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London Churches Refugee Fund (LCRF) hosted an information event at the historic Wesley's Chapel in London on Thursday, 17th September. LCRF exists to support projects working directly with destitute asylum seekers in the capital. The keynote speaker was Brother Johannes Maertens, a monk of the Community of the Good Shepherd and a long-standing member of the Catholic Worker community. For more than... Read More

As Fairtrade Fortnight (21 September - 4 October 2026) begins, the ecumenical charity Christian Concern for One World (CCOW) has issued some resources for churches and Christian communities. These include: A church action guide An interactive chocolate prayer, which enables prayer for both local and global farmers and Preaching notes tied into the lectionary readings, as well as a wide variety of... Read More

New research shows rising public concern about the impact of climate change on food supplies, as the people growing tea, coffee, cocoa and bananas for the UK say they need urgent fair pay to withstand unprecedented climate challenges and protect crops A new study released for the start of Fairtrade Fortnight (21 September - 4 October 2026) reveals this summer's record heatwaves and droughts across... Read More

Catholic charities have handed in a petition from parishes and individuals across the UK, calling on Andy Burnham to defend the right to asylum and uphold the dignity of people seeking refuge, ahead of the Catholic Church's World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The petition, organised by the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), St Vincent de Paul Society and Jesuit Refugee Service UK calls on the g... Read More

Gospel of 21 September 2026 Matthew 9:9-13 At that time: As Jesus passed on from Capernaum, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his di... Read More

Trustees and collaborators from Catholics in Fundraising CIO (CiF) presented a copy of the recently published Catholic Generosity report to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in St Peter's Square following the Holy Father's General Audience on Wednesday. Presenting the report to Pope Leo, John Green, Chair of the charity, noted how the report spoke of the importance of making the Church's teaching on wealt... Read More

During his Angelus address to pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV reflected of Jesus' parable of the labourers in the vineyard and marveled that God's ways are not our ways and that His plans are infinitely greater than we could ever possibly imagine. The Pope recalled that in the day's liturgy, through the words of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord gives us great cause for hope, tell... Read More

Following the 60th anniversary of 'Nostra aetate', the landmark declaration by the Second Vatican Council on Catholic relations with other faiths, three Vatican Dicasteries have now published a document entitled 'A Journey of Hope' renewing the call to counter fundamentalism, protect religious freedom, and build coexistence founded on fraternity. Nostra aetate was a turning point in relations betw... Read More

The Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP) joyfully celebrated the Profession of Perpetual Vows of Sister Liz Dodd, CSJP, yesterday, Saturday, September 19, 2026. The Mass of Thanksgiving and Profession took place at Sacred Heart Church in Carlton, Nottingham, concelebrated by Fr Joe Wheat and Fr Chris Tomas, with a homily delivered by Sheena George, CSJP. In her lifelong commitm... Read More

A silent procession stretching through Whitehall created a 'peaceful thunder' in central London on Saturday, 19 September, as more than 600 people joined a Quaker-led Silent Walking Vigil for Peace. Participants travelled from Quaker meetings and communities across Britain, joined by Buddhists, Mennonites and Lutherans and others for the four-hour vigil. Mike Royal, general secretary of Churches T... Read More

Michael Kelly from ACN Ireland wrote today: "A blessed Feast Day of the Korean Martyrs! ACN Ireland was privileged to welcome someone who has been described as a 'living martyr' to its offices for a few days last week. Cardinal Ernest Simoni is a 97-year-old Albanian cleric who survived nearly three decades of imprisonment, torture, and forced hard labour by the communist Hoxha regime in Albania.... Read More

Gospel of 20 September 2026 Matthew 20:1-16 At that time: Jesus told his disciples this parable, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market-place, and to the... Read More

Twenty fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time We have a beautiful sandwich in our Sunday readings, the two ends are fairly easy to discover, the first is from the Prophet Isaiah who tells us that the oracle of the Lord is fairly unequivocal when it comes to the way human beings perceive the Most High, it's a useful reminder to all of us, and in particular to those of you who listen, watch or read the blogs... Read More

Rabbis for Human Rights write: Abu Ramsey and Abu Hamdan will not leave their land; they will reinforce their protection from intruders. We will stand by them as they do. Abu Ramsey called us from Jenata. He explained his situation: settlers from the nearby outpost Kochav Yehuda have become increasingly hostile to him and his family, incessantly intimidating them, breaking windows, and intruding... Read More