Online Newsroom

Life and Work February issue

Seeds of hope

Life and Work this month offers a special focus on the role of carers and looks at the Church's role. Jackie Macadam looks at the work of the Sunflower Garden, operated by CrossReach, the Church's Social Care Council, which reaches out to the youngest carers, aged up to 12, growing up in families affected by addiction.

Highlighting the work of the project, Gayle Carmichael, Senior Project Worker, explains: "The statistics for Edinburgh show that between 12,000 and 15,000 children are living in families with drug and alcohol issues. They're the ones that the social services know about. There are untold thousands more, quietly working and caring for their parents or for each other at a time when they should be living the best, most carefree years of their lives."

A carer with with connections

Carer, campaigner and Church elder Isobel Allan is the subject of this month’s profile and explains how churches can make a difference to the one in eight people in Scotland who are carers.

"Congregations can help by recognising all those who are caring in amongst them. Support them. Show them that they need not be alone.

"Carers Week occurs every year in June. If I could have one wish, I'd ask that every congregation in Scotland held a service dedicated to unpaid carers during Carers Week. This would offer an invaluable opportunity to support and signpost carers within our church family to the information and resources they may require in their caring."

The Growing Church

In the first of a new series looking at churches which are bucking the trend of falling numbers, Thomas Baldwin visits Arbroath: St Andrew's, where the congregation has almost doubled over the last 18 years. The congregation has funded nearly all of the £600,000 cost of a recent refurbishment and has also donated a six figures sum to projects it supports in Cambodia and Malawi over the last eight years - all from a small, struggling fishing town.

Minister the Rev Martin Fair explains: "The vision is absolutely key... If folk are only being asked to give money to keep the show on the road, it's difficult to be inspired, but once they have the vision of what the church could be, or can see a specific project where their money is making a difference, it's amazing how pockets and wallets open."

Read more about this month's issue of Life and Work here.

Ends.

Note to News Desks

For further information, please contact Lynne McNeil, Editor of Life and Work, on 0131-225 5722 ext 207 or by email lrobertson@lifeandwork.org

nr/07a/01/2010

Thursday 21, January 2010

[Current news releases page]
[top of page]