The Carmelite monastery at Wood Hall, near Wetherby, has been there since the late 1960s. During the 1970s and 1980s the nuns were a regular source of inspiration to members of the J&P Commission and their supporters.
Also, in those pre-internet days, the Commission made good use of the printing services that they offered in order to make some money to support themselves. During the 1980s, especially, they printed a number of booklets produced by working parties of the Commission. Although old, many of them are sadly just as relevant today as when they were written.
They also received many visitors from guest speakers that the Commission organised events around – such as Dom Helder Camara (archbishop of Recife in Brazil) and the newscaster Jon Snow.
Contact has been more with individuals in recent years, though we did hold a Day of Reflection there a few years ago to better understand how Carmelite spirituality related to working for Justice and Peace. You always knew that a visit to them would be an occasion of many laughs as well as challenging questions.
In the last few years, as the sisters became older, the community made the decision to close the monastery. Now the last 4 nuns left are ready to move. Due to differing needs, the members of the community are being dispersed to different Carmelite locations across the country. The monastery and grounds will be sold, although no final decisions have been taken to date.
So many members and supporters of the Commission became good friends with the sisters that it was fitting that they got together to have a farewell mass and wish them well for the future.
We celebrated mass in their chapel, with Mgr Peter Rosser (who was a Commission member for many years and also chaplain to the sisters for a period) presiding. Afterwards, we joined them in their refectory for lunch. After lunch we even had a film show from the early 70’s – filmed by the parents of one of the nuns – showing them at their work using the printing press. It was a hoot!
As everyone must be aware by now, Bishop Marcus is now Apostolic Administrator for the Dioceses of both Middlesbrough and Hallam - in addition to being Bishop of Leeds.
There is currently an ongoing process of consultation about how this geographical area should be managed pastorally in the future.
Leeds and Middlesbrough Dioceses both have J&P Commissions and we decided that a meeting to reflect on possible changes would be useful. Hallam has not had a J&P Commission for the last six years but a group of 5 J&P supporters also came along to this meeting, which we held in York.
We had never met before as a group of northern dioceses J&P supporters so we spent a significant amount of time just getting to know a little about one another and how the work of Justice & Peace is carried out in each diocese.
One of the most inspiring aspects of the day was being in a room with 25 people who were passionate about Justice and Peace being a core part of being a Catholic Christian and the immense range of talent and different experiences that were brought together in the room.
Near the start of the day, we made a list of the aspirations each of us had for this meeting. It was an ambitious list! – and I do not think we advanced many of those aspirations. However, being ambitious and imaginative was at the core of what this day was about. We went through an exercise of visioning what the work of J&P might be like after the completion of any changes to diocesan structures (and we may not know what these changes are for another year or two).
What we did achieve through having this day was • Renewed inspiration and sharing of energy for the work of J&P • A better understanding of how J&P operates in our different dioceses • All sorts of ideas for follow up – which will inevitably mean further meetings
Some of the key ideas were: • Building closer relationships – perhaps having a northern J&P Day Conference? • Making sure that the work of J&P is properly reflected in the results of the consultation process • Sharing ideas and resources to enable more people to come to an understanding that the work of J&P is a ‘constitutive element’ of preaching the Gospel.
The table below shows our incoming and outgoing cash.
It is, essentially, a cashflow statement, with the first instalment of our grant from the Diocese for 2026-27 (a total of £2,500, paid on 01 April) carried forward into the new financial year.
Comparing this financial year with the previous financial year shows a reduction in our bank balance by the end of the year. We were holding cash reserves at the start of the financial year greater than one year’s spend and some smaller, further reduction, should be sought in the next financial year.
Income
Our Income during this financial year is up by about £5k from the previous year. The key reason for this that we received a grant of £5k from the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace to finance the costs of the work on our ‘Trees of Hope’ project. We also continue to receive a regular annual donation from the Institute of Our Lady of Mercy in Yeadon.
The financial year also saw the last, tapered, instalment of our support for SPARK from Benevolentia. The lower amount of the grant in this final year of funding has been offset by a couple of small grants and the start of £5k of annual funding towards the costs of the SPARK programme from the Diocese.
Since preparing the Annual Financial Statement, we have been awarded a grant of £21,000 (£7000 per year over 3 years) from the Assumption Legacy Fund. This funding is specifically to go towards our SPARK programme with younger adults. It gives us more confidence that we can move ahead with the work of the SPARK programme (although more is needed to keep the activities at their current level).
Expenditure
Our expenditure during the financial year was very similar to the previous financial year. A cost increase has come about through recruiting a service provider (Gina) to seek and update content on our websites and using the online content to determine the contents for the monthly PDF newsletter (when, previously, it was the other way around).
What does not get recorded formally is the effort given by volunteers. Charity good practice is to estimate the value of volunteer activity at the same rate as paid service providers. A conservative estimate is that work undertaken by volunteers added at least another £8,000 worth of value.
How can I help?
A key way to help the work of the Commission is by pledging to give a regular amount (and, if you are a taxpayer, increase the value of any annual contribution by 25% through the HMRC planned giving scheme). Over recent years the amount we obtain has declined. Not only does it help directly fund our activities, it also demonstrates to possible charitable trusts and foundations that we have a supporter base within the Diocese, and this is an important consideration for many trusts when assessing any grant applications.
If you go to the donate page of our website then you can download our banking details and set up a Standing Order. Here is the link https://c4652100.myzen.co.uk/jp2026/donate/
Could you become a Commission member?
We are always open and interested in talking to people who might consider joining the Commission. Simply email us and we will arrange a chat with a Commission member. The more people who are part of the Commission then the greater our capacity to put the work of Justice & Peace in front of people across the Diocese of Leeds.
REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN 2025-26
SPARK
About 75% of our spending goes on the SPARK programme – so it makes sense to start with that. During the course of the year a group (mainly from Leeds University) have continued to meet as a ‘faith and friendship’ group.
Responding to requests from a couple of people, Kathy started a men’s group and this has gone from strength to strength meeting very regularly.
In the second half of 2025, Kathy started to support a nascent Social Justice group meeting at Notre Dame 6th Form college in Leeds. This has continued to meet regularly with support both from Kathy and the lay chaplain, Ann Merry.
In March 2025, working with the Spirituality of Justice Group, SPARK hosted the Romero Lecture given by Fr Luis, A Jesuit priest from Mexico, studying in the UK. His talk linked the life of St Oscar Romero to his own special interest in the families of the ‘Disappeared’ in Mexico. It was a very moving presentation -so much so that, again with the help of the Spirituality of Justice Group, we invited him back again to lead two events for SPARK. The first was an evening meeting with food at a community venue in Headingley which was attended by members of the SPARK community. On the following day he led a Day of Reflection for us at Hinsley Hall. This event was open to all and it was a very inter-generational affair. Again, people were moved by what Fr Luis had to say and it was a powerful day that gave people a lot to think about afterwards. We are grateful to the Jesuit Social Justice Fund, whose financial support enabled these two events to take place. Working in partnership with the Peace & Nonviolence group, SPARK again supported the presentation of a film at the Leeds Palestinian Film Festival (thanks in no small part to some funding provided by the Sisters of Sion).
The programme has continued to support individual members of the SPARK community in their efforts. A number of people are no longer part of a group but continue to be engaged and a number have contributed articles for the website and newsletter.
Climate Action Group (CAG)
This is the most active of our working groups. Some members of this group are now part of the formal diocesan sustainability group, which is called the Laudato Si Sustainability Group. CAG have met regularly in the last year and contributed a leaflet for parishes about what is involved in installing solar panels on church buildings. They also took a stall at the Advent eco-fair that was held at Hinsley Hall.
Along with a number of people from LiveSimply parishes in the Diocese, group members helped to organise a ‘LiveSImply Day’ at Hinsley Hall. The event attracted about 60 people and we were delighted to welcome CAFOD Director, Christine Allen, to take an active part in the event. We were also delighted to welcome Caroline Kelly, head of the SVP Centre on York Road in Leeds. The LiveSimply scheme provides an excellent opportunity to link global poverty and local poverty – and understand the connections for both with our current Climate Crisis.
Spirituality of Justice Group
The group worked in partnership with SPARK to present the Romero Lecture and the subsequent events also led by Fr Luis. In March 2026 we, again, hosted a presentation of the Romero Lecture in partnership with SPARK at the City Campus of Leeds Trinity University. The lecturer, Todd Walatka, from Notre Dame University in Illinois was an excellent speaker – as well as clearly being an expert on the writings of St Oscar Romero. This is growing to be a regular partnership with the Archbishop Romero Trust.
During Lent 2026 we once again organised an online Stations of the Cross for Holy Week.
UK Poverty Working Group
This group has not met formally and, whilst there are Commission people who are interested in the issue, there has not been the capacity to do much. We would very much welcome anyone who is passionate about this and could help shape some appropriate actions for the Commission to take.
Peace and Nonviolence
This group helps organise the annual Palestine Film Festival – with the Leeds Pax Christi group selecting the film. This is now well-established as an annual event but we have moved to brand it as a SPARK-sponsored event as the audience is much younger than at a typical J&P event!
Additionally, in June 2025 we received a grant from the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace towards the costs of our project to provide ‘Trees of Hope’ for both parish and educational settings. These are gingko trees from seeds of a tree in the blast zone of the Hiroshima bomb. The work on this project is proceeding – but it may not be until 2027 that the saplings are strong enough to be planted out. Liz Firth and Sean Morris are managing this project for the Commission.
We also heavily promoted an event about nonviolence organised by the Leeds Pax Christi group and local quakers. This was a sold-out workshop led by the Director of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, Nicolas Paz.
Racial Justice Action Group
As with the UK poverty, we would be interested in talking to and supporting anyone who would like to work on the issue of racial justice. Please get in touch if this is of interest to you.
Core Communications
We see communication as a core part of what we should be doing as a Commission. As well as the J&P website we also have a separate website for SPARK Social Justice. These, together with the monthly newsletter email (which goes to about 400 individuals as well as all the clergy in the diocese) are the main ways in which we communicate.
A major change within the last 12 months has been using the services of Gina Cavanagh and she has helped achieve more regular posting of stories on our websites.
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