Commitment for Life
Our focus for the next 12 months is Palestine
Christmas
Carols
On a very cold Saturday before Christmas several church groups sang or
played Carols at supermarkets in
Joan Sampson - Cheltenham Area Christian Aid coordinator - sent the
following message of thanks: "My
thanks to all of you who took part or supported in any way. It was a
tremendous effort considering the bitterly cold weather and the credit crunch.
The total raised was £2513."
Andrew Veal
Traidcraft.
Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who ordered goods from the Christmas catalogue or who bought cards from the stalls. I can recommend the Christmas cake and pudding, both went down a treat!
Secondly a huge thank you to
those behind the scenes who ensure that the goods reach the stalls.
We have been able to send £250 to Christian Aid towards their appeal for funds. Due to the economic situation, donations to Christian Aid have decreased, so they have appealed for money so that they can continue with the work that they already do. The URCiC Council agreed that this would be a very worthy cause to support.
Carole Pennington
Urgent Appeal from Christian Aid
Christian Aid put out an urgent appeal for donations at the end of 2009 because their receipts over the last year have been about 10% down, probably as a result of the credit crunch and general economic downturn. The main points of the appeal are:
We feel it is our duty to let you know that Christian Aid's income has been seriously affected by the recession. We do not currently have enough funds to support all the people we’d planned to in 2010. Unless circumstances change, on 19 February Christian Aid will be making some difficult decisions: who to stop helping.
The Christian Aid website has more details - http://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/urgent/ - In a video message online, Daleep Mukarji, Christian Aid's director, says "With your prayers and support I hope we can keep our commitment to poor and marginalised people - thank you" Donations can be made directly to Christian Aid, through their web-site, by phone or through the church. This appeal is for immediate donations - of course, Christian Aid will continue to need regular donations throughout the year - and so our continued long-term support through the Commitment for Life programme throughout the year is also important.
Andrew Veal
URCiC Emergency Fund
We are seeking donations to the URC in C Emergency Fund
so we can make a large collective donation to the DEC Haiti Emergency
Appeal. As always, you can give directly to Christian Aid or DEC or use the
URC in C Emergency Fund. The Emergency Fund, managed by the Church Council,
was set up so the church could respond to Emergency Appeals and donations can
be made at any time so that funds are available for donations when there is a
disaster.