SPARK Advent Event at Wibsey, Bradford

On 1st December SPARK supported Lucy from Mary Mother of God parish to lead a meeting with the youth group there about refugees and asylum seekers.
Parish priest, Fr Paul Grogan, commented on Facebook:
“Increasingly, we are drawing in support to vary the formation that we offer to our young people on Friday evenings. Last Friday, our very own Lucy Hollerer – freshly returned from her studies in primary education at Liverpool University – led the group in a discussion on asylum seekers and refugees, linking this to Catholic Social Teaching.”

Kathy Shaw, Outreach and Engagement Manager from the diocesan SPARK Social Justice Project, takes up the story: “Lucy asked the group to think about what ‘home’ meant to them and to imagine if their safety and that sense of community was lost because of war, persecution or natural disaster. Lucy told the group that the Catholic Church teaches us that anyone whose life is threatened has the right to protection, and that all people have the right to live a dignified life in their homeland. She made the link to the story of Christmas where the Holy Family fled from Herod, volunteers in the group read part of the Scripture before agreeing we all want migrants and refugees to be part of our community and live in a place where they can find peace and safety.
A Christmas Quiz taught us all lots about the different customs around the world at this time of year, and everyone enjoyed the craft activity making snowflakes and a paper chain using Happy Christmas in different languages. Fr Paul additionally commented: ”These can be used to decorate the Church, making sure everyone feels welcome and part of the parish community. Thanks Kathy and Lucy for your input. This is state-of-the-art stuff!”