Family Groups Gather in Wales to Share their Experiences

The Archdiocese of Cardiff has Family Groups in two of its parishes and these groups form an integral part of parish life. A grant from the bishops' Celebrating Family Fund is now enabling the Family Life Commission to build on this foundation in 2015-16.  Family Life Worker, Joanne White, co-hosted an awareness raising day for Family Groups in Caerphilly on Saturday 21st March where the groups welcomed people from across the Archdiocese and further afield to share their experiences of building and sustaining Family Groups.

Joanne told us, 'It was a very affirming gathering and there was a definite sense of friendship, borne out of a common purpose and experience, which didn't detract from the uniqueness of each group or its parish.  One couple left the gathering hoping to speak to their parish priest about developing Family Groups.  I will offer all the support I can to them and to any other parish in the Archdiocese wishing to explore the concept further.' For more information please contact Joanne White, Family Life Worker. Tel: 02920 365964 email: parenting@rcadc.org

Other news:

• In September 2014 the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was awarded funding through the Celebrating Family Fund to pilot Family Groups in the Diocese and research their impact on parish life. Kat Pond joined the Diocese's Pastoral Team in January 2015 as the Parish Family Groups Project Officer and has visited and introduced the concept to several parishes. The first launches will take place later this year. 
• Members of the Steering Group will help to deliver a workshop with the MFL Project Office's Elizabeth Davies, on developing welcoming, family friendly parish communities at the Proclaim '15 National Evangelisation Initiative on 11th July 2015.

For enquiries to the Steering Group or if your parish has any Family Group news that you would like to share on this blog please contact Hannah Moruzzi.

St Joseph's Parish, Bromley, Joins the Family

Many thanks to John and Penny Cassidy for sharing with us their lovely photo collage of the Family Groups' launch in Bromley last weekend.


We welcome St Joseph's Parish to the family and wish them every happiness on their journey together.  John and Penny (St Mary's Parish, Ipswich) and Glenda Clarke (Our Lady of Victories Parish, Kensington) have been working alongside Fr Tom McHugh and his parish team for the past few months to prepare for the launch.

John told us, "The Family Groups have successfully been launched and in St Joseph's Parish at the moment it’s like the start of the London Marathon (in nearby Greenwich).  Some 55 have already begun their journey, while crowds (yes, literally!) are in the background ready to start.  They just need to be nudged forward and this is already in hand.  The leaders of the nine groups (many more groups predicted) were really positive and will be proactive.  To echo the words of St Paul to his beloved Philippians: “I am sure that God, who began this good work …will carry it on until it is finished.”

For more information about Family Groups in England and Wales and enquiries to the Steering Group please email Hannah Moruzzi at the MFL Project Office

A Christmas Feast Banishes the January Blues for the Rafiki Family Group

Many thanks to Chris and Vince Joyce for sharing the photos of their Family Group's shared Christmas dinner in January!

Chris told us that it was 'an amazing feast' and that the gathering reminded them why they had joined their Family Group in the first place - and stuck with it for the past eight years.


Chris and Vince were recently elected as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Steering Group for Family Groups in England and Wales.


The Steering Group is made up of representatives from nine Family Group parishes and is supported by a Chaplain and regional FAMILIAS (Association for Diocesan Marriage and Family Life Ministry) representatives.

The Steering Group members are all passionate about the gift that Family Groups bring to our parishes and are working together to support and affirm existing Family Groups and to help new Family Groups get off the ground. For more information about Family Groups and for enquiries to the Steering Group please email Hannah Moruzzi at the MFL Project Office.

National Steering Group Convened For Family Groups in England and Wales

Following a period of consultation and two regional meetings with Family Group leaders,  a National Steering Group for Family Groups in England and Wales was convened in October 2014. 

The Steering Group is made up of representatives from 9 of the 11 Family Group parishes in England and Wales, regional diocesan family ministry coordinators, the PFGM's UK development team and a chaplain.  Administration and support of the group is currently carried out by staff at the Bishops' Conference's Marriage and Family Life Project Office.  The Steering Group has agreed three principal objectives for its work:-

• To provide a means of communication between Family Group parishes
• To support and affirm Family Group parishes and their leaders
• To offer a central contact point and a reservoir of energy, experience and support for the development of new Family Group parishes                                                                     

The Steering Group will be meeting in Leeds in January 2015 to discuss the support, resourcing, development and promotion of Family Groups in England and Wales and will assist in the launch of a new Family Group parish pilot in the diocese of Southwark in February 2015. The following parishes are represented on the Steering Group: 

Holy Rosary Parish, Aintree
Our Lady and the Apostles Parish, Stockport
Our Lady of Victories Parish, Kensington
St Bernadette's Parish, Scunthorpe
St Helen's Parish, Caerphilly
St John Vianney Parish, Northwich
St Mary's Parish, Ipswich
St Michael and St Bernadette's Parish, Whitefield
St Philip Evans Parish, Cardiff

For more information about Family Groups in England and Wales and all enquiries to the Steering Group please email Hannah Moruzzi at the MFL Project Office

St Bernadette's Family Groups put on a Truly (Frightful) Delightful Evening for the Parish

Many thanks to Chris, Denise and Lee from St Bernadette's Parish, Scunthorpe, for the following report and pictures of their Family Groups' 'delightful, frightful' parish party in October.

'St. Bernadette's family groups in Scunthorpe have celebrated their most successful event to date - a 'delightful, frightful evening'. Willing hands themed the parish centre with spooky figures, creepy cobwebs and dangling spiders in preparation for an evening of 'frights and delights'.  Chris, our Family Group coordinator, compered a fun evening of games and activities, which were thoroughly enjoyed by our parish family and friends.

Pre-carved pumpkins were lit with tea lights and background 'horror' music was played to create the ambience for the evening, which included apple bobbing,  pin a wart on a monster,  face painting, find the 'critters in jelly', creating pasta skeletons and spooky word searches, whilst enjoying 'mummies' fingers' in rolls, cups of 'poison' and delicious 'monster' buns. 

The highlights of the evening were team games which included 'glow in the dark' skeleton building relays, 'dress a mummy' and 'build a scarecrow' competitions, which were hilarious and enjoyed by both the participants and the audience.  

The evening was brought to a close after the children paraded in their fancy dress outfits and prizes were awarded to the best entrants in the fancy dress and pumpkin lantern competitions.'

If your parish has any Family Group news, details of upcoming events, reports or pictures that you would like to share with other Family Groups on this Blog please contact the MFL Project Office.

St Philip Evans' Family Group Braves Gale Force Gower Winds

We thought you might enjoy the pictures and highlights of a report sent to us by Bernie and Paul Nolan of Cardiff's Gold Family Group's infamous camping trip to the Gower in 2012.  It may be two years ago but the memories are still fresh in their minds!  We hope their recent weekend in York was less blustery.

'We are lucky to have many talented people in the Gold Family Group, including doctors, teachers, a dentist and even a Deacon. What we don’t have is a weather forecaster! The two outdoor events that we have staged so far have coincided with the wildest, wettest, windiest weekends so far this year. The barbecue in April was a washout (although we had a contingency plan and enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon in the Hall instead). Our next adventure was camping at the Hillend Campsite, Llangennith, Gower. Surely the weather would be much nicer come mid June. Wrong! People camping at Hillend last weekend could be put into one of three categories. 1: the very sensible (who had camper vans); 2: the pretty sensible (who used low tents pitched in the lee of their cars) and 3: us! Bernie and I borrowed a tent from our daughter who assured us that it was spacious and waterproof - it was. However, she forgot to tell us that it was so tall it needed a light on the top to warn low flying aircraft - not the best idea when the wind is gusting 60-70 mph.  After a brief fight with the conditions all the tents were erected successfully. Gareth, Val and Steve and Jan were staying in a nearby cottage and the plan was that they would join us for a barbecue. If you’ve never tried lighting a barbecue in a force 10 gale then take a tip from me - don’t bother.  Fortunately we were invited back to the cottage to eat there and thanks to the ladies we all enjoyed a lovely meal then spent a most wonderful evening together. 

At about 1 am we decided to return to our tents, assuming that they were still there. They were - I’m glad that I tied ours to the car! By now I had been out of bed for 20 hours, done a day’s work and then some, had a couple of glasses of wine and about 3 months ration of fresh air. Theoretically my head should have touched the pillow and that would have been that. Wrong! The noise inside the tent had to be heard to be believed, the wind noise was greatly amplified and the sounds coming from the tent itself were very alarming.  At about 5am Bernie and I were still wide awake.  She retired to the car and I tried to soldier on, but at 6.30 realised that the only real solution was a cup of tea.  I went to the car to get the tea making stuff and discovered that Neil had had the same idea.  As the other campers rose it became apparent that the only one to sleep successfully was baby Izzy - 4 months old and totally unfazed by the whole experience! 

Nobody fancied staying another night, so we packed up and returned to the cottage where we all enjoyed a Gower breakfast (a a full English with cockles and laverbread.) We listened to the rugby then decided to head for Rhossili where the winning entries in this year’s photographic competition were taken. Afterwards we descended on a local tea room where we all enjoyed various Lattes, Cappuccino’s and hot chocolates. Yana and Neil, Roy, Jess and Izzy and Bernie and myself agreed that we had had enough fun for one weekend and left for home (and the others, I believe, returned to the cottage).  And so the $64,000 question. Would we do it again?  Personally I can’t wait!'

If your parish has any Family Groups news, details of upcoming events, reports or pictures that you would like to share with other Family Groups on this Blog please contact the MFL Project Office.

       

Happy Second Birthday to the Family Groups in St Mary's Ipswich!

Congratulations to the Family Groups in St Mary's Parish, Ipswich who have just celebrated their second birthday!  And many thanks to John Cassidy for sending us the following report and pictures of their party:- 

"Not even a cold, foggy, wet November Saturday could dampen the spirits of the huge crowd (from 88 year old Horace to a quartet of one year old's)  that flocked to St Mary's, Ipswich.  They had come to celebrate the second birthday of our Family Groups.  All arrived clutching a plate of food (sweet or savoury) resulting in a wonderful array of deliciously different dishes from more than a dozen nations of the World.  Fr John Warrington, our Parish Priest, in his prelude to the opening prayer, expressed his joy at the growth of Family Groups in our Parish.  With great delight, and surrounded by excited children, he cut the cake and our three hour celebration began.  Yes, we have reached the age of two but we are just 'toddlers'.  Like all toddlers we have found our feet and are running about full of life.  We're keenly aware though, that we have much to learn from our older 'siblings' around the country and still need encouragement from our 'parents' in OZ."

 Chris Robertson and the Family Groups from St Bernadette's Parish, Scunthorpe are running a workshop on 'Building Family Groups' as part of the Diocese of Nottingham's Families and Faith Resource Day on Saturday 22nd November. For more information and to book a place please telephone: 0115 9539841 or email: formation@nrcdt.org

St Mary's Family Groups bring Southern India to Suffolk

Many thanks to John and Penny Cassidy for sending us the following report on their Family Group's October gathering to welcome Gwen Wintersheidt on her recent UK visit. We hope it inspires you and makes your mouths water!

To say that 23 of us sat down, last Sunday to a full South Indian meal with all the trimmings is to only tell half the story. When we told Gwen that one of our group, Anna, would cook something from her native Kerala, we didn't tell her that she, too, would have to roll up her sleeves as it was all to be cooked on site in St Mary’s Hall! 

It would have been easier for Anna to do it herself  but, with her two daughters, she gave us  all  the opportunity for hands-on cooking lessons & practical tips throughout. It was fun - for us! As their mum poured over the hot stove of the too-small cooker, in the overcrowded kitchen, Leeba and Litty tutored, encouraged and nudged us into chopping, peeling, stirring and rolling. Sojan came and shared his considerable cooking skills too. Somehow, amidst all the apparentchaos, the following meal appeared:

Chicken (breast) Curry

Puri

Poppadoms

Pilau Rice

Potato Bhaji

Dessert: Plantana in butter flavoured with Cardamom

Cathy, one of our parish cantors, gave a hauntingly beautifully rendition of   “An Irish Blessing” as our Grace.  As Anna had paired down the cost to an absolute minimum, £60 has been sent to Familia, a charity helping orphans in Northern India.' “Best Indian meal ever,” was the general consensus and “A great Family Group activity.” 

St Mary's Family Groups will be celebrating their second birthday on Saturday 15th November from 2pm to 5pm at St Mary's Hall.  If any Family Groups from other parishes wish to join in the celebrations please contact Hannah Moruzzi and she will put you in touch with the Parish Coordinators.

Family Groups have lots to look forward to in St Bernadette's, Scunthorpe

Many thanks to Chris Robertson, Family Groups' Leader in St Bernadette's Parish, Scunthorpe, for sharing the following update with us:

'The Family Groups in Scunthorpe were first established in October 2012.  Since then we have waxed and waned.  In 2012 we had five groups with 84 members. Within a year we had dropped down to four groups.  Although the leaders, with the help of other parishioners, arranged activities, they were generally poorly attended and by Easter this year we decided that we needed to have more joint group activities.  To keep members up to date with events Carmel/Denise are sending out newsletters to everyone in the Family Groups.  There are currently 11 active Family Group Parishes in England and Wales but at present we are the only one in the Nottingham Diocese.  A couple of our Leaders now represent the parish on the recently convened National Steering Group for Family Groups.

Father Peter and Gwen visited us last October and about 30-40 Family Groups members turned out for the Mass and evening activity. We have since arranged: coffee mornings, barbecues, family fun nights, pancake evenings, craft & games afternoons, a picnic in the park, pizza parties and last month, a brilliant car treasure hunt. The House Masses during Pentecost have also been successful and we have co-hosted quizzes and a Crafts event with the Life Organisation. To celebrate our birthday next month, we will be having an All Saints Day fancy dress party for Family Group members and parishioners.  During Advent I hope that we will have a Christmas Carol service and in the New Year we may have a party with a Scottish slant. There is also a St Bernadette’s Got Talent competition in development as well as a Karaoke night for the teenagers and a pampering evening (for gents and ladies!) Activities will be announced in the Bulletin nearer the time.'

Chris and the leadership team from St Bernadette's will be running a workshop on 'Building Family Groups' at the Diocese of Nottingham's forthcoming 'Families and Faith' Resource Day, at Christ the King Voluntary Academy. For more information and to book a place please telephone: 0115 9539841 or email: formation@nrcdt.org

Even the British Summer Doesn't Dampen Spirits in St Mary's

Many thanks to John Cassidy from St Mary's Ipswich for making us smile with the following story:

"One of our seven Family Groups in St Mary’s Parish, Ipswich, met for a summer BBQ on Sunday June 29th. Bright sunshine greeted us as a pleasing crowd of 20 arrived. When both BBQs got underway, peering through the smoke we discovered who the two cooks were – one was named Peter and the other Paul! Heroically, true to their saints' names, they braved it through the subsequent hours as the rain poured down. "

St Helen's Parish Family Group Diary Dates For 2014

Many thanks to Tracey Lee Hoy for sending us the 2014 Event Calendar for St Helen's Parish Family Group in Caerphilly.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE CALENDAR

PARISH FAMILY GROUP EVENTS

Jun 29         Picnic & Walk          12pm      Tredegar House                        Aug 16         Picnic & Paddle        12pm      Caswell Beach
Sep 20         Day Out                     10am      Margam Park                            Oct 17          Friday Night BBQ    6pm        Hoy Family Home                Nov 8          Bonfire & Supper     6pm        St Helen's                                Dec 5           Advent Night Out    TBA        Adults Only                              Dec 19th     Advent Party             6pm        St Helen's

All Family Group members and their families are welcome.  More details will follow prior to each event. Transport will be arranged if necessary. For more information please contact Simon and Debbie on 07403079047 or Stephen and Tracey on 07969017214

St Helen’s Parish Family Group is for all families - any parishioner, practising Catholic or lapsed, partners of Catholics, or people who just attend Mass. ‘Family’ in the Family Group context, means that we are all God’s family and want to look after each other and get to know each other better,  in order to do God’s work together in His love.  Come along and enjoy! 

If your parish has any great ideas for Family Groups or details of upcoming events, reports or pictures that you would like to share on this Blog please contact the MFL Project Office

OLOV's Family Groups: Working Together for a Better Community

Many thanks to Glenda Clarke and the Family Groups in Our Lady of Victories' (OLOV) Parish, Kensington, for sharing their slides and pictures:

DOWNLOAD OLOV'S FAMILY GROUPS' POWERPOINT PRESENTATION 

The presentation was used at a Family Groups' gathering on 17th May and explains how the Family Groups in OLOV have enabled parishioners and parish groups to work together more effectively for a better community. Fundraising is a core activity for OLOV's Family Groups and their recent homeless sleep-out raised over £8000 for charity. 

Over the next few years the team hope to increase the engagement of the parish's post-Confirmation young adults by encouraging them to use their talents in support of Family Groups, and stay actively involved in the parish community. 

In the coming months OLOV'S Family Groups will be working with their counterparts in St Mary's and The Holy Family Parish, Ipswich to help a parish in Kent get their own Family Groups off the ground.

If your parish has any great ideas for Family Groups or details of upcoming events, reports or pictures that you would like to share on this Blog please contact the MFL Project Office

Dancing, Haggis, Pancakes and Paper Roses - A Busy Six Months for St Mary's Family Groups

Many thanks to Penny (and John) Cassidy for sharing the following report and pictures on a busy six months for the Family Groups in St Mary's and The Holy Family Parish, Ipswich:-

Hello,  Penny here,

Just thought you’d like to know what our Family Groups have been up to since we last met in January.

The biggest number of folks recorded was 50 when two groups and their friends  joined forces and held a Burns night. It was fully authentic with a toast and address to the Haggis, glasses were raised also in a special toast to Fr. Peter McGrath and Gwen and other family group members across the world, lots of haggis, tatties and neaps were consumed and great fun was had by all, £200 was raised for Iceni a local drugs rehabilitation centre in  Ipswich.

On the other end of the scale our newest group whom we call ‘Yummy Mummies and Dashing Daddies’ met for a chat over a cuppa (except no daddies were present this time), three slightly jaded new mums and their  babies swapped stories of labour and ‘after’! The session was livened up by a few toddlers who showed the babies how to get the most noise from their new musical toys. When energy permits a second meeting is planned!

A highlight of another group was an Italian lunch. Because of increasing numbers, the venue for this changed three times and eventually St Mary’s Church Hall had to house the crowd. All loved plate after plate of Italian food cooked by a young  Italian Mamma- tasty favourites with  a few regional specialities thrown in. ‘Building the highest Tower of Pisa’ was the most popular game and Fr John  our Parish Priest and the children easily won with their novel idea. 

An expert Caller put another family group through their paces. They learned lots of new moves in addition to a whole new vocabulary as they “promenaded” and “dosey doe’d” throughout a recent Saturday afternoon.

Valentines and Shrove Tuesday provided ready-made themes for a few groups. One group held a ‘favourite music for Valentine' evening and had a paper rose making competition with a prize for the best rose; while another did a quiz with a Valentine theme supported with modest sips of lovingly chosen wine! The children preferred the activities of Mardi Gras and reports say that  most pancakes did end up in the pan-eventually!

In the depths of Lent another group held a parish wide Hunger Lunch to support Cafod’s work in Africa.. This was hugely popular and all appreciated the Cafod film presentation, the African music and art and the taster table of typical food eaten by the poor of that continent.

Then to celebrate Easter one group held ‘Easter Egg Bingo.' Because of the popularity of this group, it had to be held in Holy Family Parish Rooms.

The most popular event amongst several groups was the Ten Pin Bowling. Several groups reported that it allowed children to mix in a safe, fun environment. One group had 30 people playing with just three watching. They now plan a wine tasting evening for the adults.

Tea/ coffee after the 9am Mass is popular and on-going but the refreshments after the 10.30 Mass had petered out some years ago. With initiative and persistence, one of our groups resurrected this practice and faithfully serve tea/coffee every month along with delicious home-made cakes.  More than a dozen parishioners (mostly senior) enjoy a cuppa and a chat now after Sunday mass.

Most recently a family group had a lovely pub lunch and walk in Felixstowe. So successful was it that a further visit is planned for a visit to a riverside pub on a summer’s evening.  BBQs, seaside trips –even a train journey are planned for the summer months.

A big ‘thank you’ to all the groups for their contributions. Please keep me telling me about all your meets and take photos at every opportunity.

Penny

If your parish has any great ideas for Family Groups or details of upcoming events, reports or pictures that you would like to share on this Blog please contact the MFL Project Office