Often we divide Gift Day in two. Half the money is used to help others, half the money funds something within the congregation. This year ALL the money will be given away. Thanks to God who has prompted you to give generously, regular church income will cover all expenditure this year. Thank you for helping the congregation be in a position where ALL this year’s Gift Day can be given away.
Midwifery Training in Pakistan.
Tank Christian Hospital is the only health facility in an area of Pakistan towards Afghanistan. Caroline White works in the school which is attached to it. The hospital has just given been permission to establish a community midwifery school. These midwives will be trained in the hospital and then help women in the community give birth. The recent floods showed how important this is. With roads blocked women were unable to get the medical assistance they needed. Had community midwives been available lives would have been saved.
The hospital has a vision of enrolling 50 local women in a two-year programme. We intend to meet 50% of the cost of doing this. Incredibly a gift of just £6,000 will be sufficient. That’s how far your money can stretch.
Summer Holiday Survival Packs
When you do your shopping you have noticed how much prices have risen. You have made changes to what you eat, where you shop and how many luxuries you allow yourself. Most of us are in a position to do this. Others are not so fortunate. People on low incomes have found it much, much harder to cope with rising prices.
They have been turning to foodbanks to help with the basics of 
life.
This summer East Lothian Foodbank wants to do more to support local children. They want to offer Summer Holiday Survival Packs to families for the duration of the school holidays. These packs will contain a range of healthy snacks and drinks to counteract holiday hunger, and sunscreen – something families on the breadline can’t afford.
The Foodbank, of course, must continue to provide its core service – three day emergency food parcels. That’s why Elaine, the manager said, ‘We can't do specific projects like this without allocated designated funding. Additional extra funding from the church would bring this project to life.’
From Gift Day we intend to give £6,000. This will make Summer Holiday Survival Packs a reality.
A Green Canopy in Malawi.
All over the world forests have been chopped down. Once they’ve disappeared people begin to realise how much has been lost. Trees play a vital role in combatting climate change. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they hold the soil together during heavy rain, they help the soil retain moisture longer, they provide shade from the sun and their fruit can feed whole villages.
All over the world people are wanting to plant trees. In Malawi, CCAP (our partner church) have decided to create a green canopy in the north of the country. This will do more than plant trees. It will provide jobs for young people and make food supplies more secure. This is such a great project that the Church of Scotland Guild has adopted it. Each tree costs £5. We want to cover the cost of 1200 trees, which means contributing £6,000.
Skatepark in North Berwick
The Skatepark (opposite Aldi) is mainly used by young people and is a huge asset to the community. It 
encourages people to put down their screens, get outside, take exercise and develop skills. It is completely free so everyone can use it. It is unsupervised which means all users have to work out how to get along with each other, learning to give and take. It is not close to anyone’s home so noise does not disturb others.
The Skatepark is being redeveloped. A community group succeeded in raising £160,000 to fund this. The only thing not covered is lighting. Good lighting is particularly important in winter and will allow people to use it throughout the year. From Gift Day we intend to contribute £6,000 to cover the cost of lighting and show the congregation’s support for this important initiative.
Ife Bible Translation
The Ife Bible translation is on target to be completed by 2026. The project started 40 years ago. Our involvement began in 2008. It’s been exciting to see the New Testament completed and received eagerly by the church. Parts of the Old Testament have been published and this has whetted the appetite to have a whole Bible. It began with outsiders like Mary Gardiner. Now the project team is entirely made of Ife people like Komi Sena. The project includes teaching people to read and providing study guides so that people can make the most of their new Bibles. Rising prices in the last year have created an unexpected hurdle. From Gift Day this year we intend to give £6000 that will help get this project over the line.
A Gracious and Generous God
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
There’s no doubt this is a difficult time in Scotland. Compared to so many, however, we are blessed. In different ways we have experienced God sustaining and helping us. From the good gifts God has given we want to give. When we do this we express our thanks to God and we make a real difference to other people
How to give:
- Bring cash or cheque to church in an envelope marked ‘Gift Day.
- Electronically to Account: St Andrew Blackadder Church
Sort Code: 80-17-95 ; Account Number: 00228845
- Unless you specify your gift will be divided as detailed in the box above.
St Andrew Blackadder,
Church of Scotland,
North Berwick.
St Andrew Street,
North Berwick,
EH39 4NU
t, 01620 895233
e: admin@standrewblackadder.org.uk,
w: www.standrewblackadder.org.Scottish Charity, SC 006421