Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

What are Southend 192 doing around this current pandemic?

Are we proactive or reactive to the current challenge in society or are we just a bunch of men who stand around for photos with a lot of pomp and posture?

I like to think we are being both proactive and reactive. We are doing the things that we have always done whilst paying attention to instructions from both our clergy and the government.

Those not as risk or of 'compromised' health have been visiting and helping although as of today this is being discouraged but we are keeping in touch by phone daily with our own members, our own widows, parishioners and parishes to be of help where needed. Being on the end of a phone is vital for our elderly members and just having someone to talk to helps.

However, getting shopping for people is the biggest issue with all aisles empty each visit which is madness.

Our work at the Southend night shelter continues to run to the very end of March and we are very much involved with the regular Wednesday shelter at Sacred Heart plus extra evenings where other teams have needed us to step in.

Finally prayer is the engine behind all we do - it defines us and is something we can all do regardless of our ability to leave our front door or not.

So, we are in the mix, and will continue to be there to help and we all have something to offer. Our meetings and events may be postponed but we are not stopping.

Support for the Southend Foodbank

Our work over Advent for the Southend Foodbank and also our continued support for our Homeless

Firstly, it has been a while since posting on to our blogsite - I can only apologise but as a group we have been extremely busy, and writing up our endeavours into a detailed report is last on my mind at the end of a day especially when there is often another place to be the following day.

Southend-on-Sea 192 looked at a way to boost their help for the Southend foodbank above and beyond the volunteering and donations that currently takes place amongst our team, and an idea for each member to collect an item of food each day in Advent between the 1st and the 17th was adopted with an Advent calendar listing a food item for each day being circulated. 

Our newsletter entry from the parish of St Peter, Eastwood

 We finished on Tuesday 17th because we had our monthly meeting that day and we could then take everything we had collected to the foodbank on the days they are open for drop offs before Christmas week. We also had to avoid Wednesdays where we setup the hall at Sacred Heart, Southchurch for the homeless night shelter which we are involved in running through the winter months. 

It was important for us to remember those who needed this help, so prayer for the recipients of the food as each item was bought was privately said in an effort to provide spiritual and material support on two fronts. 

We made a particular point of not providing baked beans or pasta and we looked to buy items of quality as if we were buying for people coming to visit.

Our very own Chaplain Father Jeff, did the most wonderful thing by promoting the whole idea to his parishioners at the parish of St Peter in Eastwood and the parish was so inundated with support that the total effort culminated in over 40 full bags and boxes dropped off in three loaded cars. In total, 178.322kg of food items; enough to feed 17 families. 

Some of us at our meeting; before we packed and loaded the first car loads

We were made very welcome when we dropped everything off each trip and were given a personal tour of the premises and operation by none other than a Past Provincial Grand Knight of the Province; Brian Dillon who can often be found where help is needed within our borough. Our efforts will continue as they must because both issues are such big problems in our area but we are called to be the light of the world, and therefore we must shine.