At the AGM of the Diocesan Women’s Commission, held on 8th May in English Martyrs Hall, York, the guest speaker was Mrs Margaret Sentamu, the wife of the Archbishop of York. In the first part of her talk, Mrs Sentamu spoke about Christian giving. It should be characterised, she suggested, by the three Fs: Faith, Fun and Following. That is, our giving should arise out of our faith in God, it should be joyful and it should be an expression of discipleship. The ideal to be aimed at is sacrificial giving, which involves our whole self.

In the second part, Mrs Sentamu concentrated on Acts 435, which is a new initiative set up to match people in need with those who would like to help. It is a dedicated website that can be used by churches to help their local communities. The intention is to fund small, one-off emergency needs, not projects, and 100% of what is donated goes directly to those who need it. Applicants apply to their local church; specially trained advocates within those churches verify the requests and post them on the website; donors can then make a payment via a secure system online. The scriptural inspiration for this scheme is Acts 4.3-5: ‘Then they would give the money to each as any had need’. Further information and details of how to get involved, as donor, advocate or applicant, can be found on the website www.acts435.com