Storehouse Swoops

A massive thanks to all the lovely EBCers who supported our recent Storehouse Offering so generously. On behalf of the team here at Tracey Island (sorry, I mean EBC!) I’m delighted to report that Thunderbird 2 (er… that’s the Storehouse van) can stay on the road for at least another year and has been in action this very day!

We have raised a whopping £1600 so far, with more still coming in and Gift Aid to go on top of that!

We have Storehouse offerings twice a year, and with our running costs for the van (insurance, tax, MoT, diesel, servicing etc) already covered by this year’s February offering, this means we have yet again topped up our Storehouse Fund such that we can afford to pay for things like white goods and other much needed practical help plus things like flowers and cards for those in times of trouble and needing of a bit of extra love, care and encouragement.

The incredible thing about the Storehouse fund is the faithful way it is kept topped up by our church family and it’s really important that you know how it makes a profound difference to people.

Last week we took a call from Berkshire Women’s Aid who are helping to re-home a lady who will need all kinds of furniture, and earlier this week we took a call from a lady working for the Council, who was helping to support a young family in need of a table and chairs – they were literally having to eat sitting on the floor.

A few phone calls later, Fay (our Social Action Team Leader) had arranged for two of our volunteers, Michael and Andre, to collect a van-load of furniture for the lady which was then stashed away In another EBCer’s garage ready to be dispatched when needed, and this morning Michael and I were despatched to collect still more furniture and deliver to the young family the desperately-needed table and chairs from our storage unit (kindly sponsored in a roundabout way by yet more EBCers!).

What a wonderful ministry Storehouse is – and what a deeply encouraging story it tells about the care we offer as a church family to local people in need. A fund that never quite seems to run dry, storage units and garages that get filled up just when needed, and a combination of staff and volunteers that run the collection, storage and delivery service – blessed with the money to buy the van in the first place (thanks very much Bracknell Forest Borough Council!) and the stuff to give away absolutely free to local people who find themselves needing a helping hand. That’s Christianity lived out, not just spoken about notionally and I just love it!

On behalf of everyone who gets to be on the giving end at the point of delivery and who see the enormous difference it makes to people, a massive thank you for your generosity – long may it continue!

Simon