As Carol Finlay takes her leave after 36 years of service within the Church of Scotland as both a missionary partner and more recently a staff member in FAPLT, she reflects on her involvement with Christian Aid, as they celebrate their 80th Anniversary this year.
Jeremiah 29:11 says ‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I suppose Scottish minister Rev Douglas Lister had no idea that what he was about to do 80 years ago was to have such wide-ranging and far-reaching consequences. He saw hungry, cold people who had lost hope and wanted to help. As an army chaplain, Douglas Lister saw first-hand how the German people and the refugees in Europe were living at the end of WWII. When help was not forthcoming from the Government, he wrote and asked the Scottish churches if they would offer support…from that one act of selfless love, the organisation we know as Christian Aid was born.
In the last 80 years, the Churches in Britain and Ireland have supported Christian Aid’s work to eradicate poverty worldwide. But what does that mean to us who diligently put a few coins in the red envelope every year? More importantly, what does it mean to those who receive that coin around the world? I have been fortunate enough to see first-hand exactly that.
One of the most vivid Christian Aid memories was listening to the story of women in Northern Ghana. In this community, illegal and dangerous chemical fertiliser was being brought over the border and sold to village tomato farmers. They were unaware of the consequences of this product, and it took some time to realise that the untimely deaths of family members and community members were directly connected to the poisonous substance sprayed on the crops. Christian Aid funded partners on the ground to work with the women to advocate for changing the law to prevent illegal border sales. The women were helped to find their voice – and that voice heard in the Parliament won their case. Christian Aid is not just about putting food in people’s mouths but giving people the tools to step out of their comfort zones to enable change, raise people up, and provide them with hope.
Another of my favourite visits to a Christian Aid project was in Chennai, where women were supported by creating microcredit groups. Seeing groups such as these have been commonplace for me, as they are replicated worldwide. It is such a simple concept, but one where women are empowered to financially support their families. Working together with a trusted group of women, each woman adds a small amount of money – the widow’s mite – to a common purse each week. Then, as it grows, loans are taken and paid back to allow others to benefit. This access to money helps pay hospital bills for sick family members, school fees for children, resources for the garden in the growing season, and so much more. What was special about this group, in particular, was that 9 other Church of Scotland members from congregations around Scotland were with me. All supporters of Christian Aid, all who went back to their congregations with new eyes, having seen their coins from the red envelope in action. Giving hope to women and raising families from poverty.
Did you know campaigning can be fun? For example, a busload of supporters heading for London and an overnight march through the capital to Downing Street to raise awareness for ‘Drop the Debt’. Standing outside Westminster being taught African and American resistance songs and choruses, which still resonate. Walking from the Meadows and down the Mound in the pouring rain with thousands of others lifting high banners about Climate Justice. These events have significance.
I love that Christian Aid can reach places through on-the-ground partners, which we cannot as the Church of Scotland. Recently, the situation in Afghanistan, where we do not have partners, was an example of emergency aid being given to people who were in desperate need. Around the world, in situations where basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter, need to be met, Christian Aid can be there with the other major Aid Agencies. The difference is that Christian Aid does it in our name.
In this, Christian Aid’s 80th year, Kathy Galloway, former Head of Christian Aid Scotland, wrote a poem about how funds are raised—not the occasional funding from the Scottish Government or other large donations but the mainstay of Christian Aid’s funding—the coins in the red envelope or tin or bucket or, of course, online. Let me share a few lines of it with you…
‘Year after year, mair mountains climbed,
mair lang miles walked, mair red tins filled,
mair bridges crossed, mair banners waved,
mair choirs and dancers, show and speeches, cakes and scones,
mair prayers raised tae the heavens, year after year after year.’
The 80th anniversary has as its strapline – ‘The Unstoppable Power of Hope’ – what it seems like during Christian Aid week in Scotland as congregations, groups, and individuals do ordinary and extraordinary things to support the work. But what is important to remember is that Christian Aids work is 52 weeks of the year; we need not only to Give – and did you know per head of the population, Scotland gives much more than the rest of the UK – but we need to continue to Act and to Pray throughout the whole year. I have benefited from the amazing resources produced, as I have shared in conferences, church services, and groups over the last 20+ years, and they are available to be used freely.
When I reflect on my years of engagement with Christian Aid and think about God’s words in Jeremiah, I had no idea that today I would be a member of the Christian Aid Advisory Board for Scotland and able to input into the future of Christian Aid. Like all charities, it is not an easy time for them in the current economic situation, but Christian Aid is part of the Church of Scotland’s DNA. It is up to us; Christian Aid is the Church’s Relief and Development agency. Let us all continue to be part of Rev Douglas Lister’s dream, ‘The Unstoppable Power of Hope.’