Birmingham: First parish in Archdiocese receives CAFOD Live Simply Award

Bishop Philip Pargeter, Fr John Cross with St Peter's J& P reps

St Peter Apostle parish, Leamington Spa, recently became the first parish in the Birmingham Archdiocese to receive the CAFOD LiveSimply award, showing that as a parish, they live simply, live sustainably and live in solidarity with the poor. At a recent confirmation visit, Bishop Philip Pargeter presented the award to the parish where it was received by the parish priest, Fr John Cross.

On receiving news of the award, Fr John said: “I was incredibly proud that the parish of St Peter's in Leamington Spa should be the first in the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham to win the Live Simply Award. My part in the achievement has been minimal compared to the efforts of those who initiated the process a few years ago. Many parishioners have helped along the way and I would especially like to mention those from Fairtrade and the Justice & Peace group.

“The 150th Anniversary of the current church building (1864-2014) provided an opportunity to seek Fairtrade recipes for our celebratory parish cookbook and there were many other examples which impressed the Inspectors from Cafod who visited the parish to take a snapshot of how we were doing. From special recycling bins on each site, to ways of cutting costs of energy bills, St Peter's has embraced this scheme with its wholehearted support.

“In receiving this award we are conscious that we we have achieved something very special, but also that we still have plenty to do. Hopefully our example will give encouragement to other parishes in our Archdiocese who may be considering this scheme or are part way through. It gives me great pleasure to receive this award on behalf of the parish and to offer all involved many thanks for their sterling efforts.”