Yorkshire churches team up for charity week

The Church in the Dale is an ecumenical alliance of the Methodist, Roman Catholic, United Reformed and Anglican churches within Nidderdale.

The group serves the area from Middlesmoor through to Darley and Hartwith, covering 13 churches of differing style, size and character.

This month, members are teaming up for Christian Aid Week – with house-to-house collections and a fundraising coffee morning.

Pat Jackson is the Christian Aid organiser. She said: “Every year, during this appeal, people across Britain and Ireland have seven days and so many ways to raise funds to support their global neighbours, in a celebration of hope for a fairer world.

“We are taking part by hosting a coffee morning, on Saturday May 25, at St Cuthberts, in Pateley Bridge, and house-to-house collections. We’ll be delivering Christian Aid’s iconic red envelopes where we have volunteers and will have some in churches as well.”

Money raised during Christian Aid Week will help the organisation’s partners empower vulnerable communities to find practical and sustainable ways out of poverty.

This year’s appeal - from May 12–18 - is focussing on work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges: more than 70 per cent of the population live in poverty and more than half of children are chronically malnourished.

Christian Aid has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, the organisation helps establish Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). These community-led groups mean people can save and borrow money, making small businesses possible, offering reliable and diverse incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes.

Christian Aid Week offers seven days and so many ways to make a difference – to find out more, visit www.christianaid.org.uk/.

To support the Nidderdale group, please visit the JustGiving page - justgiving.com/page/nidderdale-christianaidweek-2024.