admin 
Several local churches are joining forces to host a day of prayer for Eastbourne.
They will use this time as an opportunity to build the momentum of gathering to worship and pray as they prepare for the Thy Kingdom Come event planned for Eastbourne seafront later in the year. This initial day together will be followed by joint prayer meetings once a month, with a different church hosting each time, between now and May in anticipation of Thy Kingdom Come.
On Saturday 21st January at 12:30pm the Churches in the Langney/Pevensey/Stone Cross area are coming together to have a joint Service to celebrate and pray for each other during the week of prayer for Christian Unity.
The event starts with a lunch and then we move into the sanctuary to hold a service together, each bringing a flavour of our backgrounds/churchmanship.
If anyone (especially those living in these areas) would like to come along then St Barnabas need to be notified for catering by Tuesday 17th January.
Church Secretary: Mrs Annette Walker Telephone: 01323 725287
Rev Alan Weaver at St Richards is organising this event.
Lifting people up and out or poverty: Advocacy Manager Debbie Canning on our advice work
We all know how busy the satellites have been and how many people are currently needing emergency food. The advocacy team has been trying to see as many of those foodbank clients as possible, to try and reduce their need to use the foodbank and hopefully bring our numbers down.
Our job is income maximisation, which basically means putting more money in people’s pockets and making sure they have everything they are entitled to and can therefore afford the essentials.
Our advocacy team has grown over the years and we now have a dedicated team of paid staff and volunteers working to claim additional welfare benefits and reduce the crippling debt repayments some people face.
I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect upon 2022, provide a snapshot of our work and explain how we have helped our foodbank clients in what has been a very challenging year.
Council tax causes a lot of issues for people visiting us. Many people are unaware they are able to claim council tax reduction, which can significantly reduce this essential bill for those on the lowest incomes. Our advocates have been making our clients aware of this and applying on their behalf. We have supported 62 clients to claim this but only know the outcomes for 21 people as of today’s date. However, we only make a claim for those who we know are entitled to council tax reduction, so we are confident this will have helped boost incomes. The average amount gained per client with a successful application for council tax reduction is approximately £1,000 per year.
Last year we also worked hard to speak to as many pensioners as possible about claiming Pension Credit. We know older people are sometimes reluctant to ask for help, but we were able to claim a total of £15,621 last year for our clients and we hope this will ease the financial strain.
Another large part of our work is helping people to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and in 2022 we secured awards for 57 people. This amounts to £386,503 for our clients who are all living with health conditions.
It is widely reported there is £15 billion worth of unclaimed benefits in the UK and in 2022, as a whole, our local foodbank advocacy team claimed £778,456.90 back for its clients living in Eastbourne.
But this doesn’t include the debt we have been able to write off for our clients and last year £223,540 was written off for 16 clients.
This brings the financial awards total for 2022 to £1,001,998. This means in 2022, our advocates put more than 1 million pounds back in the pockets of our clients to help reduce their need to use a foodbank.
I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible, including all the volunteers working in the satellites for the conversations you are having with people and for your help in identifying those clients who may benefit from our help and sending them our way.
Of course, we all anticipate 2023 will continue to be busy, but as a team, we will work together on the frontline of this cost of living crisis to provide emergency food and help lift people up and out of poverty.
Best wishes,
Debbie
Churches are being encouraged to having input into the Eastbourne Strategy Consultation being under taken by the local authority.
The details of the process can be found below:
Two drop-in sessions have been set up for people to have their say on key sites that could accommodate future housing and employment development in Eastbourne. The sessions are to encourage feedback as part of a public consultation on the Local Plan Growth Strategy, which sets out the level of housing and employment growth that could be accommodated in Eastbourne up to 2039, including the key development sites where future development might take place. To speak to us about the consultation, please drop-in at one of these session:
The consultation runs until 5pm on Friday, 20 January 2023. |
If you would like to chat to informed Christian observers of this type of process and how it might impact your area then email us and we will forward you details to them and they will respond as is relevant.
It would also be great if Churches could post the advert below on newsletters/Notice boards etc. Use this link to download aPDF BHCT – Volunteer Recruitment poster 2023
Dr Lesley Dawson will be speaking on the work of this local charity which supports homeless, unemployed and otherwise vulnerable people in the town. The meeting,organised by Eastbourne and Bexhill Newman Circle will take place at Christ the King parish room, Princes Road, Eastbourne BN23 6HT on Monday 30th January commencing at 7.30 pm.
All are welcome to attend.
John Carmody.
Chairperson Eastbourne and Bexhill Newman Circle.
From Computers for Charity
We are launching a new program in 2023 as a way of churches and communities linking and would be keen to gauge interest in Eastbourne. It has come from requests from churches up North, so thought good idea to open it out. Especially as we are based here.
Computer Tune Up Days Near You!
From March 2023 Computers for Charities is offering its services to Churches & Organisations across the UK to connect with local communities with through a “Computer Tune Up day”
People can bring in their Laptops & Desktops for a “Free Tune Up” and check over.
If you would like us to come to your Village, Town, City. We will be covering the UK & Northern Ireland.
Needless to say, electricity & Internet access are required!
For more information or to make a date.
Please give me a call. Tel: 01323848588 or email admin@computersforcharities.org
Many thanks
Simon
Simon Rooksby
Computers for Charities
Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre would love to welcome you in 2023. From 9th January, every weekday morning (Monday – Friday) we have a public service of Healing at 10am. Our Howard’s Well café is open Monday – Friday from 8.30am – 3pm and there is usually a Chaplain around who can pray with you. If you would like spend more time here we have a varied programme of residential retreats throughout the year as well as Quiet Days and Teaching Days. To view our programme, follow this link to our website https://www.crowhursthealing.
