CHRISTIAN AID NEWS
CHRISTIAN AID NEWS
CHRISTIAN AID NEWS
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AROUND NORTH ENGLAND<br />
From Genesis to<br />
Revelation in four days<br />
The<br />
readathon<br />
goes strong<br />
It was a dull thursday night in March 2011 when<br />
a local ecumenical partnership in the north west<br />
met to discuss future plans. the group was<br />
struggling and needed an event to help revitalise it.<br />
as one member comments, ‘we made the PCC<br />
meetings on the Vicar of dibley look dynamic!’<br />
someone suggested a Bible readathon to mark<br />
the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.<br />
someone else mentioned the Christian aid<br />
partnership scheme, and pretty soon they had a<br />
plan. linda tiongco from Christian aid gave a<br />
presentation about the partnership scheme, which<br />
further fired the group’s enthusiasm. Group<br />
member Michael dearnley recalls: ‘One suggestion<br />
was to support the development of maternity care<br />
in rural sierra leone, which the lytham Methodist<br />
Church had a connection with. we took on the<br />
Kailahun hospital project and made it our own.’<br />
Over the next few months a Bible reading<br />
once and for all<br />
thIs exCItInG multimedia event, led by your<br />
local regional staff, shows what the world looks<br />
like through the eyes of some of the poorest<br />
people, and what we can each do to help those in<br />
poverty out of poverty.<br />
using powerful personal stories, stunning<br />
images, and beautiful, original songs, Once and<br />
For All reveals how our prayers, actions and<br />
donations are bringing hope and healing to those<br />
crippled by poverty all over the world. the show<br />
has lots of audience participation and equips us all<br />
to put our faith into action and work to eradicate<br />
extreme poverty once and for all.<br />
Created by members of Christian aid’s regional<br />
staff in response to calls from local supporters,<br />
clergy and churches, Once and For All can be used<br />
marathon was organised. In the beginning was the<br />
Bishop of lancaster reading Genesis on a<br />
wednesday morning in October, while the final<br />
verses of Revelation were to be revealed the<br />
following sunday morning.<br />
all local churches and schools were approached,<br />
and the response was overwhelming. Pupils from<br />
two secondary schools and three primaries were<br />
allocated the more accessible parts of the Bible – no<br />
Chronicles, leviticus or numbers for them! lytham<br />
st annes high school hosted the Bishop of<br />
Blackburn; and students became engaged in reading<br />
circles. lytham Church of england Primary had a<br />
four-hour ‘open house’ for the extended school<br />
family to join in with the children reading the Bible.<br />
Veteran english footballer Jimmy armfield was<br />
among parents, grandparents, local clergy and<br />
dignitaries taking part. the lytham churches covered<br />
the evening-and-night sessions, and on saturday<br />
night young people from all the churches came<br />
together to read, fuelled by pizza and fizzy drinks.<br />
the readings took a total of 72 hours spread over<br />
four days and involved more than 500 adults and<br />
children from five churches, five schools and four<br />
denominations. their efforts raised more than<br />
£5,000, triggering matched funding from the<br />
european union and an eventual donation to the<br />
project in sierra leone of £20,000.<br />
the ecumenical partnership has been thrilled with<br />
the response. the feeling of working together as an<br />
inter-denominational group, supported by the local<br />
staff of Christian aid, has been amazing.<br />
to refresh and recruit Christian aid week collectors<br />
and to inform and inspire volunteers.<br />
You can see Once and For All at the following<br />
places:<br />
saturday 25 february 7-9.30pm, Millom Baptist<br />
Church, Millom la18 4aG.<br />
friday 20 april 7-9.30pm, st Cuthberts Church,<br />
Fulwood, Preston PR2 3aR.<br />
thursday 26 april Methodist Church, Poynton<br />
sK12 1RB.<br />
saturday 28 april, Chester<br />
to book Once and For All, contact your regional<br />
office with some dates, find a good venue, invite<br />
everyone you know, provide some refreshments<br />
and leave the rest to us. For details, contact<br />
warrington@christian-aid.org or 01925 573769.<br />
PaPer Quizzes<br />
after the success<br />
of the regional<br />
paper quizzes last<br />
year, we are<br />
producing them<br />
again for Christian<br />
aid week 2012. If<br />
you would like us<br />
to send you some<br />
for your churches<br />
please contact<br />
your local office.<br />
You can also<br />
download quizzes<br />
from our Christian<br />
aid week website,<br />
caweek.org<br />
Get set for<br />
Christian aid<br />
Week<br />
are you looking to<br />
get more<br />
collectors would<br />
you like a speaker<br />
to visit your<br />
congregation or<br />
group to<br />
encourage<br />
potential<br />
collectors we can<br />
help! Please<br />
contact your local<br />
office: newcastle@<br />
christian-aid.org or<br />
warrington@<br />
christian-aid.org or<br />
leeds@christianaid.org<br />
tesCo<br />
ColleCtions<br />
autumn 2012<br />
tesco have a<br />
national booking<br />
system for charity<br />
collection. If you<br />
want to book one<br />
for autumn 2012<br />
and spring 2013,<br />
please contact<br />
your local office.<br />
we can also help<br />
with contacting<br />
other<br />
supermarkets if<br />
you’d like us to.<br />
28 Christian Aid News
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