Kind-hearted members of Gillingham United Reformed Church (URC), in the Southern Synod, have knitted and crocheted 120 blankets for friends in Malawi.

The church has been supporting Starfish Malawi – a Christian organisation whose mission is to reduce extreme poverty and build the Kingdom of God in lives of children, through collaborative work within communities, schools and churches in the UK and Malawi.

The charity fills a container with anything that is considered to be of value in Malawi, such as educational materials, sewing machines, bicycles, blankets, shoes, clothes, and much more.

The United Reformed Church marked the retirement of the Revd Dr Andrew Prasad, Moderator of the Thames North Synod, on May 22 with a service of celebration and thanksgiving by Zoom, attended by more than 140 people from around the world.

Andrew, who has served as Moderator since 2008, started his ministry in 1981 with the Church of North India, before moving to the Council for World Mission in 1989. After three years with the Streatham Asian Christian Fellowship from 1999, he became minister of Dulwich Grove and Camberwell Green URCs in 2002.

The service was introduced by the Revd John Campbell.

In this reflection, Maria J.Y. Lee, a United Reformed Church Related Community Worker (CRCW) based in Chelmsford, talks about the impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable and elderly people who suddenly found themselves isolated due to the pandemic, and how a ray of hope and connection was brought to them.

Maria and her CRCW team support members of 'Good Companions', a dementia-friendly group which benefits people who live with dementia and aims to improve the quality of life for older members of the community. Read about their experience throughout the pandemic:

Before Covid-19, we met on the first and third Wednesday of the month for two-hour sessions and we gathered around 20 people each time. The sessions included dementia-friendly activities, hymns, discussion, fellowship, creative prayers, and a light meal.