Thursday, 29 July 2010

Over 40 Cornerstone volunteers took the opportunity to take time out from their busy lives to spend Saturday reflecting on their mission with their Bishop, Terence Brain. 

The day of reflection, that included Mass and Benediction, was held in the new Cathedral Centre, a far cry from their usual meeting place at Denmark Road where the Cornerstone Day Centre cares for up to 200 homeless people per day.

Bishop Brain led the day of prayer and reflection inviting volunteers to show the love God has for them by their ability to reach out and support others. The vocation of the volunteer, he said, is to be part of the family of the diocese that was the family of God. “We are”, he said, “creating a heritage of freedom and space for the next generation to take forward the family of the Diocese and we need to do this together as one body, one family in faith”.

Another emerging theme from the day was the importance of taking time out to reflect and meditate on what it means to be a volunteer and a follower of Christ. Bishop Brain took the gospel story of Mary and Martha to illustrate the importance of stopping what we are doing occasionally to sit down like Mary and listen. Many volunteers may feel a little uncomfortable at the thought of doing little but listen, perhaps preferring to have Martha as their role model, a real doer!

Nevertheless, the point was well made and the volunteers present were challenged to appreciate the important role of Mary who can teach us to know how important it is to take time out to reflect, meditate and learn through listening. Our volunteers would acknowledge that at different times they need to be both a listener and a doer – a Mary and a Martha!

Bishop Brain was supported throughout the day by Fr David Glover, Episcopal Vicar for Social Responsibility, who has within his brief the newly-formed charity CARITAS Diocese of Salford. The charity has been specially created to bring together the many corporate acts of mercy and other charitable activities in the diocese, of which Cornerstone is an excellent example. Caritas will create a family of service, both professional and voluntary, that will give expression to the two most important imperatives of our faith – to love God and to love our neighbour.

Cornerstone depends on volunteers who offer practical help and support to some of the most vulnerable adults in our community by providing food, clothing, advice and information. Above all, they offer an unconditional helping hand that reaches out to anyone in need. 

To find out how you can become involved and support the Cornerstone Day Centre contact Tony Murray on 0161 445 7741 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .