Parishes by the Wall - Living Faith on the Frontier

Many of you will have seen the horrendous aftermath of Hurricane Irma as it scythed through the Carribbean and on to Florida. What you may not know is that we have a connection with the British Virgin Islands through our parishioner, Mary Dickinson. Mary and her husband Stephen lived for many years on the Islands, where Stephen played a distinguished part in island life, and represented the Islands here in the UK. Our two parishes therefore resolved that our church collections from today, 17 September, should be sent to aid the relief effort in the British Virgin Islands. The scale of the suffering there is very hard for us to comprehend, but for islanders grappling with no shelter, no water, no electricity, high day time temperatures, lack of food, loss of livelihood, severe threat of cholera – and the list could go on – then our small effort to help is a gesture of recognition of the suffering there. Even the trees have had their bark peeled off by the strength of the wind.   If you were not able to be in church today, but would like to recognise the plight of the British Virgin Islanders, then Mary Dickinson has given us a reliable website which is recommended by the British Virgin Islands Community Board, where you can make a donation – https://www.virgin.com/unite/