Christian Aid in Bracknell
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Christian Aid in Bracknell |
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provided by Just1 www.just1.org.uk |
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Since
1990, teams of house-to-house volunteers going out from Bracknell churches
have collected over £300,000 for Christian Aid. During
the annual Christian Aid Week, about 300,000 people across the UK take part
in the great house-to-house collection that raises nearly £20 million for
this good cause. Nearly all the money comes from the millions of
non-churchgoers who hold this aid agency and its work in high respect. |
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The Christian Aid sponsoring churches
1. Baptist Union of Great Britain |
NATIONAL
INFORMATION
The main Christian Aid website - and well worth a visit - is www.christian-aid.org.uk
OXFORD IS THE REGIONAL
BASE Their co-ordinating office
is at the Wesley Memorial Church IN BRACKNELL? Christian Aid Weeks The major activity in the Bracknell area is the house-to-house collection during Christian Aid Week, in which many local churches take part. Some people also take part in a big walk - in part for exercise but mainly to raise funds by sponsorship. Participating churches are allocated specific areas in which collect. They do so by organising teams of volunteers to distribute envelopes road by road and collect these in a few days later. The amounts collected are pretty substantial. Anyone who's been present when the envelopes are opened will tell of the great surprise and pleasure in seeing the big cheques, £20 and £10 notes comes spilling out. And many people ask for Gift Aid to be claimed. Being a collector isn't a serious strain on time, body or emotion. It just means giving up a couple of evenings in May to putting out the envelopes and later collecting them in. In many cases householders (regardless of creed, code or ethnicity) have the envelope ready and waiting. In some cases they've mislaid the envelope or the dog has eaten it - but are very happy to give when you offer a spare. So it's a very heartwarming and worthwhile experience. Comparisons year-by-year are fairly meaningless - because the total depends on the number of roads covered, the houses given envelopes, the number collected in (which in turn depends on the number where someone was around when the collector called first or second time) and the average amount given. So, like Bracknell, there are many swings and roundabouts. Well done to everyone involved! The major problem for all churches is getting enough Christians out on the streets collecting from all those non-churchgoers. If you'd like to volunteer to collect in your area, contact one of the churches shown below or Christian Aid in Oxford. |
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COLLECTIONS OF |
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Collecting for Christian Aid can sometimes seem like a lonely and underthanked task. To help remedy this, in 2006 and 2007 we ran two heavy-duty evenings for local collectors - to thank, brief and update them. Both were arranged by Hugh Gibbons, Christian Aid organiser at St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Church in Hanworth - and used the church as a setting. Recount Your Blessings was the theme on Thursday 6th April 2006 - when we had our first lively meet-up to thank, update and say well done to anyone involved in Christian Aid in the Bracknell area - organisers, collectors, givers, and well-wishers. About 40 people came along for a seriously interactive time. Our guest speakers included Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading and Jenny Ayres of Christian Aid (left). Burning Issues was the theme of an evening Thursday 19th April 2007 at St Margaret Clitherow Church, 202 Ringmead, Bracknell RG12 7AT. We explored the impact of climate change on world poverty, the plight of poor communities trying to grow a future, and whether Bracknell should become a FairTrade Town. Organiser of this event Hugh Gibbons said: “As last year, this was another good opportunity to thank and brief all the volunteers and supporters in churches all around the Bracknell Forest area who go out and do the house-to-house collections during Christian Aid Week each May. This year it was also a first-class opportunity for the many people around keen to review some hot topics for everyone in Bracknell – and beyond”. Lead speaker was Hilary Blake of Christian Aid in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire who presented on Christian Aid’s campaign Climate Changed – Cut the Carbon. Her talk will included the actual effect of climate change on real people in communities across the world - and how we can all play a part in global action to prevent climate change making poverty permanent. She also reviewed Helping Poor Communities Grow a future – the theme of the 2007 Christian Aid Week on 13-19 May. |
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In March 2011, Christian Aid featured in a meeting of Just1's Campaigners Together in Bracknell. Hosted by Warfield St Michaels on Oscar Romero Day, this celebrated campaigners for social justice across the world, and heard detailed accounts of the work of Christian Aid and partners in Egypt and Tajikistan. There was also a good account of a novel approach to campaigning by a local author. For further information click on the report on the left or go here.
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For further information on
anything on this page, This page updated on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 |
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