Covenant with the Poor

The Parish Charter

This Covenant embraces the work of all groups and individuals in the parish who express their faith in Our Lord by their actions for the poor, as well as all the prayers and acts of kindness, and gifts of time, energy and resources.

Latest Appeal

Covenant With the Poor (CWP) Home Start – Advent ’24

Helping families to a better start in life…

The CWP latest appeal is to help fund a supportive and nurturing group in Winchester for young families who, due to social anxiety and health issues, find it difficult to access toddler groups with their children.

Covenant With the Poor – Awareness Campaign Oct ’24 – 27 Years of CWP in the Parish

Covenant With the Poor Appeal May 2024 – The Promise – Karibu Nyumbani Orphanage water project

Covenant With the Poor Appeal March 2024 – Support for a school in Andhra Pradesh, India

Covenant With the Poor Appeal December 2023 – Support for destitute asylum seekers with SWVG

Our Mission

In practice, a small group of parishioners meets regularly to plan a sequence of appeals which take place four times a year—at the beginning of Lent, on Trinity Sunday, in September and at the beginning of Advent. Some of the projects undertaken in recent years are illustrated by the photographs on this page. The group strives to hold a balance between international projects and those more locally based. Some long-term projects are supported a number of times, typically 3-4 years apart.

To qualify for support, a project must be undertaken by a registered charity, and should have measurable outcomes. Contact with each charity is maintained so that proof of the planned outcome is available, and the group reports back to the parish via a quarterly newsletter.

A typical amount raised for a given project is £4-5,000, sometimes more. Over the past five years, over £100,000 has been donated by parishioners to 17 different charities, 12 working overseas and 5 in the UK.

All parishioners with a passion for social justice are welcome to join the group, and to bring their ideas and proposals for the group to discuss. Group members prepare the quarterly leaflets and make the appeals at all masses on the chosen weekend. They also help to collect the donations at these masses.

Do please contact the parish office if you would like to come to a group meeting – these are advertised in PeterPost. We always welcome new ideas and would like to feel the whole parish is actively taking part in our efforts to relieve poverty and distress wherever we can make a difference.

Previous Appeals

Parish Contact: Barry Poffley