United Reformed Church in Cheltenham

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 Cheltenham throughout the day to raise funds for Christian Aid. The URCiC was out bright and early at Morrison’s, raising £98; the Church at Warden Hill/St Christopher’s was out mid-morning at Morrison’s, raising £213; and Royal Oak Brass (who are affiliated to St Andrew’s) were out after lunch at Waitrose, raising £132. The grand total from all groups in Cheltenham was £2513.

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.

Remember that every time you buy goods from our stall, not only are you helping workers to receive a fair price for their goods, but any profit we make means that we can support emergency appeals. So please continue to support us, new lines are being added all the time.

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.

We know you are committed to standing with the world’s poorest people. Your support is essential. In these exceptional circumstances we would like to give you the opportunity to help save vital projects including education work, health projects and providing long-term solutions to hunger. The harsh reality is, without extra funds, next year we won’t be able to continue some projects that are relying on our help. And people who are currently benefiting from those projects will suffer as a result.

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.