November 2017


The Barnabas Fund Susan Scott


The Barnabas Fund is one of three designated charities supported by St Helen’s church by a three-year annual grant. The aim of the charity is to bring hope to suffer- ing Christians and we are asked to particularly remem- ber their work as part of ‘Suffering Church Action Week’ being held from 29 October to 5 November.


When the Barnabas Fund began a generation ago Christians in many countries faced marginali- sation, discrimination and har- assment, yet only very rarely were they physically attacked, let alone killed for their faith. In a few decades that has changed. With other ideologies increasingly restrictive laws are being introduced and mobs inspired and encouraged to enforce these ideolo- gies by force.


The Barnabas Fund seeks to support fellow Christians by, for example, providing maize seeds in Zimbabwe, supporting a Women’s Sewing and Literacy Centre in Lahore, providing a safe haven for young orphaned


Blessing of the Animals at St Nicolas’ Carol Worthingon


On Sunday 15 October, just before 3pm, a small crowd started to form outside St Nicolas’ church. There were several dogs on leads, so a casual observer might have thought this was a meeting of a rambling group, about to take their dogs for a long walk. But on closer inspection, some peo- ple were carrying cages – was that a cat in one of them?


It was obvious that something ra- ther special was about to happen as they all went into church, to be greeted by Jane and Mary, and made an orderly progression into the pews.


This was a service for the blessing of animals, organised by Jane as a culmination to a fortnight’s celebra- tion of creation and of St Francis, patron saint of animals.


But ask the animals and they


will teach you…In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of every human be- ing.


Job 12


During the service we gave thanks for the beauty and wonder of crea- tion, and asked that all pets and working animals be treasured and respected, for an end to human cruelty to


One of the many animals who came with their humans for a blessing.


Photo: Colin Dobson


animals, for our kinship with all creation, and that we may learn to live more lightly on the earth.


Then came the Blessing of the Animals. Jane and Mary moved along the pews, blessing each animal individual- ly. The majority were dogs and cats, but there was one grey par- rot and a tortoise too. Some peo- ple had brought photos of their pets, past and present; one person had a


T-shirt with the names


and pictures of horses on the back. It was a very calm and peaceful; the animals were all well behaved; there was an at- mosphere of love.


The service ended very aptly with the hymn ‘All creatures of our God and King’, based on St Francis’s own ‘Canticle of Crea- tion’.


‘Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in hum- bleness.’


Christian girls in Pakistan and supporting many isolat- ed groups of Christians from Nepal to north Africa, Kyrgyzstan to Bethlehem.


We are living in a time when the church is being chal- lenged by radical Islam and by secular humanism which it can be argued is re- shaping society and eroding the Judaeo-Christian foundations of society. We know there are needy people needing support throughout the world, but this Fund unapologetically seeks to support Christians and asks us


not to be ashamed to stand up in the midst of all that is going on to proclaim our shared faith by supporting our brothers and sisters in Christ.


For more information visit www.barnabasfund.org


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