04.08.2026
Blessington Parishioners’ Fundraiser Raises €1,600 to Tackle Poverty Overseas
The parishioners of Blessington Union in west Wicklow have raised almost €1,600 for the work of aid agency Christian Aid Ireland with a series of soup lunches on six consecutive days. Although the fundraiser took place some weeks ago, donations have continued to come in, and the total has now reached €1,585.
The volunteers opened St Mary’s Church, Blessington to members of the public throughout Christian Aid Week in May serving home–made soup, bread, scones and cakes. It was the Blessington parishioners’ first–ever effort in support of Christian Aid Week, which is the charity’s annual flagship appeal.
Rector of Blessington Union, the Revd Niall Stratford, described the initiative as a great success and praised the generosity of parishioners and visitors alike.
The parish marked the first day of Christian Aid Week with an outdoor service at Blessington Lakes to mark Rogation Sunday, an ancient festival in the Anglican tradition during which congregations pray for favourable weather, protection from crop failure and a bountiful harvest.
This year’s Christian Aid Week appeal focused on the charity’s work in Dagoretti, a low–income neighbourhood of the Kenyan capital Nairobi where nearly 300,000 people live in homes built from corrugated metal sheets, without basic services such as toilets and running water. Secure jobs are hard to find and most people earn less than a dollar a day which means that many parents struggle to buy healthy food to feed their children. But a Christian Aid–funded project is helping people to grow vegetables in these cramped city spaces. With space in short supply, the produce is grown on rooftops, vertically on walls and on any available scrap of land.
During the Rogation Sunday service, the Blessington parishioners prayed for the urban farmers of Nairobi, that they will enjoy a successful harvest and have enough healthy produce to feed their families and surplus to sell for a much–needed income.
As one of Christian Aid’s sponsoring denominations, the Church of Ireland helped to establish the aid agency in 1945, in response to the refugee crisis in Europe at the end of WWII. Today, Christian Aid works to ease the suffering of people affected by extreme poverty and conflict in more than 20 countries worldwide.
Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked the Revd Niall Stratford and the parishioners of Blessington Union for their prayers and their fundraising. She said: “We are incredibly grateful to Rev Niall and his parishioners for the love and generosity they have shown. Kind–hearted people like these are making a difference in the lives of people experiencing poverty and conflict around the world. To host a six–day fundraiser as their first–ever Christian Aid Week event is a remarkable achievement. We would like to thank the parishioners who prepared and served the lunches and everyone from the church and the wider Blessington community who came along and supported the event with their donations.”
To support the work of Christian Aid Ireland, please visit caid.ie/donate