- Stories of Hope
- / My neighbour
- / A way to hope in a time of fear
A way to hope in a time of fear
—When the increase of COVID cases brought about the first lockdown in March 2020, one minister in the remote rural Church of Scotland parish of Durness & Kinlochbervie was concerned about how she was going to best serve her community now the doors of the church were shut.
“When we went into lockdown and were told that we couldn’t meet as a church I was left thinking ‘What is church going to look like going forward?’”
Rev. Andrea Boyes and her church were given funding to start a food bank out of the unused church hall, and as a result, new connections were made with the community.
Andrea and a small team from the church were not only running an essential food supply service in the community but also put together ‘Boxes of Blessing’, containing various essentials for a period of isolation, including a Gospel of Mark.
Over 300 Mark’s Gospels were distributed in Durness & Kinlochbervie in 2020, connecting more people to the church, helping people encounter the God of the Bible and starting conversations across the community about where God was in times of trial.
“Sometimes the world can think ‘How is the church relevant? How is God relevant right now?’ By his people showing practical love and care, as well as spreading the message of hope found in his Word, as Jesus did, we are showing that the Gospel is relevant right now.”
