Please note that the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace
Group no longer meets as such. However there is now an ecumenical
Justice and Peace Group organised by members of the Mill Hill Churches,
and more recent news items reported here come from that group.
Thank you for coming to have a look at our page on the
web site. Maybe you are thinking about joining our group and you want to
have a look about what we are about? Perhaps you are just curious about what
we are trying to do? Whatever your reason for visiting our page,
YOU ARE WELCOMED!
Newsflash: Our parish has been awarded its fair-Trade
Certificate - More Information
The Justice & Peace Group of the parish of Sacred Heart &
Mary Immaculate, Mill Hill, was officially launched on Sunday 6th July 2003.
We held a special liturgy celebrated by the then Parish Priest, Fr Aidan
Galvin C.M, where he blessed our new banner, and afterwards we held a
recruitment fair and a Traidcraft Sale in the Church Hall.
Our first Traidcraft Sale
We chose the logo above showing the dove of peace as the
symbol for our banner and our group. The dove is clearly the symbol of
peace, the rainbow symbolises the unity of all races and peoples around the
world. The background to our banner (not shown above) is purple, the colour
of penance and forgiveness, reflecting our sorrow for all the crimes against
Justice and Peace in the World. We also have a green lanyard around the top
of our banner, this is our symbol for the environment and our need to
respect and protect it. All this is held up on a simple, rough, cross, the
immediate and most potent symbol of our faith.
We started on that day with just two members, and now we
have grown to nine! Fr John Concannon C.M. has mentored us from our
inception. We have been inspired and encouraged in our work by many others,
but mostly by the Vincentian clergy in our parish (Congregation of the
Mission) who have such a long and illustrious history of working for social
justice themselves.
What are the aims of a Justice & Peace Group?
To bring people together who are interested in
issues such as social justice, human rights, poverty, globalisation, fair
trade, Aids/HIV, peace, environmental issues and third world debt. We also
want to demonstrate a commitment to our Parish Vision Statement, which says
that we are a community that “Holds sacred the right to life, justice and
peace. Promotes freedom from poverty, neglect and abuse.” Lots of our
parishioners are already involved in Justice issues and are active in
related groups like Pax Christi, the CIIR, Jubilee Action and others. Many
are also involved in work at “The Passage” centre for the homeless in London
and involved in prison visiting etc. Many would like to find a way to be
more active in these areas. We would like to bring them all together. These
are our main aims:
Raising awareness of Justice & Peace issues as central to the life of
this parish. We do this through education, celebration, liturgy and
action.
Sustaining each other in prophetic witness and in working for change.
Networking with all the groups in the parish effectively. Seeking
collaboration over resources, ideas and good practice both among ourselves
and in reaching out to others.
Basing our vision and values on the guiding principles of the Diocesan
Justice and Peace Commission. This shared vision seeks a world where:
There is respect for the integrity of the whole of creation and for
the dignity and respect of every human being.
There is fairness and equality for all no matter what colour, race,
creed or gender.
People live in peace without nuclear weapons or trade in arms,
seeking non-violent ways of resolving conflict.
All have access to clean water, food shelter, healthcare, education
and a livelihood.
Where is justice for those who at present have no land, are in debt
or are enslaved by their work.
Development and the use of resources is sustainable.
Providing information and educational support to parish youth groups.
Actively supporting other agencies in their work for Justice & Peace
and learning from their experiences.
Always looking to our own community as our starting point for
“Bringing forth the Kingdom”.
What does the group actually do?
Through meetings and discussions we campaign, inform
and act on behalf of our parish for those in need both globally and locally.
We raise awareness in the parish through marking special days such as Racial
Justice Sunday, Armistice Day, and World Aids Day etc. We arrange for guest
speakers to come and talk about key issues of interest. We also want to be a
group in the parish that can respond to immediate emergency situations as
they happen such as war, famine etc. We have lots of ideas and we are very
active.
How much time will I need to commit to the group?
That’s up to you really! We meet formally once a month,
but some of our members cannot attend all the meetings. They are still very
active members though, and are involved in a lot of our special events. You
can be as involved as you want to be. You may be interested in one
particular issue and be able to share that with us, or you might just want
to come along to learn more. Sometimes you may have a lot of time to give,
at other times you may have other commitments that mean you may have to take
a back seat for a while…the choice is yours!
How is the group run?
At first every group requires some leadership to get it
off the ground, but the style of leadership here is very much one of
leadership as service and leadership must be shared. Everyone will have an
opportunity to run the group and to influence the decisions and direction we
take. We are affiliated to the Diocesan Justice & Peace Commission. The
members of our group decide on the issues we address.
Can I join if I am already a member of another Justice & Peace
related group inside or outside the parish?
Yes please! We are always delighted to have anyone who
can share their knowledge of issues with us and we are anxious to
collaborate fully with other groups in the course of our work.
What do we NOT do?!
We are not a militant campaigning group. We do not take
on single-issue political or personal agendas and we do not believe in
personalised or aggressive confrontation in our methods. If this is the kind
of group you are looking for, you need to look elsewhere. Some or all of our
members may take part in protest groups from time to time, but we ourselves
are a faith-based group who believe in non-violent conflict resolution….
even among ourselves! The Diocesan Justice & Peace Commission guides us,
although we are quite autonomous in our own decision-making.
“This is not a left or right political agenda. It is
something that lies at the very heart of the Gospel and which Jesus himself
makes the ultimate criterion for our own final judgement;
