Wednesday 1 July 2015

New Beginnings for ACN-NW!

Today at 9am I walked into the new NW Office of Aid to the Church in Need. Yes, that’s right, a bright, shiny, new office in an actual office complex—no more working in my spare room, no more roaming around my house to find a spot where I can connect to the internet or talk on my ACN mobile phone! Hurray! 

Of course, I shall have to let my (entirely pet-based) staff go; the Head of Security (Jassy, my elderly golden retriever) and the Volunteer Co-ordinator (Max, my even older cat) are, let’s face it, well past the age for retirement and are no doubt looking forward to stepping away from their demanding professional routines and are probably at this very moment planning to buy a very small motor-home to do some touring around the NW. The two younger cats shouldn't find it difficult to secure ‘employment’ elsewhere—to be honest, they never contributed much to ACN-NW anyway.

Here is a view on my commute to my new office—not bad at all, for a daily walk to work!

View of Lancaster Canal
Here is a picture of the White Cross Buildings wherein my new office can be found (just so you know that I am not making this up!):

Approach to the the White Cross Buildings

Here I am in my new office:



NW Manager selfie in the new ACN-NW Office

The last people here very kindly left four HUGE desks, so that’s a start. I shall begin tomorrow to bring everything  from home and I shall update you regularly on my progress. This new office means also, by the way, that shortly we'll begin looking for a colleague (an actual human one!) to work with me. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to this as there is so much to do!

I would like to thank all of you who have supported ACN-NW over the past fifteen months—it is because of your generous response that we at ACN have recognised the need for a bigger office and a new staff member. So, here’s a HUGE THANK YOU to all who have attended one or more ACN-NW events, taken part in Prayers from our Hearts, invited me into your school or parish, hosted an ACN appeal by someone from the ACN-NW team, offered to serve as an ACN Parish Rep, made a donation to ONE NIGHT or another ACN campaign, or just rang up to say hello and let us know that you are out there and supporting our work for the Persecuted Church. Many, many thanks and keep watching for more events and initiatives from ACN-NW!

Thanks for reading.

Caroline

Tuesday 2 June 2015

The Power of the #Hashtag

The Hashtag (which, as an American, I grew up calling a pound sign) has been in existence for quite a while. In America it often precedes a digit and indicates a number in a notional sequence or ranking (as in Charlie Chan's #1 Son) and it has been used to denote a term of importance in computer programming since the 1970s. Nearly a decade ago now the hashtag began to appear on social media--in tweets and blog entries--to flag up a subject of particular interest. Such terms--names, places, events, emotions, phrases--that are repeated by many followers are described  as 'trending' and users of Twitter are able to access all of the media posts which mention a given trend. Today I notice that trending topics include #CharityTuesday, #CharlesKennedy and #BeatlesRecipes (including 'Lettuce Be'--sorry!).

Late last week ACN International posted information about Fr Jaques Mourad, a member of the Catholic order of Mar Musa. Fr Mourad lives in the monastery of Mar Elian in Qaryatayn, Syria where he is heavily involved in many projects to support and rehouse the large number of Syrian Christian families who have been forced to flee their homes to escape attacks by extremists. On Thursday 21 May, Fr Mourad was abducted, along with another man, by armed masked men; no one knows where the two men have been taken or even whether they are still alive. 


Fr Jaques Mourad, abducted in Syria on 21 May 2015 Credit: Fr Ziad Hilal
ACNUK issued an ACN News Bulletin and this appeared on the Facebook and Twitter feeds for ACNUK with a request for prayers. I shared and retweeted these on the NW Office social media platforms, adding my own plea for prayers for Syria and Fr Mourad. 

These posts and tweets were picked up by various followers who sent them back out to their followers and so on; by now the posts are likely to have been seen by people all over the world--including Syria. This morning I spoke to Hussein, a dedicated supporter of ACN who has had a big response to his ACN-inspired post about Fr Mourad and the situation in Syria. Hussein has now come up with a hashtag to get even more people involved.


#PrayingForFatherMourad  


PLEASE help us to raise prayers for Fr Mourad and increased awareness about the current situation in Syria. Get trending!


Tuesday 26 May 2015

ONE (MORE) NIGHT!

Just kidding! ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom was a wonderful event—thanks again to all who took part; find out more about ONE NIGHT on our website: here.

AND there’s more going on at ACN NW!

Recently I have visited several schools to give presentations about ACN or to receive prayers, messages of support and donations from schools taking part in Prayers from our Hearts, the ACN initiative for primary schools in the NW and Scotland. Thank you to all who have taken part or are considering participating. All primary schools in the region are welcome, so please do get in touch if you’d like to learn more about this exciting offering. 

Quite a few new ACN NW Parish Representatives have also come on board recently--this is fabulous as Parish Reps provide so much help to ACN. Being an ACN Parish Rep needn't take up too much of your time, but it really is crucial to us as it keeps members of your parish aware of the issues surrounding the Persecuted Church in between the Appeals given by our Area Secretaries. If you are interested in becoming a Parish Rep, please speak to your parish priest and ask him to get in touch with the NW Office. Thanks!

The REALLY big news is that the new NW Office (just over one year old now!) has had so much support from the clergy, parishes, schools and benefactors throughout the region that the decision has been taken to rent new larger office space and to bring in a new member of staff to work with me. Hurray! Thank you to all who have sponsored events, made donations, offered to become ACN Parish Representatives, hosted appeals and so much more. I and the whole ACN NW Team want you all to know that we are extremely grateful for your support and that we shall continue working as hard as we can to offer you any information, help or support that you may need.

Just wait and see what we have planned for later this year…

Hope to see you at the Manchester event in June!

Thanks for reading.

Caroline



Tuesday 7 April 2015

ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom: How Jim in Blackpool is getting involved

Only 11 days to go now! There is now an online form to register your interest in ONE NIGHT on our webpage; click here to let us know if you are planning to attend. Remember, you may attend all or part of the vigil and we will happily welcome those who decide just to show up on the night; registering your interest simply helps us to get a rough idea of numbers. If you aren't able to attend, you can still support ONE NIGHT and ACN's work with Iraqi Christians by donating through Just Giving; Donate to ONE NIGHT. We'll light a votive candle at the vigil for every £10 donated.
Jim in his ACN Repository in Blackpool

Today's Guest Blogger is Jim from Blackpool; Jim already volunteers for ACN and we are very grateful for his help!

1. Please give us a bit of info about yourself (first name, occupation, background, etc)
James Jennings but only when I am in trouble!  I prefer Jim and this is how people know me. Now retired but have been a jack of all trades. Left school @ 15. One week I was in school; the next week at HMS Ganges the boys training school in Suffolk. 4 weeks ago finished what ended up to be 53 constant years of work. For those trying to work it out, I will be 69 this summer. Served in Aden, Malaysia and Mauritius prior to their independence, the locals were revolting!  Joking joking but you get the drift.

2. Why are you interested in the issues surrounding Religious Freedom in our world today?
 We have the ability in this country to worship as and when we like. Whether we take advantage of it is up to us, there is just so much we take for granted.

3.  Have you supported Aid to the Church in Need before? How might you be interested in helping in the future?
There are many charities in this country all worthy to a greater or lesser extent. We cannot ignore what is happening in the Middle East, people do not realise ISIS are FIVE miles from Europe. Europe is not just here.  We cannot afford to wake up one morning and find the "Nazarene" symbol on our front door, put there by insurgents.

I run an ACN shop within Holy Family Church Blackpool.  Why not come and see us next time you are in town? We open 18:30 Saturday and 10:30 Sunday.  During the week entry is by the side entrance opposite the church hall, if I'm not there my mobile number is on the door and I can be there within four minutes.

In the future I would like to be more hands on, although I am totally aware sales and donations are our life blood.

4.   What is your message to those Iraqis who are currently suffering persecution both as displaced people within Iraq and as refugees elsewhere?

My message to the Iraqis although not much succour, is, "stay strong, people across the world are thinking and praying for you, this cannot go on forever.”

Thanks very much, Jim, for sharing your thoughts and letting us all know about how you support ACN in your parish in Blackpool; the work that you and other ACN Parish Representatives do is very helpful indeed! We'll pass on your message to the persecuted in Iraq at ONE NIGHT.

If you are interested in helping ACN by serving as an ACN Parish Representative, speak to your Parish Priest and ask him to get in touch with us. Thank you.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom: Deacon Conrad from Uganda shares his views

Children from Ankawa camp, Erbil, Iraq,
outside ACN’s ‘Fr Werenfried Village’ temporary classrooms.
© Aid to the Church in Need/Anton Fric

Today's Guest Blogger is Conrad, a Deacon who is waiting to be ordained to the priesthood; Conrad is from Uganda and got in touch when he heard about ONE NIGHT through Facebook and Twitter. Read on to discover his views on Religious Freedom, ACN and the plight of Iraqi Christians.

1. Please give us a bit of info about yourself (first name, occupation, background, etc) 

I am Nkamwesiga Conrad a Roman Catholic Deacon at St. Mary’s National Seminary. I am born to a family of twelve members, two being our parents and 10 being us the children. None of us children has completed studies. My father is a catechist and my mother does subsistence farming at home. I started my primary education in 1993 St. Mukasa Seminary, Secondary and High school at St. Michael’s High School from 2000-2006. I joined Uganda Martyrs’ National Seminary for Philosophical studies from 2007-2010 then went for pastoral experience in Buhimba Catholic Parish where I spent a year. I am now at St. Mary’s National Seminary for Theological studies. This is my last semester of formation and I hope to be ordained a priest in July. Considering my studies, I desired to become a priest when I was young as they were ordaining one of the priests in my home parish. I said I must become a priest. I have worked in people’s gardens and compounds to earn school fees. I now look forward with a stressed mind to my ordination because much is needed like material and equipment to use in the ministry. 

2. Why are you interested in the issues surrounding Religious Freedom in our world today? 

Religious Freedom was declared in Dignitatis humanae (Of the Dignity of the Human Person) in the Second Vatican Council. The Council stated intention “to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights of the human person and the constitutional order of society”. Dignitatis humanae spells out the Church's support for the protection of religious liberty. More controversially, it set the ground rules by which the Church would relate to secular states, both pluralistic and officially Catholic nations. This declaration was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965. With an informed conscience, everyone has to embrace any Religion he/she wishes. Religious freedom has its foundation in the dignity of the person as understood through human reason, having its roots in divine revelation. Therefore Christians are called to an even more conscientious respect for religious freedom. Man’s response to God in faith must be free-no person is to be forced to embrace Christianity. This is a major tenet of the Catholic faith, contained in Scripture and proclaimed by the Fathers. Religious freedom contributes to the environment where such free response is possible. God’s own call to serve him binds persons in conscience but is not compulsion. God has regard for the dignity of all human beings as shown in the actions of Christ himself. Jesus did acknowledge the legitimacy of governments, but refused to impose his teachings by force. The Apostles followed His word and example. The Church is therefore following Christ and the Apostles when she recognized the principle of religious freedom, based both on the dignity of human persons and divine revelation. The Church herself does require a full measure of freedom, a sacred freedom, to carry out her mission. Therefore, religious freedom can be looked at from the point of view of the action of the will in morals. All persons have a right to religious liberty, a right with its foundation in the essential dignity of each human being. All persons must be free to seek the truth without coercion. The highest norm of human life is the divine law and truth, but it can only be sought after in the proper and free manner, with the aid of teaching or instruction, communication and dialogue, and it must be adhered to by personal assent. This freedom from coercion in religious affairs must also be recognized as a right when persons act in community. As such a community, and in fact a society in its own original right, has the right to live its own domestic religious life in freedom, in particular the freedom to choose religious education. The government is to protect the rights and equality of all citizens as part of its essential role in promoting the public good, and a wrong is done when a government imposes profession or repudiation of any religion. Religious freedom is exercised in society, therefore is subject to certain regulatory norms, again to ensure the common welfare. Freedom and responsibility must balance and religious freedom must have as its aim to promote persons acting with greater responsibility.
St. Paul in the Bible, commented on the range of beliefs among Christians. The situation by the middle of the 1st Century CE was not unlike the variety of beliefs and practices seen among Christian denominations today. He called for intra-faith harmony. Paul urged believers to be tolerant of others who may follow different dietary rules, or hold religious services on a different day. He recommends that believers avoid doing anything that might make a fellow believer stumble in this faith. Romans 14:1-23 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each one of us be fully convinced in his/her mind. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ...Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's/sister’s way.
3.Have you supported Aid to the Church in Need before? How might you be interested in helping in the future?
I have not supported Aid to The Church in Need before, reason being just got to know about it of recent by the direction of my spiritual sponsor who was trying to contact the Organisation for me to acquire vestments donation. Personally I have the charism to help. I have met several children in my village lacking scholastic materials and I have helped where possible. But my future dream after becoming a priest, I wish to establish a children clinic because they need special care since they are the future Church. I wish my role in the community should also be taking care of the elderly who lack special care of their family members and relatives. 
4. What is your message to those Iraqis who are currently suffering persecution both as displaced people within Iraq and as refugees elsewhere? 
I assure them of my daily prayers and encourage them to put their total faith in God. Perhaps we can have the greatest lesson from the book of Job is that God does not have to answer to anyone for what He does or does not do. Job’s experience teaches us that we may never know the specific reason for suffering, but we must trust in our sovereign, holy, righteous God. His ways are perfect (Psalm 18:30). Since God’s ways are perfect, we can trust that whatever He does-and whatever He allows-is also perfect. We can’t expect to understand God’s mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).
Our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not. When we do, we will find God in the midst of our trials—possibly even because of our trials. We will see more clearly the magnificence of our God, and we will say, with Job, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).
The life of Job is proof that man usually has no idea what God is doing behind the scenes in the life of each believer. All humans ask the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” It is the age-old question, and difficult to answer, but believers know that God is always in control, and, no matter what happens, there are no coincidences-nothing happens by chance. Job was a believer; he knew that God was on the throne and in total control, though he had no way of knowing why so many terrible tragedies were occurring in his life.
Job never lost his faith in God, even under the most heartbreaking circumstances that tested him to his core. It’s hard to imagine losing everything we own in one day-property, possessions, and even children. Most men would sink into depression and even become suicidal after such a nightmare; however, Job never wavered in his understanding that God was still in control. Job’s three friends, on the other hand, instead of comforting him, gave him bad advice and even accused him of committing sins so grievous that God was punishing him with misery. Job knew God well enough to know that He did not work that way; in fact, he had such an intimate, personal relationship with Him that he was able to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face” (Job 13:15)

Thank you, Conrad, for this heart-felt and moving statement of you feelings and beliefs. Good luck on your chosen path of the Priesthood and ACN is very pleased to have your support!

To learn more about ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom, to find out how you can get involved, to donate to ACN's work with displaced and refugee Iraqis, or to express your interest in attending ONE NIGHT, please visit out  webpage here.

Tuesday 31 March 2015

ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom: Thoughts from Hussein in Manchester

Christian refugees in Mar Elia parish centre
in the Christian neighbourhood of Ankawa in Erbil, Iraq
Today's Guest Blogger rang the ACN-NW Office last November to ask about our Iraq Solidarity wristbands and we got to chatting. He had never heard of ACN before and since then has really come on board to work with ACN. I'm so pleased that he has agreed to share his thoughts on religious freedom, ACN and the plight of Iraqi Christians.

1. Please give us a bit of info about yourself (first name, occupation, background, etc)
My name is Hussein Al-alak and I am a member of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign UK, which is based in the city of Manchester and we run the on-line news service, Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra).

The Iraq Solidarity Campaign has a really positive relationship with Manchester’s 18,000 strong Iraqi community, and our membership reflects the rich diversity of Iraqi society, along with positively incorporating British members, who share a common interest or involvement with Britain-Iraq relations.

We first became aware of Aid to the Church in Need through their active and vibrant presence on social media and were really excited by their campaigning and fundraising activities across the United Kingdom, to assist the Iraqi Christians, who have been greatly affected by the intolerance shown towards them, by the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

We were also thrilled to see, that in the North West of England, Aid to the Church in Need was also taking its message of Iraq solidarity into homes, churches, mosques and schools by engaging in a non-sectarian approach, with the wider British and Iraqi community, in major northern cities like Manchester and Liverpool.  

2. Why are you interested in the issues surrounding Religious Freedom in our world today?
For the overwhelming majority of Iraqi people, supporting the religious freedom of people has become an almost daily topic of conversation for families since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 

As many people will be aware, the Iraqi people have experienced unprecedented levels of sectarianism through the political mismanagement of previous governments and through whose policies and militia groups, were pushing through political agendas, where the sole purpose was to divide neighbourhoods along ethnic and religious lines. 

With the enormity of Iraqi history being our legacy, it is the view of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign that religion and freedom is something everyone can enjoy and find appreciation in, as people having the right to be mutually free in their religious practice has shown itself inside of Iraq and the wider Middle East through the historic diversity of the regions monuments, mosaics, architecture, literature, music and cities. 

3. Have you supported Aid to the Church in Need before? How might you be interested in helping in the future?
For an organisation like the Iraq Solidarity Campaign, supporting Aid to the Church in Need’s work for Iraqi Christians is something that we view to be a natural step in helping the Iraqi people overcome the personal and collective trauma, displacement and bereavements which have been caused as a result of war and subsequent conflicts.  

Aid to the Church in Need have explained and demonstrated their commitment to the people of Iraq, through their support with providing shelters, food, medical care and education to displaced Iraqi families. ACN have also been one of the most pro-active voices in the United Kingdom in highlighting the needs that exist, but also on calling for wider and more long term solidarity to support the Iraqi people in their own grass roots efforts for building a stronger and stable society. 

As Aid to the Church in Need is a recognised and registered charity, whose work  in Iraq is available to witness, through their website, Facebook and Twitter, I hope the wider British-Iraqi community will embrace the aid efforts of the Church and will look at how they, as an integral part of British society, can play a more active and united role for those currently displaced by the Islamic State.     

4. What is your message to those Iraqis who are currently suffering persecution both as displaced people within Iraq and as refugees elsewhere?
From the perspective of being British and Iraqi, who have families and friends directly caught up in the horrendous situation inside of Iraq, the Iraq Solidarity Campaign is unable to give adequate words of comfort to those suffering persecution and who are now displaced.

We would like to remind people in the West, that in the Middle East, there is a story of the stranger knocking at the door of the family home, and all the stranger is asking for is a glass of water. It is said that by giving something as simple as a glass of water to that stranger, is in-itself a test by God, as the stranger making the request, is actually an angel in disguise. 

Hussein: Thank you so much for your input. Your thoughts on religious freedom and its meaning to Iraqis are deeply moving. ACN is grateful for your support of our work to help displaced and refugee Iraqis; while many of these people are Christians, ACN recognises that all people deserve the right to live out their religious convictions with dignity and without fear. This is what ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom is all about.

If you would like to learn more about ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom (Holy Name Church, Oxford Road, Manchester, Saturday 18 April from 8:00pm), visit our webpage: here. To donate towards ACN's work with displaced and refugee Iraqis, go to our Just Giving page: donate. Why not follow ACN-NW on twitter (@ACNUK_NW) and facebook (facebook.com/acnuk.northwest)?

Monday 30 March 2015

ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom: What it means to Sr Edelquine in Kenya

ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom has been receiving messages of support from people all over the world. Today's post features the first in a series of Guest Mini-Blogs in which guest bloggers complete a short list of four questions about themselves, their interest and/or involvement with ACN and any messages that they want to send to displaced and refugee Iraqis. Read on to see how today's Guest Blogger from Kenya feels about getting involved with ACN through ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom.

1. Please give us a bit of background about yourself: I am Sr. Edelquine, a nun and student. I am a Little Sister of St. Francis. I am a second born of my family in Kenya.


2. Why are you interested in the issues surrounding Religious Freedom in our world today? Being a religious, I feel freedom was ordained by God. In that case, nobody should be forced to embrace a faith he/she is not conversant with. People have the freedom of worship at least from my country's view point and I presume worldwide.

3. Have you supported Aid to the Church in Need before? How might you be interested in helping in the future? I have never supported ACN before. I wish to be an active member of it. I like to volunteer in Commentation and being MC. I am also good in poetry and editing of passages. I yearn to talk to young people about valuing the word of God through catechesis.

4. What is your message to those Iraqis who are currently suffering persecution both as displaced people within Iraq and as refugees elsewhere? Courage! In persecution, we share the suffering of Christ. Let us hang on Christ our hope and trust. To the refugees, "the son of man has nowhere to lay his head...." Let us all join in prayer even when tempted to the point of death. Long live ACN.

Thank you for your contribution, Sr Edelquine--your message of support will be passed on to the Iraqi Community at ONE NIGHT in a few weeks' time. May God bless you in your work as a Little Sister of St Francis. ACN is very grateful for your support and prayers.

If  you would like to contribute to this series in the run-up to ONE NIGHT for Religious Freedom, please contact the NW Office of ACN ( email: email) or follow us on twitter: @ACNUK_NW; or facebook: www.facebook.com/acnuk.northwest) Thanks!