A service with an impact across the world

At Hucclecote we regularly have services known as a Local Arrangement. This is a service where there is no allocated Minister or Local Preacher available to take responsibility for leading worship.

The Church Stewards are responsible for ensuring that worship takes place and they "arrange" any Local Arrangement services. We recently had a Local Arrangement which will have an impact across the world.

You may remember that those suffering from leprosy are mentioned in several places in the New Testament of the Bible. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all describe the moment when Jesus healed a man affected by leprosy. Luke also describes the moment when ten men who had leprosy came and met Jesus asking for healing, which Jesus provided.

But leprosy is not just something that existed two thousand years ago. Did you know that every two minutes, someone is diagnosed with leprosy. That's more than 200,000 new cases a year. Although it is curable, millions of people worldwide are living with the effects of the disease, from physical disability to mental health problems, poverty and discrimination.

The Leprosy Mission is a Christian charity present in over 30 countries around the world. During the summer the local representative from the Leprosy Mission led us in worship at a Local Arrangement service.

There was a retiring collection for the Mission, with a remarkable £706.50 donated. This included card donations during coffee after the service.

As the poster says, we are grateful to be able to support nurses like Irene to help those affected by leprosy today.