Ilkley Baptist

Christian Aid week runs from 14th to 21st May this year. Many years it falls in the first week of good weather, and calling on local houses is a real pleasure. This year it looks like being a week with a return to grey cool conditions. Not so appetising.

Getting enough volunteers is going to be difficult this year. A few older regulars have decided to call it a day, so we need to find some new people. Unfortunately collecting doesn't fit easily into busy family life. Many people don't have free time during the day until after their evening meal, which is a bit late for collecting.

I feel rather protective of people when it comes to finding volunteers. I don't want church to be a place of nagging and 'you ought to do this.' There are enough things to feel guilty about without the church adding to them. I also think that people genuinely have less time than a generation ago. So, though I'd love Christian Aid to find its collectors (as much for the publicity the week gives to the issues of aid as for the money that comes in), I don't feel inclined to ask too insistently.