The Moderator, Rt Rev Dr Shaw Paterson, writes with news from leaders of churches in Lebanon, about the impact of the current crisis in the Middle East on people living there. The Church of Scotland partners with the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL).
Please remember the situation in your prayers and you may find the Moderator’s prayer helpful in doing so:
We have these words in Revelation 7 verse 16, “Never again will they hunger, never again will they thirst”. We look forward to a future where God’s original vision is restored in new creation – when hunger and thirst are no longer part of our broken world but where everyone’s needs are met in God’s heavenly kingdom.
As trustees of The Foodbank we are delighted that the Church has chosen our charity as the recipients of our Harvest Thanksgiving service. At times it is easy for us to be blind to the need of the hungry in our community because they are really hidden and want anonymity. We often hear people say that there is no need for Foodbanks today but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The Foodbank is used nowadays by people in all walks of life, many in employment.
As Christians we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to basic material necessities which includes food. When you think of taking communion, no one is excluded, rich or poor. We should see this as a value emerging from the biblical notion of God’s love for the poor and vulnerable. As Christians we should believe that helping the poor is an honourable and socially just endeavour. We believe that all our actions have an effect on the common good of creation and that it is a privilege to help the needy.
The demand for food has varied since pre-pandemic, pandemic and post pandemic. We saw a gradual rise from bags given out in 2016 of 383 to 1076 in 2019. At the peak of the pandemic we gave out 3406 bags in 2020. Post pandemic we saw a decline to 2337 in 2023, but sadly the demand is now significantly higher than pre pandemic with more individuals and families struggling.
Pre-pandemic we operated effectively from food donations and some cash donations. During the pandemic with people spending less time outwith their homes we saw a sharp decline in food donations but this was very much offset by cash donations and our success in applications for grant funds. Post-pandemic food donations do not match what we were receiving pre-pandemic resulting in us having to purchase more food. We have seen in recent times an increase in individuals regularly requesting a foodbag, and also a significant increase in prices of food we need to purchase. Last year we made a significant financial loss and while we have funds at present, if we continue to operate like the last year we foresee us having major issues in 12 months’ time. To prevent this we are having to take difficult decisions regarding frequency of food distribution and also Christmas time when we give additional treats and small vouchers to those in need.
With these challenges we thank the church for nominating us as their charity for the Harvest Thanksgiving service on Sunday 29 September. We would also encourage you, if you are able, to place food items in our box throughout the year, at the church door.
We are grateful to the Church for their support and also for use of the hall, which is a significant saving in our costs.
We would also ask that you remember our work in your prayers
Roddy Beaton and Mogie Gillies
Foodbank Trustees.
Further information can be found on the Foodbank Facebook Page (The Community Foodbank-Skye and Lochalsh) and website https://skyefoodbank.co.uk
Portree Parish Church Sunday School is starting with sponsoring a child so they can write to the child, sharing information about their daily lives and getting to know about the child’s life, family and community.
Our child is a 10 year old boy called Illiassa, from Burkina Faso in West Africa.
More information about Compassion, the countries it works in and the impacts of the sponsorship programme can be found on their website:
https://www.compassionuk.org/about-us/who-we-are/
We’ll be sharing some of this information at our Compassion Sunday service on 8 September and look forward to sharing fellowship, with an opportunity to ask questions and find out more at our Soup and Pudding lunch after the morning service.
Information about the 2024 Shoebox appeal can be found on this link:
https://blythswood.org/shoeboxappeal/
