ADVENT lunches held throughout December to raise vital funds for Christian Aid have been cancelled this year – but organisers are still hoping supporters will help the charity.
The churches in Barnard Castle and Startforth normally organise the Friday lunches in St Mary’sParish Hall, Newgate.
But with volunteers unable to welcome visitors due to the Covid situation, they are asking households to enjoy their Friday lunch at home and make a donation to Christian Aid.
Volunteer Iris Hillery said the churches continued to recognise the needs of those supported through Christian Aid are as great as ever.
“Christian Aid’s work in Africa includes strengthening peace-building in South Sudan, promoting resilient farming in Kenya and challenging inequality in Sierra Leone,” she said.
“Christian Aid is also working with women to increase their access to green and sustainable energy in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Malawi.
“In Asia, Christian Aid’s programmes include promoting women’s rights in Afghanistan, promoting justice and peace building in Myanmar and ensuring people can access the services they need in Bangladesh.”
Donations to Christian Aid can be made via the dedicated Teesdale Christian Aid page www.justgiving.com /fundraising/Teesdale-Christian-Aid.
Donations can be also made by phone directly to Christian Aid on 08080 006006.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
