Archbishop Malcolm McMahon recently presented the parish of St Paul and St Timothy in Liverpool with the CAFOD LiveSimply award.

The LiveSimply award is an opportunity for Catholic communities- parishes, schools, religious orders and chaplaincies - to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation in Laudato Si' to “work with generosity and tenderness in protecting this world which God has entrusted to us.” 

The parish has been working to achieve the award since the 2020 lockdown, when they first came together as members of the Laudato Si’ Circle. 

Mike Glover, the parish’s CAFOD volunteer, said: “As members of the Laudato Si’ Circle, we were led to reflect on how our lifestyle was contributing to the ecological crisis. 

“We heard afresh the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.  These demanded a personal response and a desire to involve our parish community in addressing these issues.

“CAFOD's LiveSimply Campaign, with its guidance on how we could live more simply and in solidarity with the poor and in a more sustainable way, has proved to bea most practical tool in highlighting in various ways how we personally and as a community could respond.

“It has been a remarkable success both in raising awareness in our parish and inspiring most generous, practical responses whenever this was needed.

“The award is not the end but simply an encouragement to continue on the path of ecological conversion.”

The LiveSimply award is earned by communities and schools who can show how they have been living simply, in solidarity with people in poverty and sustainably with creation. 

The award celebrates what you have already done and inspires you to do more. It helps your community to live, not just more simply, but also more fully.

If you would like your parish to put their faith in to action and sign up to the LiveSimply award, visit cafod.org.uk/livesimply.