to recover from trauma and rebuild their lives. With your support, we can continue to work with survivors of domestic abuse, ensuring they find safety, understanding and support through the Church.

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or know someone who is, you can find more information on how to access support at: www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/Contact-us

If you are a counsellor or psychotherapist wishing to join the Safe in Faith network, or you are a parish priest, deacon, religious brother or sister or hold any kind of pastoral role in any faith, and wish to find out about training to support victims of domestic abuse, please contact safeinfaith@ rcdow.org.uk

To find out more about Safe in Faith, go to www. caritaswestminster.org. uk/launch-of-new-safein-faith-counsellingnetwork-1279.php

At the heart of everything we do…

Six key themes of Catholic Social Teaching are:

• Human Dignity

• Community

•

•

•

•

They’re at the heart of all Caritas Westminster’s work including its Caritas Ambassadors programme.

One group of schoolchildren who became Caritas Westminster Ambassadors were inspired to write their own pledge, setting out how they planned to live by the values of the key Catholic Social Teaching themes: a model for others to follow. You can read more about the Ambassadors programme on p4.

God calls us all to put our faith into action and Catholic Social Teaching can act as our guide, showing us how to respond to the social issues of our time

and Participation

Care for Creation

Dignity in Work

Option for the Poor

Solidarity and Peace

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Thank you for your feedback

This Lent, many people were kind enough to share their thoughts. Here is a small selection of them.

“The Mosaic is very informative. I feel that Caritas Westminster is a worthy cause. Thank you”

“I still enjoy receiving the copy of Mosaic sent by post. I am particularly impressed with and delighted to read about the fantastic initiatives, such as the foodbanks, and Bakhita House and the summer school for trafficked women who’ve endured modern slavery to provide a foundation in education as they prepare to move forward into new lives. I also liked to follow the profiles of the two Deacons as they became priests – this is our hope for the future too. Thanks to all for the hard work on our behalf. PS I am going to pass Mosaic on if I get a chance.”

“I enjoyed reading Mosaic to see how our donations are being spent and what good work you are doing with it. I especially enjoyed reading about Caritas Bakhita House and about Revd Daniel Daley and Father William Johnstone. Caritas Westminster Celebrating 10 years and the safeguarding feature were also interesting to read. Thank you for sending Mosaic.”

Once you’ve finished reading Mosaic, we’d love to hear back from you. On the back of the form enclosed, you’ll see there’s a space to share your thoughts, and we’d love to hear what you’d like to see on the pages of future editions. Please take a moment to let us know.

Inspired by the account of the baptism of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, Christian art often features a dove to represent the Holy Spirit. Dating from 2003, this mosaic by Christopher Hobbs is situated above the mosaic of the Holy Family in the Chapel of St Joseph, Westminster Cathedral. Does your parish have a beautiful mosaic we could feature in a future issue? If so, please let us know using the enclosed reply form.

Each copy of Mosaic costs around 6p to print and helps us to raise even more precious donations. Donors often tell us they appreciate hearing how we have used the gifts entrusted to us, and we are conscious of our duty to be wise stewards of the funds you donate. When you have finished reading, please put Mosaic into the recycling or pass it on to someone else.

Vaughan House, 46 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QN Telephone: 020 7798 9025 Email: supportercare@rcdow.org.uk

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Registered Charity Number 233699 Photos: © Diocese of Westminster, © Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk

“I love contributing to foodbanks, but now find tins, bottles, etc. too heavy. Therefore, I am thankful to be able to do it the easy way by gift of money for anywhere you most need it.”

“Pleased that you are supporting trafficked women and foodbanks.”