For a number of years Wilmslow Churches have been jointly supporting a charity at their Harvest Festival services. This year's chosen charity is Workaid – a UK charity that collects and refurbishes tools and equipment which are then sent to vocational training projects, mainly in East Africa.
St Bartholomew's, St Anne's, Wilmslow Methodist Church, Styal Methodist Church, Wilmslow United Reformed Church, Dean Row Unitarian Chapel, Norcliffe Unitarian Chapel, St Theresa's, Quakers and Wilmslow Life Church will all be holding Harvest Festival services over the next couple of weeks raising money and equipment for Workaid.
Rev. Dr Kirsty Thorpe, minister at Wilmslow United Reformed Church and chair of Churches Together in Wilmslow said "For the traditional harvest festival, local people would bring gifts of produce as a thanksgiving for the annual harvest. The gifts would be distributed to the needy. Today's harvest festivals, while still helping those less fortunate, tend to take a broader approach. We often look beyond our immediate locality and we try and support charities which are helping people to support themselves into the future, not just delivering one-off aid (not that that isn't important). And I should mention that all the churches are involved throughout the year in local projects, such as FoodLink, FoodFriend to help those in need locally."
Rev. Katy Thomas, minister at Wilmslow Methodist Church said "We are delighted that this year's charity is one with close connections to our own church. Two of our members, John and Jocelyn Fallows, have been closely associated with Workaid for 15 years. Our target is to raise at least £8,000, which will pay for the shipment of a container of tools to Africa. Some of the churches, including ours, will also be collecting tools and equipment along with haberdashery and ironmongery items. One traditional harvest feature was children bringing decorated baskets and boxes containing their offerings. We are hoping to bring back a variation of this as the children will have the opportunity to bring gifts of sewing items and materials, screws, small tools and so on in this way."
Jocelyn Fallows added "During the time we have been collecting for Workaid we have seen the charity grow from a few dedicated volunteers in a small shed to a team of 200 volunteers and almost 100 area collectors with substantial premises in Chesham. Many of the items we are given are from older people who are downsizing or have passed away. Items such as sewing and knitting machines and engineering and woodworking tools have been part of their life for many years. Frequently they have resigned themselves that their treasured items will be taken to the tip. It is so rewarding to see the looks on people's faces when they realise that they can be given a new life and help a disadvantaged person across the world to transform their life at the same time."
John Fox, Workaid General Manager, commented "Workaid is most grateful to Churches of Wilmslow Together for choosing us as their nominated charity. Their support will enable us to continue our work giving disadvantaged people the chance to change their lives and become self-supporting. Thank you to all involved, particularly John and Jocelyn Fallowes for continued their hard work on our behalf."
If you would like more information, have any tools or equipment to donate, or would like to make a financial contribution contact your local church or call John and Jocelyn on 01625 533950 or visit workaid.org for more details.
Photo: John and Jocelyn Fallows with some of the donations already received at Wilmslow Methodist Church, ahead of the Harvest Festival service on the 28th September.
