The 2020 Lent Appeal focused on the environment and our God-given responsibility for the care and sustaining of the world, its resources and its people, which are His first, and also ours.
Wonderfully, even when lockdown began in the middle of Lent, individual and parish gifts and donations came in total of just over £10,000. Thank you for that generosity which is, roughly, half the amount we have regularly raised for the charities we support through the annual appeal.
There will not be a new Appeal this year but I invite you to pick up where we left off last year. The threats and challenge are just as compelling and challenging. Our diocesan commitment to move quickly towards carbon reduction and play our part in meeting the Church of England’s intention to be carbon free by 2030. And this year the UK hosts in November a major international climate conference, the UN Climate Summit COP26.
There is much to do in and beyond the church, and the Appeal looks to support small charities playing their part in our local communities.
So please help if you can. You might want to make an individual donation, or save up the money saved by a simpler meal every Friday, or organise an online fundraising quiz or event. This year we won't be able to do the usual parish fund raising or learning, but we can still pray, learn and contribute.
Donations will be processed by the Church Treasurer. You can leave them in a designated envelope on the collection plate.
The Charities being supported are:
A Rocha - Ghana - In countries on the hard end of climate change they are helping communities by providing environmental education, helping to restore mangroves, and protecting forests as well as empowering women to integrate into lake management projects and providing communities with resources to build resilience to climate change.
The Sustainability Centre, East Meon. sharing practical solutions to inspire and enable people to become the planet protectors and change makers that God’s world needs.
