For over 30 years, Families in Need (FIND) Ipswich has offered a lifeline to people in Ipswich and the surrounding areas who are experiencing poverty and despair.
FIND provides free food parcels and personal care items to help people get through a crisis, as well as furniture, bedding and other household items where the person or family has none.
An army of over 80 volunteers regularly give their time freely to check and sort the donated food, collect items from local stores and churches, make up food parcels and deliver them. It's a six day a week operation.
Every year the number of food parcels distributed increases; in 2020 and 2021 the figure was 7,600, an increase on the 6.000 or so parcels in 2019. Some of the people in crisis who FIND supports with food parcels need help for many weeks until their benefits, wages or health are restored.
The following are some of the items you can donate:
Long grain rice; soups; tinned vegetables, meat, fruit and desserts; long life whole milk; jams; pet foods; sugar; and toiletries for men, women and children. Any such non--perishable items can be deposited in the FIND collecting bin in the church porch. Additionally donations of fresh foods like butter, cheese, fruit and vegetables will be welcome but these should only be donated direct to FIND and not left in collecting bins.
Sometimes people have nothing and FIND regularly steps in to help individuals with no money for even the most basic personal and household items they need. FIND has a furniture store and every week its volunteers will pick up items from the store and deliver them to individuals and families in need. To continue to offer this service, donations of furniture and other household items which are in good condition, are needed. Such items include:
Children's shoes and school clothing; cookers and kitchen equipment - saucepans, crockery, cutlery; beds and bedding - blankets, sheets, pillows, duvets; living room furniture - tables, chairs, settees, chests of drawers etc; whitegoods such as fridges, washing machines and curtains and blinds.
FIND also provides support for rough sleepers. There are many ways in which FIND helps such people - it provides footwear, clothing, warm coats, sleeping bags; it helps pay for prescriptions, helps with travel and provides food parcels. It also has a small emergency fund to help in paying for emergency accommodation for rough sleepers. To enable this service to continue, donations of warm clothing, sleeping bags, coats, footwear are always needed.
Cash donations can also be made and will always be very welcome. You can donate by cheque made payable to "FIND (Families in Need ) Ltd" for donations to the central fundraising account or to "Food Bank FIND" for donations to support the food bank. Cheques can be sent direct to FIND at PO Box 1029, Ipswich, IP1 9XJ or you can drop any donations clearly marked for FIND in the collection plate at church. Finally, you can also donate on line via FIND's LocalGiving page by clicking here.
The East Anglian Daily Times recently published an article about FIND, a charity which we have supported at St Mary Magdalen's for many years. In the article Maureen Reynel appealed for more donations to help meet the increasing demand for FIND's services, as well as an appeal for volunteer drivers to help deliver the food parcels. If you can help with the former, don't forget our FIND tub, which is always in the church porch, to accept your donations. If you can sparer 2 or 3 hours regularly to help with the latter, please contact FIND direct - you can find details on the FIND website or ring Maureen on 01473 833351. You can read the full EADT article here.
Pupils and staff from St Alban’s Catholic High School in Ipswich have become the first school in East Anglia to achieve a CAFOD LiveSimply Award after taking action to demonstrate they are living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor. Bishop Alan Hopes visited the school to present the award and open the school prayer garden on Thursday July 14th.
Championed by overseas development charity CAFOD, the school achieved the award after the whole school community implemented a number of exceptional projects that highlighted the importance of caring for people and the planet. Their actions not only had a positive impact on their school community but also reached out to embrace the local community and our global community.
CAFOD’s LiveSimply assessor, Joe Burns from Leeds Diocese, congratulated the school saying: “Working towards a LiveSimply award has clearly had a significant and ongoing impact at all levels within this school. The students, of all ages, were bubbling with ideas of what else they could do to take living simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor forward. The full support of the headteacher and hard work of the coordinator and lay chaplain will ensure that more staff and students become engaged and enthusiastic about continuing this work in future years. The award is very well-deserved.”
Jane Crone from CAFOD in East Anglia, who knows the school well, added: “One of the highlights for me has been watching the development of the prayer garden project over the course of this school year. The community has worked together to create a place for contemplation in the heart of the school. The project has enabled LiveSimply to reach out into the wider community as the benches were made in the workshop of a local prison.’
One year 7 student from the Eco Team commented on why they took part in the LiveSimply Award: “The award has given me a purpose. I belong to the eco warrior club and I help care for the school environment. I have made lots of new friends and enjoy implementing positive change. It has helped me grow and develop as an individual.”
Vanessa Williamson, Head of Geography, led the LiveSimply journey alongside the school chaplain, Katherine Edwards. She said: “I’d sum up our journey this year with these thoughts. The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Adopt the pace of nature. The secret is patience.”
If you’d like to find out more about the LiveSimply Award for Schools take a look at CAFOD’s website here.
Pictured above is Bishop Alan Hopes with pupils from St Alban’s Catholic High School in Ipswich with its LiveSimply Award.
You will have noticed the line on the top of the parish newsletter which says "Everyone is welcome - without exception" - well somebody may have been reading our newsletter and taking us at our word as we had a surprise visitor in church today.
After a brief visit to St Joseph to say his prayers, he was called away by his mate who must have clearly been of a different denomination as she waited for him outside!
Photograph credit - Chrissie Riches
Worshippers, including a good representation from St Mary Magdalen parish, marked the 20th anniversary of the restoration of the shrine to Our Lady of Grace in Ipswich with a thanksgiving service on March 26th.
The original shrine had its first recorded mention in 1152 and in its time was almost as important as Walsingham. Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward I, was married in its chapel in 1297. Between 1517 and 1522 the shrine was visited by Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Sir Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey, who was born in Ipswich. The shrine was destroyed during the Reformation and its statue sent to London in 1538 to be burnt. However, legend has it that the statue found its way to Nettuno, about 30 miles south of Rome.
A meeting took place of Anglicans and Catholics in Ipswich in 1977 to discuss the possible restoration of the shrine that led to the setting up of the Guild of Our Lady of Grace. In 2002 a replica statue, carved by Robert Mellamphy, was installed in the Anglican church of St Mary at the Elms, a short distance from the site of the original shrine.
You can read the full article here on the Diocesan web site.
More than 600 people gathered in the centre of Ipswich on Wednesday March 9th for a vigil to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Ukrainian families living in Ipswich joined the event in front of the town hall organised by the borough council. Many taking part waved Ukrainian flags and wore its blue and yellow colours. The town hall has been lit up at night in the colours since Russia invaded.
Tom Mumford, vicar of St Mary-Le-Tower, the town’s civic church, told the crowd that they were gathered to support Ukrainians: “following the great acts of evil and war happening in their country. We are also here to demonstrate that love, light and hope can and will always win.”
Fr Paul Spellman of St Mary Magdalen and parishioners from St Mary’s, St Pancras and St Mark’s were among the Catholics who took part.
Jean Johnson said: “The message we sent to Ukraine was, ‘Ipswich is with you.’ As we all lit candles or torches or phones we had a minute’s silence and a prayer led by the mayor followed by the Ukrainian national anthem. This was the most moving part: two young Ukrainians behind us sang the words, obviously heartbroken.
“As I waited with a fellow St Mary’s parishioner for a bus home we talked with a widow whose husband was Ukrainian. She had come well over a mile in an electric wheelchair to be at the vigil. It was a privilege and an honour to be at the event.
“We were encouraged to give to the Disasters Emergency Committee but to be prepared to work for Ukraine for years to come.”
Pictured are Fr Spellman of St Mary Magdalen with Jean and other parishioners from St Mary’s, St Pancras and St Mark’s at the Ipswich Ukraine vigil.
The Diocese of East Anglia Ignite Youth Team have recorded a song, as a prayer for peace in Ukraine, set to the traditional Irish melody Londonderry Air.
Director of the Diocesan Youth Service, Hamish MacQueen, recorded A Prayer for Peace In Ukraine, set to the traditional Irish tune Londonderry Air, which many people know as the song Danny Boy. Hamish, who wrote the words, said: “I’m sure I’m not alone when I feel helpless at seeing the horrific suffering in Ukraine – but one thing we can do is pray! We hope this song helps people – young and old – to pray for peace in Ukraine.” Hamish was joined by his teenage daughter Trinity, a student at Notre Dame High School in Norwich and a member of St George’s Parish on vocals and on piano by Ray Travasso from St Mary’s, Woodbridge Road, Ipswich.
Click here to listen to the song.
LIFE is a UK-based anti-abortion charity. It was founded in 1970 by Professor Jack Scarisbrick and his wife Nuala in response to the Abortion Act 1967, which greatly extended access to legal abortion in the United Kingdom. It exists as a charity to help women with unexpected pregnancies to be positive about the alternatives to abortion and deal with their fear of the unknown. LIFE gives the family hope and a future where they can see none; it helps women who have run out of options towards a brighter future; it enables children to get a better chance in life; it brings joy to women in despair.
Please take a minute to read the stories of hope and thankfulness in the annual review document - click on the image to the left. Hopefully these stories will warm your heart. And if you feel it is right to express your thankfulness by supporting LIFE's work, then please click here to make an on-line donation.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
There are a number of lists in the narthex asking for names of volunteers for various things – to help with church and hall cleaning, to help with food for the proposed parish Christmas party next week, readers and Eucharistic minsters for the Christmas services, vacancy for the position of parish treasurer etc. At the last check these were all woefully blank! Don’t be a Nobody.
The new parish facility, to be known as the Garden Room, has been completed and is now available for use. The first event held in the new room was, fittingly, the farewell party for Fr Mathew. As can be seen from the photographs above, the new room has been furnished and offers a beautiful new resource to the parish which includes an accessible toilet.
We are very grateful for the new church notice board, which has been donated by the Campbell family in memory of their son Jamie who passed away in March 2021. This was erected at church this week. Designed by professional graphic designers, the new notice board makes a striking impact on people passing the church on Norwich Road and provides detail of parish contacts and a sealed notice board for posters. The lettering is replaceable should changes need to be made, for example a change in service times can be made without having to replace the complete notice board.
