This
week is Christian Aid week. Christian Aid
is the official relief and development agency of 41 British and Irish churches.
It works with 570 local partner organisations in 45 countries. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty
– and it believes that vision can become a reality.
This
costs money. Its budget of £105 million sounds huge, but it represents less
than £2 per UK citizen and is trivial compared with even a small multinational
company. The “Christian Aid Week,” which we are now in, is its major
fundraising activity. There is a collection at the Oadby Sainsbury’s tomorrow
(18th), other collections, sponsorship activities including a walk and individuals’
and churches’ donations.
As
Christians, we believe that we in the West are in a privileged position and
should use what God has given us to help others. There will also be many who
contribute who do not share our faith; we thank them for their humanity.
A
special Christian Aid service took place at St Paul’s at the beginning of the
week, last Sunday evening, organised by Churches Together in Oadby, when 50
people gathered. Ian Wedd, a volunteer from the East Midlands Christian Aid team,
spoke of the feasibility of lifting a country out of poverty and gave South
Korea as an example.
