Congregations across the Church of England in Cumbria have raised tens of thousands of pounds to support two international aid projects.

Over the last four years the Diocese of Carlisle’s Bishop’s Harvest Appeal has collected nearly £85,000 to fund the work of Christian Aid in the Holy Land and the Mothers’ Union in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Rt Rev Rob Saner-Haigh, the Acting Bishop of Carlisle, said: “It is staggering to think that so much money has been raised to support these international projects as well as benefitting two local groups - Cumbria Development Education Centre and Carlisle One World Centre. My thanks go to everyone who has donated so generously towards these schemes which have helped our brothers and sisters in need across the world.”

From 2020, the Christian Aid project helped provide observers known as Ecumenical Accompaniers who monitored the interaction between Palestinian inhabitants of the West Bank and East Jerusalem with the Israeli military. The conflict in the Holy Land has meant that work has been restricted. In the DRC, the Mothers’ Union project supported literacy, numeracy and agricultural learning projects for women. Both projects received £37,669 over four years from an overall total of £83,709 which was raised for the Harvest Appeal.

A new three-year cycle of fundraising for the Bishop’s Harvest Appeal will now see money collected for a Christian Aid project in the west African country of Burkina Faso to help promote training around the production of an organic fertilizer, Biochar, to boost harvests. The appeal will also support a Church Mission Society project in Northern Argentina, one of the Diocese of Carlisle’s link dioceses, where a new centre - Centro de Formación Anglicano - has been created to train people to serve as Deacons of indigenous congregations.

Bishop Peter Ramsden, former Bishop of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and chair of the Diocese’s Partnership in World Mission committee, said: “We are delighted that we are to support these two projects and very much look forward to receiving regular updates over the next three years as to how the work is progressing. Our prayer is that, under God’s guiding hand, both projects change the lives of people in Burkina Faso and Northern Argentina for the better.”

The Bishop’s Harvest Appeal is officially launched this week, with churches encouraged to access various downloadable resources including a leaflet, poster and bookmark. People can donate to the appeal by clicking here or visit www.carlislediocese.org.uk/harvestappeal/ for more information.

ENDS

For further information contact Dave Roberts, Diocesan Head of Communications, on 07469 153658 or at communications@carlislediocese.org.uk.