South Belfast Presbyterians fundraising success

St John’s in South Belfast wants to support those living in poorer countries.

Thirteen members of the Newtownbreda Church met to celebrate their success. They posed for pictures on the first Sunday after Covid restrictions eased, allowing members to attend a service without pre-booking a seat.

A large sum of the money was raised through house-to-house collections during Christian Aid Week.

Christian Aid Week has been held annualy since 1957, in the second week of May.

Jennifer Cairnduff, the Christian Aid organiser at St John’s, was delighted with the response to the house-to-house collection, she said: “One collector told me that she felt the community was more sympathetic to the plight of the people that Christian Aid is trying to help because they’d been in a difficult situation themselves.”

She added: “Other collectors enjoyed having socially-distanced doorstep conversations with neighbours they hadn’t seen in many months because they’d been shielding.”

Previously, the St John’s congregation organise a breakfast fundraiser to boost the amount raised and although it had to be cancelled this year, the congregation gave generously nonetheless.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive, Rosamond Bennett, thanked the people of St John’s for their kindness.

She said: “We’re grateful to Jennifer and all the collectors for their hard work, and to all the members of the St John’s congregation and the wider community who gave so generously. Their donations will reach people struggling with climate change and poverty in some of the world’s poorest countries.”