Fast, pray and giveFamily Fast Day: Friday 23 February 2018
Your fasting, prayer and almsgiving are an act of love for our global family. Thank you!
Making FamilyFast Day happen
in your parish
Family Fast Day:What to do, when
Newsletter announcements
For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected] For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected]
1. Week before Fast Day CAFOD Family Fast Day: Friday 23 February
CAFOD’s Family Fast Day this Lent is an opportunity to support our brothers and sisters who don’t have enough to eat. On Friday 23 February can you give up a meal, or eat a simple meal, in solidarity?
With malnutrition still killing almost three million children a year, your fasting, prayers and donations will ensure more of God’s children have enough good food to eat.
And this Lent, your donation will make double the difference. For every pound you donate to CAFOD, the UK Government will also donate a pound, up to a total of £5 million, meaning twice the number of lives can be transformed. Twice the number of children can have the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong.
Please collect your Fast Day envelope from church this week and give generously.
(If you are holding a parish soup lunch): If you would like to join together with others in our parish, this Friday at ____________ insert time and location ____________, we will be sharing a simple soup lunch to raise money.
2. Week after Fast Day Thank you so much for supporting CAFOD Family Fast Day
This Family Fast Day, our parish raised £ ____________ to help end hunger and poverty around the world. This has been doubled by the UK Government, meaning a total of £ ____________ has been raised so more of our brothers and sisters can live lives free from hunger. Thank you!
Thank you for fasting in solidarity, and please keep our brothers and sisters in your prayers throughout Lent.
Lent 2018 Fast Day prayer
Everlasting God,
we give you thanks
for you nourish and strengthen us
with your merciful love.
Give us this day our daily bread.
We pray for those
who hunger in scorched lands,
with no food for their children.
Together, we cry out for justice.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Help us to share generously
as one global family,
and to hold onto hope
for a world transformed.
Bread of life,
we pray your people
may find life and joy
in all its fullness.
We ask this through Christ our
Lord, Amen.
Prayer: Rachel McCarthy
Family Fast Day Friday 23 February
Hold a simple soup lunch, with group reflection and say the Fast Day grace together.
Let us know what your parish are doing at Fast Day by emailing [email protected]
Preparation for vigil Saturday 24 February / Sunday 25 February 2018
Have some spare collection envelopes available.
Check arrangements for a parish volunteer or visiting speaker to give the Family Fast Day talk at Mass (unless done last weekend).
Arrange to include the Fast Day prayer and prayer of intercession at Mass.
Collect Fast Day envelopes and donations after Mass, and leave a clearly marked donation box at all church entrances.
After Fast Day
Ensure the collection envelopes are emptied, and the collection is counted and checked against the Gift Aid details. Make a cheque out to CAFOD for the total. Send the donation form (on the back of this booklet), the cheque(s) and any Gift Aid information back to CAFOD, all together in the same envelope - we’ve provided one. Please ensure no donations are left in the envelopes. Please send your donations ASAP to ensure they will be matched by the UK Government. Please do not send cash.
Place the thank you newsletter announcement in your parish newsletter and put up the ‘thank you’ A4 poster.
Prayer cards If you would like more prayer cards, you can order them free through our website: cafod.org.uk/fastday or by calling 0300 011 5680
And don’t forget to order them in time!
Ask for help!
Ask volunteers to read the Fast Day short talk at all Masses in your parish on the weekend of 17/18 February or 24/25 February. Or contact your local CAFOD volunteer centre to see if they can provide a speaker.
Ask some volunteers to help give out collection envelopes and prayer cards.
Print the children’s liturgy sheet from cafod.org.uk/childrensliturgy for your parish children’s liturgy team.
Check that your collection envelopes have arrived (usually with your parish priest) and that there are enough. If not, please tell us straight away on 0300 011 5680.
Pin up the poster.
Put an announcement in your newsletter about Fast Day.
If you would like more resources, these are available online at: cafod.org.uk/fastday
Preparation for vigil Saturday 17 February / Sunday 18 February 2018
Ensure volunteers hand out envelopes before or after Mass.
Make pens available to help people complete the Gift Aid panel on the envelope.
Arrange to include the Fast Day prayer and prayer of intercession at Mass.
Check arrangements for a parish volunteer or visiting speaker to give the Family Fast Day talk at Mass.
Prayers of intercession
Family Fast Day:Your donation will be doubled – making double the difference!
For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected] For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected]
Include these in your parish newsletter each week in Lent, or give them to the people doing intercessions at weekend Masses during Lent in your parish or group throughout Lent this year.
First Sunday of LentWe pray for the Church: that she may be a sign of God’s light and goodness in our world, and a beacon of hope for the most vulnerable. Lord, in your mercy…
Second Sunday of LentWe pray for world leaders: that, moved by the Holy Spirit, they may speak out against the scandal of hunger. Lord, in your mercy…
Third Sunday of Lent We pray for all those who hunger, in our own community and around the world. May God grant them the hope, strength and support to lift themselves out of poverty. Lord, in your mercy…
Fourth Sunday of Lent We pray for all those who fear for their children’s future. May God grant us the courage and love to reach out to our neighbours, giving them hope for the future. Lord, in your mercy…
Fifth Sunday of LentWe pray for ourselves: that through our Lenten journey of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, God will deepen our love for our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Lord, in your mercy…
Palm SundayWe pray for the Church around the world: as we enter Holy Week, may the passion, death and resurrection of Christ inspire us to transform our world. Lord, in your mercy…
You can order prayer cards for your parish by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0300 011 5680
You can also find videos and Lent resources at cafod.org.uk/fastday
This Fast Day, for every pound you donate to CAFOD, the UK Government will also contribute a pound – making double the difference to people living in poverty.
At no extra cost to you, twice the number of lives can be transformed. Your donations will help end hunger and poverty across the world, wherever the need is greatest.
The government will double your donations throughout Lent, so there has never been a better time to give.
Why fast?In 1960, a group of Catholic women did something extraordinary. They organised the first Family Fast Day to support mothers and babies in Dominica who were suffering from malnutrition. They received overwhelming support. From this, CAFOD was born.
Elspeth Orchard, one of CAFOD’s founders, explained: “We weren’t doing anything special, we were just doing what we thought we ought to do, remembering that we are all God’s children.”
Our fast is a symbolic act of love for people who have to go without food.
Whether you fast on your own, with your parish, give up a meal, or organise a soup lunch, your fasting, prayers and donations will mean more of God’s children have enough good food to eat.
Useful resourcesGo online for lots of helpful resources so your Fast Day runs smoothly: cafod.org.uk/fastday
You can also call 0300 011 5680 to order resources for your parish.
l Fast Day envelopes
l Posters
l Lent calendar with daily reflections
l Simple soup recipes
l Stories, photos and videos from families overseas
Provide seeds to grow peanuts and make nutritious peanut butter
Buy all the seeds needed for a family to plant a garden full of vegetables
Teach two health workers and a network of local mums how to spot signs of malnutrition in children
£6=£12
£28=£56
£97=£194
For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected] For any questions, contact CAFOD on 0300 011 5680 or [email protected]
CAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JBTel: 020 7733 7900 Email: [email protected]
Charity no 1160384 and a company limited by guarantee no 09387398Printed on paper from well-managed forests CAF3694
Hold a soup lunch this Family Fast Day!Join others in your parish for a simple soup lunch to
raise money.
It’s as easy as…
one… choose a venue – make sure it has enough space for everyone, plenty of bowls and spoons, and somewhere to heat your soup
two… recruit helpers – ask people to make soups, ideally with Fairtrade ingredients. Make sure your cooks are aware of food hygiene basics (see food.gov.uk) and label soups for people with allergies
three… invite friends and neighbours – download a poster at cafod.org.uk/fastday to display in your church or community centre, and put an announcement in your parish newsletter
Boost donations withGift AidWhy is it so important to Gift Aid?When you donate to CAFOD and fill in a Gift Aid form, you can increase the value of your gift by 25p for every £1 you give – at no extra cost to you! This extra 25 percent makes a big difference and means that we are able to support our partners with additional funding.
In the last year alone, we’ve raised over £2.6 million through Gift Aid donations from supporters like you. Just think of all the lives that money has changed.
How does it work?1. For CAFOD to claim Gift Aid, HM Revenue and Customs requires that CAFOD must be
able to match every donation to the donor, which is why it is important these forms are completed.
2. The donor must be a UK taxpayer (and have paid sufficient Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax), for CAFOD to be able to reclaim the basic rate of tax paid on their donation, however large or small.
3. Please use the CAFOD Fast Day envelopes, which have the Gift Aid slips on them, and encourage everyone who is eligible to fill in the Gift Aid slip when they donate.
Information for parish countersThe most important thing for your parish counters to do is to check the donation in the envelope against the amount declared on the Gift Aid declaration.
n If the amount enclosed is the same as the amount declared, please do not change the Gift Aid declaration.
n If the amount enclosed is more than the amount declared, again, please do not change the Gift Aid declaration.
n If the amount enclosed is less than the amount declared, please change the amount written on the declaration to match the amount donated.
Please ensure all donations have been removed from both collection envelopes before being returned to CAFOD.
Once the declarations have been checked, please send the completed Gift Aid declarations together with your cheque(s) and completed donation form to CAFOD.
You can use the Freepost envelope provided or post to:Freepost RSHJ-KJBY-YXLT, CAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB
!
Soup recipe - bean and pasta soup
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 finely chopped onion
1 peeled and chopped carrot
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
900ml hot vegetable stock
50g small pasta
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g can drained butter beans
grated cheese and parsley to serve.
Method: Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently soften the onion, then add the carrot, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Season, then cover and let the vegetables sweat for about 15 minutes over a low heat. Add the stock, and then when it is boiling add the pasta and simmer until tender – about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and beans, and simmer gently until it is all thoroughly heated. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cheese and parsley.
cafod.org.uk/lent
Fast, pray and give
Your donation will be doubled by the UK Government,
making double the difference.
Money raised between Shrove Tuesday 13 February
and Saturday 12 May will be doubled, up to a total of £5m!
When:
Where:
This bowl of soup is full of goodness
Join us for a simple soup lunch and raise
money to help our family, wherever they live
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and part of Caritas International. Charity no 1160384 and a company limited by guarantee no 09387398.
1. Parish details
Please return this form with your donations to help us to process them more efficiently. Please also make a copy of this form to enclose with any subsequent donations your parish may make to Lent this year. Please send your donations ASAP to ensure they will be matched by the UK Government.
2. Donation details
Parish Cheque/s £
Postal Orders £
Cheques £
CAF Vouchers £
Other £
Total £
3. Gift Aid
Have you included your Gift Aid slips?
Sending your Gift Aid slips together with your donations will save CAFOD time and money.
Yes No
4. Your details (in case we need to contact you)
Name of sender:
Daytime tel. number:
Please do not send cash in the post
Please return this form in your return envelope. You can also post it to:Freepost RSHJ-KJBY-YXLT, CAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB.Or call 0300 011 5680 to talk to us about anything we can help with. CAF3694
Donation form
!
