25 February 2010
Methodists raise more than £70,000 to help victims of the Cumbria floods
A Methodist fundraising appeal has raised £74,432 to help
victims of the floods which struck Cumrbia in November.
Methodist Churches across the UK have sent individual donations to
The Cumbria Foundation totalling £36,000 while contributions to The
Mission in Britain Fund have reached £38,432.77 with money still
coming in. The Methodist Church in Britain sent out a cheque for
£38,432.77 to the Cumbria Appeal Fund this week.
The floods destroyed businesses and homes in the county,
particularly in Cockermouth, which was badly hit by the
devastation.
Revd Richard Teal, Chair of the Cumbria District, said: "This money
will make an enormous difference to people. Cockermouth has been
going through a sense of bereavement. All the media attention has
subsided and people are left with the reality of it. Things have
been held up because of the snow and the bad weather. People who
were hoping to get back into their homes in the next few months
will now have that put back by a few more months."
Cockermouth Lorton Street Methodist Church is opening from 10am to
12pm six days a week to offer people free coffee and advice. The
Mana Credit Union is also using the Church as a base to help people
with debt management.
Revd Sue Edwards, a Methodist minister in Cockermouth, has been
offering pastoral support to people in the town along with other
members of the clergy. "The whole area was completely devastated,"
she said. "The housing estate on the other side of the River
Derwent is like a ghost town. At the moment we are trying to help
people out financially while they are waiting for their insurance,
but there is a good community spirit."
A Foodbank project run by Churches Together in Cockermouth is
providing people with food parcels, and hot meals are still being
served at Christ Church in Cockermouth.