Parish of Llandudno North Wales, Rector's letter May 2008

May 2008

This year Christian Aid Week begins on the Feast of Pentecost – Sunday 11th May. Surely there could be no more appropriate day to begin this week than Pentecost. When the followers of Jesus received the gift of the Holy Spirit they were transformed into the Body of Christ and sent out to proclaim Him to the world. And what better way could there be to proclaim Him to the world, than to show concern for our brothers and sisters in the developing world?

However I do have to admit that I don’t look forward to Christian Aid Week. I always take part in the house to house collection, a task which frankly I find rather difficult. Not that I have ever encountered much hostility although I know other collectors have. In fact, on my usual round the majority of those I call on are quite willing to give to the collection. It’s just that I don’t like asking for money and it can be quite hard to explain to some folk exactly what it is you are collecting for.

On the other hand I do see this as an opportunity to meet people one would perhaps not normally call on and to show them that the Church is not just interested in raising money for itself but really does care for the disadvantaged people of the world.

The money we give, or that we help to raise through our house to house collection, Christian Aid Coffee mornings etc., goes to help many communities throughout the world often in simple ways like providing safe drinking water or treatment for HIV infection. Less than 1% is used for administrative costs. Christian Aid also works to campaign for better trade agreements to help developing countries, and has recently successfully lobbied our government to pass a tougher climate change bill to limit industrial emissions. Climate change will almost certainly affect many in the developing world more severely than it will affect us.

So Christian Aid Week is well worth supporting. No doubt elsewhere in this magazine (and on the poster in Holy Trinity porch) you will see details of the various event planned by our local Christian Aid Committee. Please support these and why not volunteer for the house to house collection. Fewer and fewer folk are willing to do this year by year. Coffee Mornings etc. are certainly worth supporting. But they are not a substitute for house to house collecting. We naturally prefer the comfort of drinking coffee in congenial surroundings and company, but the challenge is surely to go out to the community to enlist their support too, and to show them that we as the church here in Llandudno are looking outward to a world very much in need.

Fr John.

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Previous letters:

January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007