Durham, Ely and Chichester cathedrals have all announced plans to collect food or raise funds to help people in crisis this Advent.
Cathedrals collect food and raise vital funds for people in crisis this Advent.
Durham Cathedral has just launched its Christmas Appeal which is asking for donations for the County Durham Foodbank to help alleviate food poverty in the area.
Foodbank collection points are in place in the Cathedral, which is working with the Durham Christian Partnership for the Foodbank which is supported by the Trussell Trust.
Find out more here.
Chichester Cathedral has launched a campaign to raise 250kg of food for its local food bank after seeing record numbers of people in need.
Additional donation points have now been set up around the Cathedral, aiming to break the target of 250kg for Chichester District Foodbank, a project founded ten years ago by local churches and community groups to alleviate food poverty in the Chichester district.
Maggie Saffery is part of the team at the Foodbank and an active member of the cathedral community. She said: “For the first time in ten years the Foodbank is running out of food. We are experiencing hungry people: children and adults coming to the Distribution Centre. Many have turned off their power, so great is the fear that they will not be able to pay their rent.”
She explained that the majority of Foodbank users are in work, some with more than one job; but wages are low and the cost of living is skyrocketing and that they regularly see junior nurses and teachers.
“The Cathedral has had a presence in the City for 950 years: let it shine as a beacon of generous and loving concern this Christmas,’ she added.
Ely Cathedral is supporting the Ely Community Christmas Lunch initiative by encouraging visitors to donate £10 to enable someone to have a Christmas meal this year.
The 2022 Ely Community Christmas Lunch will be offered on Christmas Day in person and on Christmas Eve for home deliveries which is delivered by a very special visitor! The Christmas meal this year will be served at a venue at the cathedral plus Ely’s Lighthouse and Methodist Churches.
“Many of those who have enjoyed this community lunch in the past were individuals and families who were struggling financially with the demands of the festive season. Others were facing spending Christmas on their own, among them elderly or homeless people. We have always done our best to ensure everyone at our sit-down meals has a very happy time with a visit from Father Christmas and goody bags to take home, and we are planning to do this again this year” said a statement on the Ely Community Christmas Lunch website.
The initiative is funded by Rotary and the Masons and local supermarkets and works alongside Ely Foodbank, Age UK and the Lighthouse Centre who recommend people who would benefit from this project.
The Christmas Lunch is organised by Ely Community Lunches across the churches in Ely and is run by a team of volunteers.
