The Parish Organizing Committee (COP) of Marinha Grande Parish invited its parishioners to a sewing workshop, with the aim of producing 650 cloth bags for the pilgrims who will receive in the Days in the Dioceses (DND).

Last Sunday afternoon, 5 March, many parishioners said "Yes" to the appeal made by the COP of Marinha Grande and joined together in a workshop to sew cloth bags. This was an initiative that came about after a diocesan meeting on the ecological concern and the challenge that Pope Francis throws at us to take care of our "common home".

Besides the goal of "avoiding rubbish and waste", the young people of Marinha Grande Parish sought to "unite people, make community and receive those who arrive in the best way we know: with love", as they revealed.

In this sense, the COP of Marinha Grande thought of offering, to each one of the 650 pilgrims, "something that they could use in their daily life, when they return home". The cloth bag was the chosen element of sharing since "it is part of our tradition and is still used by many of us to keep bread", added the COP.

Soon after the initiative was publicised on 4 February, "a parishioner produced the first four bags". The parish community adhered to the idea from the first minute and, according to the Marinha Grande COP, "every day we receive photographs of bags that are delivered", they said, with more than 370 cloth bags already made by the community.

For Margarida Campos, a parishioner from Marinha Grande, "what struck me most was the affection I could witness". "Basically, what those simple cloth bags will carry for the young people, besides food and drink, is tradition, history and the joy of keeping a memory forever", she added.

Sara Nascimento also considered this initiative "fantastic", since "besides avoiding waste, this bag ends up being a gift that the community gives to the pilgrims, transmitting a Portuguese tradition". Maria do Rosário Assis and Maria da Luz Mendes highlighted the positive response from the community, which helped "each one in the best way it knows and can, as a community".

Due to the success of this sewing workshop in community, the initiative will be repeated again on 18 March, at the Parish Pastoral Centre. Still within the scope of sustainability, the Marinha Grande COP has other actions planned, such as placing compost bins in the spaces where meals are prepared, as well as increasing the recycling signage, expanding it to new languages and colour schemes.

The Days in the Dioceses (DND) is the meeting that precedes the week of WYD Lisbon 2023, integrating youth from around the world into the parish communities of the various dioceses of the country. It will take place from 26 to 31 July 2023, and will be held in 17 dioceses of mainland Portugal and the islands: Algarve; Angra; Aveiro; Beja; Braga; Bragança-Miranda; Coimbra; Évora; Funchal; Guarda; Lamego; Leiria-Fátima; Portalegre-Castelo Branco; Porto; Viana do Castelo; Vila Real and Viseu.