The good relationship that Christian Aid enjoys with the churches in Wales owes much to the sense that it is a cause that has grown from within local churches and communities, rather than being planted from the outside.
For most of the churches in Wales, Christian Aid is the agency they turn to on issues of global justice, humanitarian emergencies and international development.
The separate Welsh Churches – the Church in Wales, the Presbyterian Church of Wales, the Baptist Union of Wales and the Union of Welsh Independents - are represented on the Christian Aid National Committee for Wales.
The committee also includes representatives of the United Reformed Church, the Methodist Church in Wales, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Congregational Federation, the Quakers,Unitarians and the Salvation Army.
Wales’s ecumenical body is CYTUN (Churches Together in Wales), which encourages its member churches to actively support Christian Aid. Christian Aid works within CYTUN and its General Secretary is a member of the National Committee.
Support from the churches
All the major church bodies support us during Christian Aid Week and other key moments. They also take part in campaign actions and in prayer and worship throughout the year.
Worship resources in Welsh, where available, can be found alongside the English equivalent on relevant pages of the website.
In addition to their on going support, both the Union of Welsh Independents (UWI) and the Presbyterian Church of Wales (PCW) hold regular 5 year denominational appeals in support of the work of our partners and the Baptist Union of Wales does so periodically.
The Church in Wales also holds diocesan appeals. Many of the URC churches in Wales support Christian Aid through Commitment for Life.
Most recently the PCW raised £237,082.59 for partner work in Sierra Leone and the UWI raised £206,740.66 for our work in South Africa. The St Asaph diocese of the Church in Wales is about to begin an appeal to fund the work ofDDS, a Christian Aid partner in India.
If you would like to know more about Christian Aid’s work with the churches or look at our church resources, visit our churches homepage for Christian Aid UK.
For more information about Christian Aid Wales’s work with churches contact Nerys Williams at the Cardiff office: cardiff@christian-aid.org
