The Parish of Christ the Eternal High Priest in Gidea Park will be holding its annual Parish Family Day on Saturday 8th June from 12.30pm. This particular family day will be special because the parish will be giving all the proceeds to Caritas Jerusalem, the organisation of the Catholic Church which provides much-needed help to people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Members of the parish were on pilgrimage with Fr Britto Belevendran, parish priest of English Martyrs, Hornchurch, and their own parish priest, Fr Adrian Graffy, in the Holy Land in March. They met the director of Caritas Jerusalem, Sr Bridget Tighe FMDM (below), who described the needs of the local communities.
On their return, they decided to set up a fund to support the work of Caritas Jerusalem. Fr Adrian Graffy says: “All are welcome to the family day in Gidea Park – there will be lunch, drinks, plants, chocolates, cakes, face-painting, make-up, jewellery and more. As well as enjoying a wonderful day together in our parish grounds, we hope to raise a significant amount of money to send to Sr Bridget to support the wonderful work she and her team are doing in very trying circumstances.”
Donations can be sent to Gidea Park parish, clearly stating that the contribution is for the Caritas Jerusalem fund. Fr Adrian says: “Caritas Jerusalem provides practical assistance for people of all faiths in the Holy Land. We are particularly keen to help provide medication for those in the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza.”