Along with other good news in the Justice and Peace world, we are delighted to tell you that the diocese is only 7 or 8 parishes short of being eligible to be a Fairtrade Diocese.  For this status, we have to have over half of our parishes signed up to Fairtrade, which they have been doing little by little, over the last few years, by sending their registration forms to CAFOD and receiving a certificate.

We were so pleased to sign up Newman House, the University parish, as number 100, but now need a further few to tip over the halfway mark (there are 214 parishes in the Westminster Diocese).

If your parish IS signed up, thanks so much for being a beacon for trade justice!  Do keep it going.  If NOT, please think of signing up to this international effort to ensure that producers in developing countries get a fair deal.

The Fairtrade Foundation tells us …

‘For hundreds of years, we were taught to serve, to be workers. Now with Fairtrade, we are entrepreneurs’ Marcial Quintero, member of Coobana, a Fairtrade banana co-operative in Panama.

It’s a scandalous reality that millions of farmers and workers are still being ripped off despite working hard to provide the products we love. Unfairness in global trade is rooted in centuries of exploitation.  Yet across the globe, Marcial and hard-working producers like him are unravelling this legacy.  They’re fighting for a fair deal, supported by Fairtrade, earning their way out of poverty and transforming their communities.

Our Big ‘Ask’

Could everyone hold a ‘Big Brew’ during the Fortnight, and send a picture in?  Teaparties or coffee mornings across the diocese using Fairtrade goods, would be a great way to celebrate the diocese’s  Fairtrade commitment.   We could collate your pictures on our Facebook page for all to enjoy. And don’t forget to tweet your pictures with #westminsterbigbrew.

A big thank you to all who have stuck with this campaign for so long.  Slow and steady ……