Archdiocese of Birmingham newsletter 13th July 2023
| I was in Prison and You Visited Me |
 This Saturday, 15 July – Pact Roadshow: I was in Prison and You Visited Me Pact, Prison Advice and Care Trust, is the national Catholic charity which supports prisoners and their families. We are working in 11 prisons in the Archdiocese of Birmingham and in the community. Pact warmly invites you to our Roadshow on Saturday morning in the Grimshaw Room next to St Chad’s Cathedral. The event will be opened by Archbishop Bernard Longley. Pact’s Head of West Midlands Services, Tina Pritchard, is looking forward to telling you all about our local work. There are more than 85,000 men and women in prison today in England & Wales – a number that is growing. We estimate that there are around 97,000 children who will go to bed tonight without their mum or dad because they are in prison. The experience for children of having mum or dad in prison is more common than divorce. There will certainly be people in our parish communities, neighbourhoods and schools who have a loved one in prison. It is very likely that they will not speak about it to others because of the stigma and so they may be serving this ‘hidden sentence’ in isolation, and perhaps suffering hardship too. How can we help? What is helpful? And sometimes people ask: Why should we help people in prison who have done terrible things? In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis says, ‘a community can be rebuilt by men and women who identify with the vulnerability of others, who reject the creation of a society of exclusion, and act instead as neighbours, lifting up and rehabilitating the fallen for the sake of the common good.’ Many people in prison are living with mental ill-health. Ethnic minority communities are over-represented in prison, as are people who have been in care and other vulnerable groups of our brothers and sisters. Pact’s CEO Andy Keen-Downs met Pope Francis recently. He asked the Pope to bless an image of Mary Untier of Knots, on behalf of everyone in prison in England & Wales (pictured). Come along to our Roadshow. We’ll talk about how we can all help, and why. Andy Keen-Downs will be there too – with the image blessed by Pope Francis so you can have a closer look. Make a Donation to help us continue supporting prisoners and their families. Keep in touch by signing up to receive our quarterly Fresh Start magazine. Pact Roadshow |
 Synod appointments announced The Revd Dr Jan Nowotnik, a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham working at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has been nominated by the Holy Father as an adviser at the Synod this October. Fr Jan has recently completed his doctorate in synodality and the local Church. He has been appointed a non-bishop member of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will convene from 4-29 October in Rome. This is the first of two Synodal gatherings – the second will take place in 2024. The overall theme is For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission. More on Fr Jan’s appointment |
 Installation of Bishop Stephen Wright in Hexham & Newcastle Bishop Stephen Wright will be installed as the Fifteenth Bishop of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle on Wednesday 19 July at 1pm. The Mass will be live streamed from St Mary’s Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne. His Holiness Pope Francis made the appointment on June 14. Let us keep Bishop Stephen in our prayers as he takes on his new appointment. Watch live stream |
 Friday 14 July from 7pm. Mission Unleashed: embracing the power of social action and evangelisation. Cardinal Tagle is a Pro-Prefect for the Dicastery for Evangelisation and served as International President of the Catholic Church’s social action network, Caritas. He will share his reflections and take questions. Mission Unleashed |
 Online Open Day for Maryvale Institute’s BDiv and Licence Programmes The Bachelor of Divinity (BDiv) and Licence Programmes at Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Sciences (HIRS) will be running from January, allowing us to begin recruiting new students immediately.The Maryvale HIRS is the only ecclesial institute of this kind in the English-speaking world. It operates both the B.Div and Licence Programmes. The Ecclesiastical BDiv is a five-year part-time, collaborative-learning degree programme in Catholic theology providing a comprehensive exposition and analysis of Christian doctrine based on the study of the sacred Scriptures, the works of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the documents of the Magisterium. The Licence in Divinity: Pathway in Catechetical Sciences is another qualification of the Holy See, distinct from an STL, It is a three-year, part-time, programme aimed at those in leadership positions in catechetics and in other positions of responsibility. Maryvale Institute is running an online Open Day for both programmes on Friday 21 July at 6pm. Contact [email protected] for a link. BDiv and Licence Open Day |
 Online Fostering Information Session Wednesday 19 July, 7pm. Join the New Routes Fostering team for a free, online session to learn more about fostering. Whether you are in the early days of learning about fostering or you just need some final questions answered the experts from New Routes Fostering will be available to answer your questions. More information and register |
 Online mini-retreat – Healing and Evangelisation Invitation from ADoRE (Alton Day of Renewal). Saturday 22 July, 10am to 1pm. The guest speaker is Marcin Stetner of the Cor et Lumen Christi Charismatic Community. Marcin is a gifted preacher and God uses him powerfully in healing. He will focus on showing why healing was such an important element of Christ’s mission, and is so effective in our own efforts to evangelise. Book mini-retreat |
 This Summer: Catholic Charismatic Conference 14-18 August at the Bromsgrove Hotel and Spa, Birmingham Road, B61 0JB. Carrying the theme: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, (John 14:6) and the truth will set you free, (John 8:32). Tickets are now on sale for the Birmingham Catholic Charismatic Renewal Conference. The event includes daily Mass, praise and worship, healing and reconciliation; speakers include Sr Roseann Reddy from the Sisters of the Gospel of Life and the Catholic Lay Evangelist, Derek Williams. Find out more and book |
 Tickets now on sale! Online seminar with evangelist, speaker and author, Sherry Weddell Tuesday 21 November, hosted by the Diocese of Portsmouth and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Engaging the Disengaged – How to Accompany the Non-Religious Person in Day-to-Day Life. An opportunity to engage with the best-selling writer as she shares her ideas and inspiration on how Catholics can fulfil their mission to bring everyone to Christ. The seminar is particularly relevant to people who are active in evangelisation such as priests, deacons, religious, catechists, teachers, pastoral ministers and parishioners. Book tickets for Sherry Weddell seminar |
 Online Monthly Maintenance Surgery, Thursday 27 July Visual inspection – decoration, tiles, peeling paint With hopefully glorious weather in July where better to be than outside. This is a great opportunity to undertake a visual inspection of your buildings. This session will look at how you can use the QI to aid your inspections, what to look for and useful equipment that will aid in the surveying of your parish buildings. This month’s online surgery is on Thursday 27 July at 2pm.To sign up to the surgeries please email [email protected] As always, Tom and Tarnia from the Diocesan Property Team are on hand to help. Just email them at: Tom – [email protected] Tarnia – [email protected] For a full list of the maintenance surgery topics this year please visit the Diocesan website: Property Resources |
 ‘His Mercy is from Age to Age’: World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly 2023 Sunday 23 July. Pope Francis has made the full text of his message available on the theme ‘His Mercy is from Age to Age’ (Luke 1:50). The message has been added to a suite of resources prepared by the Catholic Grandparents’ Association for the day, plus some extra resources created for you by the Archdiocesan Office for Mission. These include banners for display in churches, social media and website visuals, prayers and liturgical resources and a newsletter insert. They also make some suggestions of events like Planting a Tree in memory of the lives of grandparents and elders in your parish; preparing a Book of Remembrance for those grandparents and elders who have passed away. Third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly |
 Their Journey Our Legacy: A Celebration of the Windrush 75 Generation The West Indian Chaplaincy in Birmingham will be holding an evening of ‘Edutainment’ on Saturday 29 July at St Francis’ Parish Centre in Handsworth. We aim to showcase Caribbean culture, heritage and talent in various forms of Edutainment, fashion, bright and vibrant cultural clothing accompanied by various genres of music and dance. Dr Tony Talburt, Senior Lecturer in Black Studies at Birmingham City University will be the keynote speaker. Plus speakers on: the history of music contributions (reggae, steel pan playing); contributions to the NHS and UK armed forces; stories of local people. The event is free. Windrush 75 Celebration |
 Harvington’s Pilgrimage celebrates 100 years since Hall’s rescue from oblivion Sunday 3 September from 1.45pm.We give thanks for the lives of all of the martyr saints, those recognised on earth as saints of the Church and those known only to God. Every September hundreds of pilgrims gather in the beautiful grounds of Harvington Hall, Worcestershire, for the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of the English Martyrs. This year is extra special as it marks the centenary of Harvington’s rescue from ruin by Ellen Ferris, who gifted the Hall to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. The moated property, which was gifted to the Archdiocese in 1923, has the greatest number of priest hides of any house in the country. Master builder St Nicholas Owen, believed to have been the creator of four of them, is remembered during the Archdiocese’s annual pilgrimage to commemorate the English Martyrs at Harvington Hall. To mark this milestone in our history we are pleased to announce that His Grace, Archbishop Bernard Longley will be the principal celebrant of this year’s Pilgrimage Mass. We hope you can join us to support this act of devotion to the Martyrs of the Midlands. Harvington Pilgrimage |
| Dates for your diary: the month ahead Thurs 13 July: ‘An Evening with the Ambassador’ Thurs 13 – Sat 15 July: Triduum Retreat to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Fri 14 July: Online event with Cardinal Tagle Sat 15 July: Pact Roadshow comes to the Archdiocese Wed 19 July: Divine Renovation: How to Build a Parish of Apostolic Disciples Wed 19 July: Online Fostering Information Session Fri 21 July: Online Open Day for Maryvale courses Sat 22 July: Online mini-retreat on healing and evangelisation Sun 23 July: 3rd World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly Wed 26 – Sat 29 July: Society of Saint Gregory Summer School Sat 29 July: Celebration of the Windrush 75 Generation Mon 31 July: New Dawn in the Church, Walsingham Tue 1 – Sun 6 August: World Youth Day – Lisbon Thurs 3 August: Free organ recital with Paul Carr – St Chad’s Cathedral Thurs 10 August: Free organ recital with Andrew Wyatt – St Chad’s Cathedral Sun 13 – Thurs 17 August: KYT host Summer Camp |
| More Events |
 Supporting your parish You have asked us how you can continue giving to your parish. Parishes still greatly need your support. We do though recognise that many parishioners may be struggling financially, and there is no expectation to give where you are unable to do so. You can donate via standing order or single donation. Support your Parish |
 Please follow us online If you are on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram please follow the Archdiocese of Birmingham online. Our accounts are being used more than ever before to share news, events and information.Twitter/ Facebook/ Instagram/ Web/YouTube |