[Saint Laurence]

St. Laurence’s Roman Catholic Church

Diocese of East Anglia

Parish Priest:
Fr. Simon Blakesley
(Tel: 07946 390060)

91 Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 1XB
Tel/Fax: 01223 704640
Email: office@saintlaurence.org.uk
Office opening times: 10am−1.30pm Monday to Friday

Deacon:
Rev. Geoffrey Cook
(Tel: 01223 351650)

Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP)

Contact: Ciaran Ward 07540 842078 svp@saintlaurence.org.uk

The SVP in our Parish and others in the UK and worldwide, endeavours to assist the poor, sick, lonely, and people in any form of need, mainly by visiting, or helping in an emergency to provide furniture etc. Occasional financial help is given if essential services are likely to be cut off.

The SVP group meets fortnightly (currently via Zoom) and welcomes new members. If you are in need or considering joining the SVP please : speak to an SVP member, or a priest, contact the parish office or email us at svp@saintlaurence.org.uk

Work in our parish

If you or someone you know needs help, please do contact the SVP to see if we can help. We can help with befriending (including phone calls), support with some tasks (e.g. shopping, small household jobs) or help with short-term financial problems (e.g. through donations or help to apply for benefits). One to one support is the basis of all the help we offer and we help people of all faiths and none.

Coffee Hub − every Saturday at 10am

We also run a coffee hub with parishioners after mass every Saturday at 10am to 11am where there will be an SVP member present for anyone who needs help!

Maundy Thursday Collection

On Maundy Thursday, the 28th of March, SVP members will be running a collection on behalf of SVP South Sudan as they continue to suffer from the effects of acute poverty, hunger and a humanitarian crisis due to people seeking Asylum from Sudan (fleeing violence because of a military Coup). Local SVP teams run baby feeding centres which feed hundreds of children a week, provide free life-saving medical treatment at SVP medical centres, and offer vocational training for young people to help them learn a trade. Parishioners make a donation after 7:30pm mass via cash, contactless card payments or through a balance transfer to our bank account (see details below).

Overseas help

The SVP in England and Wales supports SVP groups in certain countries overseas. Our conference supports three groups in India through prayer, communication and an annual donation. In addition from time to time we fundraise to offer funds for student education in India and to support the work of the SVP in Sudan and South Sudan.

NB: In some other countries, the SVP is known as “SSVP”, so you’ll sometimes see that abbreviation also used in the context of overseas appeals.

Update on Sudan and South Sudan

Because of the military coup in Sudan and the resultant social protest, there has been widespread civil violence and tragic loss of life. The prevailing situation has led to curtailment of internet services and breakdowns in communication. As a result, there has been a loss of direct links between SVP (England and Wales) and SSVP representatives in Sudan (Khartoum).

UK charity law does not permit appeals for donations where payment to the beneficiaries cannot be verified and expenditure for purpose confirmed. For this reason we are not currently fundraising for SVP Sudan but continue to fundraise for SVP South Sudan(Juba), where direct links with SVP are still intact.

Making a donation

If you would like to make a donation to the SVP, we are able to receive electronic bank transfers.

Account number:46077618
Sort code:60-60-04
Account name:E060102 ST LAURENCE

Banks are now introducing confirmation of account name. The SVP’s bank account name noted above may be too long for your bank; if so, please enter the name from the start and enter as much as you can. Please note that they are zeros in the name.

Gift aid: if you are willing to gift-aid your donation, please email svp@saintlaurence.org.uk and we will send you a relevant declaration form. If you are a UK tax payer, a gift-aided donation will allow the SVP to claim an additional 25% of your donated gift.

Every gift, of whatever value, will help support the SVP’s work both in East Anglia and abroad.

Thank you for your ongoing support and your prayers for our work.