NOVEMBER 2025 Newsletter from NBCW Diocesan Link
Welcome to the November edition
of the NBCW Diocesan Link newsletter.
A lot has happened this
month and I’d like to share with you my visit to Rome where I joined over
20,000 catechists at the Jubilee of Catechists.
Flying out Friday
morning 26 September, I was in my monastery hotel early afternoon. With a quick
change I was down in St Peter’s Square by mid afternoon. I walked the length of
Via della Conciliazione, the road that gives you the view of the Vatican in the
distance, up to Piazza Pia, the meeting point to join the Pilgrimage. Joining a
group from Florence I prayed and walked with them on the Pilgrimage to the Holy
Door of St Peter’s. Definitely the best way to get into the Vatican as we
bypassed all the tourist queue’s.
My timing was good as I
arrived in good time to remain in St Peter’s
Basilica for the Jubilee prayer vigil at 17.00.
Saturday was an early
start to attend the Jubilee Audience with the Holy Father and the other
20,000 pilgrims. Happily I met up with fellow pilgrims from Southwark and
Birmingham, old friends I hadn’t seen for some years, and new ones including
Ingrid.
In the afternoon I
attended the catechesis given by Archbishop Charles Thompson from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in the
church of San Carlo. Afterwards there was time to see and pray before the
reliquary which has the heart of St Charles Borromeo.
Sunday was another
early start but I was lucky with the queue and met up with my English
compatriots at 8.30, We spent the next 4 hours in blazing sunlight with Mass at
10.00 which included the ceremony for Institution of Ministry of Catechists. We
were all excited because Ingrid La Trobe from Southwark was one of the 39
catechists worldwide to be instituted as Catechist. A first for England &
Wales, and a woman at that! I managed to video Ingrid receiving her crucifix
from Pope Leo. See here ist instituted catechist Ingrid La
Trobe 2025.mp4
https://1drv.ms/u/c/7256736b508229ef/EX4fqeLiLglOv0p1ReZRTgoBqyA2ibtsKo3pviKgnMMt4A
And for more of her
story see here
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November 17
7.30-9 pm BOOK CLUB The NBCW
invites you to an online book club where we will read Gabrielle Thomas’s book
For the Good of the Church. She looks at the concept of Receptive
ecumenism and how it can help all churches.. Please email admin@NBCW.co.uk to register and to borrow a copy of the book.
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Monday
24 November at 7pm Women on the
Margins join a webinar
featuring Dr Amy Louise Daughton from Women at the Well. Amy will be
exploring the way theology and scripture can be linked to the empirical
situation and practice. Find
out more or email admin@NBCW.co.uk to register |
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Lived
Catholicism: Online Conference 2-3 December. A project of the Centre for Catholic Studies Durham University. The first
two Lived Catholicism conferences opened up some of the pressing questions for
the Catholic Church today. This year the focus is on the implementation phase
of the synod and what that means for women in the pews. Register here
Wednesdays 3rd,
10th & 17th
December at 7pm Exploring Christmas Poetry. Join our Advent focus on Zoom. Each
evening, we’ll spend a short time together reflecting on a different piece of
Christmas poetry, allowing space for quiet contemplation, prayer, and stillness
as we prepare for the joy of the season. All are warmly welcome Find out more or email admin@NBCW.co.uk to register
On 18 October I was a
guest at Chichester Diocese Mothers’ Union Autumn Gathering where they hosted Modern
Slavery day at St John the Evangelist Church, Brighton.
I was delighted to meet
up with Ann Meehan one of our Diocesan Anti-slavery Ambassadors and took a
photo opportunity. The photo on the left shows Ann with the Mothers’ Union Diocesan
President Michelle White.
The Ambassadors from
Surrey and Sussex would love to hear from others who would like to help.
We offer support and training across Surrey and Sussex. Time commitment is what
ever you can spare. Training is given and the team works to support each other.
Please contact Ann Meehan for further information. ann-meehan@hotmail.co.uk
Ecumenical Anti-Slavery Ambassadors raise awareness of modern slavery across Sussex & Surrey
Diocesan Anti-Modern Slavery Ambassadors joined representatives from The Clewer Initiative,Sussex Police, and the Mothers’ Union at St John the Evangelist, Preston, Brighton (CofE) on Saturday. The event – which took place on Anti-Slavery Day – included a range of speakers and provided an important opportunity to pray for victims and survivors, hear from experts combatting modern slavery locally and nationally, and learn more about “spotting the signs” and the various reporting mechanisms.
Tim Read, Exploitation Manager for Sussex Police, regularly attends diocesan Anti-Slavery Ambassador meetings. Highlighting the hidden nature of modern slavery and the factors that can make people of all ages vulnerable to exploitation, he said:
“There are people living amongst us that we may not see who are living in slavery, with children most at risk. They may be hungry and cold and are easy to manipulate; once a debt has been incurred, even if it is for a 69p burger, it must be met.
“Nail bars, farming, and fast-food delivery are also common sectors for modern slavery in Sussex. [People may think they are going to undertake a legitimate job] only to have their documents removed from them; they think they will be working in a café or a care home and are instead forced into sex work or cannabis production.”
Lois Bosatta was appointed as Director of The Clewer Initiative earlier this year. The charity is committed to fighting modern slavery and offers resources and training to people across the UK, publishing a monthly newsletter and providing lesson plans, toolkits, prayers, and a Safe Car Wash reporting app. Reflecting on the impact and reach of church communities, Lois said:
“The Church is a strong asset in the community in both prayer and prevention. Debt, abuse, isolation, and food poverty make people susceptible to slavery; we need to take a prevention stance to stop trafficking through education, awareness-raising, and working with young people [particularly on the issue of County Lines] … then treat harm to prevent re-trafficking. Organised crime is very well networked, and we need to be the same - churches are key to this.”
The diocesan Anti-Slavery Ambassador project was established shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic and includes Anglican, Catholic, and Quaker volunteer Ambassadors. Speaking on Saturday, Ann Meehan from St Erconwald’s, Walton-on-Thames, said:
“Five years ago, I knew nothing about modern slavery; I attended a webinar during the pandemic and joined the Anti-Slavery Ambassador scheme shortly afterwards - I am now a facilitator.
“Our group aims to educate people in church communities through raising awareness. Modern slavery is not easy to spot, we don’t act ourselves but we do observe those around us, and respond to things that don’t seem right by contacting the right people, whether that is the police on 101 or 999, the Modern Slavery Helpline, or Crimestoppers. Together we can be ‘eyes and ears’, with many hands making light work.”
Speaking shortly after the event, a representative from St John the Evangelist said:
“It was a joy to welcome members and friends from the Dioceses of Chichester and Arundel & Brighton – and across denominations.We pray for all victims of modern slavery; may we play our part in bringing to an end all such practices.”
Many thanks to the team from St John the Evangelist, Brighton, the Mothers’ Union for their welcome and hospitality and to Rev Sue Foster, Anti-Slavery Ambassador, for organising the programme and service. Photo L to R: Ambassadors Mary Barrett, John Manfield, Mark Potter, Sr Roz Frampton, Sr Helen Ryan, Tim Read (Sussex Police) and Ann Meehan.
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Some photos of my visit to Jubilee of Catechists September 26-26
Do share comments And thankyou for reading my blog.
Sue Petritz
Diocesan Link for Arundel & Brighton
Actively
promoting the presence, participation & responsibilities of Catholic Women
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