St Columba’s once again fully entered into the spirit of Christian Aid Week.
During the second week of May, churches up and down the country have helped to support the work of Britain’s largest interdenominational relief and development charity.
Churches Together in North Shields began with a joint coffee morning at St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic Church on 8 May, followed by a joint service to launch the fundraising week led by the Salvation Army band and an ecumenical choir on 9 May. During the week, church members delivered and collected thousands of donation envelopes from households in North Shields, raising over £2,000, and playing our part in the UK’s largest annual door-to-door collection.
St Columba’s completed the week with an action-packed all-age service on 16 May. Some of our children and young people performed a puppet show, with the puppets miming to a song about witnessing to our faith through our love for people in need. The children and young people also performed a short sketch in which they repeated the question, “Is it too much to ask?” Claire gave a dramatic reading of the parable of the Good Samaritan, and Victoria sang a beautiful solo of “Let there be peace on earth.” During the service we also listened to Michael Jackson’s song “We are the world.”
Shirley spoke about the work of Christian Aid, following a short DVD show. The charity works with over 600 partner organisations in 48 countries. In the last year, Christian Aid spent £16m on emergency relief, £43m on development projects, £14m on campaigning, research and education activities, and £18m on fundraising. The charity, which helps poor communities to help themselves, is based on a Christian ethos, but supports people in need regardless of their religion. Christian Aid’s vision is to end poverty throughout the world.