Community

In our local community

Charity shop
The Charity shop runs in the Parish Centre every Tuesday and Wednesday.  It gratefully accepts goods, clothes and bric-a-brac that are looking for another home, and sells and recycles them to help raise funds for Sacred Heart Church.  It also responds to calls for assistance.  

Teas, coffees and light snacks are served, it's a great place to meet, somewhere warm for a chat and always the chance of a bargain being bought!

Cornerstone
Cornerstone Day Centre in Manchester, provides services to vulnerable and disadvantaged adults facing a wide range of social issues.  They welcome people from all backgrounds and operate a policy of non-discrimination.  Cornerstone is part of Caritas Diocese of Salford, and is run by a small team of staff, headed up by Sister Lucy Dunne, and a large team of dedicated volunteers.  

Sacred Heart Parish supports Cornerstone by having a collection box permanently at the back of church for parishioners to donate tinned and non-perishable goods.  At least once a year, usually in winter, we have an appeal for extra goods.  Four or five times a year a car is loaded with all the donated food and taken to the Cornerstone Centre where the food is used to provide hot meals for the homeless and those in need, and to provide food parcels.  Coffee, teabags, tins (such as hot dogs, ham, tomatoes, soup, corned beef, stewing steak), pasta, teabags and so on are all very much appreciated, and can be left any time in the Cornerstone box in church.

Churches Together in Saddleworth
One of the wonderful expressions of friendship, prayer and working together among Christians of different denominations is Churches Together in Saddleworth.  Each different Christian Community within Saddleworth is encouraged to belong to Churches Together in Saddleworth and to have its clergy and two members as part of the main committee which meets four times a year.  

Joint services are held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25), a Good Friday Procession of Witness and Liturgy of the Word takes place, as does a Service of Praise on Ascension Thursday, Walks of Witness on Whit Friday and Carols round the Tree before Christmas.  In Lent we meet in ecumenical groups to discuss the Scriptures or some aspect of concern.  Our outreach work, largely channelled through Christian Aid and CAFOD and The One World Christmas Fair normally held in November, reminds us of the importance of Fair Trade.  Churches Together in Saddleworth reminds us that we have far more in common than divides us and prompts us to pray for that unity for which Jesus himself prayed.

Helping Communities further away

CAFOD
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, bringing hope and compassion to poor communities, working with people of all faiths and none.

At Sacred Heart there is an active CAFOD group who as well as promoting the work CAFOD do, organise various fund raising activities including CAFOD Teacakes after Sunday Mass, a very popular CAFOD quiz, and the "one card for all" parish Christmas card to buy CAFOD world gifts.

Traidcraft
When you choose to buy Traidcraft products, you’re helping to continue Traidcraft's pioneering work in transforming the lives of small-scale artisans, farmers and their communities across the developing world.

The Good Life Orphanage
The Good Life Orphanage in Kenya is a project that Fr Jim has been heavily involved with since the beginning. It has grown over the last 14 years from one house with 3 children to a full complex with five houses, a computer lab, a sewing room and a transition house for older children getting ready to leave.
In 2012 St Bernadette Mary School was opened to help even more children who need it most.