Today we put on our running shoes in a bid for the two charities we're supporting this year, Urban Devotion and Journey of Love. 10 of us ran 7 laps around Oscott's secluded grounds, measuring up to 10k in total. All the East Anglians did it under an hour, inspired in our training by the now retired Bishop O'Donoghue's latest book, Fit for Mission: Seminarians! Those who didn't run provided an invaluable ministry of handing out water and encouraging us on the home stretch, as well as cooking the evening's well-received BBQ - nothing like a burger and some cake after a grueling workout! Even Fr Ziggy came along to support us on his Harley Davidson, decorated especially for the occassion:
The charities represent our combination of one national and one international, which we choose each year. The national one, Urban Devotion, is a Christian organisation run by young men and women working in their local communities in North Birmingham, providing activities and workshops for young people, talking at schools, running prayer groups, to give kids an opportunity to learn their dignity and their responsibility within their community, as a way of tackling antisocial behaviour and deprivation. Journey of Love is a Vietnamese charity that funds Vietnamese parishes and religious houses in their charitable work to the poor, the lepers, the deprived and uneducated. As the priest in charge of the charity told us, the poor in Vietnam are much worse off than many of the poor in our own country, yet the Church is one of the few voices speaking out for them.
Any money you can donate to these charities would be much appreciated! You can send money to Oscott Action for Justice and Peace, Oscott College, Chester Road, Sutton Coldfield, B73 5AA, West Midlands.
Ta!
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