Caritas was launched in the Diocese of Nottingham at Pentecost 2021, following two years of development work led by the Justice and Peace Commission. We help the people of the diocese grow in living the Gospel, through ‘encounter, discipleship and missionary discipleship’, as our diocesan vision puts it.
Operating within the diocesan Curia, Caritas aims to be the diocesan centre of inspiration, expertise, leadership formation and networking enabling:
- parishes to be outward-looking ‘centres of constant missionary outreach’, locally and globally;
- individuals and groups to be ‘missionaries of the Gospel’ in bearing witness to Christ’s love through service of others, especially those most in need.
Our work is focused on six key ‘ministries’:
- Building Communities of Missionary Disciples
- Environment and global responsibility
- Offering social friendship and overcoming isolation
- Tackling poverty and defending human dignity
- Supporting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants
- Modern slavery, trafficking and exploitation.
We lead the diocese’s commitment to environmental protection and the race to reduce our carbon emissions to net-zero.
As is necessary in our extensive diocese, we operate two schemes to help us make a difference on the ground.
- Friends in Caritas is a network of individuals who wish to align their own endeavours those of Caritas. We offer each other mutual support, inspiration, insight and practical help, and introduce Friends in each parish to each other to encourage local grassroots initiative
- Four Countywide Hubs, centred on the cities of Derby, Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham bring Friends and parish representatives together to collaborate with each other and with ecumenical partners and local agencies in the public and voluntary sectors.