Laudato Si Circle

‘Live Simply, Sustainably and in Solidarity’ 

New members are welcome.

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What is the Laudato Si Circle

Laudato Si Circles are 'small groups that meet regularly to deepen their relationship with God the Creator and all members of creation.  Together they pray with and for creation, reflect on the need for ongoing ecological conversion, and take action,' 

The parish group is part of this international movement which arose in response to Pope Francis encyclical “Laudato Si” which addresses directly the causes of and the Christian response to the challenges of climate change. It speaks of the earth as our Common Home given to us by God, not to be exploited as we have been doing but to work responsibly and to live in harmony with it.  The group was formed in 2020 by Brother David and, for the first 6 months, conducted their meetings via Zoom!. They used to meet regularly every fortnight but recently, they decided to switch to meetings every 3 weeks instead.

Out of this prayer and reflection we felt that we needed to take action.  This led us to look around to find a manageable means of doing this.  The CAFOD LiveSimply campaign gave us some practical ways of responding.  In essence we were to identify ways in which we could show what we would attempt to do if we were to Live Simply, Sustainably and in Solidarity with Creation.   Details of what was involved in this can be found on the parish website page .  The CAFOD website also gives details of this Campaign as well as other resources and responses that you might make as an individual.  On the parish website, there is also a collection of tips on how to live simply as individuals. This will help us to stop our throwaway culture with food, clothing and unrecyclable materials.   It will require some patience to make these changes but the reward will be a more sustainable way of life.

In December 2022 the Parish was given the LiveSimply Award by CAFOD, one of only 70 parishes in England who have so far achieved this award. 

How to join our circle

Anyone interested in this group should speak to Brother David at St Timothy’s or with Cath Glover at St Paul’s.  If other commitments make this difficult then the Parish Newsletter will keep you informed of the opportunities open to you to be a part of the response to Care for Our Common Home.

The practical elements in our Circle are: Pray, Reflect and Action

May 2025

News about LAUDATO SI  

This is a special report to celebrate the fact that ten years ago  on the 24th May 2015, Pope Francis signed his historic encyclical Laudato Si, an open letter to everyone in the world of all faiths and none, about our Care for Creation.

We are celebrating the ten years in the week MAY 24TH TO MAY 31ST , 2025

In this letter, he crystallised the wisdom of many previous Popes and other great Catholic minds, all the way back to St Francis’ Canticle of Creation in 1224. 

Laudato Si shows us the interconnectedness of the challenges facing humanity today, how economic systems and over extraction of the earth’s resources are driving ever greater economic inequality, poverty, social fragmentation, pollution and environmental breakdown. 

However, Laudato Si is not just a list of insurmountable challenges. In this, Pope Francis reaffirms his confidence in our global Catholic and other faith communities to act from a place of great hope in our hearts and that we have strength in our communities and the Church’s influence across many countries. 

From this document the Laudato Si Movement was born, a global Catholic community joining together across continents, learning from each other how to rise to these challenges with strength and grace in our actions and hope and love for Creation in our hearts.

This year, we’re not just looking back—we’re stepping joyfully into the future.

On this theme, Pope Francis died on April 21st 2025 and he will always be remembered for this encyclical. May he rest in peace.

Pope Leo 14th was installed on May 17th 2025.

Pope Leo 14th marks 10th anniversary of Laudato Si' with message to university network

Ahead of the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', Pope Leo XIV has sent a video message to the Network of Universities for the Care of Our Common Home, gathered at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

The Holy Father began by expressing his joy at the Network's commitment to "engaging in a synodal work of discernment in preparation for COP30". He acknowledged the universities' efforts to reflect on "a possible reconciliation between public debt and ecological debt".

Jubilee Year is a year of hope", he said, inviting the young people to pursue their endeavours with hope.

Addressing university rectors directly, Pope Leo XIV said: "To you, university rectors, I want to offer encouragement in the global mission you have embraced: to be builders of bridges of integration, working for ecological, social, and environmental justice".

Bringing his video message to a close, Pope Leo expressed his gratitude to all those present for their dedication and service, thanking them "for all your efforts and your work."

Finally he encouraged each and every person, to continue as they "keep building bridges."

Watch the video message on the Vatican Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlPs2ZgpmUs

So Pope Leo has shown he wants to encourage us   to continue the  work that Pope Francis started.

 Why Participate?

Laudato Si’ Week unites hundreds of thousands of people across the globe with one shared mission: to protect Creation and all who share it. 

Your voice matters—especially when joined with others. Every event, every conversation, every small act of hope adds up to a greater transformation.

We have a small Laudato Si Circle. Ask Brother David at St Timothy’s or Cath Glover at St Paul’s for more details about meetings.

A prayer for this special week to inspire more people to participate in Laudato Si movement. This comes from the Cafod website.

A prayerful reflection on the Kingdom

It helps now and then to step back and take the long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission. That is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between

the master builder and the worker. We are the workers, not the master builders, ministers, not messiahs.

We are the prophets of a future not of our own.

Amen. 

 The words of the prayer are often attributed to Saint Oscar Romero.

·         If you want more information about Laudato Si have a look at the following links….

Home 2025 - Laudato Si Week

  Or  this from Ireland Laudato Si’ - Trócaire

 You could also look at our Laudato Si Circle (LSC) page on  our parish website

March 2024

As many parishioners already know, the LSC look after the foodbank collections in St Paul and St Timothy on the 1st Sunday every month. This fulfills their desire of reducing poverty which can be a result of climate change and other factors.

Thank you for your generosity. The monthly foodbank collection is taken to St Vincent de Paul Church Liverpool where it is distributed every Tuesday from 10.30am – 12.30pm to those in need. St Vincents Food Pantry is part of Micah, a social justice charity set up as a partnership between Liverpool Cathedral and Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral to relieve Liverpool residents from social injustice and poverty. Micah also has a Food Pantry at St Bride’s Anglican Church on Thursdays from 10.30am – 12.30pm.

For further information search micahliverpool.com

Below are some photos of St Paul’s and St Timothy’s recent Food Collection in St Vincents awaiting sorting and distributing. St Vincent also has a clothes bank (only freshly laundered and ironed clothes please) and serves breakfast and snacks as well.

June 2023

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon led us in prayer and presented our parishes with the CAFOD LiveSimply Award. Also present were the two CAFOD assessors Susan O’Halloran and Justine Simcock, the local CAFOD co-ordinator Colette Byrne and the MP for West Derby Ian Byrne who is a strong supporter of CAFOD and associated charities including food banks. 

There is a set of photos of the evening when the award was given on the Recent Events page. You will have to scroll to near the bottom of the page.

Thank you to those who organised the event in particular the parish Laudato Si group who enabled the parish to achieve the award and has made us so aware of many ecological issues which endanger our planet.  

April 2023

We have a date for the presentation of the Live Simply Award by CAFOD . It is on Tuesday May 30th. More details later.

Fix the Food System: Living in Solidarity with the Poor:

Our global food system is broken.  The world is facing a food crisis.  One tenth of the world goes hungry whilst one third of all the food produced is wasted and giant corporations make huge profits.  The way we produce food also damages our planet.  Small-scale local farmers have developed seeds that are resilient in a changing climate.  Yet laws are being introduced across the world, supported by large global financial institutions such as the World Bank, to prevent farmers using them. Here is an opportunity for us to take action. 

Please join in CAFOD’s National Campaign and sign your name to stand in solidarity with Salina, an organic farmer and seed saver from Bangladesh. It is addressed to the World Bank President and will be shared with the World Bank ahead of their annual meeting in October. 

Small-scale local farmers have developed seeds that are resilient in a changing climate.  She asks that the fundamental rights of small farmers to save, use, exchange and sell their own variety of seeds and put an end to all policies that limit small farmers’ choice over which seeds they can access. 

Care for Our Common Home
Easter is a huge, transformational event for the whole of Creation.  It isn’t just about a remarkable event that occurred 2000 years ago that proves Jesus was God.  It is part of God’s much bigger plan than perhaps most of us realise.
St Paul tells us that “God has let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he made in Christ ...that he would bring the whole of creation together in Christ”  (Eph 1, 9,10).  If we are to work with God’s plan we must seek to live in harmony with God’s creation and stop exploiting it.  The call to LiveSimply is our response to God’s will for Creation.  Happy Easter from the Parish Laudato Si Circle

 Become a Laudato Si' Animator! Our Common Home needs you!

Will you join us in caring for it?

    Start by learning alongside our experts and become a leader

in your community.

Register at http://laudatosianimators.org

Our planet will thank you!

Some old monthly reports are available to LS members