Rite of Acceptance (April 21st 2024)

Each year, Bishop Alan invites all the young people that will be confirmed at Pentecost by their Parish priests to Brentwood Cathedral for a Rite of Acceptance Service with him.    It was a wonderful service with music by St Anthony’s Choir from Forest Gate and testimonies from two young members of the BCYS.  Bishop Alan also spoke about the boldness, enthusiasm, and courage in our youth today.  The group particularly liked each receiving a personal handshake from the Bishop!

There were over 500 young people from around the diocese and Jimmy represented our Parish in a special candle circle with others from the diocese.  We will be placing this candle on the altar at the Pentecost Vigil. 

Coming up this year, the BCYS has a number of events for both Catechists and Young People, including:

• Lourdes Pilgrimage from the 20^th – 27^th July (where a few last-minute places have become available!)
• Walsingham House Anniversary Mass on 31^st August
• Youth Gather from 26^th – 27^th October
• Catechist Training & Resources Day on 9^th November
• Flame at Wembley Arena on the 15^th March 2025.

 Details of all of these can be found on the BCYS website www.bcys.net/events

Supporting the Redbridge Food Bank (24th March 2024)

24th March 2024
Each year the St Anne Line Confirmation Group volunteers at the Redbridge Food Bank as part of its programme to support the community. In February this year, the group attended the Food Bank in Ilford and the group enjoyed learning about the type of clients that visit the centre as well as picking up a few new skills preparing food and household packs which would form part of the boxes handed out to clients.
On this visit, it was quickly apparent that there was not as much to do on the food donation side; dating and sorting the food into batches. The cost-of-living crisis and the increased need in the community has meant the number of clients has soared, but at the same time actual food donations have fallen dramatically. The centre is now dipping into financial donations to buy basic staples to provide for the community.
It was agreed that the St Anne Line Youth SVP group, representing the young people of the Parish aged between 11 & 18, would look at supporting the Food Bank with a Lenten appeal. This culminated in a Coffee morning and Cake sale on Palm Sunday.
The event was very well attended and raised just over £400 from donations, sales of cake and an Easter egg raffle. In addition, 12 bags of shopping have so far been collected up to take to the Ilford centre before the long weekend. A final collection will be made after Easter.
A great effort by the youth group and hopefully one that we can look to do again.

Supporting the Redbridge Food Bank (2023)

20/3/23

Recently I along with the Parish’s other confirmands visited the local food bank where we helped support the volunteers in sorting and storing donated items. The first thing most of us realised was the organisation displayed, the volunteers had organized all the food into dated crates and there was a streamline process of the intake of donations. When we entered, we were greeted warmly by the staff and were promptly set up with tasks namely sorting out salt and tea bags into smaller containers to be either handed out or to be stored for later.

Whilst there, we learned how important it was to date the items as it was explained to us about how the warehouse stores food that has best before dates that are years into the future and that they needed to ensure all produce that they hand out had not expired. We also had it explained to us who visits this food bank and learnt that the people there were people referred by someone as they had fallen on harder times not just homeless people as many of us had assumed. So although the food bank had subverted our expectations it was all around an interesting experience that opened our eyes to work that these centres do and allowed us to lend a hand to help our local community.

-Lara 20/3/23