Laudato Si Circle

‘Live Simply, Sustainably and in Solidarity’

Check the Calendar for the next meeting of Laudato Si Circle. New members are welcome.

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What is the Laudato Si Circle

Laudato Si Circles are 'small groups that meet regularly to deepen their relationship with God the Creator and all members of creation. Together they pray with and for creation, reflect on the need for ongoing ecological conversion, and take action,'

The parish group is part of this international movement which arose in response to Pope Francis encyclical “Laudato Si” which addresses directly the causes of and the Christian response to the challenges of climate change. It speaks of the earth as our Common Home given to us by God, not to be exploited as we have been doing but to work responsibly and to live in harmony with it. The group was formed in 2020 by Brother David and, for the first 6 months, conducted their meetings via Zoom!. They have met regularly every fortnight since then. Recently, they decided to switch to meetings every 3 weeks instead.

Season of Creation picture - this changes every year

Out of this prayer and reflection we felt that we needed to take action. This led us to look around to find a manageable means of doing this. The CAFOD LiveSimply campaign gave us some practical ways of responding. In essence we were to identify ways in which we could show what we would attempt to do if we were to Live Simply, Sustainably and in Solidarity with Creation. Details of what was involved in this can be found on the parish website page . The CAFOD website also gives details of this Campaign as well as other resources and responses that you might make as an individual. On the parish website, there is also a collection of tips on how to live simply as individuals. This will help us to stop our throwaway culture with food, clothing and unrecyclable materials. It will require some patience to make these changes but the reward will be a more sustainable way of life.

In December 2022 the Parish was given the LiveSimply Award by CAFOD, one of only 70 parishes in England who have so far achieved this award.

How to join our circle

Anyone interested in this group should speak to Brother David at St Timothy’s or with Mike Glover at St Paul’s. If other commitments make this difficult then the Parish Newsletter will keep you informed of the opportunities open to you to be a part of the response to Care for Our Common Home.

The practical elements in our Circle are: Pray, Reflect and Action

Future aspirations

The Laudato Si Circle is delighted by the support given by the parishioners to our various invitations to make a positive response to climate change. Most of our current and future activities will be ongoing and details of them will appear in the Parish newsletter and on this page. We also will look at suggestions for future projects.

One of our current projects is the Rewilding of the field by St Timothy’s (see the picture- what flora & fauna live here?)

We will continue to encourage parishioners to do their best to respond to the call by Pope Francis expressed in Laudato Si encyclical for a personal ecological conversion. We hope this will make us more aware of the impact of our lifestyle on so many developing countries

March 2024

As many parishioners already know, the LSC look after the foodbank collections in St Paul and St Timothy on the 1st Sunday every month. This fulfills their desire of reducing poverty which can be a result of climate change and other factors.

Thank you for your generosity. The monthly foodbank collection is taken to St Vincent de Paul Church Liverpool where it is distributed every Tuesday from 10.30am – 12.30pm to those in need. St Vincents Food Pantry is part of Micah, a social justice charity set up as a partnership between Liverpool Cathedral and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral to relieve Liverpool residents from social injustice and poverty. Micah also has a Food Pantry at St Bride’s Anglican Church on Thursdays from 10.30am – 12.30pm.

For further information search micahliverpool.com

Below are some photos of St Paul’s and St Timothy’s recent Food Collection in St Vincents awaiting sorting and distributing. St Vincent also has a clothes bank (only freshly laundered and ironed clothes please) and serves breakfast and snacks as well.

Food Bank Collections donated by parishioners

June 2023

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon led us in prayer and presented our parishes with the CAFOD LiveSimply Award. Also present were the two CAFOD assessors Susan O’Halloran and Justine Simcock, the local CAFOD co-ordinator Colette Byrne and the MP for West Derby Ian Byrne who is a strong supporter of CAFOD and associated charities including food banks.

There is a set of photos of the evening when the award was given on the Recent Events page. You will have to scroll to near the bottom of the page.

Thank you to those who organised the event in particular the parish Laudato Si group who enabled the parish to achieve the award and has made us so aware of many ecological issues which endanger our planet.

April 2023

We have a date for the presentation of the Live Simply Award by CAFOD . It is on Tuesday May 30th. More details later.

Fix the Food System: Living in Solidarity with the Poor:

Our global food system is broken. The world is facing a food crisis. One tenth of the world goes hungry whilst one third of all the food produced is wasted and giant corporations make huge profits. The way we produce food also damages our planet. Small-scale local farmers have developed seeds that are resilient in a changing climate. Yet laws are being introduced across the world, supported by large global financial institutions such as the World Bank, to prevent farmers using them. Here is an opportunity for us to take action.

Please join in CAFOD’s National Campaign and sign your name to stand in solidarity with Salina, an organic farmer and seed saver from Bangladesh. It is addressed to the World Bank President and will be shared with the World Bank ahead of their annual meeting in October.

Small-scale local farmers have developed seeds that are resilient in a changing climate. She asks that the fundamental rights of small farmers to save, use, exchange and sell their own variety of seeds and put an end to all policies that limit small farmers’ choice over which seeds they can access.

Care for Our Common Home
Easter is a huge, transformational event for the whole of Creation. It isn’t just about a remarkable event that occurred 2000 years ago that proves Jesus was God. It is part of God’s much bigger plan than perhaps most of us realise.
St Paul tells us that “God has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he made in Christ ...that he would bring the whole of creation together in Christ” (Eph 1, 9,10). If we are to work with God’s plan we must seek to live in harmony with God’s creation and stop exploiting it. The call to LiveSimply is our response to God’s will for Creation. Happy Easter from the Parish Laudato Si Circle

Become a Laudato Si' Animator! Our Common Home needs you!

Will you join us in caring for it?

Start by learning alongside our experts and become a leader

in your community.

Our planet will thank you!

Some old monthly reports are available to LS members