This week we are catching up with Anna Chapman who has been busy in the kitchen rustling up some tasty treats.
Who are you and what do you do?
Hello I'm Anna, I work for Derbyshire Countryside Service. For a number of years, I worked as a countryside ranger bringing children and adults closer to nature and wild spaces. Now I am a project officer developing the Greenway network through Derbyshire, building trails between communities, countryside, and each other.
A good environment provides a deeply peaceful backdrop to life where mental and physical health can grow. Our team builds pathways in wildlife corridors to and through the countryside that all people can access whatever their mobility limitations or age, to encourage outdoor activity and healthy living.
What were you up to last weekend?
My 11 year old son Jacob and I decided we should do something useful so we hosted a Christian Aid Big Brekkie event to round off Christian Aid Week. This is an annual fundraiser that combines eating with charitable giving; so you feel great on two counts! 72 people tucked into pastries and pancakes and bacon and sausage baps to raise over £500 towards the refugee fund. We had beautiful sunshine and summer showers which didn't seem to dampen the mood in the garden as kids bounced the rain off the trampoline.
It was a privilege really and amazing that so many people turned out to support this incredible charity. We had a fabulous team of volunteers, gazebo builders, cooks and washers to make the day run smoothly, and we are all agreed that we should repeat this next year.
Can you tell us more about the work of Christian Aid?
Christian Aid began like most charities, in response to a crisis. People fleeing from war and torment, and circumstances not of their choosing. People displaced from homes, stuck in poverty and far from comfort. Wherever there is need through conflict or disaster, Christian Aid step in to bring food, clothes, shelter and compassion. As well as emergency work, Christian Aid reaches far across the globe and gives many hope as they build their own solutions to poverty, transforming lives and communities and advocating for long-term changes to the injustice that keeps people poor. In a world where there is always a crisis, where there is always social injustice, there is always Christian Aid.
How can our church family support Christian Aid?
I would ask for prayer to arm all those who give their lives to work for this cause with all that they need to make the difference we long for.
Also I would encourage people to look at the Present Aid gift shop on the Christian Aid website, and maybe next time someone close has a birthday or special occasion, think about buying a giving gift to benefit someone in greater need. There is so much choice from goats and chickens to fishing kits and toilets. Look them up on line to shop or donate at www.christianaid.org.uk.
For more information about Christian Aid get in touch with our church family contacts; for general inquiries contact Jo Chamberlain, for inquiries about Christian Aid collection week contact David & Gillian Coleshill.
How are you involved in the life of All Saints?
We came to All Saints in 2008 looking for a church community in which we could belong and baptise Jacob. I was invited to join an Echo group several years ago which has rooted me deeper in my faith and unbreakable friendships. Over the years I have volunteered here and there in different ways and lately take enormous pleasure in participating in church events when we can.
What difference does Christian faith make in your life?
Like most people I have had trials in my life and I have persevered and grown through them because of my Christian faith, which itself has persevered and grown with me. Like most people, at times my trust in God has been tested but I have found that my faith is the bedrock of peace. So wherever I am or whatever happens next, I have a friend in God above all else. It's simple really - love beats everything and God is Love!