CAFOD in the parish - CAFOD meetings tend to be on an informal basis, mainly centred around when refreshments are served in the parish hall after Sunday Masses. All proceeds go to CAFOD.

What is CAFOD?
CAFOD stands for Catholic Agency For Overseas Development and grew from the first Family Fast Day in 1960. CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas International.

Pictured above - a Bolivian family on Harvest Fast Day 2016

A very useful link is  https://cafod.org.uk/
and, of particular significance within the Middlesbrough Diocese,
              https://cafod.org.uk/Volunteer/CAFOD-in-your-area/Middlesbrough

The CAFOD group at St Mary and St Joseph is a very informal group which has been working together for approximately 10 years. Members of the group pass on the details of national campaigns to the parish by speaking at Mass, represent the parish at training and reflection days and, most importantly, try and raise money for projects in the developing world.

The group is to be found in the kitchen after Sunday morning Mass carrying on its chief fund-raising activity: Coffee and cake. Members take it in turns to bake a cake or buns or biscuits, which are served to parishioners after Mass washed down with plenty of Fairtrade tea, coffee or squash in return for a donation. This has turned out to be a popular and beneficial weekly event in the life of the parish: a chance for established parishioners to catch up and socialise, for the children to ‘decompress’ and play with their friends, and a chance for new members of the parish to get to know some friendly faces.

Although this simple, weekly routine is our main means of fund-raising, the group occasionally organises special, seasonal events. There is usually a raffle at Christmas, as well as a stall selling gift-wrapped, home-made sweets for stocking fillers. There has been a ceilidh, Lenten lunches and an enjoyable Latin American evening in aid of the Connect 2 project in El Salvador. The group also hosts a monthly Traidcraft stall.

There are no formal meetings or stringent requirements for group membership and most things are organised on an ad hoc basis in the kitchen over the washing up.  We are always looking for new members and anyone with an interest in baking, slicing (or eating) cake, in chatting, or who has a fairly high tolerance for washing up should feel very at home, and would certainly be very welcome.