Up to 300
parishioners from Jesuit parishes, students and staff from
Jesuit schools, and many others associated with the work of
the British Jesuit Province will be taking part in the mass
rally in Edinburgh on Saturday,
2 July in
support of Make Poverty History. They will be travelling by
bus from Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Glasgow and London,
arriving in Edinburgh on White Band day (Friday, 1 July).
Many of them will be sleeping in the parish halls of St
Margaret’s and St Cuthbert’s Churches, and in accommodation
provided by parishioners of Sacred Heart Church.
Taking part in
the 2 July rally will be speakers from Zambia, India, the
Philippines, Peru, Italy, Spain and Ireland, who make up the
International Jesuit Network for Development (IJND)
delegation. This is being coordinated by Jesuit Missions and
includes Joseph Xavier SJ, of the Social Apostolate for
Southern Asia and South Asian People’s Initiative, and
Charity Musamba from the Jesuit Centre for Theological
Reflection who will be speaking on debt. They
will both be
addressing tens of thousands of people from the main stage.
Refugees will be among the Jesuit Refugee Service party, and
35 volunteers and staff from the Jesuit Volunteer Community
will also be swelling the numbers in Edinburgh. Students
from St Ignatius College in Enfield will be making a film of
their own experiences of the day, and one of them will also
be the key note speaker at the Global Student Forum
On Saturday, 2
July, there will be a series of events to mobilise and
empower the two main constituencies that the Jesuits work in
(17 schools and 12 parishes in the UK), as well as the many
thousands who live in the missions that the Jesuits work
with. There will be four zones (Gener8ion – youth,
Contempl8ion – faith, Children’s and Campaigning) and two
main stages in the meadows. The march – which is expected to
take at least three hours starting at midday – will wrap the
entire city centre in the world’s largest human white band.
Jesuit
Missions UK is playing a large role in the organisation of
the Gener8ion Zone (aimed at 16-25 year olds and all those
young at heart). “The focus of this zone is to engage,
inspire and motivate a new Gener8ion of people to become
involved in the Global Call to Action against Poverty,” says
one of the organisers, Ben Ramsden. “There will be a
fantastic array of programmes planned throughout the day
involving workshops, poetry, music, dance, debate and more.
Specific activities arranged by JMUK are: Banner Making,
Speakers’ Corner, Graffiti and breakdancing workshops, how
to set up an ethical club night and a workshop on the
importance of cultural diversity in development.”
In May, the
Jesuit Days of Prayer and Action initiated by the British
Province mobilised 50,000 people across 15 countries and
four continents to pray and act in unison to
MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY. The same week, at a meeting with
President Barroso of the European Commission, pupils from St
Ignatius School in Stamford Hill presented him with an album
and 3,000 letters written by Jesuit parishioners, students
and others, securing his support and praise for the
initiative and the Coalition.
For
more information and details of the programme, please
contact Ben Ramsden on 020 8946 0466.
For general queries,
contact
