Parliament Visit

The Storming of Parliament... 

On Wednesday 13th June 2018, a party of 13 spent the afternoon at Parliament visiting the House of Commons, Mass in the Chapel of the Palace of Westminster, and a tour of various parts where we were allowed access to. Now firstly, I need to point out that photography was not allowed except for inside Westminster Hall and therefore the shots we have are limited but it was a fantastic and exciting afternoon.

Our group, who consisted of our own members, wives, and one schoolboy (who had permission to represent his school), were joined by our Chaplain Father Jeff, and we allowed to witness daily life in Parliament and experience some of what was happening that day.

We were given a tour of Westminster Hall with its history and saw the plaque on the floor marking the place where Saint Thomas More was condemned to death.

We stood in the central lobby between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, saw a bound message being walked from the House of Lords to the House of Commons under instruction of the police guards to keep clear, and we were also allowed to go onto the balcony to view and listen to a debate taking place in the Commons which was quite vocal and heated, and it was good to see the Speaker of the House taking issue with the tone and the aggressiveness of comments exchanged between two opposing MPs at the time.

Once a week at 6pm there is a Catholic Mass, and we were invited to attend this by Sir David Amess MP. The Chapel of Saint Mary Undercroft, which was a beautiful setting to celebrate Mass, was formerly for the Royal household, and it was special that we were able to be there for such an occasion and on the Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua.

After Mass, Canon Pat Browne and Sir David gave us an explanation about certain features in and around the Chapel, including the cupboard just outside the Chapel where a suffragette Emily Wilding Davidson hid herself overnight and later threw herself in front of the Kings horse at the Derby. Here is a link with more information about this:-

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/case-studies-women-parliament/ewd/tony-benn-plaque/

We continued the tour which included the terrace and on leaving joined the tube station straight from site without having to go out onto the streets. A quick getaway one could say!

BCCS and CAFOD Walk

Sharing the Journey for the BCCS and CAFOD

Our 2018 annual sponsored walk took place on Saturday June 2nd and as in previous years, involved walking from Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Helen in Westcliff-on-Sea to the parish of Saint George and the English Martyrs via the seafront and along the sea wall. The promotion of this walk did not involve online videos or short pulpit appeals as in previous years and we just kept to newsletter entries within the parishes of the Borough of Southend and through word of mouth within the Knights community also.

The number of walkers was up on last year, and we had new people join us with at least one person each from the Catholic parishes in Southend with us this time around including four children. We also had Martin from Wickford (Rayleigh Council 456) with us, and were due to have John and his wife Hilary from Stratford Council 426 as they had joined us many times in years passed but unfortunately they had to pull out just a couple of days before.

This was our fundraiser for the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS) and is our chance to help our local Diocesan charity to continue their work especially considering that they do not receive any direct funding from the Diocese and rely on the support through voluntary donations. This year however, we were able to incorporate the CAFOD 'Share the Journey' campaign within the structure of the day as 'Share the Journey' did not involve fundraising because it is a walking campaign to raise awareness and to gain participation.

We gathered for Mass at 10am which included our drivers to offer lifts back to the start once the walk had concluded, and after Mass, we set about distributing the CAFOD action cards which included information about the campaign and had our opening prayer to start the walk with. We were also privileged to carry a Lampedusa Cross with us for the walk and its significance was pointed out to each walker before we left. The Cross we carried was made from wood from refugee boats that had sunk off of the shores of the island of Lampedusa so its presence with us while we walked was very real.

We then set off on our five mile walk down past the cliffs and onto the esplanade following the sea wall eastwards towards the parish of Saint George and on arrival in the hall were greeted with smiles and refreshments and Father Brett who was there to greet us as we came through the doors. 

Certificates of achievement from the BCCS were handed out to all walkers, and signed action cards were collected which will go to our Prime Minister asking her to work with other world leaders to ensure favourable agreements for migration and refugees.

We finished with the closing prayer from the card, and those that were still present gathered for a group photo before the available lifts back were mobilised to get everyone back safely.

And in case you were wondering, the first person to finish the walk did not have to do a lap of honour!

Walk for BCCS & CAFOD

St Helens to St George's Sponsored Walk for the BCCS and CAFOD 'Share the Journey'

For the past few years we have run a parish walk for the Brentwood Catholic Children's Society (BCCS) to raise funds to support their work and this year we are hosting this again but with a twist.

To find out more about the very important work that the BCCS provide to children and young adults within Essex and East London please visit their website at http://www.bccs.org.uk/

The walk itself is the fundraiser and a chance for our two parishes to join together along what is normally a pleasant seafront walk with Father Joseph until we finish with tea and biscuits and a chance to chat at the end.

This takes place on Saturday 2nd June.

The 'twist' this year is that CAFOD have a campaign called 'Share the Journey' where they are asking parishes and people to walk for the campaign, to record the miles walked collectively, and with the miles logged, sign a petition card that CAFOD can then take and present to our Prime Minister calling for agreements to be made at the United Nations for refugees and migration. For full details of the campaign visit cafod.org.uk/Campaign/Share-the-Journey for more information.

The details

Firstly, those that can will gather at the parish of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Helen in Milton Road Westcliff-on-Sea when Mass will be celebrated at 10am. After Mass we will gather in the car park by the church entrance and with Father Joseph we will make our way to the seafront visit the Cliffs leaving at around 10.45am.

We will then walk along the sea wall, past Southend pier, and continue until we reach Ness Road where we will leave the seafront and walk the short remaining distance until we reach the parish hall at the parish of Saint George and the English Martyrs in Shoeburyness There will be refreshements available in the hall (tea, biscuits etc). The walk is just under five and a half miles from start to finish and we normally start arriving in the hall after midday.

If you are thinking of walking with us then please contact us for a registration form and a sponsor form. Registration is free and any sponsorship you raise will go to the BCCS. Julie from the BCCS will be in the hall at the end of the walk to greet people and to give out certificates to walkers and if you wanted to pass money raise over that point then you are welcome to do so. Please dress appropriately for the walk and the weather conditions and please bring water for the journey.

The CAFOD cards will be handed out for walkers to sign in the hall at the end and will then be collected up and passed to CAFOD directly.

2018 An Update

2018 - What have we been up to from January to April?

We have been busy for the first half of the year so far with lots of work taking place within our parishes in a low key but essential way none the less. It is difficult to document everything, especially when you are in the thick the action but below is a taste of the main points of action.

It all began on January 1st with our 90th anniversary of existence working in Southend. We welcomed the New Year in with Mass at the parish of Saint Peter with our Chaplain Father Jeff, and then gathered for coffee and cake in the hall for a good catch up to discuss who had had the Australian flu that Christmas.

The following Saturday evening we officially celebrated our 90th with a small party with friends, widows and fellow Knights from across Essex and it was a chance to raise a glass to all those who we have followed and are no longer with us.

Towards the end of January, Southend 192 ran a Race Night for the whole of Province and the Knights around Essex to get together for a fun evening and to raise funds to support the training of seminarians in our Diocese. Apparently some of the horses are still running!

Provincial Race Night

February had us back at Sacred Heart cooking early morning breakfast for around 50 paying guests who had gathered to hear our Chairman and Grand Knight Liam give a talk about his work as a script writer, and the people and films he had worked upon. A fascinating insight in his great career and an inspiration to those looking to follow their dreams and aspirations. The profit for this morning effort went towards the Sacred Heart Maintenance fund as a new industrial boiler is not a cheap commodity these days.

Later that day we were involved in gathering a crowd after evening Mass at Holy Family Benfleet to give people a chance for parishioners to talk to each other after Mass, and #fairtrade refreshments were available with a great spread of food. The profit from that went to the parish working fund.

Coffee evening at Holy Family, Benfleet

The SPUC White Flower Appeal was then delivered the following weekend in the two parishes of Holy Family, Benfleet with Saint Thomas More, and Saint Peter in Eastwood with the appeal across all Masses that weekend with what is a very emotional concern.

March brought more snow so our Saint Patrick's Night social was postponed until early April to prevent any accidents but our rescheduled Irish Night social was a great success with Irish food, Irish dancers entertaining us, and a good sing song to boot. Our MP Sir David Amess came along and gave us a fantastic speech towards the end of the evening which made everyone feel valued.

In March, we also organised the Provincial Quiz which was hotly contested by different groups of Knights, a parish team, and teams of wives too. After evening Mass in Hutton, contestants sat down to homemade soup and roll, before battling it out to see who had the best collective minds with Chingford narrowly beating all to have the privilege of representing our Province at the Knights national quiz final in the Autumn.

We supported the work of SPUC in the parishes towards the end of April, and we also helped with the organising of the #RosaryontheCoast that took place by the Crowstone on Chalkwell beach. We had parishioners from across the deanery and beyond in attendance with five parish priests leading proceedings and we were on hand to marshall the day by handing out programmes, keeping the public promenade clear and to help those who were infirm to be a part of the afternoon. And we prayed.

So we have had a few things to do with lots more taking place in the coming months. Yes we are a workhorse in the parishes, but we do balance our collective efforts with time for God, with Mass, as well as logistical support with bodies on the ground to make an event happen and to fundraise.

Live Simply Award

Our Live Simply Journey

Some of our group and our families gathered together with our LiveSimply plaque

In February 2016, The Knights of Saint Columba Council of Southend-on-Sea applied and registered for the CAFOD Live Simply award. The Live Simply award is an opportunity for Catholic communities - parishes, schools, religious orders and chaplaincies - to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation in Laudato Si' to “work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us”.

Our members and families met to discuss our approach, and we prepared a detailed action plan which was accepted with some of the actions we had agreed upon already being successfully carried out, and these we looked at adapting and evolving, whereas several other actions were brand new to our way of thinking.

We looked towards a simple approach to show our efforts to live in solidarity with people in poverty, to live sustainably with creation, and to live simply and it had to be a plan we could build to and then keep to for the long term. We also concentrated on increasing our faith, by attending Mass as often as possible, and praying. These are all things we should be doing as anyway, but it does help to bring issues to the forefront so that no one gets stuck in autopilot as we support our clergy and the Catholic church as well as the communities we work within.

Working within six parishes of eight churches, we set about fifteen sets of activities; some spiritual, some practical, some reaching out to the wider community, and often a mix of all these approaches, and with the support of Chris at CAFOD Brentwood, we were able to achieve our status as a Live Simply group in January 2018. Activity produces exposure and we are called to be Knights in action. As a Council we have brought in 14 new members in the last few years off the back of being seen in the parishes doing work such as the work we agreed for this Live Simply award. It hasn't been easy but is has been necessary for us to grow and remain relevant.

We have been able to work with other communities in our area such as the Southend Older People's Assembly, and several Anglican parishes, and we have been able to share good practice, help to publicise the good work that is being done locally by others, offer links to groups previously not known, and develop friendships that have allowed different charities and groups to network and help each other as a result. We have worked for the homeless, the poor, the sick and lonely, we have prayed, we have recycled, and we have become supporters of fairtrade.

This award has given us focus and purpose, helped us to put others first, and allowed us to grow as a group and as individuals and families, and in reality, we have only followed the teachings of the church and responded to the Gospel that we hear every time we attend Mass. Last summer we held a retreat to Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight to focus on the Gospel of John, and while there we witnessed first hand how a community can achieve all the things we hoped to achieve through our award. There have been some dark days, but the journey so far has brought an abundant harvest and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us throughout.