This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Christmas Bowl, the Christmas appeal of Act for Peace (AfP), the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia. An ecumenical Blessing of the Bowls took place at St James’ Anglican Church on Sunday November 24. The event was hosted by the Rev. Andrew Sempell, Rector of St James’, and Andy Corkill, Key Relationships Fundraising manager with AfP.
The bowl from St James’ Church was donated by congregation member Howard Graham (a former AfP staff member and current AfP volunteer), following a supporter trip he led to Zimbabwe. South Sydney Uniting Church representative Patricia Morgan brought a basket-bowl woven by artist Brittany Johnson. The Tongan words ‘OFA ATU (“I LOVE YOU”), chosen by Sini, a young member of the congregation, were sewn into the basket.
The Rev. Ken Day from St Stephen’s Uniting Church brought a blue ceramic bowl created at an AfP workshop. Two clay bowls painted by AfP staff members, and a wooden bowl, which travelled with Janet Cousens (AfP CEO) to the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, were also blessed.
The first Christmas Bowl (1949) saw the Rev. Frank Byatt of Victoria place an empty bowl on the dinner table and ask his friends and family to consider their good fortunes and contribute something to help those who had fled the horrors of World War II.
Support for the Christmas Bowl has never been so vital. Today, the number of people displaced worldwide by conflict or persecution has reached more than 70 million – higher than any time since records began. Just last year, the appeal raised more than $2.3 million for food, shelter, education, healthcare and training for communities around the world suffering from conflict and disaster.
Donations to the Christmas Bowl support local partners around the world to both meet urgent need and create change that lasts; equipping communities affected by conflict and disaster with the skills they need to solve their own problems and get back on their feet.
_______________
www.actforpeace.org.au
