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BETHESDA MINISTRIES
As
part of our mission outreach the church has strong links with church
fellowships in Southern India. Bethesda Ministries operates in the slums of Bangalore and in
addition to the provision of a number of places of worship is engaged in a
number of different social projects in particular the care of orphaned children.
The church of St Giles through its fund raising supports the work of this
orphanage by regular donations. For more about the orphanage
click here.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
Put some of your
Christmas into a shoe box – and send it to a child in need!
Big things can travel
well in small packages. When you start planning your Christmas this year,
why not plan to share some of the joy and fun? For hundreds of thousands of
desperately needy children, there will be no Christmas coming at all in 2007
– unless you send it to them. In a shoe box.
Even as you read this,
tens of thousands of people throughout Britain are busy packing shoe boxes
to send out through Operation Christmas Child. The shoe boxes are easy to
fill – but the simple toys which they contain will transform the lives of
destitute children in Eastern Europe this year.
Operation Christmas
Child is a project run by Samaritan’s Purse International, a Christian
relief and development charity. Last year 1.2 million needy children in
Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and Africa received shoe boxes from
children, families and individuals in the UK. Our church contributed many
shoe boxes! Our church is one of the 6,500 churches that have taken part in
the project in the last 2 years.
For many of these
children, the shoe box is the first Christmas present they have ever
received. The shoe boxes are given unconditionally, regardless of
nationality, political background or religious beliefs.
So – how do you send
Christmas to a child in a shoe box? It’s easy! Simply take an empty shoe
box, wrap it in gift paper (lid and box separately) and fill it with toys,
educational supplies, hats and scarves and other items that will bring joy
to a child’s life.
Our church is taking
part, and if you would like to contribute contact Cynthia Cogley or visit
www.samaritanspurse.uk.com
for more information. There is a flier we can give you full of ideas of
what to buy – plus a label to stick on the front of your box.
Operation Christmas
Child is the world's largest children's Christmas project. Since 1990 the
project has brought the joy of Christmas to more than 54 million boys and
girls throughout the world.
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