“And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”
Micah 6:8

Both Sunnyside Church’s Gift Day committees, local and overseas, hope that our
mission slots throughout the year have shown us all how our money is used and
also provided opportunities to meet the people and organisations who are using
it to provide support, physically, mentally and spiritually for some of the neediest
people locally and overseas.

The Bible Society

Founded in 1804, the Bible Society – formerly known as the British and Foreign Bible Society – is a non-denominational organisation whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Bible Society has been giving free Bibles to people in countries everywhere in many languages and dialects. A donation can give a soldier on the front line in Ukraine a copy in his own language. Kyrylo was given one; he had never ever been to church or read the Bible but it has a huge impact on his life as he learns about God. Poverty and illiteracy prevent people everywhere reading the Bible but passages can be recorded and given, allowing the Word to be heard so no one is excluded.

The Bulawayo Shelter

The shelter was founded by Diana Calderwood’s mother-in-law to provide food and shelter for those who would otherwise go hungry. Zimbabwe was a huge food-producing country in the past, but now starvation and poverty are widespread. Many of the staff members have loyally worked at the shelter for decades; recently Peter retired after 32 years, and Hilda is taking over the role after 13 years working there. Edgar is taking over as assistant supervisor and has been there for 31 years; like the other staff, he has a wonderful caring Christian heart for the work and people there and ably copes with the difficult situations that arise. With a very tight budget, they work alternate months and are always welcoming and cheerful. They said: “The money we received from Sunnyside last year was extremely useful, going to a variety of Shelter needs, from wages, to gas for cooking, to food, to fuel for the van, to repairs and maintenance, and to medicines – not only for residents but also for Hilda, as the local clinic sometimes runs out of prescription drugs. An exciting development that we hope will benefit the Shelter next season is that we are making available an area (approximately two acres) of excess land that we have to a gardening project by young people, who are under the auspices of the City Presbyterian Church in Bulawayo. They are called the Sinawe Green Project and are an offshoot of an already working project outside of town and we look forward to them supplying us with extra vegetables as part of a quid pro quo when they start producing. They also plan a centre of ministry next to us, along with a children’s area for families, and if it all comes together it should be a wonderful addition to the local community. I’ll keep you updated on that. We continue to house an average of 35–40 Residents and suspect that with the drought we have just had and with the shortage of grain that is predicted for the region, we may well have more, but time will tell.”

Frontiers

James Price, who was in the Youth Group at Sunnyside and has worked for various Christian organisations since leaving university, has been working with the Rohingya people mainly in Southeast Asia and Bradford, with his wife Jo and 2 children. He says:

“The focus of our ministry is Rohingya refugees – a stateless unreached Muslim people group originally from Myanmar. We are leading a new team, pioneering a new work in a new city, coming alongside the Rohingya refugee community to show the love of God in practical ways. Building links in the community, the team aims to provide support with access to education, pre/post-natal care, as well as advocacy around protection rights. Ultimately, we seek with love and respect to invite the Rohingya to follow Jesus.”

A Rocha

A Rocha is an international Christian community working to protect and restore the natural world and committed to equip churches and Christians to care for the environment. Marguerite Craig and the Sunnyside Eco Church group are heading up Sunnyside’s response. In many places there are nature reserves to nurture the natural world and demonstrate that, even on a small patch of inner- city land, much can be achieved. They are encouraging churches to manage the land they have for nature protecting and restoring soil, water, habitats and wildlife, making a contribution to climate change. The international A Rocha family works in more than 20 countries on 6 continents in nature and conservation projects.   

The Hospice of St Francis, Berkhamsted
– caring for local the local community since 1979.

The hospice of St Francis offers holistic care for the people of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire who have a chronic condition or terminal illness. Eighty per cent of all the money for the hospice comes from the local community, through donations fund-raising shops and events. Doctors and nurses provide amazing care and constant support for local families and carers at home or in the hospice off Shootersway, Berkhamsted. The need for hospice care is growing faster than ever and referrals have increased by 28% since 2020. They provide care with highly skilled teams as well as advice and support for getting the most out of life. The family and loved ones are involved at every step. They also provide bereavement counselling, helping after a death.

Playskill

Playskill’s moto is “skills for play, skills for life”. It is a local charity set up in 2006 and is the only one in Hertfordshire that offers free parent and child playgroups for preschool children with delayed development or disabilities, giving support, training and advice for parents and social activities for the whole family. At the group sessions, preschool children are able to access support from occupational therapists, paediatric physiotherapists and language therapists. They are encouraged to develop using play; while they are having fun, they are also learning to stand, eat, communicate and walk. Many of these children have complex needs and they receive one-to-one support, helping them to thrive. The family activities are so important as it is easy to become isolated with a very needy child. At the playgroup, the parents have time together to chat and encourage one another. There is always a waiting list for places but without donations they cannot increase the number of children who can be offered a place.

The Swan Youth Project

The Swan Youth Project supports about 250 young people from our town each year. It offers a safe and welcoming place to go to after school with something to do, somewhere to go and someone to listen. They offer games such as snooker or a place to simply meet friends; handicrafts are offered and there is the opportunity to cook a meal and eat together. Art and creative activities are on offer as well. The focus is to equip youngsters for life ahead, and they run a Life skills programme at Ashlyns school. Recently the “You are not alone” programme has been introduced to support the mental health of those who attend. The Swan team say they may be small, but they have big ideas, boundless energy and are passionate about helping the young people who need them. However, like so many charities, their future is uncertain as they struggle to secure funding. Our donation means so much to them. They welcome visitors to come and see what they do, and the kettle is always on!

Good News for Everyone (formerly GideonsUK)

The aim of Good News for Everyone is to introduce others to the Christian faith through personal witnessing by members of the charity and giving away Bibles and New Testaments. There are branches throughout the British Isles and in some countries in Eastern Europe. Funds are also given to provide scriptures in other countries through local Christians. Good News for Everyone raise all the money from themselves from the public and do not employ fundraisers or any commercial companies. Trustees do not receive remuneration, so all the money given is used to provide Bibles and New Testaments to youth and community groups, schools, universities and colleges, prisons, hospitals, care and residential homes. They want everyone to have the opportunity to have a Bible of their own to read.

We only ask once a year, so please do be as
generous as you possibly can, pray and consider what you will give. We need
your help to continue supporting these charities so they can continue to show
that they care and spread the Word of God. Remember: every gift counts and
together we can make a difference.