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Diocese of Leeds Justice and Peace Commission (1)

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3 Oct – There is Another Way

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SAVE THE DATE: FILM SCREENING OF ‘THERE IS ANOTHER WAY’

We will be showing this film on Friday 21 November 2025 (doors open 6:30pm) at St Chad’s parish hall, Otley Road,Far Headingley, Leeds, LS16 5JT

For a third year in a row, SPARK is sponsoring one of the films in this year’s Leeds Palestinian Film Festival. It is very difficult to know what we can do about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. All deaths are to be mourned whether Palestinian or Israeli. However, there is a genocide going on in Gaza and it needs to be called out and we need to be clear that what the Israeli Government is doing in Gaza is morally repugnant.

1 Showing solidarity with Palestinians through supporting this film festival is a very small action that we can take, but it is something that has been repeatedly mentioned by Palestinian visitors in recent years. It shows both that we care and that we want to understand the reality of the situation beyond the propaganda messages put out by Hamas and the Israeli defence Forces.

2 The film this year has been chosen by the Leeds Diocese Pax Christi group in consultation with the Film Festival committee. It is called “There is Another Way”. The film follows the members of Combatants for Peace. This organisation, nominated for two Nobel Peace Prizes, is an extraordinary bi-national group of former enemy combatants - Israelis and Palestinians - working together during an ongoing armed conflict. Confronted with the devastation and escalating violence of October 7th and the war in Gaza, the very core of the movement faces great challenges in showing that there is another way. The first question they must move past relates to their own beliefs...is this possible?

Spark Social Justice Logo SPARK is making this happen with financial support from the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion

October 2025 Newsletter

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📄 Download PDF Newsletter

30 Sep – A religious (but soggy) experience

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By Joe Burns, Commission member

A few weeks ago I wrote an article to promote a mini-pilgrimage of Hope, in celebration of ten years since the publication of Laudato Si. I remarked at the time on the lack of water in the canal, due to the prolonged dry spell.

Well, no such problem when we actually did the pilgrimage on Saturday 20th September as it rained the whole way.

20250920_132008 Our numbers were depleted for various reasons. However, we gathered under a tree in the canal basin to say a prayer and to be welcomed by John Battle, Chair of the Leeds Diocese J&P Commission, who reminded us of some of the key messages of Laudato Si. Then we set off along the canal towpath. It is a remarkably peaceful way to get to Kirkstall, despite being so close to the city. Because of the rain, our surroundings seemed especially green and heightened our perceptions of God’s creation around us. 

20250920_141452 The family of swans that Paul and I saw on our first visit were still there – and it was good to see them in a canal that looked as though a barge could travel along it. Despite the rain there were lots of conversations as we walked along and it seemed that in no time at all we were leaving the canal and crossing the Leeds and Bradford road to get our first glimpse of the abbey.

20250920_152406 Once in the abbey we headed to the church and gathered in the vicinity of where the high altar would have been. We were joined at the abbey by a few more people who had been unable to make the walk itself. We held a short prayer service before retiring to the café for a hot drink before setting off on our homeward journeys.

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28 Sep – 174 miles to go!

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3431 mile fundraising ride for Medical Aid for Palestinians

3257 miles done – just 174 miles to go!

Pudsey cyclist Tim Devereux is riding 3431 miles, the distance from Leeds to Gaza, to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
He has just been riding around Yorkshire, aiming at an average of 12 miles a day.

He says

“In November 2024, I was watching a film at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival, wondering what I could to help. I’d completed a 300 mile Leeds to Brighton ride for Medical Aid for Palestinians earlier in the year. I realised I could do a virtual ride to Gaza, just riding around locally until I’d covered 3431 miles, the distance from Leeds to Gaza. I would ride every day, (only missed 2!) beginning on 1st January, initially planning 10 miles a day and aiming to finish in December. I decided I would not use the same bike I’d ridden the day before – this would stop me using my ebike for the whole journey, and there have only been a few lapses! I upped my daily mileage to 12 miles from May, so I will finish on my 77th birthday, 5th October."

day_259_Tim Devereux There have been some mechanical problems – punctures, broken spokes, mysterious noises from the ebike motor, but I have only had to walk home once – ebike rear wheel puncture.

I can’t say I have been bursting with enthusiasm to ride every day, but I have been boosted by the lovely things people tell me, in person and on my JustGiving page:

“May you be blessed for your kindness”

“Passed you on the canal today. Missed your details but was able to have them found through the power of insta! Good luck remind me of my dad if he could bike this long 🩷lol”

“With you in spirit every mile!”

day_250_eh Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity which works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, and as refugees. It provides immediate medical aid to those in great need, while also building local capacity and skills. MAP remains committed to providing lifesaving healthcare and humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

So far this year, they have served and supported nearly one million people in Gaza, working with 16 local partners. Among other activities, they are:

  • supporting Gaza’s health system;
  • providing emergency medical care;
  • addressing malnutrition and water access;
  • and have launched 100 emergency blood donation campaigns.
The fundraising is going well – with Gift Aid, the total is presently £5,778, but of course, much more is needed

The JustGiving page is here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/tim-devereux-map-2025

REALISING THE SACRED -The Ways of a Contemplative Synodal Church

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This book is a pastoral reflection. It quarries the wisdom of others. It asks: how best can we be equipped to bring the love of God to a fragile and threatened world, to empower all the baptised to become the missionary, synodal church of the first Christians and Popes Francis and Leo? Aren’t we doing that already? Yes and no.

It argues that a contemplative vision lies at the heart of Jesus. All Christians equally by virtue of their baptism are invited to imitate that love of the ‘Sacred Heart’. To cultivate a ‘loving personal relationship with Jesus’.

Yes – but how? We are to use prayer – personal, the Church’s prayers, the rosary, worship, the Eucharist, adoration, lectio divina, meditation.

Is anything missing? The book turns to the wisdom of the Church’s largely forgotten contemplative tradition and to the voices which are increasingly arguing for its restoration.

"By consciously reinstating, repositioning the contemplative vision, mind and practice (‘heartsight’) at the centre of the Church’s ‘mindsight’ (theology, teaching, beliefs), in its worship, life in parish and communities and crucially as the bedrock of its mission to the world, all these will be enabled to circle round, as planets round a sun, the gravitational pull of the love of God."

But what exactly does all that mean? The book tries to explain how by the steady practice of ‘letting go and letting God’, of silent ‘contemplative’ prayer, of letting God speak; in not talking or praying or thinking at all - we slowly adapt the contemplative spirit and mind. In that spirit Jesus bids us not only to love our neighbours but also our ‘enemies’. The Heart guides the Head. It was and is the Way of Jesus we are invited to follow.

The book turns for aid in this to the Church’s mystics and the contemplative tradition stretching back to Jesus to Paul, past the Desert fathers and Mothers to the monasteries, to the Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, St Benedict, St Francis, St Therese of Lisieux and a whole chorus of others. Contemplative practice has broken out of the monasteries and religious houses. It has always existed unacknowledged in our pews. The book describes the growing number of organisations opening the contemplative door in ways to ‘realise the Sacred’ and thereby to anchor worship, parish life and mission securely in the search for union with God.

Lastly the book argues that this spirit lies behind the ‘conversations in the Spirit’ which underpins the synodal process. In the spirit of contemplation we listen, we are silent and only then do we speak –out of minds guided and unfused by that ‘heartsight’ which is Christ’s.

Read the book for the full explanation of this crucial theme. The author prays that in this way the ‘Sacred’ may truly be ‘realised’ - as the very definition of the Church we love, in its mission to the world we love in Christ.

Order your copy here

22 Sep – Trees of Hope Update

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The Commission are delighted to announce that we have recently received £5,000 for this project from the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.

We have mentioned the project in previous news articles. We obtained some seeds and some one year old ginkgo tree saplings that originate from a tree that was in the blast zone of the Hiroshima bombing. The saplings are all currently in the care of the Laudato Si centre in the Salford Diocese.

Emma Gardner Ginkgo Tree There they are receiving the professional horticultural care that they need until they are mature enough to plant out (which is usually about 3 years)

We started the project some 18 months ago now. So, as some of what we received were already saplings, a few of them may be ready for planting out in 2026.

For a few months now we have been seeking funding so that we can move forward with this project in the right way. Theses trees provide an opportunity to discuss the ethical issues around using nuclear weapons. However, they also provide a sign of Hope for our environment: that even in the terrible aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing it was possible for plants to recover from such an environmental devastation.

The grant that we have received serves a twofold purpose. Firstly, it enables us to pay someone to seek out church, school and other settings that may be interested in taking and planting one of the saplings. Once planted, the saplings should not require much additional maintenance. As importantly, it also provides funding to work with a partner to develop interpretation materials. We have agreed with Pax Christi England & Wales for their Education Officer, Aisling Griffin, to work with the Commission to produce suitable materials.

We do not yet know where the saplings will go but we want materials that can be used for an interpretation board in the vicinity of the tree and materials that are suitable for use in a primary school setting and a secondary school setting. If the funding goes far enough, then we will also develop some resources for parish use.

If you are interested in taking a sapling in your parish please email us and we will get in touch to give more details and explore the possibility.

Email jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk

19 Sep – Prophet or Provider?

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IS THE CHURCH CALLED TO BE PROPHET OR PROVIDER?

This is the title of the 2025 Hook Lecture. This is an annual public lecture on the ways faith interacts with public life and is jointly organised by Leeds Church Institute, Leeds Minster, and the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds.

This year it will be held on Tuesday 21 October 7pm – 9pm at Leeds Minster and will be given by Jon Kuhrt.

Churches are increasingly being called upon to meet the urgent needs in our communities. But how do we balance this important work with the Christian call to be a prophetic voice for change? How do we find time while pulling people out of the river, to go upstream and find out who is pushing them in?

https___cdn.evbuc.com_images_1105191783_112446720455_1_original Jon Kuhrt is the Chief Executive of Hope into Action, a national Christian charity partnering with churches to provide homes for people who have been homeless.

He has worked with people affected by homelessness for 30 years, and has written a blog for the last 14 years on faith, transformation, and social justice called Grace + Truth.

Jon is particularly interested in how practical social action links to social justice, how it empowers authentic change, and how it maintains a confident Christian distinctiveness.

The lecture is free to attend but please book a place by going to the Eventbrite page for this event: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/prophet-or-provider-the-hook-lecture-2025-tickets-1312712802329

16 Sep – Happy Birthday to Mgr Peter Rosser

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Happy Birthday!

Mgr. Peter Rosser recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Fr Peter was a member of the J&P Commission for many years and spent several years as episcopal vicar covering J&P issues.

In the early days of J&P in the 1970s he would regularly say a monthly mass at the J&P office, which at the time was in the basement of a convent on Burley Road in Leeds. In the 1980s he spent several years in Peru and his interest and work for the people there still continues.

20250905_133139 In ‘retirement’ he has been assisting at St Benedict’s parish in Garforth. People there have taken him to their hearts and put on a surprise party for him in a packed parish hall after Sunday mass on 31 August. It included this celebration banner – as well as a substantial financial gift.

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13 Sep – New Book by David Jackson

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David Jackson, from Shipley, has been a lifelong supporter of working for Justice & Peace and in more recent times has focussed on our Climate Change crisis and what we, as Church, should be doing about it.

Due to ill health, David had to retire from his role as Laudato Si animator for the Leeds Diocese. However, this has not stopped him from thinking about the Church and the importance of synodality.

David was born in Bradford. After ordination in 1964 he studied at Cambridge and Lancaster Universities and went on to teach in seminary. He married in 1973 and began a career in religious education. In 1985 he became the first Coordinator of the Bradford Interfaith Education Centre, a role he held until 2000.

Realising-the-Sacred_Front-Cover_CMYK-_Custom_ From 2000-2011 David was the Coordinator for Inter-religious Relations for the Diocese of Leeds and a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Committee for Other Religions.

In 2020 he ‘graduated’ as a Laudato ‘Si animator and also served on the diocesan Synodal Steering Group.

He writes:

Dear Friends /Relatives/ Contact on my Mailing list,

(Please excuse any mis categorisation - no offence intended).

I have spent the last 3 years or so writing a book:

'REALISING THE SACRED. The Ways of a Contemplative and Synodal Church.'

This may explain my state of near invisibility lately - that and old age and 'living with a cancer' (jaw and neck) - in remission after radiotherapy etc or/and the kind intercessions of St Winefride of Holywell!

How can the Church ensure that its worship, life and mission flow from an encounter with the God of love, mercy and faithfulness?

How can its members develop and sustain a loving personal relationship with Jesus?

How can it ensure that it places itself in all it does and thinks under the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

In other words how can it ‘Realise the Sacred’ both in the sense of ‘coming to know’ the Sacred and of ‘bringing it about’ – by turning to the ways of contemplation?

Can these ways bring unity to the rich diversity of the Church and hence hope and love to a fractured world?

Follow this link to read more about it and to purchase a copy Realising the Sacred - The Franciscan Publishing Company Ltd

11 Sep – Commission Planning Meeting

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Saturday 27 September at Hinsley Hall from 10:30 until 14:30

Our quarterly meetings are usually hybrid affairs, with some of us joining via Zoom and some people together in a meeting room at Hinsley Hall. However, once a year we get together for an extended meeting to reflect on what we have done in the past year, review our priorities (crucial given our limited resources), and plan for the coming year both in terms of the sorts of meetings and other activities that we might organise and also in terms of how we work.

All Commission meetings are open to anyone who is interested enough to join.

The extended planning meeting will take place on Saturday 27 September at Hinsley Hall. It will run from 10:30 until 14:30. If you are interested then please email jandp@dioceseofleeds.org.uk so we can send you more details.

commission members