|
UK Claretian Mission Updated: Saturday 2 October 2005 |
 |
|
| INDEX
|
A big thank you to all of you who have returned your mission boxes. Mission Belize boxes can still be brought in next week. We will be making another shipment of school equipment to Belize in the next month. If you can help with packing and loading, please let Paul Fenney know. The Left hand drive car, paid for by the coast to coast walk has now been purchased. It will be collected from Spain in a few weeks to be shipped to Belize. See the photos as you leave Church today!! |
|
The current total for the Kimbolton Cycle Ride 2005 is £6,821.55. The Draw for the Bicycles took place on the last day of term. The entire event was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. Sunday 25 June 2006 has already been penciled in for next year's Cycle Ride! Coupled with a non-uniform day earlier this year, this brings the total from Kimbolton to around £8,000. That makes for a lot of very happy children in Belize. The Coast to Coast Walk completed recently by Elizabeth and Paul Fenney has raised £3,693.60 to date. Our intrepid missionary(!), Rebecca Fenney who, you may recall, has spent some months working in Africa in the past, will on Tuesday 1 March, leave for Belize to spend some months helping Fr. Chris and Fr. Dominic. With her past experience, her fluency in languages and her enterprising spirit, she will undoubtedly be a real asset to the mission. Our love, our gratitude and our prayers go with her, and may the mosquitoes be kind to her!. The "Breslin Boys" run in the St Neot's half-marathon on 14 November 2004 for Belize was a successful, if somewhat painful, experience! Many thanks to all those sponsors who have helped raise nearly £800. DONATIONS IN MEMORY OF BROTHER DENIS CASEY CMF Very
many people availed of the opportunity to contribute to the cause so
dear to Brother Denis's heart - Belize Mission - and to date the sum
of £2201.80 has been donated. He
would be extremely gratified. MISSION
BOXES FIRST SHIPMENT OF GOODS TO BELIZE Our first shipment of goods to Belize left Portsmouth on Thursday, 7th, courtesy of Fyffes and should arrive in Belize on Monday, 18th. A large truck was used to convey an assortment of tables, chairs, desks, books, stationery, etc which will be invaluable for some of the schools in the parish. Sincere thanks to all who worked very hard (physically) to get this first consignment under way. We trust it will be the first of many. KIMBOLTON CHARITY CYCLE CHALLENGE The 2004 Kimbolton Charity Cycle Challenge will be held on 27 June 2004. Following last year's very successful Charity Cycle challenge, which took place on September 21st with 25 riders, we are going to stage a second edition on Sunday June 27th. This year we are looking for 100 riders to participate in rides of varying lengths, including 5-10 miles (traffic-free and suitable for families with young children), 25, 50 and 100 miles (on a traffic-friendly route around Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire). All proceeds will go directly to the Children in Belize. The rides will be fully supported by a strong back-up team of helpers. Route maps and notes will be provided for all riders, there will be checkpoints and feeding stations en route, a breakdown service for those who experience difficulty, and a certificate of completion will be awarded to all those who complete one of the rides. Click here for further details. SPONSORED WALK/SAIL ROUND GRAFHAM WATER Thank you to all Participants in and Sponsors of the 10 mile amble round Grafham Water and the Sail Around Grafham which took place on Saturday 4 October 2003. All monies raised will donated to the Aid to Children in Belize Campaign. SPONSORED CYCLE/WALKING PILGRIMAGE IN AID OF CLARETIAN MISSIONARY WORK IN BELIZE - RAISES OVER £6,500 Heartfelt thanks to Frank Burns who has successfully completed his 400 mile sponsored cycle Pilgrimage and to the six stalwarts who also successfully completed, in good time, their 40 miles-in-24 hours Lyke Wake Walk across the Yorkshire Moors by night. Equal thanks to the planning and back-up group whose organisation was faultless. No less thanks, of course, to all who sponsored them bringing the total, to date, to approximately £6500. Two further sponsored events are to be included in this project, a cycle ride by the teaching staff of Kimbolton School and a ten-mile walk by the Great Ouse, of which more later. How the children in Belize will benefit! For a report on the ride/walk, please click here. For details of the fund raising group's other activities, please click here. The pilgrimage served to raise funds for the 12 schools in Belize, under the care and management of the Claretian Mission. In other words, the object of the ride/walk was to help the children in Belize by raising funds to help finance vitally needed resources. Several of the schools are housed in very cramped quarters, sometimes 3-4 classes operating in a single room with just a blackboard and an assortment of primitive desks. Money is badly needed to complete building works, for repairs, furniture, equipment and educational resources. STEVEN BRESLIN AND REBECCA WALTON OFF TO BELIZE Steven Breslin will conclude his gap year by spending 9 weeks in our Parish of Dangriga in Belize. He leaves on Monday 7 July and will be joined by Rebecca Walton, who is just beginning her gap year and whose family are long-time friends of the Claretians. We are most grateful for their time and undoubted abilities in helping the young people of Dangriga and we assure them of the fullest support of our prayers. We hope that their visit to our newest parish family will be an unforgettable and immensely rewarding experience. A hugh thank you to all who supported the Lenten Smartie Tube Appeal. It raised the splendid sum of £1,082. For further details of how YOU can help the Mission in Belize, please click here. E-MAIL FROM BELIZE - 8 DECEMBER 2002 Fr Chris Newman informs us that they are "being kept very busy trying to learn all that is expected of us here in town, in the 15 villages where there is a church and in the 10 villages where there are schools. Also with funerals, some relatively young and some as a result of AIDS. Christmas seems to be a popular time for getting married and so many people are coming to book their weddings. Arranging courses and workshops for the catechists and lay ministers is quite a problem as they have to be arranged according to language, Spanish, Garifuna, Q'eqchi', Mpan, etc. Thank you for your continued support and for your great efforts on Mission Sunday. We are finding out all the needs of the people here in Belize and will be asking for specific needs in the near future. Please continue to keep us in your prayers." The full text of this letter may be found by clicking here. FUND-RAISING UPDATE - 16 NOVEMBER 2002 The response to the Mission Box Appeal has been wonderful. To date, Leyton top the bill with £3,150, Buckden £1,938 plus £296 from the Mission Sunday collection, Gorseinon, £252 with more boxes to come in. Hayes made their "hand back" date the Feast of Christ the King, so they have yet to "declare". We are deeply grateful for such generosity and hope you put your replacement box to good use, especially during Lent! The boxes should be returned at Easter. The
latest letter from the Mission is reproduced on a separate page. Father Chris, Father Dominic and Brother Denis are now settled in Dangriga and have visited most of the 17 villages in their 60 x 30 mile Parish. Many of the villages have unfinished churches. The Church in Belize is very involved in education and the Parish is responsible for managing and maintaining 12 Primary Schools. Father Chris sees a busy and challenging time ahead. Father Chris Newman cmf leaves for Belize on Monday 19 August and he will be followed out there on Thursday 29 August 2002 by Father Dominic McDonagh and Brother Denis Casey. Mission Belize has been in contact with Survive-Miva requesting the provision of a vehicle for use by the Mission in Dangriga. The Charity's response has been very encouraging. Our St Hugh's Parish Family Day last Sunday (7 July 2002) was an outstanding success! Expertly organised by the Mission Belize Committee, it was in every respect a real family celebration. Parishioners from Leyton and Hayes and many friends from far-flung parts of the country mingled and enjoyed a sumptuous barbeque under the expert supervision of "Masterchef" Patrick Molloy. Following a heavy shower, the sun duly appeared at 3.00 pm and remained for a most moving celebration of the Eucharist in the Knot Garden at which Father Chris Newman, Father Dominic McDonagh and Brother Denis Casey were commissioned by Father Chris Cutler and given their Mission Crosses.
Gasps of astonishment greeted the Figures, displayed by the children at the Offertory, of the amount raised by the Smartie tubes - £4,976.55. In fact the final figure for the day was £5,533.77, with various monies still to come - an amazingly generous response. Following he Mass, tea and cakes were served and a large number lingered until late evening chatting and enjoying the warm sunshine. Profound thanks to all who helped organise or support in any way a most memorable family celebration in our parish and a spectacularly successful launch to Mission Belize. A special thank you to all who cleared and washed up! As a further fund raising activity for Belize, Mission Boxes will be distributed after the Masses this weekend and it is hoped that every family will help in this venture with the success which invariably follows when everyone plays their part. These boxes are also being distributed in the other Claretian parishes and will be collected twice yearly, on Mission Sunday (20 October 2002) and at Easter. The initial Mission Team comprised: Fr Chris Newman cmf, Fr. Dominic McDonagh cmf and Brother Denis Casey cmf rip
The Team will leave for Belize in September 2002. |
