Pledge for May
​I Will...
grow my own food!
​

May 2026 Pledge. I will grow my own food
May 2026 Pledge
Growing Food.thefoodworks.org
Growing Food. thefoodworks.org
Live Simply logo
Live Simply logo
Parish Garden Chard Harvest 2025
Parish Garden Chard Harvest 2025

No Mow May

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If you have grass and can bear to leave it, or a patch of it, uncut this month, there will be a feast of life protected and growing in it. It's also a great excuse for a bit of wildness!
Leading the Way: Diocese of Leeds Environment link
Fairtrade Church Certificate 2023
Fairtrade Church Certificate July 2023
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Stop Press:

​​Getting to Grips with Catholic Social Teaching and Care for our Common Home: a day to look at faith in action

80 people. 17 parishes represented from across the diocese of Hallam, joined by nine other groups, including representatives from the Anglican and Methodist Churches and Crookes Joint Eco Churches all gathered at St Vincent’s church for a day of reflection. Full report in the link below:
2026https://hallam-diocese.com/getting-to-grips-with-catholic-social-teaching-and-care-for-our-common-home-a-day-to-look-at-faith-in-action/ 

Parish Garden: the Jubilee Garden Project

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What is the Jubilee Garden Project? The Jubilee Garden project is an invitation to use physical space to save, heal, transform and renew. In order to engage with rebuilding relationships with God, neighbours and the earth, the project has three patrons to help us.
The patrons are Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, three siblings from the town of Bethany, who will represent for us the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
To be a Jubilee Garden, each patron and their virtue must be enacted in the garden as a way of rebuilding communion with God, neighbour, the earth, and in doing so, ourselves.
The care of the garden becomes a physical representation of the care as a community and our own faith journey. Read more about The Jubilee Garden Project

A couple of people are starting to work together on a food growing area outside the church kitchen: the Martha Garden. Richard from St William of York has been to advise on the overall design of the gardens-thank you Richard! The Martha Garden is not very big and we would hope to have some accessible growing beds that people don't have to bend to get at, as well as a couple of ground level plots. Do contact Columba in person or via the Parish Office if you want to join in. If you have particular access requirements so you can be involved, please do say, so we can look at removing any barriers.

Care for Creation Little Pilgrimage 1 September 2025

This day began the Season of Creation 2025, with the regular Mass at St. Michael's, Rivelin for the souls of those buried there and in Crookes cemetery, providing an apt setting for the new Mass for the Care of Creation. This Mass was instituted recently by the Vatican and offered by Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo in July. We had a gentle walk of just under a mile along the Rivelin Trail to Malin Bridge, with  prayer stops along the way, before continuing  to Sacred Heart Church where Father Michael met us in the Memorial Garden for our final prayer. We were joined by parishioners from Sacred Heart, St William of York, and the Cathedral, ranging in age from under 3 to over 80.
                                     Full Text of Prayers on Little Pilgrimage
Photos below of pilgrims from St Michael's Church to Sacred Heart Church, via the accessible Rivelin Valley Trail

Little Pilgrimage for the Jubilee Season of Creation in Hallam Bridge

Laudate Si' 10th Anniversary Mass

Laudate Si Mass with gifts of globe, bread, grapes and water
Gifts of the Globe, water, grapes and bread
This special liturgy celebrated Laudato Si’ week –a time dedicated annually by the Catholic Church to Pope Francis’ prophetic encyclical on environmental and economic issues. The title Laudato Si’, ‘Praised Be to You’, was taken from the opening of St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn praising God for Creation, and is addressed to us all.

STOP PRESS

Live Simply Award for St Vincent's Parish: 
​celebrating what we have done as a Parish over the past two years, to care for God’s creation and each other, and to seek the help of the Holy Spirit to do more

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Cafod Award on the altar
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Live Simply Offertory gifts of fresh produce and symbols of our charities
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Live Simply Award on the altar
Full Live Simply Homily 
We pray for the peace of our city and our region. We pray for those targeted by violence, and the people who work in projects dedicated to helping them.
Bring and Mend Morning February 2025. 4 Churches Together

Live Simply in Action in the Parish

We have been working with the Reception class in St. Marie’s school garden. It has been wonderful to live through the seasons with the children. The children have enjoyed working in the garden. Some of the children live in flats so don’t have their own garden at home. In the last few months we have planted bulbs, made bug hotels, cleared weeds, collected apples, and made fat balls for the birds. Every week nature gifts us with new experiences. It was lovely to see the snowdrops making an appearance last week and to spot all the green shoots emerging after all the recent snow. It is a privilege to be with the children and to help them grow in their understanding of nature and the changing seasons. Here are some photos that show the children’s efforts in the garden. A Burke, P.Delamere
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St Vincent's Furniture Store 
We are in urgent need of the following donations:
  • Two seater sofas (must be clean with no marks or stains and have the 1988 fire regulation label attached)
  • Single and double bed frames with mattresses (these must be clean with no marks or stains and have the 1988 fire regulation label attached)
  • Single and double mattresses (these must be clean with no marks or stains and have the 1988 fire regulation label attached)
  • High Backed Chairs (OT)
  • 2 to 6 seater dining tables and chairs
  • Chests of drawers
  • Single assembled wardrobes
  • Clothing rails
  • Bunk beds
  • Small electricals (toasters, microwaves, kettles, irons, lamps, vacuum cleaners)
  • Small bookcases and desks
  • Rugs (all sizes)
  • Clean towels
  • Clean single and double bedding sets
  • Single and double duvets (must be new or in pristine condition, no marks or stains)
  • Pots, pans and kitchen utensils
If you would like to make a donation or have any items you would like to discuss please call us on 0114 270 3990 or email [email protected]. Our office is open 9:00-3:00pm, Monday- Friday.
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St Wilfrid's Centre: Tinned vegetables, peas, carrots, sweetcorn, potatoes all year in the yellow crate please!
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​BEN'S CENTRE:
​We need women's small sizes jeans or leggings (8-10), plus men's and jeans winter coats. Thank you

Guide to the LiveSimply Award

St Vincent's Pledges Month by Month to Live Simply

​And here's why: 
Laudate Deum: Pope Francis' heartfelt, determined reaffirmation of our duty to care for creation, and respond to the global climate crisis.
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Laudate Deum
Reflections on Sunday Readings and the Themes of LiveSimply
 
Easter
  • 6th Sunday of Easter, Responsorial Psalm
“Cry out with joy to God, all the earth;
O sing to the glory of his name.” Live Sustainably- it is God’s creation we are stewards of.
  • Pentecost, Responsorial Psalm
“You send forth your spirit, and they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.” Live Simply- celebrating all creation

  • The Most Holy Trinity, 2nd Reading
“Rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” Live in Solidarity- harmony through right relations with others
Cycle of Prayer. Prayers of the Faithful.   
Easter
Human Work
especially on St Joseph the Worker (1 May)
  • For all who work,
    may they earn a just wage and be treated with dignity.
  • For the stewardship of the earth's resources,
    so that all may benefit for generations to come.

Right Use of the Media
Especially on World Communications day -- 7th Sunday of Easter
  • For all who work in the media,
    may they broadcast with truth and integrity.
  • For places and events that are forgotten by the news,
    may they be remembered in our hearts.

The Church
especially on Pentecost Sunday
  •  For the Church of God,
    that the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit may be given to all people.    ​
Prayer Resources
St Vincent's Parish LiveSimply Prayer

Father, source of light and goodness
Help us to tread lightly on your world, and
To share with each other the fruits of your creation.
Acting justly, loving tenderly and living simply.
Showing humility and gratitude for all that you give
Lord of heaven and earth.

Liturgy for Children

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Liturgy for Children
The Parable of the Mustard Seed: how small acts, that we all take, help to make the world a better place 

Photo Gallery

Sustainable Travel? A bus to mass? Click for Information   
LiveSimply News from Elsewhere (click on each for more info)
Articles/ Resources
St Vincent's Live Simply Award in Hallam Bridge
​Nat West AGM Adjourned as Christians Challenge Climate Commitments Backtrack
Parish Urban Pilgrimage and Article in Hallam Bridge
​Laudate Si: Discussion document Santa Clara Jesuit University
Laudate Deum: a summary of its relevance and importance (CAFOD)
The Blessings of John O'Donohue ​
Fast Fashion (Fr Sean McDonagh)
An Introduction to Catholic Social Teaching- Protecting our Common Home
Consumerism and Climate Change (Fr Paddy)
​Silence in the Sacred Liturgy (Fr Paddy)
Diocesan Commitment to Laudato Si' (Emeritus Bishop Ralph)
Notes for Liturgy for Children and Laudato Si'
​Give in Memory: Click Here
​Books
Campaigns/ Petitions You Can Sign/ Actions (Click on each for information)
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​Living in Solidarity: Supporting our Charities. 

Links to Explore

https://www.pilgrimways.org.uk/ Explore for pilgrim routes and broadening of the idea of pilgrimage

Laudato Si' Movement (laudatosimovement.org) A wide range of information relating to the encyclical Laudato Si and our responsibility to live lightly on the earth. 
​Laudato Si’ Movement Prayer Book has prayers for many occasions, from many cultures, together with the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross and an examination of conscience, all on the theme of caring for God's creation.
Laudato Si' Research Institute, inspired by Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical, seeks to provide intellectual foundations for a reordering of society towards care for the earth and care for the poor.
Resources - Columban Missionaries (columbans.co.uk) The Columban missionaries work with passion for Justice, Peace and Concern for the Integrity of God's Creation. Check their resources for information and for prayer guidance.
Vocation for Justice- Columban Missionaries working for Justice, Peace and Ecology
https://journeyto2030.org/  The Journey to 2030 is a lay-run project that supports the Church and its wider community to respond to the cry of the earth and the poor. Its mission is to help our church communities to be the hubs of transformational change that they want to see in the world. See the section on the parish on their website: Parish - The Journey to 2030
The Call of Creation, The Catholic Bishops’ Conference  ​New edition of their teaching document on the environment.
Friday Abstinence, Carbon Emissions, LiveSimply Award  Catholic Bishops' Conference Resolutions on Environmental Matters.
Family activities and ideas (cafod.org.uk) Cafod has a very large website, and of course is the promoter of the LiveSimply Award for which our parish is working. It is particularly worth checking out their resources for schools and families.
Reducing screen time- benefits for everyone
​Ethical Banking What it is and which ethical banks offer UK current accounts
​Give a gift that matters with Gifts for Life e-cards from Transform Trade: Click Here
Good Taste- the Sheffield Fair Trade Shop: Click Here
www.theletterfilm.org/watch/ Parish Film Night
Archive
Fundraising Highlights
  • ​St Justin's Car Boot Sale 2024 raised £748
  • ​CAFOD Big Lent Walk 2026 raised £987! Thank you to everyone. 
  • ​St Vincent's Christmas Bazaar 2026 raised £1743 for a number of Parish charities
  • ​Pantomime 2026 £2,160 This has been shared between St Wilfrid's Centre and St Justin's Society.  
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Fairtrade Church Certificate July 2023