Following a review of our charity giving, in February 2025 it was decided that as a church we would:
- Give 5% of our pledged income per year to charity (inc gift aid) but that this should be kept under review and if finances improve then it might be amended.
- We will give to 5 charities and that each of these will have a champion
- The champion will organise one Sunday a year where we will focus on that charity (with a speaker and stall/information about the charity) – they may also wish to organise extra fundraisers
- The five charities should be a mixture of local and international but should be Christian or at least strongly aligned with our values
- Suggested charities for the next 3 years are:
- Christian Aid – Peter Barratt to champion
- USPG – Revd Hannah to champion.
- PACT – Claire Jones to champion
- Soulscape – Clive Charlton to champion
- Potters Village – Ruth Mondal to champion
An important aspect of our giving to charity is that we raise awareness of the charities and their work
We will focus on Christian Aid in May this year, as part our of fundraising efforts for Christian Aid week.
Christian Aid exists to create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty.
In 2026 Christian Aid will be our Advent charity
Soulscape
PACT is a local charity that works to support adoptive families and to empower women, children and parents to embrace a positive future. Among other things they are an adoption charity, they run a therapeutic recovery programme supporting children affected by trauma caused by domestic abuse, and they run Alana House in Reading, supporting women facing struggles.
In 2026 we will focus on PACT in the summer.
Potters Village
A UK charity, they work to support babies including orphans in Kisoro, Uganda.
Potter’s Village Ministries is a Child Crisis and Medical Centre in Kisoro. They provide a temporary home for babies whose mothers have died in childbirth, or who are mentally ill or who have been abandoned, until they can be resettled with either their own, or a foster, family. The Medical Centre provides high quality care for all local children, including premature babies.
In 2026 we will focus on Potters Village at Harvest
