Charity supporters in Chinnor helped to mark the 80th anniversary of Christian Aid with an ecumenical service.
The organisation was founded in 1945 to give aid to refugees in Europe after World War Two. Since then it has provided humanitarian relief and long-term development support to marginalised communities worldwide, while highlighting suffering, tackling injustice and championing people’s rights.
Supporters around the UK are marking the 80th milestone by sharing stories and organising services and events.
The Chinnor Christian Aid Group organised a service for local churches at St Andrew’s Church and enjoyed a cake made for the occasion which was cut by supporters, Jane and Pete Honeyball, who have lived in Chinnor since 1972 and been involved with the group since that time.
Chair of the group, Mavis Shortman, said the service with Chinnor Methodist Church is an annual event where congregations from both churches and the wider community come together to worship and celebrate the work of Christian Aid.
Mavis’ husband Tony – who himself turned 80 last year - has been a Christian Aid supporter from a young age.
“My first introduction to Christian Aid at about 13 was through the Scout movement,” he said. “Our Scout leaders were organisers for Christian Aid at an Anglican church in Hanworth, Middlesex. We were allowed to deliver the envelopes and through this experience I began to understand what Christian Aid meant. My family moved from the area but some years later after meeting my soon-to-be wife, Mavis, I became a regular collector for Christian Aid.
“In 1976 with a growing family, we moved to Stoke Poges in Bucks and joined the local church where Christian Aid Week was supported. After two years I became the local organiser and through the years, we were able to cover all the roads within the village, building a large team of dedicated collectors. My job frequently took me away from home, often around Christian Aid Week, and therefore my wife was heavily involved in the distribution of many bundles of envelopes!
“In 2001, our son moved to work in Lesotho, a small land-locked country in Africa and we had the privilege of visiting and being able to personally meet with one of Christian Aid’s partners. They were involved in advocacy work to protect the rights of subsistence farmers, who were being moved from their land to make way for an enormous dam project.
“In 2013 we moved to Chinnor and were delighted to be able to join a very active ecumenical Christian Aid group which not only organised a house-to-house collection for Christian Aid Week but held other events throughout the year! My wife was then persuaded to join the fundraising group and became chair in 2016.
“In recent years, our fundraising has been impacted by the pandemic, but we still managed to continue running events, the most memorable being our Scarecrow Trails. Our first one coincided with the wettest October weekend ever recorded which required me to rescue some extremely soggy scarecrows.
“Over these many years of volunteering for Christian Aid, I have enjoyed meeting people from very many different faith backgrounds and - apart from the odd dog incident - it has been a very positive experience.”
Find out how you can get involved at www.christianaid.org.uk
Organisers and volunteers help with the celebrations:
