In Great Glen, the church community has joined forces with the local council to put together a list of around 60 volunteers who can be called on to support villagers during this time of crisis.
After a surge of people making themselves available on St Cuthbert’s Church Facebook page, Reverend Kim Ford and the council sent flyers out to every single house in the village asking to ring her, personally, if they needed anything, and to contact the council if they were well and able to help those more vulnerable or in isolation.
Now every household, in every street, will be able to call on Kim and receive support with anything from their shopping to their spiritual needs.
Kim says: “We want to be Church in the community, and this is what Church is – being there for people in times of crisis, showing our willingness to serve and love our community.
“The Archbishop implored us to look at Church in a different way, so that’s what we are doing. It is taking a lot of effort to sort but the community has been really brilliant. The amazing thing is seeing everyone come together and walking out what it means to truly love our neighbours.”
St Cuthbert’s Church is also currently open every day between 10am and 4pm for people to pop in and pick up books and puzzles that have been donated, to keep their minds active or share with neighbours who are isolated. It’s also a quiet space to find peace, light a candle or pray.