Racial Justice Sunday

Racial Justice Sunday will be celebrated this year on 13 September. The Catholic Agency for Racial Justice, (CARJ) encourages all Catholic parishes to mark and observe the day including by making an appeal and having a second collection to show their support for the important issue of Racial Justice.

The theme for this year’s Racial Justice Sunday (RJS) is the Changing Face of Britain & Ireland. This theme was originally developed by CARJ to mark its 25th Anniversary and was later adopted as the theme for RJS by Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI). This theme focuses in Jesus’ question to his disciples in Mark 8:29 ‘Who do you say that I am?’ The materials carry a picture of a variety of faces in a map of Britain & Ireland, pointing to the diversity of the population. It raises the issue of our identities, who we consider our neighbours and how we can challenge racism.

The Racial Justice Booklet for 2009 includes a range of resources including a Poster, Biblical Reflection, Homilies, Personal stories, Suggested hymns and prayers, Resources for work with Young People, Children’s Activity and Prayer leaflet. This is sent to all Catholic parishes and we request that it is circulated amongst the various parish groups. The materials were developed with our ecumenical partners at CTBI.

The Racial Justice Booklet is available to download on the CARJ website and hard copies are also available on request. Hard copies are free of charge but donations are always gratefully received.

For more information call: 0208 802 8080, e-mail info@carj.org.uk, or visit: www.carj.org.uk