WelCom November 2020
Lisa Beech
Families, households, parishes, individuals, schools and communities of the Archdiocese of Wellington are encouraged to find appropriate ways to share food with others this year for the World Day of the Poor, on Sunday 15 November 2020.
In the context of our more fragmented and disconnected communities, following the Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, which have included the suspension of many Masses and other activities this year, there is a greater need than ever to reach out and connect with each other and with people in need, says Cardinal John Dew.
Be a neighbour – share food for World Day of the Poor, Sunday 15 November 2020
However, the large-scale activities as organised in previous years in the Archdiocese to mark the World Day of the Poor are less appropriate in the current Covid-19 environment, he says.
‘But that doesn’t stop us reaching out to each other,’ says Cardinal John. ‘This year, to mark the World Day of the Poor, we are encouraging every family and household of the Archdiocese to find something appropriate that you can do safely to share food with others.’
If we are still in Covid-19 level one [in which we are allowed us to meet], that could include inviting a friend or neighbour over for a meal, or buying a ‘pay-it-forward’ coffee in a local café.
If Covid-19 restrictions are again in place in November, sharing could include safely passing on some homegrown vegetables to a neighbour, baking a cake for a family with a newborn baby, donating to the foodbank or sponsoring a meal at the Compassion Centre Soup Kitchen.
In his recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to highlight the responsibility each of us has to be a neighbour to others. He asks us in the face of suffering to draw near to others without asking questions: ‘I should no longer say I have neighbours to help, but that I must myself be a neighbour to others.’ (Fratelli Tutti #81)
The World Day of the Poor is observed in November each year. It was instituted by Pope Francis following the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016.