More than £1,000 was donated at a charity church service in Reading to raise money for hurricane relief efforts in Jamaica.
The charity service was held at St George’s Church in Tilehurst to pay for relief following Hurricane Melissa, which struck in October last year and continues to have an impact on communities there.
It has been the strongest storm that has hit Jamaica on record, and has sadly led to 102 deaths in the Caribbean.
The fundraiser was organised by Reverend Polly Falconer and the Jamaica Society and Friends Reading organisation.
Rev Falconer said: “We put together an upholding service, it was quite a light-hearted service with three hymns, a steel band, a gospel singer, and had food that was all donated by Dolphin’s Caribbean Restaurant.
“The programme was done by Miles & Daughters funeral directors, from that one service, we raised £1,011, and more than 100 people attended.
“The directors donated 100 programmes they designed and printed, lots of people took them away to keep as a souvenir.”
The money raised will be sent to the relief fund through the High Commission of Jamaica.
The Church of England Diocese of Oxford also has a link with the Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
Rev Falconer explained: “We’ve been running a stewardship help, and we’ve already raised £11k for that stewardship, and that is building, and that’s still going up.
“We’re part of the ongoing strive to help the island.”
Much of the work to help the relief is coming through Christian faith groups, with around 69 per cent of Jamaicans identifying as Christian.
The hymns ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God’ and ‘To God be the Glory’ were sung, with soloist Wendy Evans singing ‘The Goodness of God’.
Rev Falconer said: “We have a formal link with the diocese, we have regular contact with the bishop, so a lot of support is coming from that.
“There are more churches per mile in Jamaica than in any place in the world.
“The steel band and gospel singers turned up for fun, we were blown away to raise £1k, people want to donate. We know that £1,011 will go up as well, as those who couldn’t come have donated to the relief.
“A third of the island has no power, the relief has been phenomenal from across the world, and the rebuilding work has started.
“Essentials are getting to the area where there has been no food and water, the island is slowly beginning to recover.
“We received a special written update from the Right Rev Leon Golding during the service.”
As well as hymns and prayers, a medley of Jamaican folk songs was performed by Kemmi Spence, a local saxophonist.
The event was attended by councillors Alice Mpofu-Coles (Labour, Whitley), the mayor of Reading, Glenn Dennis (Labour, Kentwood), Wendy Griffith (Labour, Battle) and Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading Central.
Mr Rodda said: “It was good to be able to show my support for Jamaica at the Hurricane Melissa Disaster Appeal Upholding Service.
“The service was part of the campaign to support Jamaica which many local organisations have been running to raise funds.
“I would particularly like to thank the Diocese of Oxford and its Partnership with the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Reading Jamaica Society and Friends and many other community organisations and residents.
To support the appeal, see the information from the Jamaica Society and Friends online. ”
Karen Roach from Colnbrook, who did the Gospel reading in Jamaican, has raised £4,000 and sent nine ‘barrels of hope’ full of essential supplies to the island.
