Hundreds from Jesuit parishes and schools head for Edinburgh

Up to 300 parishioners from Jesuit parishes, students and staff from Jesuit schools, and many others associated with the work of the British Jesuit Province will be taking part in the mass rally in Edinburgh on Saturday, 2 July in support of Make Poverty History.  They will be travelling by bus from Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Glasgow and London, arriving in Edinburgh on White Band day (Friday, 1 July).  Many of them will be sleeping in the parish halls of St Margaret's and St Cuthbert's Churches, and in accommodation provided by parishioners of Sacred Heart Church.

Taking part in the 2 July rally will be speakers from Zambia, India, the Philippines, Peru, Italy, Spain and Ireland, who make up the International Jesuit Network for Development (IJND) delegation.  This is being coordinated by Jesuit Missions and includes Joseph Xavier SJ, of the Social Apostolate for Southern Asia and South Asian People's Initiative, and Charity Musamba from the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection who will be speaking on debt.  Refugees will be among the Jesuit Refugee Service party, and 35 volunteers and staff from the Jesuit Volunteer Community will also be swelling the numbers in Edinburgh.  Students from St Ignatius College in Enfield will be making a film of their own experiences of the day, and one of them will also be the key note speaker at the Global Student Forum

On Saturday, 2 July, there will be a series of events to mobilise and empower the two main constituencies that the Jesuits work in (17 schools and 12 parishes in the UK), as well as the many thousands who live in the missions that the Jesuits support.  There will be four zones (Gener8ion - youth, Contempl8ion - faith, Children's and Campaigning) and two main stages in the meadows with the march - which is expected to take at least three hours starting at midday - wrapping the entire city centre in the world's largest human white band.

Jesuit Missions UK is playing a large role in the organisation of the Gener8ion Zone (aimed at 16-25 year olds and all those young at heart). 'The focus of this zone is to engage, inspire and motivate a new Gener8ion of people to become involved in the Global Call to Action against Poverty,' says one of the organisers, Ben Ramsden. 'There will be a fantastic array of programmes planned throughout the day involving workshops, poetry, music, dance, debate and more.  Specific activities arranged by JMUK are: Banner Making, Speakers' Corner, Reverse Graffiti, how to set up an ethical club night and a workshop on the importance of cultural diversity in development.'

In May, the Jesuit Days of Prayer and Action initiated by the British Province mobilised 50,000 people across 15 countries and four continents to pray and act in unison to Make Poverty History.  The same week, at a meeting with President Barroso of the European Commission, pupils from St Ignatius School in Stamford Hill presented him with an album and 3,000 letters written by Jesuit parishioners, students and others, securing his support and praise for the initiative and the Coalition.



 Jesuit Missions

 Make Poverty History