CHRISTIAN AID NEWS

AROUND THE SOUTH EAST
Regional news and events in Beds, Berks, Bucks, Herts and Oxon
Be inspired! Volunteer!
Sarah Clay
EVENTS
Volunteer teacher
Alban Macdonald
SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER
March for Justice
Sponsored Walk
10.30am, Bridge Street,
Abingdon.
Walk in solidarity with India’s
landless farmers, 8.5 miles
along the Thames Path. Contact
Jess Hall on 01865 246818 or
jhall@christian-aid.org
FRIDAY 30 NOVEMBER
Advent Hope
8pm, Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford.
Advent gives us time to wait
expectantly and to reflect on our
journey with Christ. It is a time
of preparation – so together
we will make it a time of action
too… a time when heaven
touches earth.
THERE ARE MANY amazing
people who give their time
and skills to volunteer for
Christian Aid. Whether
going into a school to give
an assembly, organising
a fundraising event or
collecting door-to-door
during Christian Aid Week,
their efforts help us to
achieve more. We really
value our volunteers and try
to support them as best we
can. Here, two volunteers
from this region tell us what
motivates them…
Margaret Burbidge from Berkhamsted is a volunteer
teacher, who regularly goes into secondary schools to speak
in assemblies or lead discussions in lessons. She says she
volunteers because ‘I believe each generation of children
and young people need to hear the Christian Aid message
about poverty and working to eradicate it.’ She adds:
‘Volunteering is a small, practical way of being a Christian.’
Alban Macdonald not only organises the Christian Aid
Week collections where he lives in Sandy, Bedfordshire, but
has also taken on the role of volunteer teacher. He says: ‘I’m
driven by Jesus’ commandment to love one another. My
faith drives me to volunteer. It’s a desire for justice for all and
to do what I think God wants me to do. I believe the work of
Christian Aid helps bring a little more justice to the world. ’
If you already help us make a difference – thank you for
everything you do. And if you feel inspired and want to get
involved, please get in touch with Sarah Clay in the regional
office on 01865 246818, or email sclay@christian-aid.org
Contact Steve Johnson on
01865 246818 or
sjohnson@christian-aid.org
WEDNESDAY 4 DECEMBER,
THURSDAY 5 DECEMBER
The Big Christmas Sing
6.30pm, Oxford Town Hall.
Join primary schools from
across Oxfordshire singing their
hearts out in anticipation of
Christmas. Tickets £4/£2.
Contact Sarah Clay on
01865 246818 or
sclay@christian-aid.org
Find news and events for our
region at christianaid.org.uk/
oxford. Your Christian Aid events
can be publicised there too –
just send us the details.
CATCH THE TAx J
CHRISTIAN AID’S TAx JUSTICE BUS will be making a series
of stops in the South East region over the coming weeks.
Come and hear how tax dodging affects the lives of the
world’s poorest communities and learn what Christian Aid is
doing to bring about tax justice. We will be joined by fellow
campaigners Church Action on Poverty, who will talk about
how tax dodging also affects lives and livelihoods in the UK.
See also stories on page 4 and Campaigns, page 12.
Here’s where you
can catch the bus as
it tours our region
Saturday 15 September
Shirley, Croydon
12-2pm, Shirley Methodist
Church, Eldon Avenue, CR0 7PT.
Soup lunch.
Come and explore the bus.
Tonbridge
3.30-5pm, Tonbridge Methodist
Church, Higham Lane, Tonbridge
TN10 4GT.
Afternoon tea.
Eastbourne
7.30-9pm, St Richard’s Church,
Priory Road, Eastbourne
BN23 7Ax.
Cheese and wine evening.
Sunday 16 September
Bexhill-on-Sea
9-11.30am, St Barnabas Church,
Sea Road, Bexhill-on-Sea TN40
1JG. Come and explore the bus
before you head off to church.
Dover
1pm, St Mary’s Church, Cannon
Street, Dover CT16 1BY.
1-2pm for lunch and talk, and
2-3pm drop-in to look at the
exhibition on board the bus,
which will be parked nearby.
Canterbury
3.30-5pm, Christ Church
University Campus.
Tax Justice tea party
Rochester
6.30pm, St Luke’s Methodist
Church, City Way, Rochester
ME1 2BQ.
Tax justice church service.
Monday 17 September
Basildon
11.30am-2pm, Town centre square.
Drop-in to look at the exhibition.
Chelmsford
3.30pm-5pm, Backnang Square,
Meadows Shopping Centre.
Drop-in to look at the exhibition.
Colchester
6.30pm, High Street (opposite
Colchester Town Hall).
Drop-in to look at the exhibition,
followed by a prayer service at
the Baptist Church at 7.30pm.
For further information, contact
Kate Parr, 020 7523 2376, kparr@
christian-aid.org
Thursday 20 September
Bedford
9am, 10am and 11am,
Harpur Square MK40 2SR.
Tax justice briefings.
Stevenage
2pm, 3pm and 4pm,
Town Square SG1 1BP.
Tax justice briefings.
St Albans
7.30pm, Vineyard Church, Brick
Knoll Park, Ashley Road AL1 5UG.
Tax dodging hurts the poor:
panel event.
Friday 21 September
Oxford
11am-12 noon, New Road Baptist
Church, Bonn Square, Oxford
Ox1 1LQ.
Tax justice workshop.
Witney
2.30-3.30pm, Market Square and
Windrush Room, Langdale Hall,
Witney Ox28 6AB.
Tax justice workshop.
Reading
7.30-8.30pm, Caversham Heights
Methodist Church, Reading
RG4 7BG.
Tax justice workshop.
For further information, contact
Jess Hall on 01865 246818 or
jhall@christian-aid.org
Christian Aid
24 Christian Aid News