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.