Lenten lunches send love from Burnley to the world

Parishioners from St John the Baptist Church, Burnley, raised more than £800 as part of international development charity CAFOD’s Lent appeal by holding weekly soup lunches over Lent.

The group has been taking part in Lenten fund-raising for more than 30 years, and the two sisters who initially organised the lunch, Eileen Ennis and Monica Atherton, still attend and make the soup.

To make this year even more special, local company Warburtons donated bread to serve alongside the homemade soup.

All donations to CAFOD’s Lent Appeal, up to £5m., will be doubled by the UK government up until May 12th – meaning every donation will make double the difference.

Jackie Hindle South, a parishioner from St John’s, said: “It’s a great event which brings the community together for CAFOD. People from other churches also come down and we all eat together which is lovely.

“Despite one of our lunches being called off due to the snow, we raised over £800 and enjoyed lots of treats kindly donated by Warburtons.”

The funds raised will reach an estimated 245,000 people in Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Eritrea and enable communities to grow a better future by providing safe water, supporting communities to plant vegetable gardens and teaching them about good nutrition and hygiene.