Parishes
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster covers a broad geographical area
north of the river Thames, including all of Hertfordshire.
This area includes 216 parishes, serving a congregation of over 150,000
people * (*Mass attendance statistics). As the child and family welfare organisation
for the Archdiocese, our services are available not only to Roman Catholics, but
to all who live within its borders.
We receive no statutory funding from national or local government or from the
Diocese. We are also the only Diocesan child and family welfare agency not to
have a standard annual collection and are therefore wholly reliant on the goodwill
of parish priests and the Catholic community in the support we are offered. Fortunately
there is a long and proud tradition of such support in the Diocese including Crib
Collections and, through individual gestures from parish groups such as the Union
of Catholic Mothers (UCM); Catholic Women’s League (CWL), St Vincent de
Paul’s (SVP), Justice and Peace, Catenians and Knights of St. Columba.
Parishes are very generous in supporting our Holiday Appeal for disadvantaged
children and, at Christmas time providing toys and gifts for children with little
to look forward to in addition to holding other independent events during the year.
Active support is vital to the Society’s success in reaching out to children
in need. To find out how you or your parish can help us, please read below.
Adoption
If you are a married couple or single and are interested in adoption, click here to find out more.
Become a Parish Representative
We are actively recruiting people to become our representatives in their parish. With the agreement of your parish priest, this will involve:
- Accepting our literature four times a year and distributing it by hand, or putting it out at the back of the church.
- Making a Parish Appeal on our behalf from a script and materials provided.
- Seeking opportunities for the Society to become involved in the local agenda of the parish e.g.
Justice & Peace issues
- Seek other opportunities to promote the Society within parish networks e.g.
Annual Crib Offerings
Christmas Cards – For Sale/Return
Coffee Mornings
General fundraising events
Some Parish Reps like to initiate fundraising events, but should this not appeal, you might be able to suggest others who would be interested in helping.
As a Parish Representative we will keep you involved with Society news and objectives through our quarterly Parish Rep Post. To find out if there is a vacancy in your parish,
click here.
Gifts in Kind
As we no longer have Society transport, we are unfortunately no longer able to
accept large items of furniture or electrical goods. However, we do need regular
supplies of good quality children’s toys and clothes, particularly towards
Christmas time. If your parish can help and you can deliver, we would be happy
to hear from you. We can, in exceptional circumstances, collect items. If you
can help us, please email us.
Speakers
We are keen to build up a bank of volunteer speakers to speak on our behalf in
parishes and schools. If you have the skills and would be interested in represent
us locally, click here to contact us for a discussion.
Friends of the Catholic Children’s Society (Westminster)
We would like to offer parishioners the opportunity to support us on a weekly,
monthly, quarterly or annual basis, with a small but regular donation. We will
supply materials. If you would be prepared to represent us in your parish and
to solicit Friends’ donations, click here to contact us for a discussion.To
find out how we can help you, please email us.
Family services
If you or your family are experiencing problems and would like details of the
nearest available service to you, please email us for more information.
Page top
|
