Thanks to all those Waitrose shoppers who give through the green tokens in November. We raised an amazing £460! Wow! This is the icing on the cake of what has been an extraordinary month for Storehouse, our compassion programme. We are so proud to be a part of Sudbury. Many more lives in crisis can now be touched by the kindness of others. To God be the glory!
December 8, 2012 in event, news, news & events, news and events by andrew
If you are are part of our church, come and serve our local community and bless Christmas shoppers, by helping to give away a couple of hundred mince pies or so.
Why do we do it?
We want to do a small act of kindness to show God loves and cares about ordinary people by using ordinary people. We don’t want it to be a ‘religious’ thing or be preachy. Who wants that when you go out shopping on a Saturday morning? We certainly don’t!
All it needs is 45 minutes of your time. If you have never been part of one of our giveaways before, you are in for a treat. It really is a lot of fun! We will be gathering under the SVV gazebo from 11.30am to set up.
What better way to get in the mood for Christmas? Let’s go and serve somebody!
December 2, 2012 in event, news, news & events, news and events by andrew
Dr Eve Poole, associate faculty at Ashridge Business School, writes for EA’s Friday Night Theology on the value of foodbanks and makes a strong case to go shop for families and individuals in crisis at Christmas.
Often we have to explain that our Storehouse, a Vineyard church initiative inspired by Ann Watson (wife of the late David Watson), is not a homeless programme, but a hard-pressed programme. For whatever reason people fall on tough times. We feel strongly that ours is not to judge, but to show mercy.
Eve Poole cites that “fewer than 5 per cent of those who use foodbanks are homeless. Most of them are ordinary families with cashflow problems from rising bills, spiralling debt, or delayed benefit payments. Many are suffering from unexpected sickness, bereavement, or unemployment.”
As our own church prepares for its second weekend at Waitrose, I would recommend having a quick read of Eve’s article and letting the stats soak in.
Meanwhile, if you are not near Sudbury Suffolk, there are plenty of other foodbanks around, not least those that are franchised through the Trussell Trust, so why not get involved?
Let’s go serve somebody!
ASD
December 2, 2012 in event, news, news & events, news and events by andrew
